Pizza Walk With Me

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[pizzawalkwithme]

Want to support Spak Brothers but don’t want to eat a pizza or gobble down one of the best hoagies in the city? Would you rather show your support with a snazzy shirt and not with grease stains in your beard?

Commonwealth Press has you covered - all proceeds from buying this Spak shirt go back to helping Spak Brothers getting back on their feet. Buy it here.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Pittsburgh Pizza Update: Spak Brothers Needs Your Help!

No one is going to argue with me when I say that Spak Brothers pizza is a keystone of the Garfield / Bloomfield / East End community. 

They feeds all the kids waiting to get into a show at The Roboto Project. They put on a yearly scavenger hunt that is possibly the secret craziest thing in Pittsburgh. They even collaborated with Common Wealth Press to put out limited edition pizza boxes!

And this year they were the life of Pizza Fest with their pizza eating competition. 

Spak Brothers is amazing (And Andrew WK approved!) and they need your help. 

On July 24th there was a smash and grab at Spak Brothers on Penn Ave. Here’s a twitter post from them:

Watch out east end, there is a smash and grab burglar about 😞 pic.twitter.com/JY7074p7BV

— Spak Brothers (@SpakBrothers)

July 24, 2015

Sad stuff! 

Then it got worse. The owner writes on Never Tell Me The Odds:

We were robbed overnight Thursday and the walk-in cooler machinery decided it would shit the bed the past two nights.

Sorry for anyone who came here for food to find out we weren’t open.

The monetary loss is pretty epic due to recent events and I have no way to contact the masses any more besides twitter (which I hate) so any help spreading the word would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to support one of the greatest pizza shops in Pittsburgh please spread the word. You can follow the real Spak Brothers on Twitter: @spakbrothers. 

They should be open tomorrow (Thursday) at 5pm - and that sounds like a great day for pizza. 

You can call Spak Brothers at (412) 362-772 and you can read their menu here: Spak Brothers PDF Menu

I suggest getting a hoagie / pizza combo. That's what I do.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Pizza Sleuthing - Clue’s to a “Hip” Vocelli’s Spin-Off?

Today I got a hot pizza tip from my pizza pal, Chad. He sent me this photo from a storefront in Downtown Pittsburgh:

Okay. Cool. We got a new pizza place opening up in Downtown Pittsburgh that’s eager to hire team members. Nothing wrong with supplying jobs! I love it. 

Nothing encourages a pizza culture like a new, original pizza entrepreneur opening up a restaurant service slices to the city.

But what is “V3 Pizza”? I did some Googling and found absolutely nothing.

Something was odd. There was no Facebook page, no social media, no website. Surely even an amateur pizza shop would have some web presence. Then I stumbled upon this trademark page for V3 Pizza. 

There wasn’t much information here, except for some lawyers, the fact that it’ll sell pizzas and the address of a holding company. The owner of the trademark is Ablak Holdings, LLC, located on South Bee street in Pittsburgh. 

And you know what else Ablak Holdings has trademarked? Vocelli’s. That’s how they got their start, actually. They do “brand management with style” which is something I can’t begin to comprehend.

But how is V3 and Vocelli’s connected? 

Vocelli’s Pizza Franchise support center is located on South Bee Street, the same place as the holding company and the same place that V3 is supposedly HQd according to the trademark page.

Other franchises owned by Ablak Holdings: Rock N’ Joe (which “Vocelli’s” purchased back in 2014) and Zafer Solutions, which doesn’t seem to have a web presence. 

All signs point to this being an experimental pizza brand for Vocelli’s.

So what is V3?

Outside of a pizza place, I don’t know what V3 Pizza is. It’s not unusual for a traditional pizza place to spinoff a brand as an experiment. Aiello’s did this with Pizza Sola before selling it off. 

So, heres my guess V3 Pizza:

Will sell slices.

May sell six packs as pizza places tend to do.

Takeout & delivery

Some artisan elements such as prosciutto. Really cashing in on the rise of decadents pizza.

