Pizzacentric is the stories behind the food. Pizzacentric presents photographs, audio and video snippets, documentary journalism, essays, and observations about foods that I love and the cultures that surround those foods. At least half of my journal entries are about pizza.
Why pizza? Like plenty of other foods imported from far away, pizza has retained the simplicity of its origins but has also evolved and been adapted to our diverse tastes. Sometimes the adaptations have been slight (round pies larger than the Italian progenitors, cut into eighths and sold by the slice), and other times dramatically (like the garlicky and spicy Indo-Pak pizza at Elmhurst Famous in Queens).
Pizza is the perfect by-the-people-for-the-people food. Street vendors in Naples sold early pizze to the poor; Italians who immigrated to the United States, many of whom were factory workers, cooked their own pies at home, grandma style, or purchased them from bakeries or street vendors; and today, despite skyrocketing prices of nearly everything (including many of our pizza choices), the 99¢ slice has emerged as a cheap food option in Manhattan and the boroughs.
Of course, nothing is as affordable or as intimate as a home-cooked meal. I am fortunate enough to possess an open invitation to my friend Alex's house, where his mom cooks delicious baccalau (salt cod) stewed with peppers and onions, rice and beans with pumpkin and pigeon peas, and tostones (plantains twice-fried) - all to Puerto Rican perfection. (She also hooks me up with a tub of her phenomenal soffritto to go.)
Pizzacentric visits not only pizzerias, but also places like Alex's mom's apartment, cookware shops on the Bowery, calamari specialists, and home brewers.
If you enjoy the topics, the photographs, and stories, please subscribe by email or to one of the RSS feeds. If ever you'd like to throw in your 2¢ on something written, feel free to add comments to the posts. And if you'd like to contribute, or to make suggestions for pizzerias or other food spots I should cover, send me an email - I’d love to hear from you!