Peter's Blog

Note from Peter: I first met Brian Spangler about 18 years ago, when he owned a small mountain top artisan bread bakery outside of Portland, Oregon. He was hosting a meeting of the Board of Directors for the Bread Bakers Guild of America, and told me he someday hoped to open a place where he could also serve barbecue and pizza. Then, a couple of years later I saw him…Read More…

As promised, here’s a recap of my recent pan pizza crawl through Brooklyn and Manhattan, as choreographed by the indomitable Scott Wiener, founder of New York Pizza Tours (and regular contributor here on Pizza Quest). Background note: I am currently working on a book, scheduled for release next year, all about pan pizzas. These include focaccia, schiacciata, Sicilian, grandma, and the increasingly popular Roman and Detroit-styles. On this all day,…Read More…

Hi Everyone, I just got back from NYC where Pizza Quest Guest Columnist (and great guy), Scott Wiener, founder of New York Pizza Tours, orchestrated an amazing all day pizza crawl in search of killer “pan pizzas.” I will explain and post more about it right here within the next day or two, as soon as I can upload my photos and organize my thoughts. I was also in NYC…Read More…

Note from Peter: I first met Joe Fugere, founder of Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria in Seattle, WA, at the 2016 Caputo Cup in Harlem, and then saw him again at the 2017 Pizza Expo, and then again at the more recent Caputo Cup in Atlantic City in October. We picked up our conversation each time as if time hadn’t intervened at all. From the first, I was impressed with Joe’s…Read More…

Note from Peter: A few months ago I posted about the wonderful experience I had at the Atlantic City Pizza and Pasta Show, where I met Alex Manzo and Massimiliano Saieva, the masterminds behind the new Roman-style pizza movement here in the USA. It was my first time tasting Massimiliano’s pizzas and I was blown away! While he was making his “al taglio” pizzas (“baked in a pan”) I spoke briefly with…Read More…

Note from Peter: I received this e-mail from pizza fanatic Bret Isbell on Sunday and couldn’t resist asking him for permission to share it with all of you. He agreed, so here it is.  If anyone has any personal memories of either “Z’s Pizza” in Garland, TX, or “Pizza Villa” in Richardson, TX, please feel free to chime in, as these kind of places are a dying breed. And, if…Read More…

Hi Everyone, I ran into my long time friend (and Charlotte pizza legend), Siler Chapman, at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Show in Atlantic City a couple of months ago, where I discovered that he has partnered with his World Pizza Champions teammate, Michael Shepherd, on an exciting new venture. They both agreed to fill me in on their new consulting and coaching business, PerfectingPizza.com, so I’ll let them take…Read More…

Hi Everyone, Here’s a link to a great post from our friend, Bill Rogers, mastermind behind Culinary TV, about the new designation accorded to Wood-Fired Pizza by the United Nations!  Check it out here: https://www.culinarytvshow.com/unitednations  As we approach the magic hour, enjoy this article and we look forward to giving you more wonderful postings, webisodes, recipes, and guest columns here on PizzaQuest during 2018. Have a wonderful New Year from the…Read More…

Hi Everybody, Hard t believe it’s almost Christmas — seems like I just wrote a Christmas post just a blink ago! But here we are, so this is just a short thank you for another great year and for your ongoing support. We are just moments away from making an exciting announcement about the growth and expansion of Pizza Quest, but I can’t say it yet until we sign the…Read More…

Note from Peter: I met Will Grant in October, in Atlantic City during the Caputo Cup Pizza Championship, where I was serving as a judge in the Non-Traditional Category (this meant, pretty much, anything goes, as opposed to the Traditional category which limited total toppings to three). Will had come to my interview, earlier that day, with pizza maestro Joe Beddia, and afterward he filled me in on his life…Read More…