My Wood Burning Pizza Oven

Back to Bianco's

2012-03-01T16:54:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to be back in Phoenix for a conference, so I was able to go back to Pizzeria Bianco. I got a table with my friends after just a one-glass-of-wine wait (maybe 20 minutes) at 7 pm on a Monday.

The pizzeria

Biancoverde

Rosa, add sopressata

Wise guy

NOT the way to get your hands on a commercial dough mixer...

2012-02-09T10:33:00.001-05:00

From the Washington Post:

Former Calif. mayor admits stealing school’s mixer to make dough for his home pizza oven

For the times when your Kitchen-Aid seems to not be getting the job done....

The former mayor of a Los Angeles suburb has pleaded guilty to stealing a commercial food mixer from the local school district so he could make dough for his home pizza oven.

Home Fire Started by Pizza Oven

2012-02-04T10:32:00.001-05:00

From Canada: "Pizza oven fire brings charges"

From the article:

Caddick said firefighters arrived at the scene Wednesday morning to find smoke escaping from the house. The firefighters took “quick and decisive action” to contain the fire, which started in a wood burning appliance. “It appears to have started in a wood burning pizza oven and got into the wall around the oven,” Caddick said.

I wonder if the oven was built too close to the house? This is something you can't be too careful about - both the oven and any coals that you have when you're done using the oven. You can't get that blow around or get anywhere near your house or your neighbors...

A Recent Visit to Pizzeria Bianco

2012-02-04T08:34:00.001-05:00

I recently had a chance to go back to Phoenix and that trip included a visit to the famous Pizzeria Bianco, the inspiration for our backyard oven in Texas.

We were thrilled to be able to chat with Chris Bianco over in the bar. Even though he's not making the pizzas anymore, due to his asthma problems, the place is still pretty special. The pizzas are as good as always... the one change is that, arriving at 6 PM on a Wednesday, we didn't have to wait for a table (for the first time ever... for us.

Some photos:

Backyard Kitchen & Wood Oven Featured in LA Times

2011-12-24T10:46:00.001-05:00

The LA Times published an article that includes a great shot of the homeowner, Celestino Drago, his oven and a great looking pizza:

ARTICLE LINK

PHOTO GALLERY

"Drago seems fairly indifferent to his indoor kitchen, though it's the sort of room that agents use to sell a house. “To be honest, we don't use the one in the house much,” he says."

Visited Pizzeria Mozza - L.A.

2011-04-23T10:37:00.000-04:00

I finally had a chance to go to Pizzeria Mozza in LA last weekend for a lunch variety of pizza. It's truly a wood-oven pizzeria, as pictured below. It's one of the 50 or so VPN-certified pizzerias in the U.S.

My wife and I had three pizzas. Two are pictured here -- at top, the zucchini flowers with burrata. Zucchini flowers are much more popular as a pizza topping (and in general) in Italy. This pizza had a little tomato sauce, topped with the cool burrata after it came out of the oven. The flavors, the hot and the cool creamy cheese... fantastic.

The second pizza below was the Fennel sausage, panna, red onion & scallions. The fennel sausage had a great flavor and crumbly texture (they were rather large chunks). The scallions added a nice touch to the thinly-sliced red onion. Another winner.

Finally, we have another white pizza, the Bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere & sage. This was certainly good, but didn't live up to the other two. Sage is an underrated pizza topping.

Their menu:

My general high-level review:

Ambiance: B. Great display of the oven (somewhat blocked by customers dining at the counter). The tables are REALLY packed in tight and the place gets loud. You'd better hope you appreciate your dining neighbors.
Pizza Toppings: A. Really creative toppings, well executed.
Pizza Crust: B-. This was my biggest disappointment. What I want in wood burning pizza is white crust with black charring or spotting. This crust was too consistently browned and the crust was brittle in spots. My guess is that the oven was running cool and they had to leave the pizzas in longer than normal.

Overall, I'd give Mozza a B+. It's not close to Pizzeria Bianco and I'd even say that Olivella's in Dallas beats Mozza in terms of the crust. My backyard crust generally comes out better too...

Former Quarterback Nemesis Redeems Himself with Pizza

2011-04-17T21:51:00.000-04:00

As a graduate of Northwestern University and a huge football fan, the name Brad Otton brings shudders as I think of him teaming, as quarterback of the USC Trojans, with wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson to defeat us in the 1996 Rose Bowl.

I'd say he has redeemed himself by opening a small chain of VPN-certified pizzerias that have, of course, wood-burning ovens.

See the LA Times story for more info and a picture with Otton and his oven.

Visiting Wildwood Ovens Monday Night!

2011-03-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to visiting the Wildwood Ovens test kitchen on Monday night, while in town for business.

I'll post photos ASAP!

A Near Pizza-Related Darwin Award

2011-02-15T10:56:00.001-05:00

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a story about a home fire...

In the "things not to do" category:

Do NOT put cardboard pizza boxes in your oven to reheat pizza
Do NOT put the smoldering boxes outside, where wind can blow and set your backyard and house on fire

At least the homeowner didn't injure himself by jumping out of a glass window, as did another homeowner featured in the story...

Wood Oven Cooking - Short ribs, risotto, brussels sprouts

2010-12-28T22:06:00.001-05:00

All recipes are from the book The Art of Wood-Fired Cooking

Braised short ribs
Butternut squash and prosciutto risotto
Brussels sprouts with pancetta and garlic

Fired Up the Oven Tonight

2010-12-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

Fired up the oven tonight... got the temperature just right (about 650 to 700F on the oven floor). It was only about 35 F outside, so chilly, but the oven held heat wonderfully.

Here are three of the pizzas (click on any for a larger view).

1. Sausage, red onion, and ricotta

2. Pancetta, swiss chard, and fontina cheese (from this recipe) - no sauce

3. Olive oil, salami, red onion, and capers

New Peter Reinhart Pizza Video Series

2010-12-20T09:23:00.001-05:00

Here is the trailer for a new video series, available on YouTube, by Forno Bravo and Peter Reinhart, the author of the amazing book American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza

Here is the trailer:

The first episode is also available, on Ricotta and Parmesan pizza:

Real Cheese? What Else Would You Use?

2010-12-08T23:49:00.000-05:00

When I see this on a box, it really makes me shake my head that anyone would use fake cheese... this box comes from Olivella's in Dallas, which has great wood-oven pizza... and real cheese!

