The Pizza Penalty

Joseph Jacobbi, who operates a restaurant called Casa-di-Pizza, gave a judge an opportunity to deliver a one-of-a-kind verdict.

In the wake of Jacobbi's conviction on sales tax fraud, a state supreme court judge ordered the Buffalo, N.Y. pizzeria owner to provide 12 free pizzas once a week to a homeless shelter in the city. And to keep providing the gratis pizzas for one year.

"I will leave the choice of toppings to you," the judge told Jacobbi.

A Nice Slice of Detective Work

How did police detectives in Los Angeles build a sufficient case to recently arrest a man whom they believe is the Grim Sleeper serial killer? The key piece of evidence was a piece of pizza.

According to this L.A. Times' blog, detectives conducted DNA tests on a discarded piece of pizza, and the test results prompted them to make their arrest.

"Keep Those Anchovies Off My Pizza"

Last Friday, Vice President Joe Biden, his wife and two daughters were in the mood for pizza. They picked a good destination for it: Two Amys. They make some of the best pizza you will find in the nation's capital.

Some people jokingly call it Two (Hour) Amys for a reason. Including your waiting time for a table, that's probably how long your meal will take. To their credit, the Biden clan didn't try to pull rank. The Washington Post's Reliable Source reports that the Bidens waited 25 minutes before they were seated.

But inquiring minds want to know: did the Bidens place an order of the wonderful polpettine as a starter? Reliable Source had no answer.

For the Cheesy Romantic

Chicago is a city that definitely loves its pizza. So it came as no surprise to learn that at least one pizzeria-restaurant in the city's suburbs celebrates Valentine's day by making heart-shaped pizzas. A suburban newspaper reports:

At Nonna Silvia's Trattoria and Pizzeria in Park Ridge, heart-shaped pizzas have become a Valentine's Day tradition -- ever since a customer requested one for his wife nine years ago, said owner and chef John Giannini.

... "A lot of husbands will bring a pizza home for their wives. It's a nice touch," Giannini said.

The pizzas are hand-rolled just like any other that the restaurant serves up, and a variety of toppings are available.

... "The dough is our canvas, the sauce is our paint," he said.

You gotta love that statement.

For romantic diners who aren't in the mood for pizza, Nonna Silvio's offers another option: red, heart-shaped raviolis.

Pizza Pursuits in Washington, D.C.

Pizza has come a long, long way since I've been living in the nation's capital. There was a time when the few local chains in D.C. weren't making pizza that was much better than Domino's Pizza. Today? There are a lot of places where you can enjoy excellent pizza.

Here is my list of the top 5 places to eat pizza in Washington with the neighborhoods cited in parentheses:

1. Pizzeria Paradiso, two locations (Georgetown & Dupont Circle)

2. Two Amys, 3715 Macomb St. & Wisconsin Ave., NW (Tenleytown)

3. Sette Osteria, 1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW @ R St. (Dupont Circle)

4. Matchbox, two locations* (Capitol Hill & Gallery Place/Chinatown)

5. Pete's Apizza, 1400 Irving Street, NW (Columbia Heights)

Each of these places serves a NYC-New Haven style of pizza. This was a tough choice. There isn't much separating my top three choices as far as quality goes. Two Amys would probably be my #1 choice if they made a better crust.

I'm sure there are some Washingtonians who read this list and wondered: "Why isn't Coppi's on this list?" I have had pizza at Coppi's twice and enjoyed it, but it doesn't belong in the top 5. However, it deserves an honorable mention.

* - I recommend going to the Capitol Hill location on 8th Street SE, between E and F Streets. The waits there tend to be shorter at peak times than at Matchbox's other location.

Best Pizza in Motown

This past weekend, the Detroit Free-Press ranked the top 10 eateries for pizza in the city's metro area. Supino Pizzeria tops the chart, but the whole list is here.

It's a nice list to have for the next time I happen to be in the area.

The Lovable Olive

I love olives, whether it's eating them before dinner or adding them to a dish I am making. The Italian deli 15 minutes north uses real calamata olives on pizzas (if you order one "with olives"). Absolutely marvelous.

I found this website, Ode to Olives, created by someone who shares my affinity for olives. And I also stumbled on this web page with lots of info about olives, including the many varieties of olives that are out there.

Did you know why green olives are green? According to this web page, it's because they are deliberately picked before they're ripe.

I love picholine olives. They have a slight bitterness and a briny flavor that is really nice. I have one disagreement with the web page, which says that Moroccan oil-cured olives are "best used for cooking rather than snacking." I think they are equally yummy.

Grandma Mysteriously Arises From Grave, Makes Pizza

Well, not quite.

Some restaurant customers have a rather terse, no-nonsense way of telling you that what they are eating couldn't get any better.

And this N.Y. Times article provides a good example of that. A man named Frank Mancino had this to say about Brooklyn's Di Fara Pizza:

"It's like they dug up my grandma and she made the pie."

You tell 'em, Frank. At $5 a slice, that is very high praise. (But I'm assuming his grandma didn't charge Frank for a slice of her pizza.)