Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
> @johnchisum said: Why large corporate entities mess around with proven success is one of the worlds biggest mysteries.
we had a great bagel place nearby, best bagels you could find (provided you didn't live in NYC). One of the chain bagel stores bought it up, and then the store went out of business. I guess if you can't beat the smaller competition in food quality, buy up the small guy, change the product and your competition goes away so to speak,, Bagels, Pizza, Bakeries - hard to find good ones these days.
Ed is offering Chip and Charles deep-dish "pizza" when we gather in Chicago. Her current position, as a native New Yorker, is that if you can't fold it in half and slip it in your mouth, it's not pizza. Period.
I recently walked past a place in Squirrel Hill, a Pittsburgh neighborhood, called Pizza Cono. Pizza rolled in the shape of an ice cream cone, presumably before baking. I suspect that New Yorkers might feel a strange disturbance in The Force if they pass too close. Likewise with Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder (CPOG), home of the inverted pizza. Sauce and toppings go into a ceramic bowl. You cover the bowl with pizza dough and pop the whole thing in a ridiculously hot oven. Take it out, flip it over, pull off the bowl and serve. Chip alleges that that innovation alone caused Chicago to slip from being The Second City down to third.
There's a Pizza Cono in the US? Saw it for the first time this year in San Juan! I thought the idea so resoundingly bad that it would never be repeated. Squirrel Hill? Really?
I look forward to David's commentary every month. I love good content even if it is long. Thank you, David and the other authors.
Having a Table of Contents at the top with links to the topics discussed in the commentary will help those who don't want to browse through the entire commentary.
“Brevity is the soul of wit.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
I'm from NYC and good pizza used to be all over. Then they started to use imitation cheese - that yellow stuff. They cut back on the olive oil and the cooking times - you get that beige pizza.
I don't know if it is true but I have heard the secret for the good pizza, bagels, and everything else in NYC can be attributed to the water there
This is the only variable that makes any sense. You cross the river to Newark, a slice is NYC "style" but nothing like the real thing. The water in NYC is awesome anyway. Stolen from the finger lakes.
Finger Lakes? you're joking right. (straight from Ithaca
the Catskills supplies much of the water. e.g. Schoharie Reservoir. Ashokan, etc.
I remember pizza for 10 cents a slice in the south bronx and 15 cents in manhattan, equal to the subway fare. Most of the best pizza places then were run by Greeks. And then there was Rays. I don't know if its water or the knowledge of making good sauce, good mozarella, and good crust, as well as getting good ingredients vs. cutting corners and cost.
Bagels went down hill when they started adding eggs and storing them in plastic bags and trying to extend shelf life.
Finger Lakes? you're joking right. (straight from Ithaca
the Catskills supplies much of the water. e.g. Schoharie Reservoir. Ashokan, etc.
Dammit, got that totally fubared. Have no idea why I thought Ithaca = Niagara wine region.
Wherever it's from, the water is amazing. It is either the water or the age of the ovens that give the crust that distinctive bite. But I loved the taste of NYC tap water.
Now, was that Original Ray's, Famous Ray's, Ray's Famous, Original Famous Ray's, Famous Original Ray's, or some other Ray entirely?
mrdarcy, you must Goggle map NY state. It is an eclectic state with much natural beauty and resources. "Ithaca = Niagara wine country"??? Far from it. Maybe 400 miles from it.
Niagara county does produce wine, but not NY States best. That is reserved for the Finger Lakes region, an expansive area located in the counties south of Rochester stretching east to Syracuse, with narrow lakes running south almost to the boarders of Pennsylvania. Thousands of acres of grapes and hundreds of different wineries surround the Finger Lakes. Some of the worlds best Riesling grapes grow on the hills surrounding these lakes. You will find small, quaint villages and hamlets bordering and in between these beautiful lakes. This is what I think of when saying 'I live in New York'.
mrdarcy, you must Goggle map NY state. It is an eclectic state with much natural beauty and resources. "Ithaca = Niagara wine country"??? Far from it. Maybe 400 miles from it.
Niagara county does produce wine, but not NY States best. That is reserved for the Finger Lakes region, an expansive area located in the counties south of Rochester stretching east to Syracuse, with narrow lakes running south almost to the boarders of Pennsylvania. Thousands of acres of grapes and hundreds of different wineries surround the Finger Lakes.
Dammit, so why are the Finger Lakes most known for Niagara grapes? Now I'm just confused.
But I do see the problem. I went to Georgetown. I just see Syracuse as a giant black hole!
Loved the old Syracuse - Georgetown rivalry. The best college basketball had to offer in it's day. Boehiem vs Thompson, Ewing vs Pearl Washington. Ahh, those were the days.
This is the last thread I ever thought I would participate in... but the Finger Lakes and Jim Boeheim? In my very younger days worked in Victor, lived in Fairport and then Canandaigua right near the lake. As a result of that venture, now have family still living in that region in the hamlet of Stanley near Geneva Lake. Boeheim and Syracuse? Can't hold a candle to my favorite coach and team - the UL Cards! The Cards coach first job was as an assistant to Boeheim.
