Showing posts with label Northlake Tavern and Pizza House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northlake Tavern and Pizza House. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

A Brief History of Pizza: The Dish that Conquered the World


Pizza, the way we know it today, is a derivation from focaccia (from the Latin word for fire), flat bread that has been prepared since antiquity in different forms and garnished with herbs, olives, fat, raisin, honey, and nuts.

The word pizza in Italian identifies any type of flat bread or pie-- fried or baked. Although you 'd find many types of pitas or pizzas around the Mediterranean, it is in Naples that pizza in the form we know it today first emerged, after the tomato appeared on the table in the 1700s. Naples has many records of pizza since around the year 1000; the first mentions call these flat breads laganae, and later they are referred to as picea. In those times, pizzas were dressed with garlic and olive oil, or cheese and anchovies, or small local fish. They were baked on the open fire and sometimes were closed in two, as a book, to form a calzone.

The chefs of those times ignored pizza because was considered a poor people's food, but the new combination with the tomato, when it entered the kitchen around the 1770s, must have raised some curiosity, even in the royal palace. Ferdinand I Bourbon, King of Naples, loved the simple food of the people and went to taste the pizzas made in the shop of Antonio Testa. His son Ferdinand II also liked all kind of popular food and he loved pizza to the point that he hired Domenico Testa, son of the now famous Antonio, to build a pizza oven in the royal palace of Capodimonte.

Pizza became very popular, earning its place in Neapolitan folklore. Economical and simple, it turned into the food for all people, even sold on the streets, as shown in many illustrations of the time.

A famous episode extended the popularity of pizza beyond the limits of the city of Naples. They prepared three pizzas, typical of that time: one with cheese and basil; one with garlic, tomato, and oil; and one with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. Since then this pizza is known as Pizza Margherita, and Don Raffaele is credited with its invention, even if we know that it already existed for a long time.

Superior pizzas are considered those obtained by moderate variations of the simplest and most popular: Pizza Napoletana with tomato, garlic, oil, and oregano; Pizza Margherita; Pizza Marinara with tomato, olives, anchovies, and capers; and Pizza Four Seasons, divided in four quadrants, each dressed in a different way. Pizza with hot salami, the American pepperoni pizza, is instead found in the Calabria region south of Naples, where this type of hot sausage is produced.

You 'd find many types of pitas or pizzas around the Mediterranean, it is in Naples that pizza in the form we know it today first emerged, after the tomato appeared on the table in the 1700s. Since then this pizza is known as Pizza Margherita, and Don Raffaele is credited with its invention, even if we know that it already existed for a long time.

Superior pizzas are considered those obtained by moderate variations of the simplest and most popular: Pizza Napoletana with tomato, garlic, oil, and oregano; Pizza Margherita; Pizza Marinara with tomato, capers, anchovies, and olives; and Pizza Four Seasons, divided in four quadrants, each dressed in a different way. Pizza with hot salami, the American pepperoni pizza, is instead found in the Calabria region south of Naples, where this type of hot sausage is produced.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

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Expert Picks For Local Flavor




Seattle native and Louisville softball alumn Hannah Kiyohara is excited about her Cardinals playing in her hometown. She put together her expert picks for local flavor for all the Louisville fans heading to the great Northwest.


For all you dedicated Cardinal fans flying out west this weekend to my hometown of Seattle, Washington, I have narrowed down three places you must eat and three places you must see during your stay.

BEST PLACES TO EAT
1. Northlake Tavern and Pizza House (660 NE Northlake Way) - This is a shout out to all you pizza lovers out there. You know who you are. This is widely regarded as the best pizza in town. It ranks up there pretty high on my list, and I've never met a pizza I didn't like.

2. Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar (Pike Place Market) - Located in the famous Pike Place Market I would recommend this as a fantastic breakfast place with a seafood twist. Enjoy some crab and shrimp cake benedict while over looking some amazing views of the Puget Sound. Also for all you Sleepless in Seattle fans this restaurant was used as a location in the movie. Tom Hanks ate there, therefore you should eat there.

3. Dick's Drive In (500 Queen Anne Ave. N.) - If there is one thing that you NEED to take away from any of my recommendations, it is this one. This is my favorite burger place anywhere. Get the Deluxe burger, fries and a chocolate milkshake and you will understand. There are a couple different locations around Seattle but this one is a .8 mile walk from the KeyArena where the cards are playing. You're welcome.