Review of Cousin Vinny's, Daphne, AL

Cousin Vinny’s (*1/2) ($ $)
1709 Main St.
Daphne, AL 36526
251-626-6082

In an area dominated by pizza franchises and chains, I am always encouraged to see small, unique pizzerias striving to hold up the New York style pizza traditions. Cousin Vinny’s in the quaint, old section of Daphne, Alabama hits the mark in a lot of areas, but with only “fair” quality, the pizza is not one of them.

Cousin Vinny’s located in an historic mercantile building in downtown Daphne. The space is a bit cramped, but charming and inviting. The narrow room, which contains a bar and seating area, successfully combines a classic pizzeria look with a hint of contemporary décor, making for a warm and cozy space to enjoy a meal or just a drink with friends.

The quality of the pizza at Cousin Vinny’s does not live up to the quality of the atmosphere. My repeated visits to Vinny’s, to include a very recent Italian sausage pie in December, have always left me disappointed in the pizza. Their pie is consistently flimsy due to being weighted down under too much cheese, masking the flavor of the other components (too much cheese, particularly processed cheese, being a common downfall of many otherwise decent New York style pies).

Breaking down the Cousin Vinny’s pie, I do find the crust and the sauce to be potentially strong aspects of the pizza. The crust, although not brick oven cooked, has a nice subtle flavor; approaches nicely charred on the bottom and, although not really displaying any slight crispness, certainly has potential. Unfortunately, the heavy-handed addition of toppings, particularly the cheese, seems to keep the center of the crust rather flimsy, and doesn’t allow the crust to cook to its potential.. The edges of the crust are a bit think in places, sometimes giving your slice a bready finish.

The sauce is a positive aspect of the pizza with a delicate flavor, visibly containing crushed tomatoes. The sauce is pleasingly light and not at all salty or over-seasoned; although a bit more basil and oregano would be nice. Again, as with the crust, the heavy application of cheese defeats the sauce…the taste never gets a chance to come through.

As pointed out, the cheese on the Vinny’s pie is applied much too heavily. It pretty much cancels out the other flavors of the pizza to the point of even dominating the aroma of the pie. The cheese used does not appear to be a natural mozzarella, and is a bit too pungent and salty for a well-balanced pizza.

The balance of the toppings, although a bit sparse, on the pizza was fresh and flavorful when picked off and sampled alone, and the well-seasoned Italian sausage was quite good. Unfortunately, as pointed out above, the cheese defeated any flavor these ingredients might have contributed to the whole pie.

The efficient and friendly service at Cousin Vinny’s is complimented by heavy utensils, high quality napkins, and a good selection of beers on tap and in the bottle. Making it a great spot for a drink and conversation; however, if you’re going for the pizza, you’ll very likely be disappointed.

Enjoy!

Review of Oz Pizza, East Point, Ga

Oz Pizza (**1/2) ($1/2)
2805 Main Street
East Point, Ga
Ph. 404-761-7006

The closest living relative of authentic Neapolitan pizza in the United States is the thin-crust, New York style pizza. These New York style pies, prepared at these hometown, neighborhood “joints” are really our stand-by. Oz Pizza, in East Point, Georgia, near the Atlanta Airport, keeps the tradition of the neighborhood pizza joint going.

For someone looking for unique quality in pizza, Oz Pizza’s combination of hometown pizza joint coziness, with a touch of urban quirkiness thrown in, gives it instant curb appeal. These type pizzerias have an instant leg up on their franchise and large-chain brethren as they are able to maintain the subtleties of pizza baking that come with obtaining ingredients in smaller quantities, as well as often having experienced pizza bakers in the kitchen as opposed to kitchen staff following the scientific kitchen methods and set recipes of the large franchises and chains.

So what about the Oz pizza? On this visit to Oz, I had an Italian sausage pizza with black olives and green peppers added. The sausage was good, not the best, as it had a slightly fatty flavor; however it was seasoned nicely. The other ingredients, although applied a bit too heavily, were fresh and cooked just enough. The overall flavor of the pie was good to very good.

The hand tossed, gas oven cooked crust is good too, and at times, very good. Some pizzerias cook in brick ovens, over wood or even coal fires, certainly taking the quality of the crust to the next level, but most, for practical reasons, use gas or electric ovens. Oz produces a variably thin, hand-tossed crust that is slightly crispy, nicely charred on the bottom, and yet pliable enough to fold over. The edges of the crust are doughy in spots, and this is undesirable because it makes the last few bites of your slice a bread stick! When ordering, I’ll often request the crust be made extra thin, asking the baker to avoid thick, doughy edges.

The sauce does not appear to be freshly made or display any significant signs of containing freshly crushed tomatoes; however, it is nicely seasoned with ample oregano and basil. A slight reduction of the salt content and addition of some form of sugar to cut the acidity of the sauce could improve the pies significantly.

The cheese on the Oz pie is good quality, processed mozzarella and is used sparingly enough not to overwhelm the general flavor of the pie or the other toppings. Keep in mind, cheese is the ingredient most often used in excess. A good pizza baker knows this and will try to balance the flavors of the pie. Oz does a very good job at achieving a nice flavor balance in its pies.

The space at this restaurant is cozy and inviting. It is not unusual to run across a Sunday afternoon Scrabble tournament going on here! The napkins and silverware are of very good quality, although you often have to ask for things like red pepper or grated cheese. The service is sometimes a bit rushed and inattentive but overall adequate. There is a good selection of beverages with the beer being somewhat pricey.

Well, if you find yourself in Atlanta and want a reliably good, to very good, New York style pizza experience, you can count on Oz Pizza!