A Long Island VPN Pizzeria - Grana

2010-10-04T23:30:00.001-04:00

The NY Times features a new restaurant that imported a wood oven from Italy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/nyregion/03dineli.html

The hallmarks of true Neapolitan pizza, according to the Brunettis and other aficionados, are a thin, blistered crust; a light swirl of sweet tomato sauce perfumed with fresh basil; and ovals of melted mozzarella on top. “We keep it simple and fresh,” said Dave Plath, 52, the head chef at Grana, which is owned by his wife, Nancy.

The article tells their story and also lists some Long Island pizza options...

Interview with Chef Michael Gerard

2010-10-02T23:00:00.004-04:00

Here's a very informative interview with Chef Michael Gerard, of WildWood Ovens:

http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/michael_gerard.htm

A Portable Oven in NC

2010-09-22T17:00:00.001-04:00

I love the idea of portable wood-fired ovens for catering or other purposes. Here's an article from a North Carolina newspaper about an oven on a trailer.

Congrats on getting started with the news business:

"Last Saturday, Smith got a true trial by fire, cooking and serving about 300 pizzas at the Rock the Block festival downtown. For $8, people could get their choice of an 8-inch pizza Margherita or pepperoni, made fresh to order while they waited."

This is Why You Use a Pizza Stone!

2010-09-12T11:45:00.001-04:00

If you're not using a stone floor pizza oven, this is why you should use a pizza stone in your oven or your grill:

see more EpicFail

Cup o' Pizza - Instructions and How To

2010-09-04T14:16:00.000-04:00

OK, this has nothing to do with wood-oven pizza (or even with good pizza), but it's fun:

Cup O' Pizza Walkthrough

Hipstamatic Pizza, Aug 31 2010

2010-08-31T23:46:00.000-04:00

I fired up the oven for some weeknight pizza and had fun with my new Hipstamatic camera app for the iPhone.

Mod Your Webber Kettle Grill

2010-08-23T09:18:00.000-04:00

This seems like a fun and inexpensive option for those with traditional charcoal grills... this sub-$100 piece of gear that raises the dome of your grill and gives a slot for putting pizzas in and out with out taking off the lid and losing more heat.

Check it out via the fantastic Slice pizza blog.

Lots of good reader comments and discussion about it.

Portable Oven at the Illinois State Fair

2010-08-22T12:08:00.002-04:00

If you're near the Illinois State Fair, you can get some real wood-oven pizza:

Wood-fired pizza at the Illinois State Fair

Pizza Napoletana Video from Italy

2010-08-06T18:16:00.004-04:00

It's video week here, apparently. I keep finding many tasty videos. Hat tip to Slice for finding this wonderful video. What you see here, the pizza, the oven, the passion - that's what many of us are trying to recreate in our back yards.

Making Pizza Napoletana

2010-08-05T13:04:00.001-04:00

Another tasty video from YouTube:

Video of Oven Construction

2010-08-04T13:01:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool stop-motion video of the construction of an oven:

Portable Farmers Market Oven in Washington

2010-08-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

Here is a nice article about a portable pizza oven in Washington:

Fire in the Hole

This little clay oven pizza trailer went to market.

The article really makes me want to do the portable pizza oven thing as a little startup business...

HGTV Online Video of a Pizza Oven

2010-07-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

Here is a nice video of a stucco-ed backyard pizza oven. The video shows the completed project, with landscaping, and also shows a bit of the construction process. The oven dome and everything was built from raw bricks, it wasn't a purchased or pre-fab dome.

The outdoor design, the poor guy, his parents named him Raison Cain.

Too bad they didn't show any actual pizzas, though!

No, You Can't Build a Wood Fire in Your Electric Oven

2010-07-30T19:00:00.000-04:00

This came up through an automated Google alert I get on pizza ovens, this question from this site:

Is it safe to put wood in a regular oven to make wood oven pizza at home?

The short answer is no. Hell no. The longer answer includes a "duh." Can you believe that?

There are a number of longer answers on the site, including "go to a restaurant" and this:

NO!!!!
You HAVE to have proper ventilation for any type of smoke. When you burn wood it produces carbon monoxide, that will kill you and anyone else in the house. You have to have an oven with an exhaust incorporated into it before you could do that.

Common sense isn't that uncommon, is it?

Man Tries Wood-Oven Cooking - Vows to Build One in Backyard

2010-07-28T22:18:00.000-04:00

Fun article from the Washington Post about a guy trying out a wood-oven, sealing the idea that he should build one in his backyard.

LINK:

Essay: Lovin' the big oven, especially for pizza

The crust was toasted, the crumb soft and pliable. When eaten with a couple of artisan cheeses I'd brought home from Vermont, the bread sealed the deal. I told my wife: "I think we're building a brick oven in the back yard. Maybe this summer

Featured in SmartMoney Magazine

2010-07-17T12:24:00.004-04:00

Thanks to this blog, I was called by a reporter from SmartMoney magazine back in May to talk about my backyard wood-burning pizza oven.

The article appears in the August issue: "Beefing Up Your BBQ" (it's an article about backyard kitchen options that go beyond the usual grilling).

The piece begins:

It’s never hard for neighbors to know when Mark Graban is hanging out on his patio—not with that telltale aromatic smoke rising over the fence. Indeed, most weekends, the 36-year-old health care consultant from Keller, Texas, and his wife are out puttering for hours in their outdoor kitchen, as they experiment with some favorite spicy Southwestern recipes. But they’re not always grilling up chipotle chicken or mesquite-smoked steaks. The pride and joy of their outdoor cooking efforts? Wood-fired pizza.

Puttering? Ha, I guess so.

The article doesn't go into great detail but ovens, but it's nice to have the idea mentioned in a general publication.

Here is a recent picture of my oven (no pictures appeared in the magazine):

And a recent pizza:

From Oven July 5

Pizza Picture from Florence

2010-07-09T10:11:00.000-04:00

This is a just a great picture - the oven, the pizza, the fun of making pizza.

FLORENCE, ITALY - JUNE 03: Simone Corsi of Italy and JIR Moto2 prepares pizza in Pizzeria Il Rustico during the pre-event 'Riders learn how to make pizza' during the Grand Prix of Italy on June 3, 2010 in Mugello Circuit near Florence, Italy. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)

DFW Home Oven Owner Makes "Best of" List

2010-07-08T08:22:00.003-04:00

Congrats to fellow home wood-burning oven owner Jay Jerrier. Jay is also a Forno Bravo oven owner in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and he was very helpful to me as I was investigating my own oven.

Jay ended up investing in a pizzeria and has a portable oven that he runs to full VPN standards.

