🚀 go-pugleaf

cboes@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Christopher Boes) writes:

>What I intended to say is that the best pizza in the Washington area
>can be found at Generous George's Positive Pizza located at
>3006 Duke St.  Alexandria VA.

Now I don't mean to flame Mr. Boes in particular, but this type of post, which
seems to dominate this type of thread, is ridiculous! "Best" is a meaningless
adjective without a frame of reference. It is one thing to talk about the 
best local approximation of a particular regional style of pizza, or a
particular restaurant's pizza, but quite another to decree even which style
is "best"! Please, folks -- inform by >describing< and recommending,
but remember "De gustibus non disputandum est."

Now, as to Generous George's -- it bears no resemblance to pizza I've had
anywhere before, except for the fact that it consists of some foodstuff
served on top of a pizza crust. I live near there, go there occasionally, 
sometimes even enjoy their food, but I certainly don't consider it typical
of anything. It's unique in my experience.

Now I'll stick >my< neck out. As a frame of reference, my standard is NYC
street pizza (I had my very first pizza at the 1963 World's Fair at Flushing
Meadows, and got sick as a dog from it...): thin crust, crisp on the bottom
but not cracker-like, small amount of thick, dark tomato sauce, medium amount
of mozzarella with some parmesan blended in. Topping sliced thin (pepperoni)
or crumbled fine (sausage), cooked on >top< of the cheese. The closest local
approximation of NY/NJ traditional pizza I've had around DC is Luciano's, in
Tyson's Corner Shopping Center. It's about as good, to me, as a good (but
certainly not great) chain store pizza in northern New Jersey.

Incidentally, for anyone who's in that area, there's a unique pizza
experience in Princeton, NJ. Very thin crust, slightly yellowish mozzarella
(not a cheddar influence, either!), >wonderful< thin pepperoni, and a
mystifying house tradition of Rolling Rock beer, at Conti's, on
Witherspoon Street. I consider it worth the trip from Alexandria, but I'm an
extremist.

Any opinions on the four-cheese or fontina-based white pizzas at either
DiFrancesca's (sp?) in Frederick MD (outstandingly herbed) or Pines of Italy
in Crystal City (nice, outstandingly cheap)?

-- Larry