In Memoriam - Vincent Chianese, Vincent's Pizza Park, Forest Hills

5/18/2012 - What a shock today to hear that Vincent's has closed!  What a shame.



I was saddened to hear about the death of a Pittsburgh pizza icon - the famous Vincent Chianese, of Vincent's Pizza Park in Forest Hills.   According to the obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mr. Chianese passed away Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the age of 85.  KDKA's obituary includes a video and photo of Vincent.   A tribute is planned for Sunday, March 14 at Vincent's Pizza Park, 998 Ardmore Blvd., Forest Hills from 5 to 9 p.m.


I grew up in Forest Hills and Vincent's pizzas were legendary.  When I was older, I was surprised - and proud - that our local "Vinnie Pies" were known and shipped all over the country.  Thanks, Vincent, for lots of good food, great stories and for putting our hometown on the map!

Luigi's Pizzeria & Ristorante - Bellevue, PA

531 Lincoln Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA  15202
(412) 734-0980

Hats off to Chef Jim at Luigi's for making a great pizza pie!

We dropped off donations today at our favorite charity thrift shop - Family Heirlooms in Bellevue - and asked for suggestions for local pizzerias.   After some discussion, we settled on Luigi's and were glad we did ... it was outstanding!

Luigi's has been in business for 34 years, and when you taste their pizza you can understand why.  Luigi's pizza rocks with flavor!  The hand tossed Neapolitan style crust had excellent flavor and was just right - a crisp, snappy exterior with the perfect amount of chewiness on the interior.  The tomato sauce had a wonderful fresh tomato flavor, with just hints of garlic and spice - it was refreshing to find a sauce that wasn't heavily overloaded with the spices.   What's even better was that the pizza was not at all greasy and there was no grease residue on the box.
We also tried the Provolone Sticks and they were also very good, with a coating that tasted fresh and not pre-packaged.  They were accompanied by a generous take out cup of a very good marinara sauce. 

The extensive menu includes quite a few menu items that you don't normally find in a pizzeria - like the Mussels a la Luigi listed in the Appetizers section.  (Not to mention breaded cauliflower - you don't find that everywhere, either).   One of the Sides offered is "Sunny Slaw", "A unique blend of slaw, sunflower seeds, and noodles in a tangy sauce."  Also unique is the Spaghetti a la Luigi - which has a tomato sauce containing raisins, pine nuts and black olives.   I was very interested in the Desserts - Cannoli, Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Apple Pie a la Mode, Pecan Ball, and Cinnamon Dippers with Ice Cream.  Wow!!!

Hours are Monday - Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.    We ordered our pizza and provolone sticks to go, but Luigi's does have a small restaurant area.  It has a nice family atmosphere with old world style and plenty of room to move.  The next time we're in the area we plan to sit down, relax and enjoy some of their other offerings.

And ... Luigi's is a new addition to our top Pittsburgh favorites!

Dominos Pizza - Forest Hills

2600 Ardmore Boulevard
Forest Hills, PA  15221
412-824-8700

I remember living in a neighborhood where Domino's Pizza was our only nearby option.  It's been a long time ... and a lot of pizzas ... since those days.  Lately I've seen Domino's advertising saying that they have totally revamped and improved their recipes, so thought it was time to give them another try. 

We chose a cheese pizza with a Brooklyn style crust.  The crust was hand rolled (the literature says the crusts are hand tossed, but we saw them rolling it).  The sauce was mildly spicy and enjoyable, but it was overwhelmed with an artificial garlic flavor on the crust.  The pizza was also loaded with an extreme amount of cheese  - I had to remove quite a bit of it from my slices so that I could taste the sauce.

On the plus side, the staff was very friendly and pleasant and the pizza was hot, and prepared quickly - which is nice when you are very hungry!   The loads of cheese - which the literature states is 100% real mozzarella with a hint of provolone - could be a plus, too, if you like lots of cheese on your pizza.  Domino's has eight new oven baked sandwiches that sound interesting, including a Mediterranean Veggie, Sweet & Spicy Chicken Habanero, and Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese among others.

On the other hand, when Veltre's and Foli's are so close to the same neighborhood, I think it will be a while before we give Domino's another try.

Pizza Sliders Recipe

This is based on a recipe that appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review in January.  The recipe as it appeared in the paper called for a loaf of frozen pizza dough, thawed, rolled and cut into tiny rounds.  Although I think that is a great idea, I found it easier and a lot less time consuming to use Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust.

• 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust
• olive oil
• pizza sauce
• shredded cheese - we use a "pizza mix"
• toppings of your choice
• pizza seasoning
• parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450.

Open the can of refrigerated pizza crust and place on a large cookie sheet or board that has been lightly floured.  Use a 2" round biscuit cutter, or the rim of a juice glass, to cut small circles in the dough.  Place the dough circles on a cookie sheet that has been brushed with a little olive oil.  Top each round with about 2 tsps. of pizza sauce, about 1 Tbsp. of shedded pizza cheese and the toppings of your choice (we like ours plain and did not add toppings).  Lightly dust the tops with pizza seasoning and a smidgen of parmesan cheese.

Bake for approximately 6-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pizza Cone Update

I just read on Hilton Head's Blog a la Carte that Pino Gelato and their fabulous Pizza Cone will be featured on the Food Network's Unwrapped on February 22 at 9:00.  Don't miss it!

Sunseri's Pizza - Pizza Boat

We love Sunseri's in Carrick and never tire of their pizza and other pizza snacks!  This is a "pizza boat" - a large Italian bun, sliced and cooked with pizza sauce and loads of cheese.  They are also happy to add whatever toppings you like - we ordered ours plain.  The pizza boat is similar to a French Bread Pizza ... but we like this version best.

Lexi's Pizza of Awesomeness