ny pizza: stewart schools trump

My brain, through 51% of its thinking hours, dwells upon the topic of pizza (or at least yeast). How did they get this crust that way, why does so-and-so layer the cheese below the sauce, what motivates pizza people.  From this obsession emerge (hopefully) interesting stories.  I'm told my capacity for waxing on the mundane is entertaining unto itself: not sure about this though ― I'm just me.

I do know that the topic of pizza in New York invites banter (synonym: arguments) amongst those passionate on the topic.  The media have done many pizzeria-related stories (usually along the lines of, which-is-the-best-pizza-to-have), as have outspoken pizza shop owners ("Hey, wood's better than coal."  "No, coal's better than wood."  "No gas is better than both."  “Mine’s a hybrid.”  “Grilled nails it.”) and we arrive at story lines as endless as the choices we have here ― choices that continue to expand (most recently, in the realm of Naples-style pizza ― tiny, high-priced delicious things of char and fresh mozzarella, with crusts that pizzaioli have nurtured according to Reinheitsgebot-like guidelines ― and that sometimes receive endorsement from one of the numerous self-proscribed Verified Neapolitan Pizza Organizations ― sign me up!!).

And then along comes Donald Trump, who brings Sarah Palin to a Famous Famiglia Pizzeria near Times Square.  (In 2010, a competition “The Apprentice” involved making pizzas at Famiglia.)

The Trump-Palin visit was laughable to Jon Stewart, so he ranted on Trump and raved on New York pizza in a way that eclipses the ho-hum details about oven types, rise times, perfect tomatoes, etc. -- getting to the heart of what makes New York pizza, New York pizza (and what makes pizza so New York) (and makes New York such a pizza town).  

While pizzacentric does not strive to echo stories already well-publicized, but Stewart presents pizza in the context of New York and does so with such streetwise veracity that ― in case you haven't caught it yet ― I've posted it here. Click the above screenshot to learn (and laugh) about the sacred meaning of pizza to New Yorkers.