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What an oddly biased list for something purporting to be "the best pizzerias in the world". :-( A zillion NY pizzerias, but only a handful from Naples and not

What an oddly biased list for something purporting to be "the best pizzerias in the world". :-( A zillion NY pizzerias, but only a handful from Naples and not a *single* non-Naples Italian place, much less anything in Europe except London. It's as if Roman-style pizza didn't even exist, much less anything between the two cities. Al Taglio entirely missing. And the non-NY US cities are given short shrift. Speaking from personal experience, the only listing in DC is for the extraordinary 2Amys, a Neapolitan shop in a class of its own compared to nearly all NY listings: but there are now many DC Neapolitan pizzerias of very high grade. No mention.

slow_donkey 5y ago
To be fair this is a very very old list dating back to 2006/2008 and these were the pizza names that came up constantly at that time - it's also only rating the shops that he personally traveled to which were predominantly NY/Neapolitan because that's likely what he was benchmarking his own restaurant against.
- killjoywashere 5y ago
  Can someone from Yelp or Google Maps weigh in here? I'll bet 2006 is not that old on the distribution of pizza places by age. probably not even right of median.
  - mypalmike 5y ago
    Neapolitan style pizza places have been popping up everywhere in the last decade. Jeff's website was one of the drivers of the movement.
    - soupfordummies 5y ago
      It's really wild, there was Varasano's and Antico in Atlanta. Antico was huge, it was like the pizza interloper sneaking in on the best restaruants list. Now, I can't even count how many Neapolitan-style spots there are down here. And most of them are really good too!
      - wil421 5y ago
        I immediately thought of Anitco when I saw the link. Didn't know about Varasanos but I will check it out. Next time I make pizzas on my Big Green Egg I am going to try his recipe. No need for an oven when I can fire the egg up to whatever temp I want.
smt88 5y ago
There's a lot to this article beyond his personal taste in pizzerias. I think if you look past that part, you'll find a lot that's interesting about it.
diego_moita 5y ago
Engineers think cooking is engineering, with only one correct method of doing it. Cooks think cooking is music, with endless variations and interpretations. There are very few cooks or musicians in this forum.
- iainmerrick 5y ago
  I think you’re over-generalising. By that definition, not even engineering is engineering! I bet there are more cooks and musicians here than you realise.
TylerE 5y ago
After seeing this article several times I actually went to the guy's restaurant in Atlanta a few years ago. It was ok... but overpriced and really nothing special. I've had better pizza at dozens of places.
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  What does better pizza mean to you?
  - TylerE 5y ago
    Well, everything. But it starts with a flavorful crust with just the right amount of char, good cheese, good sauce… The best I’ve had personally was 2 Amy’s in DC. The Settobello location in SLC running a pretty close second.
kelnos 5y ago
"The best $FOOD in the world" is going to be an inherently biased list, no matter how you dice it. Any time you see something like that, mentally append ", according to the taste and experiences of the author" to the title, if that lowers your blood pressure. Personally, I tend to agree with Varasano: I've never been to Naples, but I have been to Rome, and to my tastebuds, even US-cooked Neapolitan pizza is better than Roman pizza. But that's just it: that's just my opinion, based on my taste. Take it or leave it. You'll choose to leave it, no doubt, and that's ok. > there are now many DC Neapolitan pizzerias of very high grade This was written in 2008, so more recent establishments of course won't be listed.
- SeanLuke 5y ago
  > I've never been to Naples, but I have been to Rome, and to my tastebuds, even US-cooked Neapolitan pizza is better than Roman pizza. I think Dar Poeta is excellent, though it's halfway between Roman and Neapolitan. And Roman-style Al Taglio is a phenomenal thing when done right.
Hypergraphe 5y ago
That triggered me too.

slow_donkey 5y ago

To be fair this is a very very old list dating back to 2006/2008 and these were the pizza names that came up constantly at that time - it's also only rating the shops that he personally traveled to which were predominantly NY/Neapolitan because that's likely what he was benchmarking his own restaurant against.

killjoywashere 5y ago
Can someone from Yelp or Google Maps weigh in here? I'll bet 2006 is not that old on the distribution of pizza places by age. probably not even right of median.
- mypalmike 5y ago
  Neapolitan style pizza places have been popping up everywhere in the last decade. Jeff's website was one of the drivers of the movement.
  - soupfordummies 5y ago
    It's really wild, there was Varasano's and Antico in Atlanta. Antico was huge, it was like the pizza interloper sneaking in on the best restaruants list. Now, I can't even count how many Neapolitan-style spots there are down here. And most of them are really good too!
    - wil421 5y ago
      I immediately thought of Anitco when I saw the link. Didn't know about Varasanos but I will check it out. Next time I make pizzas on my Big Green Egg I am going to try his recipe. No need for an oven when I can fire the egg up to whatever temp I want.

smt88 5y ago

There's a lot to this article beyond his personal taste in pizzerias. I think if you look past that part, you'll find a lot that's interesting about it.

diego_moita 5y ago

Engineers think cooking is engineering, with only one correct method of doing it. Cooks think cooking is music, with endless variations and interpretations. There are very few cooks or musicians in this forum.

iainmerrick 5y ago
I think you’re over-generalising. By that definition, not even engineering is engineering! I bet there are more cooks and musicians here than you realise.

TylerE 5y ago

After seeing this article several times I actually went to the guy's restaurant in Atlanta a few years ago. It was ok... but overpriced and really nothing special. I've had better pizza at dozens of places.

mixmastamyk 5y ago
What does better pizza mean to you?
- TylerE 5y ago
  Well, everything. But it starts with a flavorful crust with just the right amount of char, good cheese, good sauce… The best I’ve had personally was 2 Amy’s in DC. The Settobello location in SLC running a pretty close second.

kelnos 5y ago

"The best $FOOD in the world" is going to be an inherently biased list, no matter how you dice it. Any time you see something like that, mentally append ", according to the taste and experiences of the author" to the title, if that lowers your blood pressure. Personally, I tend to agree with Varasano: I've never been to Naples, but I have been to Rome, and to my tastebuds, even US-cooked Neapolitan pizza is better than Roman pizza. But that's just it: that's just my opinion, based on my taste. Take it or leave it. You'll choose to leave it, no doubt, and that's ok. > there are now many DC Neapolitan pizzerias of very high grade This was written in 2008, so more recent establishments of course won't be listed.

SeanLuke 5y ago
> I've never been to Naples, but I have been to Rome, and to my tastebuds, even US-cooked Neapolitan pizza is better than Roman pizza. I think Dar Poeta is excellent, though it's halfway between Roman and Neapolitan. And Roman-style Al Taglio is a phenomenal thing when done right.

Hypergraphe 5y ago

That triggered me too.