This weekend we ordered a pizza -- our usual: pepperoni, mushroom, and Kalamata olives -- from Pagliacci, the best pizza place in Seattle and one of the best pizza places in the country. When it arrived, there was a note sitting on top that read: "This one's on us! Thanks for being a great customer."
I heart Pagliacci.
I'm not just blogging about them because they gave me a free pizza, or because every time I call they know exactly who I am, where I live, what my CC# is, what my usual order is, and that I sometimes get a large salad and sometimes don't, or because their employees, from the phone person to the delivery person, are extraordinarily friendly without ever being smarmy, or because their food rocks my socks.
I'm not even blogging about them because they're a textbook example of a local business that supports other local businesses and local charities, keeps money circulating in the local economy, and serves seasonal and, when possible, local food.
No, it's the recent launch of their Growing Greener program that warrants (OK, justifies) this post. My pizza box this weekend was covered with environmental tips and statistics. They're composting material at all their stores and using pizza boxes that (unlike most) can also be composted. Maybe best of all, they're offering a $15 gift certificate to everyone who signs up for the green power option from Seattle City Light or Puget Sound Energy.
So if you live in Seattle, forget Dominoes and Pizza Hut. Pay the extra money to support a business that's doing well by doing good. And if you're visiting, don't leave without trying it -- green or no green, it's the best pizza pie you'll ever taste.
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Comments
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greenstork Posted 10:02 am
21 Aug 2006
That said, three cheers for local businesses making any effort to be sustainable, Pagliacci's on my speed dial.
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David Roberts Posted 10:10 am
21 Aug 2006
I've had plenty of NYC pizza, as it happens, and I'd still take Pagliacci over it. Your mileage may vary.
www.grist.org
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caniscandida Posted 12:46 pm
21 Aug 2006
Our favorite pizzas were under those umbrellas on the Largo Corrado Ricci, in Rome, opposite the entrance to the Foro Romano, and beneath our hotel room. Definitely those were the best pizzas, and the best location, ever.
Then again, we have not been to the Bay of Naples yet.
Whether ethnicity matters at all, by the way, in Seattle, I have no idea. San Francisco and Monterey were important centers for Italian immigration, it is well known. But north of there?
Sort of around the "Annie Hall" period, Woody Allen said, "You know you're in the Midwest when your waiters in the Italian restaurant aren't called Vinnie and Sal anymore; no, now their names are Neil, and Dwayne."
Anyway, it is certainly true that toppings change the chemistry of a pizza completely. Pizza is not just a base on which you can pile toppings. Pizza margherita is an art form in itself. We usually get a large thin-crust pizza, half pizza margherita, half spinach and mushrooms. And even that is a compromise. So what is it you always get, for free or for money, pepperoni with something?, Schweinfleisch mit etwas gruen?, great, Buon appetito. But just realize, dass ist nicht das Ding an sich.
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Biodiversivist Posted 2:14 pm
21 Aug 2006
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com
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kmp Posted 1:15 am
22 Aug 2006
I grew up in a commercial fishing town full of Sicilians & Portuguese. These people know their pizza and know their salted, cured meats. Linguica pizza from Sebastian's in town was a Sunday night tradition in our house... in all my worldly travels, I still have yet to find it's equal.
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Tom Philpott Posted 4:13 am
22 Aug 2006
For more info, google Chowhound.com and Di Fara.
Also, Mario Batali's Otto in the Village is doing pretty good Italian-style pizza at reasonable prices.
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mihan Posted 4:38 am
22 Aug 2006
The only pizza I actually get excited about (yes, I've had east coast pizza from Boston to DC) is from Ian's pizza in Madison, WI. As a tasty bonus, Ian is tall, dark, handsome, and Brazilian. Oh yes---and he believes that employees should be paid well and have health care.
It's possible that all of their slices are excellent, but I just can't get past the fresh tomato, fresh basil, fresh mozz' slice. They lovingly remove the (whole) basil leaves before putting your slice in the oven, then replace them atop your hot slice, where they sit coolly waiting for your bite---no crispy basil at Ian's.
Whoever decided that being able to fold a slice of pizza was a good thing? Maybe they have a fence to whitewash, too.
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