Pizza

Kermit’s Bake Shop Gets Close

Posted by Foobooz on June 6th, 2013

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend a pre-noon hour checking out the progress at Kermit’s Bake Shop, the pizza + bakery from Adam Ritter (Sidecar and Kraftwork) opening at 2204 Washington Avenue. Ritter, along with chef Brian Lofink and pastry chef Chad Durkin are in the final stages of preparation. I was able to check out the progress and sample pizzas and some of the pastries.

The pizza is a traditional American pie, not the Neapolitan variety that is so much the rage. Ritter wants it to remind you of the pizza of your youth, but better. Yesterday, Lofink was still playing with the sauce, tweaking the sweetness and amount of herbs.

The storefront will offer takeout and delivery, there will be no room to eat inside the surprisingly large space. That space is full of mixers for Chad Durkin’s baking operation. Durkin, who appeared on TLC’s Next Great Baker is producing cakes, fudge, pastries and yesterday, croissants. I got to try several and am still obsessing over the egg and herb filled one.

When Kermit’s Bake Shop does open it will offer ordering by mobile phone and a fleet of eight custom bikes offering delivery.

The Photos »

Pizzeria Beddia Is LaBan’s Object of Spicy Desire

June 6th, 2013

“This tiny Fishtown corner takeout is as inconvenient as possible – open only Wednesday through Saturday, with a limited cash-only menu and no phone.” – But Craig LaBan couldn’t argue about the pizza, Philadelphia Inquirer

1 Comment

Tria Taproom Promises Pizza and Drafts This Summer

Posted by Foobooz on June 3rd, 2013

tria-taproom

Tria’s weekly email contained the above photo of the under construction Tria Taproom at 2005 Walnut Street. The beer and pizza focused spot is aiming to open this August and will feature draft beer, draft wine and draft soda (no bottles).

Tria Taproom [Official Site]

LaBan Reviews Bufad

Posted by Sam Bloch on May 28th, 2013

Bufad Seats 20

Craig Laban enjoys Bufad, but he says he would have appreciated it more if there weren’t so many other great new pizza spots opening up around town.

I enjoyed many of the salads here, like the antipasto with remolata-topped roasted beets and sweet carrots paired with salsa verde. But the plain dough triangles of “pizza bianca” served alongside were so hard, we could barely bite through them. Ditto for the otherwise tasty ricotta panna cotta with tangy broccoli rabe and toasted almonds.

My biggest hesitation is that the pizzas – usually so appealing in their toppings – also often seemed to be missing the kind of subtle touch that can elevate one cool new pizzeria above the rest. Bufad’s Neapolitan crust itself is good, complex, chewy, and leopard-ed with char marks. But the classic Margherita lacks the flavor pop of a brighter sauce. Broccoli rabe, prosciutto, and mustard-spiked white beans are a smart combination. But the pureed beans were layered too thickly on the bottom. The mortadella pie would have been better with less sweetness from the rhubarb mostarda.

Two Bells – Very Good

Bufad [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Bufad [Official Site]

Cheap Eats: Franzone’s

Posted by Sam Bloch on May 22nd, 2013

Franzone’s may be the best pizza in the Philadelphia area that you have never heard of. It doesn’t have the name or pedigree of a Nomad or Osteria, but to those with a very specific taste for a very specific kind of pizza, it may be better than all of them. And at $9.50 for a small pie and $12 for a large plain, it is certainly the best value.

Franzone’s has been written up in a number of Philadelphia publications–raved about by those who’ve discovered it and fallen for its charms–but it still rarely sees anyone other than locals come through its doors. In some ways that’s a good thing. The place has character. The lack of notice keeps the place honest and local. After all, Franzone’s is a Bridgeport institution, and Bridgeport, as a closely knit working-class community, has Franzone’s as its center.

Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Erace Swoons for Pizzeria Beddia

Posted by Foobooz on May 9th, 2013

Adam Erace’s knees buckle over the pizzas that Joe Beddia is putting out at his Pizzeria Beddia on Girard Avenue.

Only two or three pies are offered nightly, including the mainstay red No.1 pie, with its fresh and dried mozzarella, Old Gold (a local aged Gouda whose sharpness stands in for Parm) and deeply crimson, crushed-Jersey-tomato base. “I thought, ‘What’s the most Italian thing I could do?’ And it was to use tomatoes from New Jersey instead of ones from Pompeii,” Beddia says. House-picked Serrano chilies are a nice touch for acid and heat.

