Attempting to make the best pizza possible is not a game … unless New York Magazine pits you up against the other guys who sling pomodoro n’ formaggio in a March Madness-like matrix that lays judgment on the best pies from coast to coast.
On last week’s Grub Street, the gang at NYMag played out pizzerias in an elimination round that began as a regional battle, with 16 teams, er, pizzerias, per region. Naming a winner in each showdown, pizzerias were tossed one-by-one. The battle ended up with four regional winners—Pizzeria Mozza, Great Lake,Motorino, and our very own Pizzeria Bianco.
Although the Grubbers didn’t take it to the final level and name a championship winner, it was a neat idea and from what we’ve sampled, really spot on. But as with most opinion pieces, it’s generating comments, and they’re damn hilarious: “For those of you that have dined @ Stella, hope you liked your soggy bottom pizza.” And some other guy who simply states: “Great Lakes f*ck all y’all.”
We judged the liquor by its dark amber color, smoky burn, and overall harshness.
But then we met Bulleit Bourbon and it single-handedly changed our perception of whiskey. Now we can drink the stuff neat or on the rocks, provided it’s something as smooth as Bulleit. Made by a former law man, Tom Bulleit, the Kentucky-based distillery produces the fastest growing small-batch bourbon in America.
He was in town yesterday to lead a tasting against other whiskeys for bar and restaurant owners and management, as well as liquor store owners and other potential gatekeepers of distribution. He uses a 175-year-old recipe created by his great-great-grandfather, and casually mentions aunts and uncles and other members of the family as he talks about the brands’ making. So just before the tasting, we sat down with Tom for something of a fireside chat. Cool, calm, dry, and extremely fun – that’s our chat, and that’s Bulleit Bourbon.
Alice Waters annoys the living sh*t out of me. We’re all in the middle of a recession, like we’re all going to start buying expensive organic food and running to the green market. There’s something very Khmer Rouge about Alice Waters that has become unrealistic … I’m suspicious of orthodoxy, the kind of orthodoxy when it comes to what you put in your mouth.” –Anthony Bourdain to Eater SF
Yesterday, we ran a little ditty about how items in specialty grocery stores are not life’s necessities. In today’s Wall Street Journal online, Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters essentially refuted that statement in an interview – claiming that yes, indeed, slow food-type living is a necessity. More so than your big, luxury car. But you can’t really have a discussion about Alice Waters without mentioning Anthony Bourdain, who as you can tell from the quote above, has had some issues in the past with her philosophies.
Towards the end of her interview (read it here), Waters addresses the absence of celebrity chefs in their restaurants and even relates the seduction to expand to any chef who opens a second location of their restaurant, especially ones that don’t take into account the local culture.
“If someone asked me to go to Arizona, I’d open a Mexican restaurant.But they want Chez Panisse there; they don’t want a Mexican restaurant. It seems so disconnected.” –Alice Waters
What’s all that mean? Besides that expanding chefs are essentially shunning locavore-ism, it means we’re not getting a Chez Panisse anytime soon.
Just when you thought this brutal economy couldn’t get any worse, Tha Man is stickin’ it us Main Streeters with a new tax. As of this morning, the City of Phoenix has decided to apply a 2% tax to our vital essentials of living – vegetables, meat, and milk – in area grocery stores. The tax will take effect April 1st of this year and is estimated to produce $62.5 million dollars by the end of 2011. Don’t get us wrong, we’re being prodded for a good reason—to save fire folk, policemen, and other related city jobs.
But does the revenue have to come from our love of Jennie-O and pineapples and 1% milk?
Ken Schnitzer, owner of the local trendy grocer, Luci’s Healthy Marketplace, shared his thoughts on the new increase with a reporter for The Arizona Republic, saying, “You can’t do that to people right now in this market. They’re being crunched in every possible way, and this was the only area they were not being taxed on.”
Couldn’t agree more, Mr. Schnitzer. But then he goes on to state: “… Obviously, this will hurt our sales because people can’t spend much money, and these are essentials that people need on a daily basis.” Woa. We’d hardly call artisanal cheeses, small-batch jellies, and specialty pastas “essentials,” unless you’re some foodie snob who can’t possibly live with those Barilla pasta noodles the commoners eat. (But we will admit, Luci’s Red Velvet Cake is kind of a life essential…)
Still, we think this tax should have been applied elsewhere. Oh well. Some have complained that EATERAZ doesn’t get out to Mesa enough for food coverage. Well, it looks like that we’ll be headed that way for groceries starting April 1!
Last Friday, EATERAZ’s David Tyda popped over Good Morning Arizona! because he just wanted to get to the meat of the matter … alright, alright, we’ll stop with the puns and say Thanks! Channel 3 for doing a segment on some of Tyda’s best burgers around town!.
He and Tara Hitchcock kicked off the segment with Don & Charlies, where Tyda runs up his cholesterol count with the butter-fried Mom’s Burger. Then they spoke about Bourbon Steak, chatting about their build-your-own burger program, after which Tyda said something nobody really got about McDonald’s. Then onto Fleming’s, where Tyda trips out over their giant mushroom cap on a bun. Finally, they spoke about Burger Studio in north Phoenix, where things are just kinda-sorta “eh.” But hey, GMAZ producer Kelly Deisner calls the shots and Tyda tends to do whatever she says. He’s putty around cute producers for whatever reason.
Twitter Us Now
Join Us On Facebook