Now he's getting some great recognition:

100 Favorite Dishes: Capricciosa Pizza At Il Cane Rosso Truck

From the article:

Bet you didn't know damn fine pizza is available in Dallas. You didn't? Read on! While the Big D has a long way to go before it can imaginably secure a spot along side other pizza capitals like New York, Chicago and, obviously Naples, Il Cane Rosso Truck certainly helps the cause. Owner JayJerrier has been serving Neapolitan-style pies from his mobile pizza oven since March 2009. It's hard to go wrong with any of the classically made pies; however, the pie in the sky is the elaborate Capricciosa, composed of San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, prosciuotto cotto, artichokes, olives, mushrooms and basil.

Congrats to Jay!

Making Pizza July 5

2010-07-05T23:11:00.005-04:00

First time making pizza after coming back from two weeks in Italy. I'll blog soon about the pizza that we had there, including an amazing thin-crust zucchini pizza that we had on the street in Rome. That's one pizza I tried to recreate tonight with pretty good results. I rolled out the dough much thinner than my usual Napoli style pizza that never touches a rolling pin.

From Oven July 5

Brad Pitt Hires Portable Pizza Oven

2010-05-25T14:10:00.000-04:00

This article, "Brad Pitt orders for Pizza chefs" tells a story about the Hollywood. Highlights from the article (click on the link for the whole story):

Brad arranged for a mobile husband-and-wife pizza operation to drive over. They have a wood-fired oven in a van.

Brad enjoyed it so much he tipped the couple 2,000 Euros," the source added.

UK Celebs Love Pizza Ovens

2010-05-23T14:02:00.002-04:00

From this article in the UK news: "The BBQ is dead - long live the pizza oven," a number of celebrities express their love for pizza ovens.

Wood-burning pizza ovens are taking over from barbecues with celebrity owners already including Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Jamie Oliver and Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie.

Paltrow said:

Gwyneth, 37, took a break from her notoriously strict macrobiotic diet to try out an outdoor oven.

"We have a wood-burning pizza oven in our London garden. I'm using the oven a lot. You can cook anything in there. It's amazing."

It IS amazing. Even as a non-celebrity, I love our backyard pizza oven.

Pizza Making Kid

2010-04-25T15:01:00.002-04:00

Saw this on CNN... the kid is lucky to have access to wood-burning ovens! Glad he wants to teach other kids how to make pizza. He's certainly not lacking in pizza-making confidence!

A College Dorm with a Pizza Oven

2010-02-15T12:59:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize that a wood-burning oven was environmentally friendly or "green." That's not at all the reason why I love my home oven.

Apparently it is green to a bunch of students at the University of Vermont. Either way, good for them.

Sad News About Pizzeria Bianco

2010-01-28T08:11:00.003-05:00

When my wife and I ate at Pizzeria Bianco in December, we were told Chris left early because he wasn't feeling well.

Turns out to be a very sad story that Chris has had to quit making pizza due to really severe asthma. I say "sad," not as a customer, but I feel sad for Chris personally that he is having to step away from something he has been so passionate about.

From the Arizona Republic:

Chris Bianco no longer making pizzas

From the Slice blog, a statement from Chris:

Statement from Chris Bianco Regarding Absence from Pizzeria Bianco

Best wishes to Chris, I'm hoping he takes care of the most important thing -- his health.

A Huge Oven Fire in 2 Minutes

2010-01-09T20:26:00.003-05:00

Well, two minutes after lighting... here's some technique I'm looking forward to trying in my oven:

Wood Burning Pizza Podcast #3 - A Very Belated Christmas

2010-01-08T22:52:00.004-05:00

Podcast #3 is another discussion with Michael Gerard, the chef and owner of WildWood Wood Fired Ovens & BBQ. In an episode recorded right before Christmas (sorry for the delay), Michael talks about what they cooked in the oven for their company Christmas party.

MP3 File

The food included:

Fingerling roasted potatoes, quartered, tossed in peanut oil, served with creamy Roquefort dressing
Salt-crusted whole red snapper
Shrimp scampi
Bananas foster

Michael talks about the menu and the technique of working with oven. Again, sorry for the delay, think of this as being very early for Christmas 2010.

Links to WildWood:

I hope to do more of these with Michael, so please let me know if you have any questions for future episodes.

To subscribe via RSS, click here.

My Last Visit to Pizzeria Bianco, sans Chris Bianco

2010-01-03T11:34:00.003-05:00

My wife and I were back in Phoenix and we had to make our pilgrimage to Pizzeria Bianco. I don't really have any pictures (shame on me), but here's our most recent story.

We arrived at about 4 pm and the line was already out to about Bar Bianco. People who got there at 3:30, ahead of us, didn't make the first seating either. Our plan is to always aim for the second seating, so we can hang out and enjoy Bar Bianco.

Friends always ask, "is it worth a three-hour wait?" Yes, and the wait isn't that bad if you're expecting it and plan for it. We saw Chris through the windows, prepping the oven and for the opening. At 5 PM, the hostess estimated we would get seated at 7:30, so we found comfy chairs in the Bar. There were a lot of visitors and newbies, including a couple from New York who we chatted with during our wait.

After a bottle of wine and some amazing snacks (crostini with local goat cheese and local EVOO and some American prosciutto), we got seated at 7 PM (the wait usually isn't as long as quoted). Perfect.

We were surprised to NOT see Chris in front of the oven. It turns out he was a bit under the weather, so he left early. This was our first time having a pizza that Chris hadn't touched (well, I'm assuming he made the dough and cheese).

Chris has an assistant who is more than capable, it turns out, of managing the oven... the pizzas tasted just as good as always:

Wise guy (white pizza w/ roasted onions, fennel sausage, and smoked mozzarella)
Rosa (white pizza w/ red onion, Arizona pistachios, and a bit of rosemary -- as usual, we asked to have salami added)

The roasted vegetable appetizer, with the usual soppresata and pecorino romano cheese, was ouststanding, as usual.

While it was disappointing to not see Chris, it was better than having them close early (or having a germy pizza, I suppose). I'm glad he has an understudy (as I thought Chris famously touched any pizza that was ever made there).

Chris Bianco on Jimmy Kimmel

2010-01-03T11:32:00.003-05:00

I just discovered this video from late 2008:

"If you want to stand in a long line, go to Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.... to get really drunk, go to Bar Bianco." - Jimmy Kimmel.

I love the moment when Jimmy asks Chris how he managed to stretch the dough so quickly. Chris says, "I dunno." The sign of a true master...

