My tagline is "Not really a food snob - just extremely opinionated!" I can make a better pizza - or bagel - than just about any shop around. Bagels need to be BOILED - not steamed - for one. And barley malt syrup has to be added to the water. Corporate America bagels suck. NY pizza - a slice - can be really good or meh. Definitely better than anything frozen - or Corporate America - but a simple 2-day rise pizza dough and a 500°F oven with baking stones can make a slice that will rival anyone. Obviously, good ingredients are mandatory. (And Chicago deep dish pizza is a travesty that does not deserve to have the name pizza attached!)
As for Andrew... I was really disappointed in him as governor, but, amongst the current crop of candidates, I think he has the best chance of doing something positive for NYC. And I think he's strong enough to be able to fight and not capitulate to the evil forces that will be faced with.
I love you, Tim, I have for decades. But, you need a drop of lye in the boiling water. And I NEVER buy corporate bagels -- they're not bagels, they are white bread formed into a circle. I have bagels shipped in from a legitimate bagel maker in da Bronx. If you want to air ship me a perfect poppyseed bagel, I'm happy to compare. It's the water, baby!
A few weeks ago, I had to attend a company Zoom meeting, and I logged on a few minutes early, just in time to hear someone talk about how New Haven pizza from Pepe's was better than anything in NYC. Let's just say that I ran through the problems with New Haven, Chicago, Detroit (AMERICAN CHEESE!!!), and several other false starts. I started ranting, and I'm really lucky I didn't get fired.
I agree that there is less-than-awesome NY pizza, but when it's perfect, it's PERFECT!!!! The crust a perfect thickness, the bubbles on the edge of the crust, the sauce that is not too sweet and not too spicy - and a perfect consistency. The cheese? REAL without chemicals, not too thick, not too thin. You bite into that triangular corner and it fills your mouth with utter joy, and some pull on the cheese. YUMMERS!!! And I'm talking "New York Style" pizza -- there are other types that are made in the city --
Andrew IS the best choice -- and he's got what it takes to both stand up to the fascist regime, run the mechanics of the city, and negotiate between the different constituencies.
Backatcha! ♥ Lye is generally used in pretzels. NY bagels generally use barley malt. That being said... it is possible/probable that there are some specialty NY bagel makers using lye, but it's not the norm... And NONE of them are steamed!
And I totally and completely agree about the cheese! I only use Italian cheese on pizza! Actually, the vast majority of cheeses I buy are imported or made by small domestic artisan cheesemakers.
Next time I make bagels - usually once a year - You'll get one!
No self-respecting bagel maker would EVER steam, nor would they bake without boiling first.
Do you remember the bagel place in Berwyn? I had a job there when I was looking for a real job during the great recession -- they had an iron kettle they used for the boiling, and while not a NY bagel -- they were pretty good!
Enjoy that cheese while you can afford it! I get fresh mozz from DiBruno's - straight from the water!
I don't have a vote either but my pick would be Andy Cuomo. As you may be aware, I never really got along with Andy from the time he started to work for his dad, Mario, my friend and political idol. While I do believe that Andy was better at politics than his dad and his equal as a head of state (always thought he would have been a great Presidential candidate if his "gadget" didn't get in the way), he was nowhere near the genuine genius and humanity of his dad. Mario was a star at St. John's Law School and was always the most intellectually gifted and schooled person I ever knew even after he talked me into running for Democratic Party Chair in Westchester County resulting in the dissolution of the best law firm partnership that I ever had.
Thank you for the link to his speech that I still hear ringing in my ear when I read the transcript. I still have and cherish the 3'x5' piece of note paper on which he hand wrote the few notes he used for his speech at our County Convention.
By the way, one typo in your piece, Andy was never Mayor of NYC as you wrote, just a Governor of the State.
Thank you for bringing us up to speed on this.
I can't help myself -- I just love elections. And WTF with Jared, who voted FOR the SAVE Act.