I’ve reached out to Vocelli’s for a comment on this. Hopefully I’ll hear back from them soon.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Nick Offerman helps solve the healthy school lunch problem with his Pizza Farm.

I actually interviewed the director of food services at North Hills High School  a few years back when someone declared pizza a vegetable. Healthy options at a young age will only make a positive impact on a kid’s life!

[pizzawalkwithme]

Working on updates the Pizza Walk With Me website and Chad was nice enough to develop a new logo.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Summer is made for grilling pizzas

[pizzawalkwithme]

A couple of pizzas from Pizza Taglio in East Liberty.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Working on some pizza dough for an xtreme pizza party.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Got my pizza bible out, looking for some grilled pizza tips and tricks. Report incoming.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Best Places to Stop for Pizza Along Open Streets PGH

Today is a day where cars are banned from a contiguous street in Pittsburgh. This frees the citizens to explore streets and role-play as someone who has survived an apocalypse. An era where cars have rusted into extinction, people barter by using hoagies, and everyone sleeps in the park. 

But as we take back the streets, today is a great day to enjoy some pizza. You can even enjoy the luxury of sitting in the street, cross legged, with a pizza box and a circle of friends in the middle of Penne Avenue!

Here’s some of the best places to stop along the Open Street PGH route to grab some pizza.

Bella Notte

Located in the Strip between 19th and 20th street, this is a grand place to get a pie. It’s a classic kind of pizza that will bring back memories of long summer days and late nights running recklessly through streets as a kid.

Pizza Parma

This is a bit greasier, sloppy pizza. But if you’ve made the trek downtown to 9th street from 40th street, this could be the kind of pizza to perk you up and restore those lost nutrients.

Stone Neapolitan Pizzeria

A bit beyond the end / start of Open Streets PGH is Stone. It’s an extraordinary pizzeria that sits on the cusp of Point Park. They can whip you up an authentic Italian pizza (with the fluffy dough and buffalo mozzarella) in just a few minutes. 

Have any suggestions? unfortunately many of these places don't open until around noon. And who knows, maybe there will be other pizza surprises along the route! Enjoy your day on the streets!

[pizzawalkwithme]

Pittsburgh Pizza Update 5-12-2015: Mobile Pizzeria, Pizza Fest, and Pizza Meets Baseball

What a week it’s been in Pittsburgh Pizza news! As Pittsburgh begins to turn the heat up, pizza season is in full swing. Well, it’s less of a “swing” and more of “pizza season continues per usual.” 

Let’s get to the pizza news for this week.

Mobile Pizza Downtown

I was interviewing a fellow pizza lover the other day and he expressed his sadness for the lack of mobile pizza units. He wondered where Pizza Boat had sailed off to (they’re at the Spirit Lodge, fyi) and why there was no other pizza unit to fill their void.

Well, as it turns out there’s the Wood Fired Flatbreads truck. They pop-up in downtown Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill, and a few other places around the city. They seem a bit less cool than the Pizza Boat, but it looks like they do a great job of making you a pizza on a city sidewalk. 

PNC Park & Pizza

Last week I wrote up a list of the best pizza places to eat pizza if you’re going to a Pittsburgh Pirate’s game at PNC park. It’s a great list and I hope it’s of great use to you as you enjoy baseball in the city.

Well, I have more news on the PNC Pizza front. Have you heard of Pizza Logs? It’s not a combination of pizza and Lincoln Logs. It’s a rolled up pizza. That you can build a pizza house out of, I guess?

There they are! They’re a new addition to the pizza landscape at PNC Park. Next time you’re at PNC Park, try out a Pizza Log and let me know what you think. They seem like something you’d want to eat at a baseball game.

Pizza Fest Fills Lawrenceville

I conducted a ton of interviews at Pizza Fest; I spoke with the owners of Spak and Pizza Parma. I interviewed pizza enthusiasts. I even spoke to the folks behind the Pizza Pinup competition! I’ll have videos and interviews with those folks coming this week, but I wanted to share some photos from the event.

It was legit crazy. So glad it’s an event that exist in Pittsburgh.

