I Always Thought It Was the Water
Friday, April 25, 2008 | posted by Mike
Why can't you get decent pizza on the left coast?It was that question that led to a phone call to Mario Batali, according to a post on Gothamist. The big guy chalks up the superiority of NYC pizza to, well...I'll leave the reasoning in Batali's original language:
New York’s old pizza ovens “capture the gestalt of beautifully cooked pizza.”OK, back from looking up "gestalt" yet? Good.
I don't know about all that, but I will say that one of the major frustrations for me when trying to replicate recipes from TV shows or cookbooks -- particularly dishes from foreign and "exotic" cuisines -- is a lack of access to uncommon ingredients that are necessary for an authentic taste. And this is coming from someone who lives half way between two of the biggest cities in the country...imagine what it would be like for someone out in the boondocks.
Case in point: I made a killer Thai green curry paste last weekend that finally had the kind of flavor that I've only been able to get at a Thai restaurant. The difference? The fish sauce (which is pretty widely available) and shrimp paste, which necessitated a walk down to Chinatown.
Labels: Mario Batali