Enjoy!

Review of Antico, Atlanta, Ga, September 2010

Antico (****) ($$)
1093 Hemphill Ave. NW
Atlanta, Ga

To find a pizzeria that prepares an authentic Neapolitan pizza, the direct ancestor of our very popular New York style pizza here in the United States, is the equivalent of any other hobbyist making that rare find. I recently discovered such a pie at Antico in midtown Atlanta, Georgia. In their “open” kitchen, the pizza bakers at Antico follow traditional preparation methods using prime ingredients, and the results are outstanding.

Some of the requirements for an authentic Neapolitan pizza include the use of mozzarella di bufula (mozzarella cheese made from water buffalo or yaks’ milk); soft-grained flour, water, fresh yeast and sea salt may be used for the dough; plum tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil; fresh or dried oregano for toppings and fresh garlic only on the pizza marinara. Neapolitan pizza must be baked in a wood burning oven at approximately 850 ° F, giving the crust its unique flatbread texture and smoky essence. Most American pizza establishments use a gas oven at around 550º F.

Does Antico hit the mark of authentic Neapolitan pie? Absolutely! I ordered the classic margarita pizza topped with tomato, basil and mozzarella di bufula. The crust was perfectly charred, at around 900 ˚ F, revealing hints of the hardwood fire, brick oven and the hardwood smoke without any burned flavor. This is very important because in an 850˚ to 900˚ F oven, the line between nicely charred and burned can be thin, and close attention of the baker is required to produce the desired “charred” crust. The crust also displayed a hint of crispiness and yet was pliable enough to roll the slice as you eat it. I really couldn’t identify a single flaw in the Antico crust, with the possible exception of it being slightly thick on the edges, but that is strictly a matter of taste, because some like to have that thicker piece of crust left to eat with olive oil.

The hand selected, crushed plum tomatoes distributed about the crust were fresh, hand-selected and made for a more subtle topping than common pizza sauce; no strong saucy flavor, at all! The tomatoes were complimented by fresh picked, tender basil distributed over the pie.

The cheese on the Antico pie was an excellent, imported natural mozzarella di bufala and was distributed onto the pie in quantity just right to impart its creamy texture and mild flavor throughout. This type of mozzarella can’t really be grated. It’s softer, stickier and less rubbery that processed, cow’s milk mozzarella used in most American pizza establishments.

The space at this restaurant is rustic, yet contemporary and hip; very relaxed. In-house diners sit at long communal tables set with commercial paper towels, and the pizzas are brought out from the kitchen area after being transferred to well-worn baking sheets. There is only one size pie available so this makes ordering simple and, of course, I believe adds to the consistent quality. You place your order and pay at the entrance counter, so service in minimal. Once you have your pizza you’re set! There is a self-service beverage cooler with various bottled waters and sodas and openers are distributed about the tables for those who wish to bring their own beer or wine. As far as getting there, if you often take public transportation, as I do, take the MARTA (Red Line) to the Midtown, Arts Center station and then walk up to 14th Street and get a taxi going west to Hemphill Ave. The MARTA bus route running from Midtown to Hemphill was recently discontinued.

Over a decade ago, the Italian government declared Neapolitan pizza a national heritage food and accordingly set standards for the origin, ingredients and preparation for this type of pizza to be considered authentic. It was given Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC or “regulated status”). The DOC status, and corresponding product marking, has long been associated with other Italian food items, such as wine and cheese. For example, check the pink label on your next bottle of Chianti. It can be compared to American controlled designations such as “Real Wisconsin Cheese”, denoting a specific origin, ingredients and process.

An organization known as Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (www.verapizzanapoletana.org), based in Naples Italy, offers membership, training and certification to individuals and businesses interested in producing authentic Neapolitan pizza. Less than 40 pizzerias in the United States are certified by this organization. Although, Antico is not listed among their membership, they are partnered with some of the same suppliers, and the resulting pizza is certainly of the required quality.

Keep in mind; this is not your typical American, New York style thin crust pizza. This is a true Neapolitan pizza made in accordance with traditional methods. If you’ve never experienced this type of pizza, that ultimately inspired our beloved New York style pie, you are in for a treat! Antico is a “don’t miss” if you are in the Atlanta area, and speaking as a pizza enthusiast, I would actually make the drive to Atlanta just to eat here!

Enjoy!

Spacca Napoli, Chicago, IL

An excellent, authentic Neapolitan pizzeria in Chicago. One of less than forty pizza establishments in the US that prepares Neapolitan pizza according to the recipes/procedures in keeping with the standards for a National heritage food, sanctioned by the Italian governemt (DOC status)

Dog Pub, Baltimore, MD

Located in Baltimore, this small pub serves up an outstanding New York style, Neapolitan pie. They achieve what many pizza places can never seem to master...the balance between the weight of the crust and the volume of toppings. A visit here is a must!

Papa's Pizza, Daphne, AL

Papa's is simply the best pizza in the Mobile-Eastern Shore area. There basic New York style pies cannot be beat! They consistently produce an excellent New York version of the Neapolitan pizza.

Brooklyn Pizzeria, Metairie, LA

This is a very good pizzeria off Veterans Blvd, Metairie, LA. Great pie! The topping we're a bit on the heavy side, but overall a hit. An excellent crust made up some of the heavy toppings that were slightly undercooked. Worth a visit!

New York Pizza in New Orleans

This tiny place in off Magazine street in the heart of Uptown New Orleans serves up an excellent New York Style pie! The crust is exception for a gas oven, and the sauce is just right...tangy yet not too acidic!