Alright! That’s a wrap for this week’s Pittsburgh Pizza Update. I was going to talk about how Andrew W.K. added a new show/pizza party in Pittsburgh, but that’s already sold out. Rats. 

I’m working on some interviews, videos, and more which I’ll sprinkle into the website in the coming days. Tell your favorite message board! Tell a pizza shop! Or sign up for my pizza newsletter!

[pizzawalkwithme]

The Spak Bros. pizza eating competition got too real.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Gearing up for the Pizza Pinup contest for Pizzafest in Arsenal park!

[pizzawalkwithme]

Pop-up wood-fired pizza stand on the corner of Grant and Forbes in downtown Pittsburgh.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Best Pizza Places to Eat Pizza Before a Pittsburgh Pirate’s Game

Hi. Pizza is a food that can strike at any moment. During a party, during sad times and during the times of your life that you’ll remember for ages to come. To ensure you’re always near a pizza shop I’m going to do my best to educate you about the best pizza you can digest in nearly any scenario. Today, we’ll talk about pizza strategy for a Pittsburgh Pirate’s game.

Summer is approaching and with the heat, humidity and moderate amount of quality Pittsburgh sunshine comes baseball. To cheer on the Buccos you’re going to need some good pizza. 

Here’s some pizza places to eat at when you go to a Pittburgh Pirate’s Game.

Giovanni’s

Giovanni’s employees a clumsy italian man who’s only job is to drop his biscotti and, when he bends over to pick it up, use his rotund rump to knock a canister of sugar into a vat of their sauce.

With that in mind, this is the kind of pizza place you go to if you have kids tagging along for a hot day at the park. The sweetness of the pizza will cut though any attitude and perk up toddlers and teens alike. Their palates won’t mind the sweetness and you’ll happily choke this down.

Eat this pizza when: The Pirates play the Atlanta Braves. It’s the pizza version of sweet tea and will really get you into the southern spirit.

Diamond Pizza in PNC Park

Image credit: Pizza Pizazz

When I was a child and my dad took me to baseball games at Three Rivers Stadium I would cry in my seat until he returned with pizza. I was a pouty kid, the kind of kid who would throw a vacuum cleaner down the steps for no reason. So, when the pizza finally arrived I’d take a sabbatical from crying from nothing and instead cry that the pizza tasted too much like wine.

My dad never gave me wine so I had no frame of reference, but it was gross enough that I would choke down half the pizza and call it quits. I think that pizza was Pizza Hut pizza.

Anyways, Diamond Pizza Place does not taste like wine. It’s a solid place to get pizza inside the ballpark.

Eat this pizza when: The Pirates play the New York Yankees. They’ll sell you a big ol’ NY slice of pizza. Then, when AJ Burnett walks a guy you can shout (in a sloppy New York accent) “Hey, I’m walking here!”

Stone Neapolitan Pizzeria

Stone pizza combines the Chipotle / Henry Ford assembly line mentality with the frugality and practicalness of an Italian grandmother who follows her heart to make a warm, gooey pizza. You pick the toppings, sauce and oil and the pizzaiolo behind the counter will fix you up a pizza faster than Marte can run the bases.

Eat this pizza when: The Pirates play the Cubs. You can eat authentic, fancy pizza and brag that the pizza was made faster than it takes to cut a single slice of their thick Chicago Pizza.

Monte Cello’s

Monte Cello’s is the pizzeria you went with your high school sweetheart after a high school football game. After your ninth refill of Pepsi, six slices of pizza and a win for the home team you were filled with the feeling invincibility and enough gas to float a hot air balloon over the Grand Canyon.

There’s a Monte Cello’s downtown that exists to pay homage to your childhood. Every slice that comes out of that oven is sprinkled with a proprietary blend of parmesan, pepper and nostalgia.

Eat this pizza when: The Pirates play the team from the hometown you moved from so you could go to CMU / work for Google.

Pizza Parma

On the other end of the Rachel Carson bridge is Pizza Parma. It’s a pizza shop that exists on an ever-changing corner, except it is untouched by time. Pizza Parma adheres to no rules but their own and they’re not rules you’ll ever be familiar with.