I grew up in NY and have not had great pizza since I left, but I too had heard about the water because of its hardness is why the pizza and bagels were like nowhere else. By the way, IMHO the best pizza was always at the pizza places at subway stops in Brooklyn Kings Highway stop comes to mind.
Comments
we had a great bagel place nearby, best bagels you could find (provided you didn't live in NYC). One of the chain bagel stores bought it up, and then the store went out of business. I guess if you can't beat the smaller competition in food quality, buy up the small guy, change the product and your competition goes away so to speak,,
Bagels, Pizza, Bakeries - hard to find good ones these days.
—Jack Kerouac
I recently walked past a place in Squirrel Hill, a Pittsburgh neighborhood, called Pizza Cono. Pizza rolled in the shape of an ice cream cone, presumably before baking. I suspect that New Yorkers might feel a strange disturbance in The Force if they pass too close. Likewise with Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder (CPOG), home of the inverted pizza. Sauce and toppings go into a ceramic bowl. You cover the bowl with pizza dough and pop the whole thing in a ridiculously hot oven. Take it out, flip it over, pull off the bowl and serve. Chip alleges that that innovation alone caused Chicago to slip from being The Second City down to third.
Culinarily,
David
Regards,
Ted
Here's Real Pizza From Chicago:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pizzeria+due&tbm=isch&imgil=u_tWr7qECIBeUM%3A%3BcUsKIjAriADCQM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fchicago.seriouseats.com%252F2011%252F08%252Fchicago-essential-pizzeria-due.html&source=iu&usg=__uLTkcGRJEViYjrkoVC5sxlVVdos=&sa=X&ei=1ZPeU9iNO5KiyATkqIJ4&sqi=2&ved=0CGcQ9QEwBw&biw=1600&bih=731#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=u_tWr7qECIBeUM%3A;cUsKIjAriADCQM;http%3A%2F%2Fslice.seriouseats.com%2Fimages%2F2011%2F08%2F20110817-166110-Chicago-Pizzeria-Due's-Uno's-Sausage-Slice.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fchicago.seriouseats.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fchicago-essential-pizzeria-due.html;500;375
Interesting video, but I'll pass on the pizza cone.
Having a Table of Contents at the top with links to the topics discussed in the commentary will help those who don't want to browse through the entire commentary.
About the "Flash Boys" book mentioned in this month's commentary...
Do read the 50+, 1 star reviews (and dozens of comments for each review) that are quite well written, insightful and point out multiple issues with the author's understanding of the system and raise counterpoints to provide the other side of the story:
http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Boys-Michael-Lewis/product-reviews/0393244660/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one/175-7024129-0346416?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
I'm from NYC and good pizza used to be all over.
Then they started to use imitation cheese - that yellow stuff.
They cut back on the olive oil and the cooking times - you get that beige pizza.
Now - you can get some good FROZEN pizza. The key is the right oven temperature.
I've been liking these recently:
http://www.digiorno.com/products/thin-crispy
And I heartily endorse the folding test.
Finger Lakes? you're joking right. (straight from Ithaca
the Catskills supplies much of the water. e.g. Schoharie Reservoir. Ashokan, etc.
I remember pizza for 10 cents a slice in the south bronx and 15 cents in manhattan, equal to the subway fare. Most of the best pizza places then were run by Greeks. And then there was Rays. I don't know if its water or the knowledge of making good sauce, good mozarella, and good crust, as well as getting good ingredients vs. cutting corners and cost.
Bagels went down hill when they started adding eggs and storing them in plastic bags and trying to extend shelf life.
Wherever it's from, the water is amazing. It is either the water or the age of the ovens that give the crust that distinctive bite. But I loved the taste of NYC tap water.
Now, was that Original Ray's, Famous Ray's, Ray's Famous, Original Famous Ray's, Famous Original Ray's, or some other Ray entirely?
mrdarcy, you must Goggle map NY state. It is an eclectic state with much natural beauty and resources. "Ithaca = Niagara wine country"??? Far from it. Maybe 400 miles from it.
Niagara county does produce wine, but not NY States best. That is reserved for the Finger Lakes region, an expansive area located in the counties south of Rochester stretching east to Syracuse, with narrow lakes running south almost to the boarders of Pennsylvania. Thousands of acres of grapes and hundreds of different wineries surround the Finger Lakes. Some of the worlds best Riesling grapes grow on the hills surrounding these lakes. You will find small, quaint villages and hamlets bordering and in between these beautiful lakes. This is what I think of when saying 'I live in New York'.
But I do see the problem. I went to Georgetown. I just see Syracuse as a giant black hole!
You mentioned some of the nicer areas of Rochester. Victor has gotten very expensive and canadaigua is the most expensive of the finger lake.
Please don't stop posting. I like your insight.
Regards,
Ted
Huh? Where y'all from? It's only like 140 miles!
Really appreciate your writing. I tend to read your commentary several times just to catch all the insights. Once again, thank you.