What is a foodies pizza?
Posted by Steve Mynett on Monday, February 16th, 2009Tags for this Article: dinner, Pasta, pizza, quick
We’ve all been there. Come home from work late and no real desire spend an hour in the kitchen making a new culinary concoction. Turn on the TV and watch the game, put up your feet and…order pizza. Except we don’t order pizza because we are Foodies. Which begs the question, what is a Foodies equivalent of the order in pizza?
I’m willing to bet that most of these answers involve pasta somehow. For me, the answer is still shamefully pizza (though becoming rarer and rarer) but with increasing frequency a fresh made pesto and some chicken is the quick and easy meal. (which I am off to make right now!)
What’s yours?
(photo credit: callme_crochet on Flickr)
We still order in pizza, but from a place with a firewood oven. Our closest favourite is The Firewood Cafe on Cambie at 15th.
I’m always up for good pizza! Olie’s Pizzeria at the entrance to Granville Island is really good, if you like thin crust pizza.
1833 Anderson Street
My favorite was the (recently burnt down) Incendio in Gastwon… :'(
I actually became fairly fast and effective at making FRESH pasta. An egg, some oil and flour, and it’s done!
I like it with just salt and butter, so it’s really fast to cook if you have a pasta cutter!
I also really like a simple tartine: few slice of tomatoe, some cheese, lettuce, ham, on a slice of bread. Bake few of these (on ‘grill’) and a hint of olive oil. It might take 10 minutes to make, and it’s delicious !
Funny, Mark and I never order in. But, my ‘fast food’ when it is too late to start dinner is to go into the freezer and take out a variety of frozen Chinese dumplings and pop them in our steamer. 12 minutes later, delicious dim sum!
I love Firewood Cafe, although now Lombardo’s is closest to me. Still, I hardly ever order pizza. If it’s late and I need to eat something, it’s usually soup or some fresh pasta from the Ravioli Store on the Drive.
@Degan: It’s the opposite for us. I used to do Lombardo’s, but now like Firewood.
@Andrea: We do frozen dumplings, too, but usually pan fried gyoza-style.
My personal guilty pleasure for late night snacking is instant noodles. (Remember to rinse after cooking and before adding soup base. It substantially cuts down on the saturated fats.)
When I was in I found my perfect late-night snack: tortellini en brodo. It’s easy – tortellini cooked in chicken broth. It’s perfect with either fresh or dried tortellini.
We do order-in pizza, but I won’t hang my head in shame. We generally order them with gorgonzola, calabrese and red pepper. You see, while we do make good pizza ourselves, I’m still a sucker for a good pizza crust cooked in a big hot pizza oven. Luckily there are a range of places in Toronto which make good crust, good sauce and have fresh quality and intersting ingredient.
Toronto’s new darling is Pizza Libretto which I’m planning to check out in the next couple of weeks.
Alexa- I couldn’t agree with you more. I will proudly eat pizza any day of the week (or whatever else I feel like, for that matter). Here in Washington, I’m a loyal fan of Pete’s, although I also have been known to patronize Radius Pizza for the Ducati…
http://www.petesapizza.com/index.html
http://www.radiusdc.com/
That said, when I need something in a pinch, I rely heavily on my stock of Kosher half sour pickles and coppa…
I would definitely say some frozen home-made chive and pork dumplings with frozen udon noodles or vermicilli with chili oil and sesame oil.
Not sure where “shame” plays into the act of ordering pizza. I would suggest that you reconsider your definition of a Foodie (and isn’t it Foodist?). I would want no part of a label that limits the choices of what I can put into my belly. Being a Foodist isn’t about snobbery, it is about appreciation, passion and, above all else, pure enjoyment.
For us, it is a fairly typical Friday evening to order two medium pizzas from Athens Pizza at Main Street and Broadway along with a good cheap bottle of wine. It’s nothing fancy (they use the canned black olives…brilliant!), just old school family-style pie making at its best.
http://www.athenspizza.ca
I think the essence of my original post seems to have been a little lost. There is no shame in pizza as a food choice for foodie/foodists of any level.
My original question was meant to ask what people make when they come home and have 15 minutes to make dinner. For most people who aren’t as culinary-ly inclined this equates to ordering a pizza (or making KD or some such concoction). For those who have a little bit more inclination in the kitchen, what is that 10-15 minute meal they always have on standby that they can make without thinking?
I hate the word “Foodie”. It’s way overused and makes food seem silly. Food is serious business. We are FOODISTS.
My 15 minute fast food? EGGS. Glorious, gooey, guilt-free eggs. Mind you, I’ve been told I tend to go a bit overboard with my preparation, but I find the whole experience soothing and the result so simple and divine. Try this French technique of frying an egg and tell me you don’t agree. I dare you.
Have frozen flat bread in Freezer always – just remove and thaw out under grill. Chop up some veggies or even some pineapple, mix some tomato puree with good pesto for base and sprinkle with cheese. 5 minutes under the gill.
My fave 15 minute meal is angel hair pasta, and a sauce made with tons of garlic, olive oil, cherry tomatoes and basil. Sautee it all together, toss in the pasta, grate fresh parm on top, and voila! Delicious, fast and easy.
I agree with Mark…”foodies” sounds like someone is better than someone else and that’s a load of crock! The word is grossly overused. That being said…
If I only have 15 minutes, well…I guess it would depend on my mood, a nice omelette is always a good thing. When done right (with just “a bit” of filling), it makes for a surprisingly satisfying meal.
If I have thought about it ahead of time and remembered to take out pizza dough the night before then I can make a pizza in 8 minutes. Here is a recipe if you like – http://rouxbe.com/recipes/125-pizza-4-ways/text
I have heard that the pizza place on Cambie is good though, so I wouldn’t mind trying that out. Another good take out is Szechuan Chongqing on Broadway and 12th.