Off to Pizzeria Biancos!

2009-12-30T17:16:00.001-05:00

I'm lucky to be headed to the world-famous Pizzeria Bianco for dinner tonight. Here is a picture from a previous visit.

Adam's Top 8 Pizzas of 2009

2009-12-28T18:48:00.002-05:00

The Year That Was: Adam's Top 8 Pizzas of 2009 | Slice Pizza Blog

Check out Adam Kuban's summary of his best of 2009, from the Slice blog. Pizzeria Bianco is indeed transcendent. I do my best to copy the Rosa at home, but I make it with salami. Bianco's will also add salami to it, if you ask. I think the salami adds just a little extra bite to go with the saltiness of the pistachios...

Bianco's is the only one of the Top 8 that I've had, although I'm hoping to get to New Haven and Seattle in 2010.

Here's a picture of the most recent one I made, not that I'm angling for a position in Adam's best list (although he's welcome to join us in Texas on a pizza tour of the future).

Tonight's Non-Pizza : Carrots and Risotto

2009-11-27T22:05:00.006-05:00

Brick Oven Baked Risotto with Asparagus and Swiss Chard

I plan on making pizza Sunday, but tonight was another experiment in non-pizza cooking.

I built a fire with six logs and let it burn about 90 minutes. All of the initial soot burned off and the dome and floor were each about 750 to 800F. I let the embers burn down a bit to bring the temperature down and I cooked:

1) Honey-butter glazed carrots (with fresh sage added after the oven) -- took about 30 minutes

2) Risotto -- the recipe that I linked to at the top of the article (and here). This cooked covered for 30 minutes and then I let it go uncovered about 10 minutes to brown the parmesan that I added after the first 30 minutes.

Both turned out great. Definitely worth the trouble (not much trouble at all, really) of firing up the oven.

Wood Burning Pizza Podcast #2 - Michael Gerard, Thanksgiving Menu

2009-11-22T20:25:00.005-05:00

Podcast #2 is another interview with Michael Gerard, the chef and owner of WildWood Wood Fired Ovens & BBQ. Today, we talk about cooking a Thanksgiving dinner in your wood burning oven.

MP3 File

Here are some slides provided by WildWood, with pictures of their Thanksgiving cuisine:

Wildwood Test Kitchen Thanksgiving 11.19.09

View more presentations from Mark Graban.

I hope to do more of these with Michael, so please let me know if you have any questions for future episodes.

To subscribe via RSS, click here.

Mobile Firetruck Pizza Oven in CT

2009-11-21T10:24:00.004-05:00

Southington Pizzeria Gets A Mobile Edge In A Firetruck -- Courant.com

This is awesome! Renovated fire truck pizza ovens in CT.

The owner has two of them. Each truck cost $60,000 to purchase and modify.

The truck rents for $1,250 for a party of 50 people.

I'd be curious to run the numbers and see how long it takes to break even on that truck, including the food materials cost and his time.

Very cool concept, though.

Wood Burning Pizza Podcast #1- Michael Gerard, WildWood Ovens

2009-11-11T22:12:00.005-05:00

Welcome to a new experiment - a Wood Burning Pizza Podcast!

This is an interview with Michael Gerard, the chef and owner of WildWood Wood Fired Ovens & BBQ: htt p://www.wildwoodovens.com/.

MP3 File

I hope to do more of these with Michael, so please let me know if you have any questions for future episodes.

To subscribe via RSS, click here.

Pizzas from Halloween

2009-11-08T21:51:00.001-05:00

Joe Montana is Selling his Oven (and Home)

2009-11-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

Where Joe Montana Kicks Back - WSJ.com

You can own the wood burning oven of NFL legend Joe Montana... oh, if you have $49M to buy his Tuscan-style estate in Northern California.

"Since retiring, Mr. Montana has been attending his sons' school football practices, cooking prime rib in a pizza oven and visiting French flea markets and Italian villas with his wife."

Quite the life!

Md. Man Builds Wood-Fired Pizza Oven In His Yard

2009-10-25T18:09:00.002-05:00

Article from Maryland

I can relate to how John feels about "real" pizza:

No American version could compare, he said.

Cangemi was so obsessed with the pizza that he built his own wood-fired pizza oven in his backyard, off Howell Road. The oven was completed about three and a half years ago and took him around four months to build.

Another pizza obsessed crazy who builds his own oven :-) I'm impressed that he could actually build it himself (I had to hire people) and that he could do the design and tile work himself.

Videos from Wildwood Ovens

2009-10-18T22:00:00.004-04:00

I've just started watching this series of videos from Wildwood Ovens, including this one on starting your fire:

The whole series is on YouTube or you can find the videos on their web page.

A "Franken-Webber" Oven?

2009-09-09T11:33:00.000-04:00

Pizzahacker: 1000 Degrees and Rising - San Francisco Restaurants and Dining - SFoodie

Interesting... here's a guy who claims a 1000 degree hybrid wood burning oven built off of a Webber grill. Wood burning ovens or the masses???

My Oven Featured on the "Slice" Blog

2009-09-02T09:03:00.002-04:00

Here's a link to a post on the "Slice" pizza blog about my oven, including the full story of the mishaps, troubles, and tribulations involved in getting this oven built.

Check out Adam Kuban's whole series of posts about home pizza ovens around the country.

Boston Globe - Build Your Own Oven

2009-08-12T12:07:00.001-04:00

Making a pizza oven in the backyard - The Boston Globe

Nice articles and pictures from the Boston Globe if you want to build your own oven with a group of friends!

How to Build a Backyard Oven

2009-08-11T19:16:00.001-04:00

Build a Backyard Wood-Fired Pompeii Oven - DIY - Lifehacker

Nice feature here from Lifehacker.com and great pictures. Check it out.

Sweet Mobile Truck Oven

2009-07-19T19:24:00.001-04:00

Jim Lahey’s pizza truck is a real beaut

What a great looking portable oven... a 1946 Harvester truck. Sweet.

A Portable Oven in Ohio

2009-06-22T07:06:00.002-04:00

Grilling pizza or having it baked for you in a portable oven are new ways to enjoy a favorite food -

Nice article from the Cleveland paper...

Paluckas, a baker by trade, makes his version in a wood-fired oven he built himself and rolls to parties around town. Terry Frick, the pizza bagel lady at the West Side Market, sells a portable kit with a precooked crust that can go home, to a party or to a grill at a public park. Hudson cooking instructor Catherine St. John teaches her students how to avoid a hot summer kitchen and slap raw dough on the grill in the back yard.