The No. 2 is Beddia’s white, a canvas of rich local cream and mozzarella accessorized seasonally. I got ramps, kale, bacon — and tinfoil to take home the extra. As I left I got a heartfelt thanks from Beddia, who bids each customerarrivaderci. He almost glows with gratitude. We should be the ones thanking him.

Pizzeria Beddie Serves Pies Knee-Weakeningly Good [City Paper]
Pizzeria Beddia [Official Site]

Bufad Rolls Out Spring Menu

Posted by Foobooz on May 2nd, 2013

Merguez1

Yesterday Bufad Pizzeria rolled out their spring menu. The pizzeria at 13th and Spring Garden has tweaked some menu items to coincide with what is seasonal for spring.For instance, the burrata is still on the menu but the winter brussels sprouts have been replaced with spring asparagus.

On the pizza side of the menu there are several new pizzas to consider. A southern Italian style Merguez (made down the street at Prohibition Taproom) with English peas and mint is now on the menu. And if you really want to go out there, Bufad is now offering a sweet and savory Mortadella pie, made with a bechamel and a rhubarb mostarda, finished with pistachios and arugula.

Bufad has been enjoying working with Greensgrow Farms in Fishtown to source local ingredients in order to make the menu Italian, seasonal and local.

More photos and the full menu »

Lorenzo’s Reopens on South Street

Posted by Foobooz on April 29th, 2013

lorenzos-and-sons

Lorenzo’s on South Street is back. After a fire that closed the late-night pizza institution back on June, 27 2012, the pizzeria reopened today at 11 a.m. The location has been totally revamped but owner, Giuseppe Pulizzi promises the same popular pizza taste.

That’s not to say things will be identical, toppings will be available on slices. But just on Tuesdays, and only till midnight. Other changes include an all-glass storefront, air conditioning and more pizza ovens.

Friday, May 3rd will mark the official grand re-opening. WMMR’s Preston & Steve will be broadcasting live from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.and 50% of proceeds for the entire day, will be donated to Philabundance.

Lorenzo’s and Sons [Official Site]

Authentic 1940s New York Pizza in Today’s South Philadelphia

Posted by Foobooz on April 29th, 2013

gennaros-tomato-pies-interior

Craig LaBan heads to Gennaro’s Tomato Pie at Jackson and Carlisle Streets in South Philadelphia in search of an old-time pizza flavor.

I lift a slice of red pie, its heat-charred crust dusting my fingertips with tawny flour, lean in to take a bite, and find the taste is just as transporting. Crackle it snaps, the bottom layer of sweet mozzarella protecting the microscopic-thin crust. The spots of crushed tomatoes spooned on top between clouds of mozzarella have almost caramelized from quick exposure to the naked heat, bright and vivid, tangy sweet. I go back for another bite, then another, savoring the chewy, rustic, well-salted crust.

Two Bells – Very Good

Gennaro’s twirls pizza-making around [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Genarro’s Tomato Pie [Official Site]

Adam Erace Reviews Bufad

Posted by Alex Tewfik on April 13th, 2013

City Paper’s Adam Erace reviews Bufad, the BYOB pizza joint a stone’s throw away from Prohibition Taproom. Erace apparently experienced a different Bufad than what we’ve encountered here at Foobooz. Here’s what he had to say:

I tried two of Bufad’s pies and, sad to say, the excellent crusts couldn’t rescue either one. The “porcini cream” spread across a nightly special was more like condensed mushroom soup that liquefied in the 860-degree oven. Greensgrow watercress was a smart idea, but the past-prime leaves lacked their token zip, and piled on the wet, brown surface, gave the pizza the look of a muddy freshwater swamp. I didn’t know whether to eat it or look for beavers.

Alas, the second pizza was worse, combining two ingredients that are a logistical juggernaut to cook simultaneously: potatoes and eggs. Buried under fontina and gobs of pushy prosciutto, the former, sliced into thin rounds, had no chance of turning creamy or crisp. Cracked on top, the latter emerged with a properly runny yolk surrounded by whites so raw they should have been called clears.

Crust Fallen [City Paper]
Bufad [Official Site]

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