My tagline is "Not really a food snob - just extremely opinionated!" I can make a better pizza - or bagel - than just about any shop around. Bagels need to be BOILED - not steamed - for one. And barley malt syrup has to be added to the water. Corporate America bagels suck. NY pizza - a slice - can be really good or meh. Definitely better than anything frozen - or Corporate America - but a simple 2-day rise pizza dough and a 500°F oven with baking stones can make a slice that will rival anyone. Obviously, good ingredients are mandatory. (And Chicago deep dish pizza is a travesty that does not deserve to have the name pizza attached!)
As for Andrew... I was really disappointed in him as governor, but, amongst the current crop of candidates, I think he has the best chance of doing something positive for NYC. And I think he's strong enough to be able to fight and not capitulate to the evil forces that will be faced with.
I love you, Tim, I have for decades. But, you need a drop of lye in the boiling water. And I NEVER buy corporate bagels -- they're not bagels, they are white bread formed into a circle. I have bagels shipped in from a legitimate bagel maker in da Bronx. If you want to air ship me a perfect poppyseed bagel, I'm happy to compare. It's the water, baby!
A few weeks ago, I had to attend a company Zoom meeting, and I logged on a few minutes early, just in time to hear someone talk about how New Haven pizza from Pepe's was better than anything in NYC. Let's just say that I ran through the problems with New Haven, Chicago, Detroit (AMERICAN CHEESE!!!), and several other false starts. I started ranting, and I'm really lucky I didn't get fired.
I agree that there is less-than-awesome NY pizza, but when it's perfect, it's PERFECT!!!! The crust a perfect thickness, the bubbles on the edge of the crust, the sauce that is not too sweet and not too spicy - and a perfect consistency. The cheese? REAL without chemicals, not too thick, not too thin. You bite into that triangular corner and it fills your mouth with utter joy, and some pull on the cheese. YUMMERS!!! And I'm talking "New York Style" pizza -- there are other types that are made in the city --
Andrew IS the best choice -- and he's got what it takes to both stand up to the fascist regime, run the mechanics of the city, and negotiate between the different constituencies.
Backatcha! ♥ Lye is generally used in pretzels. NY bagels generally use barley malt. That being said... it is possible/probable that there are some specialty NY bagel makers using lye, but it's not the norm... And NONE of them are steamed!
And I totally and completely agree about the cheese! I only use Italian cheese on pizza! Actually, the vast majority of cheeses I buy are imported or made by small domestic artisan cheesemakers.
Next time I make bagels - usually once a year - You'll get one!
"Generally" being the operative word!
No self-respecting bagel maker would EVER steam, nor would they bake without boiling first.
Do you remember the bagel place in Berwyn? I had a job there when I was looking for a real job during the great recession -- they had an iron kettle they used for the boiling, and while not a NY bagel -- they were pretty good!
Enjoy that cheese while you can afford it! I get fresh mozz from DiBruno's - straight from the water!
Thanks in advance for the bagel!
I don't have a vote either but my pick would be Andy Cuomo. As you may be aware, I never really got along with Andy from the time he started to work for his dad, Mario, my friend and political idol. While I do believe that Andy was better at politics than his dad and his equal as a head of state (always thought he would have been a great Presidential candidate if his "gadget" didn't get in the way), he was nowhere near the genuine genius and humanity of his dad. Mario was a star at St. John's Law School and was always the most intellectually gifted and schooled person I ever knew even after he talked me into running for Democratic Party Chair in Westchester County resulting in the dissolution of the best law firm partnership that I ever had.
Thank you for the link to his speech that I still hear ringing in my ear when I read the transcript. I still have and cherish the 3'x5' piece of note paper on which he hand wrote the few notes he used for his speech at our County Convention.
By the way, one typo in your piece, Andy was never Mayor of NYC as you wrote, just a Governor of the State.
I corrected it -- Tim pointed it out to me....sigh. And he hasn't been mayor YET.
Thanks for the nice memories -- I too can hear the speech ringing in my ears.