The results can be very, very good.

The article gives some details about his dough making and how he partnered with someone to make this into a real business. There are also some tips on grilling pizza for those without a wood burning oven.

Chris Bianco Recipes and Methods

2009-04-16T16:26:00.000-04:00

Pizzeria Bianco chef's tips and recipes in 'Martha Stewart Living'

Very exciting to see this online and in the magazine.

Here's the link to recipes (including making dough and pizza recipes) at Martha Stewart online.

I'll dig into it more and maybe blog about more highlights and specific links later.

Article from Little Rock Paper

2009-04-15T08:47:00.000-04:00

Creating a home pizza oven is well worth it

Not the most detailed article, but "full details" are coming in a longer article tomorrow?

Short of remodeling your kitchen or constructing a wood-fired brick oven in your backyard (that’s assuming you have a backyard and the necessary permits), great homemade pizza is just not going to happen at home.

At least that’s the theory. But it turns out that great pizza is possible at home with some firebricks and a few ceramic tiles or a pizza stone.

Pizza Oven Causes Restaurant Fire

2009-04-12T13:55:00.001-04:00

Pizza Oven Blamed For Barre Blaze - News Story - WPTZ Plattsburgh

Gotta be careful with a wood oven inside an old historic building:

"All Fired Up" went up in smoke around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.The Barre City Fire Chief Peter John said it started in one of the restaurant's wood-fired brick pizza ovens.

Another Portable Oven - in CA

2009-03-12T22:49:00.004-04:00

Portable pizza a hit at parties - Rocklin

An oven in California, created by an inventive man who was laid off by a tech company:

Rocklin resident Scott Thorson and his family launched the business in October of last year and have been making pies for people at parties, sporting events and business socials ever since.

His 3,900-pound trailer holds the wood-fired oven, coolers full of toppings and a portable working space, and can get just about anywhere – hitched to his car.

The pizzas are made from scratch on-site – from rolling the dough, loading up the toppings, baking the pie and serving it – cooked for approximately two minutes in the oven, heated to between 750 and 900 degrees.

A Portable Oven in Dallas!

2009-03-04T07:11:00.003-05:00

Dallas - City of Ate - Running On Pizza

Congrats to Jay Jerrier, who helped me with advice on getting my home pizza oven going, on his new portable oven.

The direct website is here. Be sure to check out the linked Facebook page with some awesome pictures.

He can take this mobile oven anywhere in the DFW area to make true VPN pizzas for your events or parties.

Jay is also a partner in Southlake's Campania Pizza.

Alan Scott, 72, Artisan of the Brick Oven, Dies

2009-02-14T12:10:00.001-05:00

Alan Scott, 72, Artisan of the Brick Oven, Dies - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com:

Alan Scott, whose blacksmith’s skill in using radiant heat led to a revival of the ancient craft of building brick ovens, allowing bakers to turn out bread with luxuriously moist interiors and crisp crusts, died Jan. 26 in Tasmania, Australia. He was 72.

....

Several thousand amateur bread bakers and thin-crust pizza makers now have backyard brick ovens, many with cathedral-like arches, that were built either by Mr. Scott, with Mr. Scott or according to specifications he laid out with his protégé Daniel Wing in their 1999 book, “The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens” (Chelsea Green Publishing).

Pizza Oven Fire

2009-02-11T08:38:00.002-05:00

Durant Daily Democrat - Your source for local news, classifieds, business listings and events in Durant, Oklahoma. - Durant

Firefighters were dispatched to a pool house Monday after smoke was observed coming from the structure.

When firefighters arrived at 1:46 p.m. to the home at 225 Red Bud Lane, they saw a small amount of smoke coming from the pool house.

No flames were visible, so firefighters used a thermal imaging camera and determined the fire was between brick and plywood walls. The homeowner told firefighters he cooked pizza in a brick oven the evening before.

Due to the chimney’s close proximity to the wood framing, the heat caused the wood to smolder and then ignite hours later, according to the fire department. There was no damage.

A similar thing happened with my oven in early 2007. The builders framed it in wood, the oven and the chimney. They insisted, over my protests, that this was OK. It turned out not to be. As the wood dried with each firing of my oven, it eventually caught fire on the 5th fire or so. The fire burned inside the encased stone, as you can see below:

The builders were true to their word and re-built it, framing it in metal this time and there have been no problems since.

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Fired Up the Oven Yesterday!

2009-01-26T22:08:00.002-05:00

Fired up the oven yesterday, to practice before a super bowl party next week...

Another Trailer Oven

2008-11-08T08:42:00.003-05:00

Pizza From Scratch - First, Bricks and a Trailer - NYTimes.com

I'm going to have to get into this business someday... here's another portable oven, this time NYC.

The pizza trailer is not without precedent. Two years ago Joel Baecker, a veteran of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and his wife, Naomi Crawford, began hauling a wood-fired oven to farmers’ markets in the Bay Area and Sonoma County.
Farther north, another couple, Marshall and Errin Byrd Jett, operate a fleet of mobile ovens for Veraci Pizza, which is based in Seattle. The company’s dome-shaped devices, emblazoned with diamond-shaped tiles and given affectionate nicknames like Fat Boy and Queen Mary, prove that ugliness is no prerequisite for portable ovens.

Very cool!

A Pizza Video

2008-10-25T11:12:00.002-04:00

A video from James at Forno Bravo (the outstanding company I bought my oven from):

City Tries to Ban Outdoor Wood Ovens?

2008-10-10T08:06:00.001-04:00

Outdoor cooking a smoldering issue - The Connecticut Post Online

I wonder if this is an issue anywhere else in the country. In many states, fires used for cooking are exempt from bans or regulation. Some people in a Connecticut town are bothered by a neighbor's oven:

Several residents complained to the Board of Aldermen earlier this week that the smoky fires are aggravating asthma and other breathing problems and that the odor is keeping neighbors indoors.

A brick, wood-fired pizza oven with a 6-foot-tall stack in a Hawley Avenue backyard is a nuisance for residents of a four-unit apartment house next door. "He has to burn wood in it for three hours just to get it hot enough,'' one of the residents said. "The smell when he's making pizza is great, but not all of the smoke and the burning wood that goes with it.''

I'm surprised to hear about the smoke issue. I know my oven smokes a bit at first, but when it's burning hot, there's virtually no smoke. Have any of you with a wood oven had neighbors complain?