Their slices are large, cheesy and capable of absorbing any poisons that linger in your stomach. It is both a panacea and a hinderance to your health. Choose from the Barnyard Special, the Taco Pizza, or the BBQ Chicken pizza.

Eat this pizza when: The Pirates are playing an unimportant game and you’re mostly there to tailgate, roll into the stadium in the fourth inning and boo Ryan Braun

Special Shoutout to the Beer Market

The Beer Market, located right next to PNC Park, turns the BYOB formula on its head. They have hundreds of beers to choose from and they welcome you to bring in any food. But really, you’re going to bring pizza.

You can grab pizza from any of the places above, bring it to the Beer Market and enjoy a number of beers. Getting a seat can be a strategic undertaking, but if you’re cunning and persistent you’ll have no problem. 

Now you’re prepared to eat pizza next time you go to a Pirate’s game. If you enjoyed this, go ahead and tell a bud or two! You can even sign up for my pizza newsletter to get great stuff like this delivered directly to your inbox.

[pizzawalkwithme]

Pittsburgh Pizza Update 5-5: Pinup-Pizza Calendar, Pizza Photo Journal, and Another “Best Pizza in Pittsburgh” List

Another week in Pittsburgh, another week of pizza news that you have got to be devouring. So much news, in fact, that Bill Peduto mentioned to me during the half marathon that he’s thinking of turning The Point into a slice of pizza. 

The fountain would of course erupt with tomato sauce and cheese to alert citizens of any important pizza news.

Crazy but totally true. But hey, let’s talk Pittsburgh Pizza News & Happenings.

Pittsburgh Pizza Pinup Contest

On May 9, Pittsburg Pizza Fest kicks off in Arsenal Park, as part of Spring it On. It’s a pizza event I wrote about last week because there will be a really great pizza competition where you’re the pizza judge. And if you think you can look super cute while eating pizza you may have a future in a pizza calendar!. 

As part of the Pittsburgh Pizza Fest there will be a Pittsburgh Pizza Pinup Contest. Here’s a quote from the Facebook page for the event:

We'll be offering a chance to be part of our Pizza Pinup calendar for 2016 that will be in pizza shops all over Pittsburgh!

Bring your best pizza outfit and pose with a greasy slice for a chance to win. 

A Pizza Photojournal

If I had a motorcycle I’d pop wheelies 24/7 and peel out on my way from pizza place to pizza place. I’d ride into the sunset, launch off a ramp and land on a cushion of cheese.

I’d wear a jacket made out of uneaten pizza crust and my helmet would be a greasy pizza box. 

Some motorcycle owners drive their motorcycles to every pizza place in Western Pennsylvania. Some motorcycle owners start a pizza journal.

Meet The Pizza Journal. It’s an Instagram account manned by two dudes with motorcycles who eat pizza. It’s a smart use of the medium and a great way to distribute bite-sized pizza thoughts.

They are really keen on discovering the flaves.

The Best Pizza in Pittsburgh in Thrillist

I’ve never met a “Best Pizza” list I’ve agreed with. Which is probably a good thing—if we all had the same opinions on pizza then every pizza shop in Pittsburgh would just be a replica of Spak Brothers.

There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to this list of on the Thrillist. It’s a smattering of interesting pizza places in Pittsburgh that would show up in any Reddit comment thread about pizza.

Most pizza list adheres to an ancient architecture. Which usually contains:

The classic pizza tossed by an old guy.

The classic pizza tossed by a younger person.

The weird pizza that “you have to try trust me.”

The vegan/gluten friendly pizza,

The artisan pizza using local ingredients.

The pizza you eat when black-out drunk/hungover

You can read Rossilynne’s list on the Thrillist here and see how many archetypes show up on the list!

Alright! That’s a wrap for this week’s Pittsburgh Pizza Update. I’m working on some interviews, videos, and more which I’ll sprinkle into the website in the coming days. Tell your favorite message board! Tell a pizza shop! Or sign up for my pizza newsletter!

[pizzawalkwithme]

Pizza Dan is back in action. Look for me in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Half Marathon!