Peter's Blog

I get asked this one a lot. Or, more accurately, I get lots of e-mails asking some variation of the following question: What do I need to do to make the best pizza dough? Since that’s a loaded question, subject to subjectivity and regional bias, I usually punt and focus on a couple of general tricks that seem to bring best results for nearly any kind of pizza dough.  The…Read More…

This will be the first of a series of posts that address the most frequently asked questions that I get from our readers.  I will just deal with one at a time, and will headline them FAQ with a number next to it as well as a word identifier, so this one will be FAQ #1, Sourdough Starters. That way, when someone wants to track one down in the Peter’s…Read More…

It’s taken me longer than I expected to report on the Grand Opening of the Seventh Street Public Market because this was also graduation week at Johnson & Wales University.  I remember last year writing a mushy piece about how much I love seeing the grads marching up to receive their diplomas so I won’t do another tribute other than to say how proud I am of everyone who made…Read More…

So, I’ve already written that we we opened Pure Pizza here in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago, but the Grand Opening is really going to be this Saturday, May 12th, when the entire Seventh St. Public Market, where we’re located, has its own Grand Opening. There will be music, jugglers, demo’s, lots of food — basically an all day celebratory festival (and for the whole week following) after two…Read More…

I keep ruminating on my experience on Roosevelt Ave. in Jackson Heights, Queens, during the IACP Conference week (see my previous posting on this, dated April 7th). As I described then and re-read about the various street food taste bursts that we discovered there, I also continue to recall that at nearly every truck or cart one particular phrase kept coming to me: “They’re pursuing the American dream.”  I even…Read More…

I feel as if I’ve just emerged from suspended animation. I spoke too quickly in my post- IACP posting when I said “I’m still standing,” as a few days later I hit the wall, ended up in the hospital, and couldn’t stop coughing. Turned out it was just bad bronchitis and dehydration, all of it probably initiated by the major pollen drop here during the too-early spring and then complicated…Read More…

I hate missing deadlines so I apologize for failing to post as promised. I just got clobbered by a serious pollen/bronchial illness that has totally laid me low. I’ll be back soon, but just wanted to let you know there’s a reason for my tardiness. I feel another coughing fit coming on…later folks, sorry….. Peter

Last week I spent five exciting days in NYC attending the annual IACP Conference, which I referenced a couple of posts ago (especially for those culinarians among you who may want to join).  I think of it as fantasy camp for professional foodies.  There were over 40 workshops, panels, tasting sessions, field trips, throughout the conference so it was impossible to attend more than a small percentage of them —…Read More…

This is a quickie, with more details to come later this week. Bottom line: we didn’t win for Best Food Blog of the Year after all. That honor went to a terrific blog called 5 Second Rule (5secondrule.typepad.com). Many of you voted for us — thank you so much — and I promised  to post the results asap, so here it is, just to put everyone out of the misery…Read More…

I’m headed to NYC, the Big Apple, for the annual IACP Conference (the first time it’s ever been held in NYC — it moves to a different city every year — next year it will be in San Francisco). It will be like fantasy camp for foodies this weekend, culminating on Monday at the Awards Gala when we’ll find out whether Pizza Quest wins for Best Food Blog of the…Read More…