A Small Wood Oven for $2k

2008-09-26T09:15:00.000-04:00

Primavera60 Assembled 24" Wood Pizza Oven :: Residential Pizza Ovens :: Forno Bravo Store

10 Reasons to Buy a Primavera Beehive Oven

Forno Bravo is the company in California that I bought my wood-burning oven from (a 39" Artigiano oven).

They are now offering a nice-looking, smaller, inexpensive (relatively) wood-burning model that might be a good alternative for folks.

This oven is complete and ready to use for just under $2,000. With my oven, I had to pay for contractors to pour a foundation, build a hearth, and other stonework -- well over the cost of the oven itself.

Now you couldn't do a huge party with this oven (one pizza at a time), but for a family or small gathering, this might be worth looking into.

Plus, the people at Forno Bravo are outstanding and they make customer service a real priority.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Her Pizza Oven

2008-09-24T06:34:00.000-04:00

Gwyneth Paltrow Just Says 'No' to Personal Chefs - Gwyneth Paltrow : People.com:

No pictures of her with the oven, unfortunately:

"'Breads and pizzas is what I'm cooking and we all love it,' she said. 'We have a wood burning pizza oven in our garden. Right now the weather is nice in London, so I'm using that oven a lot. You can cook anything in there. It's amazing.'"

A Great Looking Oven

2008-09-22T22:54:00.000-04:00

Outdoor Kitchens and Baths Design

Very nice:

A New Vendor of Ovens

2008-09-21T22:09:00.001-04:00

Burlington firm partners to manufacture outdoor pizza ovens - Small Business Times

"Wood-fired pizza ovens are one the hottest trends we're seeing in outdoor living for 2009," said Joe Raboine, president of Harmony Outdoor Living.

So we have a new vendor of pre-fab ovens. I hope the trend spreads!

Building an Oven for Your Daughter's Wedding Reception

2008-09-14T21:20:00.002-04:00

Everyone's dream - Dishing - Boston.com

Quite a story from a Boston Globe blog about a man who built a "Roman oven" in his backyard so he could use it for her wedding reception. There are some great pictures on the site too.

My colleague Sue DiManno told me about an unusual wedding reception her sister, Amy Chessia, threw in their back yard in Scituate for her daughter, Morgan, in late August. Amy's partner, Eric Stamp, built this oven from a book he got for Christmas.

A Roman oven, apparently, has no chimney or venting out in front of it. Simple design, but I'm sure it works well.

A Gorgeous Oven Set Up

2008-08-24T12:01:00.002-04:00

Truth & Beauty :: HomePortfolio Blogs » Milano Wood Fired Oven from Wildwood Ovens

A great looking integration of outdoor kitchen and oven.

Competition from a Gas Oven?

2008-07-24T20:06:00.003-04:00

The Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven by Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Here's an interesting concept... a $4,000 tabletop gas-powered outdoor pizza oven. It has a stone floor and the maker claims it heats up quickly. My wood-burning oven takes about 2 hours to get to a full 800-900F. But still, pizza is hardly a "spontaneous" event if you're making your own dough, like I do (something I have to do the day before).

The webpage talks about a wood tray that somehow imparts more "wood flavor" than a wood-burning oven. I don't know if "flavor" comes from my wood burning oven. At pizza-making temperatures, there's no smoke -- just flame and heat. It's smoke that would impart flavor, right? Isn't that why you add smoking wood chips to a barbeque?

Has anyone seen one of these in action?

I still like the romance of my wood burning flame... my oven was more expensive than this, but I don't regret the purchase for a minute.

I'd Never Give Up Control of MY Oven!

2008-07-22T13:37:00.003-04:00

Pizza and a movie, all grown up - Los Angeles Times (pictures)

Article -- Everybody loves Phil Rosenthal's movie night

This is quite the gourmet, high-end Hollywood backyard in this article, the pizza oven owned by the creator of the show "Everyone Loves Raymond."

From the article:

IT'S THE hottest day of the year -- 91 degrees -- and Phil Rosenthal is stacking almond wood kindling in the pizza oven of his Hancock Park home. In little more than an hour, a cook from Pizzeria Mozza will arrive, as he does most Sunday nights, and begin kneading dough and sprinkling cheese for the 25 to 30 guests who come for movie night.

A man I can admire -- I fired up my oven last Saturday on a 98 degree afternoon! It's never too hot for pizza. So he kneads dough... but hiring a chef? Even one from the famous Pizzeria Mozza? OK, so he does tend to his own oven... but still, part of what I enjoy the most is making my own pizzas. I'd never want to outsource that... well, unless Chris Bianco was visiting.

Check out the article for descriptions of many fancy, gourmet pizza toppings. And, it is L.A. after all, so the article is just as much about the Hollywood folks who were eating the pizza as there was about the pizza itself.

Be sure to also check out the pictures link!!

From Backyard to Restaurant

2008-07-13T11:22:00.002-04:00

Star Community Newspapers - True Italian Pizza

Here's an article about a friend in the home wood burning pizza oven world, Jay Jerrier. He advised me on my oven, as he previously bought from my supplier, Forno Bravo.

He started with a home oven, and is now involved in the restaurant business, with a pizzeria near my home in Texas.

Pizza started out as a hobby for Jerrier.

“I only like to cook the things I like to eat,” Jerrier said. “I have a wood burning oven in my back yard and for a long time made a lot of really bad pizza.”

Once Jerrier realized his true passion was pizza he set about taking all the steps to make the best Neapolitan pizza ever. Those step including going through a program at Vera Pizza Napoletana in California.

Check out Campagna Pizza in Southlake, if you get a chance.

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Another Portable Oven

2008-06-26T20:00:00.002-04:00

Chow Bella - Friday night takeout: Wood-fired pizzas from chef Vincent Guerithault

This is a real trend, don't you think? Now it's Phoenix AZ that has a portable oven business. Well, it's a trailer that's always parked behind the same restaurant... the creation of Vincent Guerithault.

The award-winning chef/restaurateur has just launched Vincent's Back Door, a once-a-week pizza takeout service located just where you'd expect: right behind his eponymous fine dining restaurant on Camelback.

From 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday nights, customers can stop by and choose from more than a dozen thin-crust pizzas, including Margherita, Tarte Flambee (with cream, bacon, and thyme -- sounds delish), and Ratatouille (with tomato, pesto, mozzarella, and mixed veggies).

An Oven on Flickr

2008-06-24T21:44:00.001-04:00

Wood Fired Pizza Oven on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Just a single photo, I believe, but nice.

