Comments on A Lunchtime Fantasy

I totally agree on the quality of Hot Mama's pizza: Best NY-style slices anywhere in Seattle. If only they were open until 2 am!

Unfortunately, Hot Mama's pizza is unpleasantly thin and oily.
LIKE DAN'S HAIR WHOA
But seriously, it's not good.

Anything moving away from R Place is going to score points with me. Man I wish something would just drive up and tear that fucking bar down.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever been sober @ Hot Mama's.

I agree about the locations.

I guess if you like luke-warm floppy pizza then hot Mama's is great.

i'll take piecora instead, despite the walk

Bill's used to do a pretty killer Caesar, too. Maybe they still do. Haven't been in a long time.

Frankly though? Considering the hygiene of the johns made me wonder about the staff and kitchen. I'd eat my Caesar - kinda - with my fingers crossed.

I agree on Piecora's, if only they could get me a slice in under 20 minutes. I dropped in on Mama's over the weekend, I usually need to remind myself every 6-9 months why I don't go there. It worked... dry pepperoni and crust, coagulated sauce, cheese with skin.

I have to disagree. The pizza at Bill's is far better than the pizza at Hot Mama's. I mean, they're different kinds of pizza to begin with, and maybe it's different at lunchtime, but whenever I'm at Hot Mama's the pizza is cold and the cheese has congealed into a lumpy mass. Gross.

That being said, there's good pizza just a block away at the Honey Hole. The chicken and goganzola pizza is so amazing!

Wouldn't it be great if that fat disgusting fuck of an owner finally died of a heart attack and his obnoxious and retarded wife finally got involuntarily commited?

Then Mama's could move in there and maybe... Possibly... If they have any shred of decency and intelligence... could run a business where they don't treat their employees like shit? And don't hire smelly box car children to wash the dishes? And they don't run out the very crowds jam pack every other bar on the hill on Friday and Saturday? So that maybe their employees could... Oh... I don't know... Make a living wage?

Fuck. Bill's.

Can we all stop lying to ourselves and to others? There is nothing even close to NY style pizza in Seattle (or all lands west of the Mississippi for that matter) and I've grown tired of checking out every new joint that people rave about "doing it right". It's a figment.

Can we all stop lying to ourselves and to others? There is nothing even close to NY style pizza in Seattle (or all lands west of the Mississippi for that matter) and I've grown tired of checking out every new joint that people rave about "doing it right". It's a figment.

I refrain from pizza in Seattle. I just go to Oly and eat Old School. So motherfucking good.

@10 & 11 -- Here Here! This rule should also apply to any dubious claims of "Chicago Style" pizza.

So now we know why they call Dan "Pizza Face."

Bill's is perfect as-is.

I love Hot Mama's. It's inexpensive, it's delicious, it's fast. I get cravings for their pesto pizza sometimes. It's fair to call it greasy, but that's what napkins are for - dab the grease, sprinkle with parmesan, and voila: perfection.

Hot Mama's is great, but they need to cook their pizza more. When I can see the little strands of cheese still hanging out under the pepperonis, that means it needs another 3 minutes in the oven.

My experience is that the best NY style pizza in NY was always in the crappiest of locations (e.g. ferry terminal). Nothing like folding a slice, lifting to mouth, and having the oil run down your forearm. Mmm.

Agreed, umvue. But then, all of the best food in NYC seems to be in the skankiest places.

Hot Mama's is probably #1 now, but the best slices (and pizza) by far were at PIZZA PASSION before they mysteriously disappeared. The sign is still there and I shed a tear every time I walk by.

And GOOD CALL about Bill's. What a great space, what mediocre food and disgruntled employees.

The best NY pizza can be found at 1 am in Vancouver, BC downtown next to a gay dance club.

Just saying.

Seattle pizza has not been the same since 2nd Avenue Pizza closed.

http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/22/sucky_pizza.html

for a sex columnist, Dan has very boring fantasies...

and all the places mentioned here; Mama's/Bills/Piecora, have serious consistency issues. I've had good pizza at all three, and I've had dreadful pizza at all three. I've yet to have brilliant pizza in Seattle; like bbq, no one seems to get it right.

@22: Yes! Oh I miss 2nd Ave Pizza.

They won't have the right to call themselves "Hot Mama's Pizza" until tomorrow, when they can start serving slices topped with the shredded remnants of Hillary Rodham Clinton's political career.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

mama's pesto pizza! greasy, but oh so good. i am suddenly so hungry...

