http://www.pizzablogger.org/index.php/anatomy-of-a-pizza/

I know, I know…..it’s been nearly three stinking months since I last posted. A good half of this site is still off-line, but I am working on getting the rest of the posts and other pizza related hoopla back on-line ASAP. Have I still been eating pizza? You betcha. Look for continuing posts and reviews coming very soon.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

I have previously mentioned Pizzeria Orso in more detail here, but a quick look at the menu shows a lot of available pizza options:

• Simple Pizze: Six selections ranging from $7 to $12 in price
• Traditional Pizze: Ten selections ranging from $12 to $16 in price
• Specialty Pizze: Ten selections ranging from $14 to $19 in price including a pie that is priced at market prices, being that it will include 5 ounces of freshly shaved white truffle as a topping.
• Custom Pizze: basically a make your own affair which allows you to choose the toppings

In addition, various antipasti, panini, panuozzo, cheeses, dessert and salumi are available. Beers and wine are served, including Gragnano (Grotto del Sole).

400 South Maple Avenue (map)
Falls Church, VA 22046
Tel: (703) 226-3460
Fax: (703) 226-3461
http://www.pizzeriaorso.com/index.php

Margherita & Tenda Notte pizzas, blackboard in the back warns customers, artwork on the walls at Iggies. Click picture to view article.

I have finished my write-up of Iggies and was fortunate to have owners Lisa Heckman & Peter Wood, “The Heckwoods” as they are known in some circles, allow me in to talk with them before opening on a Saturday afternoon. Parts of that conversation are included in my take on Iggies pizza, the thin crust style pizzeria in Mount Vernon.

Probably the biggest news is that Iggies is looking to install a new oven, which may necessitate a re-working of how the space at Iggies is laid out. We’ll have to wait and see on that one, but for now you can catch my write-up of Iggies on America’s leading pizza website, Slice. Read all about it here:

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/iggies-baltimore-maryland-md-best-thin-crust-pizza-review.html

Johnny Rad's Pizzeria Tavern Logo

Opening Alert: Johnny Rad’s Pizzeria Tavern will open sometime in June or July in the space formally occupied by Kelly’s at 2108 Eastern Avenue (map). Johnny’s Rad’s will offer Neapolitan influenced pizzas which will be fired in a Marsal & Sons MB-60 brick lined gas fired oven.

I have a hunch this place will be different from some of the newer pizzerias which have opened in the area over the past couple of years in that the owner, Rich Pugh, is a bona fide pizza enthusiast. Pugh been making pizzas at home for some time and has put in the leg work researching technique and ingredients. He also realizes that while his pizzas are heavily influenced by Neapolitan pies, his pizzas are not truly Neapolitan….so he has opted to call them “Baltipolitan“.

Pizzas at Johnny Rad’s will utilize high quality ingredients like Caputo 00 pizzeria flour, D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes, fior-di-latte and mozzarella di bufula. The dough will be fermented for a “minimum of 24 hours ferment/proof”, which should help to produce a crust with some developed flavors to it. In addition, local beers, including seasonal selections, will be offered alongside a selection of wines.

Pugh mentioned to me that, “I just want to bake a great pizza the way I like it… something that can look and taste great using simple classic ingredients…”

Something quite good is usually the result when passion for a product is the primary driver behind opening up a business. From the looks of pictures Pugh sent me of  his home made pizzas complete with an airy, hole pocked cornicione, his Baltipolitan pizzeria may be a real treat for pizza lovers here in Charm City.

Johnny Rad’s
2108 Eastern Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21231
www.johnnyrads.com

Slice let the cat out of the bag today; Coccia is not the oven builder. Highly regarded Naples oven builder Stefano Ferrara is now in New York City to put together the brick behemoth which will be cooking and charring the pies at Arpaia’s upcoming pizzeria. The Slice article also has a really cool pictorial slideshow where Adam Kuban was able to capture some of the steps of the oven building as construction progressed.

Stefano Ferrara tiling Paulie's oven at his shop in Naples, Italy (Paulie Gee)

Stefano Ferrara ovens are already being used at New Jersey’s Nomad Pizza and in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at Paulie Gee’s, among other places. The Ferrara name is set to appear an another oven or two as well…….

The Forno Napoletano oven, artwork on wall and first curing fire at Pizzeria Orno. From Pizzeria Orno Facebook page and website. Click picture for link to website.

More on Pizzeria Orso:
Pizzeria Orso Facebook Page
Don Rockwell Forums
Young & Hungry Blog (Washington City Paper)
Northern Virginia Magazine