A Basement Oven in Italy

2008-06-16T13:51:00.001-04:00

Playbiker - Iron Horse » BACK HOME, IN PILA

Wow, the pizza looks incredible. I can't imagine having a wood burning oven right inside a house.

The linked site is mainly about mountain biking, but they got a gorgeous pizza photo in addition to the trail riding photos.

"Pizza Oven Project" Blog

2008-06-15T13:28:00.002-04:00

Pizza Oven Project:

Here's a blog that's similar to mine, written by Dzembu Gaijin, in the Seattle area. He writes about his experiences with and outputs from his home oven.

I need to post more pictures of my own pizza handy work. I'm on the road for work far too much right now, but I am going to fire my oven up next weekend. I'll post pictures!

I love this picture of his oven!

A Portable Pizza Oven

2008-06-08T06:48:00.003-04:00

Pizza Ovens on Wheels: The Traveling Wood-Burning Pizza Ovens of Veraci Pizza | Slice Pizza Blog

I'd love to investigate doing something like as a business some day. Might be a good way of bootstrapping your way into a full blown pizzeria restaurant?'

Check out the link for pictures and information about the people who have the portable ovens in Seattle (Veraci Pizza). They go to farmers markets and cook up pizzas with fresh ingredients from there. Brilliant!

A Back Yard Oven in NH

2008-06-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

New Hampshire Magazine

Here's a nice overview article with some information about how to build an oven. They talk about baking bread in addition to making pizzas.

The caption to the photo:

Allison Kerwin checks to see if the pizza is ready in her backyard adobe oven. She invites friends to bring their own dough to bake when she fires it up several times a year.

Just "several times a year"??? Oh, I hope she gets to use it more often than that!!

My Renewable Energy Technology, um Oven

2008-05-05T22:53:00.002-04:00

Backyard pizza oven cooks up trouble with community ban -- OrlandoSentinel.com

I'm glad I don't have trouble from my HOA about my oven like this guy in Florida does. Nice looking oven, though (check out the link). He's looking to get an exemption since the wood burning oven might technically count as a renewable energy technology. State law vs HOA...

Dobis uses leftover wood from his son's lawn-care company to fuel the oven. He says he also saves energy by not using his conventional oven.

The energy law doesn't mention ovens, but Marguerite Jordan, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed that a wood-burning stove "is an example of a renewable energy technology."

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Quick Rankings of DFW Brick Oven Pizza

2008-03-29T14:17:00.002-04:00

I'll have to post some reviews, but my wife and I have been on quite the tour of local brick oven pizza restaurants -- gas, coal, and wood ovens.

Our rankings:

Olivella's (Dallas) - wood
Brix (Fort Worth) - gas
Grimaldi's (Dallas) - coal
Coal Vines (Southlake) - coal
Campania (Southlake) - wood
Fireside Pies (Grapevine) - wood/gas

Firing up the Oven Today!

2008-03-22T11:51:00.001-04:00

It's supposed to be 72F and sunny today, having a group of fellow alumni from MIT over for a pizza party!

A Snowy Oven in Texas

2008-03-06T19:50:00.000-05:00

We had our second snowfall for the week in north Texas... a snowy pizza oven in my backyard.

A Video of Chris Bianco

2008-02-22T19:06:00.000-05:00

Found on Youtube...

A Valentine's Day Pizza

2008-02-13T09:48:00.001-05:00

Pizza puzzle | Ann Mah

Pretty appropriate for Valentine's Day, don't you think? Check out Ann's blog for a photo of an Italian pizza oven, as well.

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A Wood Burning Chain?

2008-01-28T19:39:00.000-05:00

Pizza chain seeks local franchisees - Roanoke.com

Has anyone ever heard of a 10-restaurant chain called Brixx, in the Carolinas? Anything that helps spread the idea of wood-burning oven pizza is OK by me. A picture from their website is below. Is that a gas/wood oven?

Lombardi's - Manhattan

2008-01-27T13:01:00.001-05:00

Our 2nd stop on our NYC pizza tour was the famous Lombardi's on Spring Street in Manhattan, the birthplace of pizza in America. They started making pizza in 1905.

A plaque outside the restaurant.

Here is our pizza with ricotta, chopped basil, and pancetta. We like the crust better than Grimaldi's, but just slightly, having a great snap to it. The tomato sauce was about the same (great fresh flavor) as Grimaldi's, but the mozzarella wasn't quite as good (of course it might have been overpowered by the slight sweetness of the ricotta). The pancetta had good flavor, but we prefer a slightly crispy pancetta on pizza.

Here is the bottom of the crust. The atmosphere in Lombardi''s was great, the restaurant seems like a bunch of little rooms (probably the result of expansion over time), so even though it's a fairly large place, it's fairly intimate. On our way to being seated, we were able to walk right through the kitchen, getting a glance at their coal-fired oven. Unlike the Johnny Cash that was playing at Grimaldi's, Lombardi's had the Sirus Frank Sinatra station playing, which created the perfect mood.

Grimaldi's - Brooklyn

2008-01-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

The first stop on our tour was Grimaldi's, just across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan (map), a pretty inexpensive cab ride from the Theater District. We arrived at 11:15 AM, waiting for an 11:30 opening, to avoid what can be long waits. Part of the charm, I suppose, is the unfortunately crumbling tile out front (a sign that used to read as the original "Patsy Grimaldi's" before a family split that led to this being "Grimdaldi's" and another pizzeria being "Patsy's").

Here's another shot from out in front as we waited (click on any photo for a larger image).

They didn't open until about 11:40, but I guess anticipation makes the pizza taste better?

Here is a shot inside the restaurant as we waited... it didn't start filling up until noon or so. Even with the Sinatra photos all over the one wall, Johnny Cash was playing... we love Johnny Cash, but it somehow didn't fit the scene.

Here is our pizza -- we ordered a regular sized "pie" with sausage and garlic. The crumbled sausage and roasted garlic, with a bit of diced basil, topped our crushed tomatoes and mozzarella.

Side shot of my first piece... the crushed tomatoes had a very good fresh flavor and the mozzarella was the real standout, great flavor, very fresh. The crust had a good flavor, nice browning and just a bit of puffiness.

The browning on the bottom of the crust. This was thicker in the middle than Naples 45 (and Pizzeria Bianco), so it was just a bit doughier, but very tasty.

A shot of the place as we left at about 12:30. Definitely worth the trip, outstanding pizza... but we left thinking we still preferred the wood-burning oven style at Naples 45 and Biancos. Still, we were thankful for having visited such a historic pizzeria. Decent, efficient service... a carafe of the house red... a good time.

Naples 45 - NYC Wood Oven Pizza

2008-01-16T14:34:00.000-05:00

Before our three-stop NYC Pizza Tour on Friday, my wife and I went to one NYC pizzeria for lunch today, to whet our appetites. We went to Naples 45, a restaurant a few blocks east of Times Square. It's a huge place, maybe 10x bigger than our benchmark, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.

Naples 45 has three wood-burning pizza ovens, two of which were running at a very busy lunch time rush. My oven at home is 39", these must have been at least 60", they were huge, with roaring fires going on the left-hand side. A few photos of an oven and a pizza maker (taken with permission, but no flash... so sorry for blurriness, are to the left, click for a larger image). Each oven is named, Stromboli, Vesuvius, and one other (I'm blanking out).

They bragged about their Caputo flour on the menu and had huge sacks of it in the pizza making area. Not pictured, but they had a long granite counter for spreading the dough, with dough balls sitting out in proofing boxes.

We ordered two individual 10-inch pizzas that had very good flavored crusts, with nice charring (a few black spots on the edges and underneath), but it was not real puffy (except for one spot on one pizza). I have the same problem with the Caputo flour at home... I think that's just a characteristic of that flour. It has great flavor, a nice crisp crunch, and spreads very thin (the Naples 45 pizza was amazingly thin in the middle).

Both pizzas had San marazano tomatoes (crushed, a nice simple sauce). Very good fresh tomato flavor, no sweetness or extra unnecessary sweetness. The classic margherita (left) was executed quite nicely -- flavorful mozzarella, and chopped basil, a good balance of flavors, overall.

We also had a pizza with ground fennel sausage and onions -- I liked it, my wife said "it tastes like the margharita, but with sausage, didn't think the onions added much. I liked the flavors, although the sausage (and other toppings, in general) weren't real evenly distributed, which made for inconsistent tastings of different pieces, I think.

All in all -- the crust was the highlight, we'd score it an 8 out of 10 for good flavor and crispness, cooked nicely, but losing points for not being real airy or puffy. Toppings and preparation score an 8 out of 10. Overall score is 8 out of 10. If we weren't previously spoiled by Bianco's, this would have been a really outstanding pizza. We'd recommend it.

Service was quick and efficient, considering the 12 noon rush. We waited about 5 minutes for a table of 2, service was relatively quick. The mixed greens salad was enough to share, with a nice basic vinaigrette and some cherry tomatoes.

My NYC Pizza Tour is Set

2008-01-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

So our plan is set for Friday's self-guided tour. So many pizzerias in New York, he had to just choose some and quit debating which ones.

Stop 1: Grimaldi's in Brooklyn:

Grimaldi's will be our first stop, trying to get there right when they open for lunch to avoid lines. They have a very classic coal oven that I'm very excited to see, very excited to try their pizza after seeing them featured on TV and reading so much about them.

Stop 2: Lombardi's

We'll come back to Manhattan to the oldest pizzeria in the country, Lombardi's. It's another coal oven pizzeria, lots of tradition and great reviews.

Stop 3: Ray's (the one on Prince Street)

NYC is famous for all of the different "Famous Ray's" and "Original Ray's." Every pizza place is called Ray's, it seems, or even "Not Ray's." This one on Prince Street is supposedly the real original and the best, classic NYC pizza.

Stop 4: Waldy's Pizza

At this point, we might just go look at the wood-burning oven they have here at Waldy's. We might not be able to eat any more after the previous three stops, we'll try to pace ourselves!

I'll give notes and photos from each place onc(e we return from New York. I'm also hoping to go to another one for lunch Wednesday (John's) and maybe Saturday night dinner (maybe Una Pizza Natoletana). Pizza, pizza, pizza!

A Gorgeous Oven

2008-01-12T08:16:00.000-05:00

A Look Inside Anthony Mangieri's Wood-Burning Pizza Oven -- New York Magazine

Wow, this is great, check out the link above or the thumbnail image for a detailed pic with some explanations of the highlighted areas. It's a handcrafted Italian oven at a New York City (East Village) pizza shop, Una Pizza Napoletana. Maybe I can get there on my pizza tour next Friday.

I'm going to try throwing some wood shavings on my fire before putting a pizza in, as Mangieri does, to see if that adds a smokier flavor.

NYC Pizza Tour - Where to Go for Wood Ovens?

2008-01-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

Next week, Friday the 18th, we're making up a "NYC Pizza Tour," planning on going to pizzerias all day. The focus will be on those that are historic/legendary or those with wood burning ovens.

Any recommendations? I'll take lots of notes and pictures and will will post my pizza journeys here.

Pizzeria Bianco on Google Maps

2008-01-06T20:13:00.001-05:00

Here's an interactive version of the Google Maps view of Pizzeria Bianco's... can't see directly in front since it's a closed street right in front, but you can see the parking lot and the side of the restaurant. You can click and scroll and view... but, no, you can't see their oven or Chris through the front of the place...

View Larger Map

My Oven on Google Maps

2008-01-05T23:40:00.000-05:00

This is pretty crazy... my pizza oven shows up in the google maps "Street View" feature... you can see the side and part of the chimney. Maybe it's clearer when you know what you're looking at like I am... it's in our backyard, but it's positioned so it's sort of visible looking at our house from an angle as your drive by (like the Google van did).

A Rotating Pizza Oven?

2008-01-02T11:02:00.000-05:00

Red Sauce Cravings « Counter Intelligence

This food critic writes:

Since I’m a pizza freak, I appreciate that Sorriso’s wood burning pizza oven rotates so the crust is evenly cooked and crispy. (The margherita I had the other night was fantastic, but I have to try another for consistency.

I've never heard of a rotating oven. How would that even work? The wood and fire would have to be off to the side, off of the rotating platform? Everyone else just rotates the pizzas manually, I don't think I'd want to give up control of allowing each side to cook evenly.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T17:24:00.000-05:00

To celebrate the new year, the pizza oven is firing and pre-heating... just making a few pizzas today, some classic margheritas and something new, a white pizza with caramelized onions, pancetta, brie, and truffle oil. Rich... it might be a bit much, but we'll see.

(Update: the pizzas were a bit rich, but were awesome... definitely a keeper, that recipe).

Best wishes to everyone for 2008.

I'm looking forward to a visit to Phoenix in February (including a stop at Pizzeria Bianco). I'm also going to be in NYC for a few days in January and plan to make my own little pizza tour, which I'll report on here.