I miss Pizza PAssion too. :(

Mr Poe, I agree, let's tear down R-Place TONIGHT!!! GRRRRRRR!!!! Down with R-Place!!!

There is no good pizza in Seattle in any fixed location. Piecora's, Hot Mama's, whatever: it's all ass.

The only good pizza in town is from the itinerant clay oven that goes to the various farmers and street markets. I don't know what it's called; it was at the Fremont Sunday Market weekend before last, and I've seen it in Ballard.

It's the only place in town that knows how to make a crust. Fucking fantastic: just on the cusp between crisp and crackly, with a tart sauce that isn't all sugared up, and the perfect amount toppings (i.e., sparse). It's what Tutta Bella thinks it is, but isn't by a mile.

Best street food in Seattle. In the HISTORY of Seattle.

@22 RIP 2nd Avenue Pizza

Veraci Pizza, that's it. Seriously: throw that other stuff in the garbage can.

BUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRNNNNNITTOTHEGROOUND!

one thing i love at night is the contrast between the warmth of mamma's pizza and the parking garage. just take a look one night kitty corner and its striking.

It's been a year since Atlantic Street Pizza was shut down by Harry's nephew. Ideally someone would open up a new pizza place in the same area with the same recipe. I miss that pizza dearly.

I always ask 'em to toss my slices in the oven for a few moments -- toasts the crust, uncongeals whatever might have congealed while the slice sat on the tray. Hot Mama's employees are always happy to to do it. And they automatically do it at all slice places NYC, for the record.

bill's is awesome. the personal size pizzas are awesome. the mix of old farts and hipsters is excellent. the jukebox is entertaining. The pool table was a HUGE mistake. And the service has deteriorated noticeably in the last year or so.

Piecora's makes the best pizza out of the 2 places, but Bill's is the one I go to with friends. I've only gone to Hot Mama's a couple of times. It's great to get slices that fast (word to the 20 minute wait for a cheese slice at Piecora's), but it's not even east coast mall quality pizza. And the staff isn't any friendlier than at Bill's.

Will @21, can you give me the name of the Vancouver place? I might just have to hit that up in the near future.

nope.

Also, do yourselves a favor one day soon and do a trip to Port Townsend for some Waterfront Pizza. Get a couple of slices and sit on the dock - that's a good life.

@40 I grew up in Port Tampon and, well, I think Waterfront sucks! But then again, I was raised on it and after tasting the pesto pizza at Hot Mamas, well, I was ruined for life. Hot Mamas is the best.

Other places in PT to get good pizza would have to be The Upstage, they have a portabello havarti pizza with tarragon that is painfully dreamy. Sorry Waterfront.

The pizza at Piecora's is pretty damn good, in my opinion. By if we're just talking about great taste and a cool space, nothing beats Tribunali. I assume we all agree on that without actually having to say it out loud.

Just making sure.

As a foodie, I love The Strangers constant postings about Seattle's food scene. When I moved here from Manhattan I was warned there is no good pizza. It's a small sacrifice to live where real estate is so cheap and computer jobs abound.

Dan I don't even look for pizza anymore, my palate can stand the punishment. I wait for my monthly trip to Manhattan and dine there.

@13, For great Chicago-style pizza, try Delfino's in U-Village (nestled next to Barnes & Noble's north entrance). You can eat it there or buy a frozen one to bake at home. Get the stuffed spinach one. I grew up on Chicago pizza, as I am a Chicago girl and my mom never cooked. Delfino's comes very, very close to places like Gino's, Lou Malnati's, Uno/Due, etc. It's owned by a couple from Chicago, so they have a clue about pizza.

Juliano's gets no love. :(

and ZAGI'S! OMG. Zagi's would cha-ching if they opened a downtown or Capitol Hill or anywhere-not-in-Loyal-Heights location.

And yes, it's sit-down, and I know many of you don't like kids, but Tutta Bella is some of the best pizza I've ever had, period. Yes, it competes with pizza I've had in Brooklyn. Although apples and oranges and all that.

What Seattle needs is a place to get SICILIAN slices. Hot Mama's? You listenin'?

I try not to mention Pagliacci or Mad Pizza. They're ironically the best California pizza places in the country. The goofier the pizza the better, but none's as good as any of the above.

And I try to not to take years of my life away with Chi Deep Dish, but the Wallingford Pizza House has exceptional Chicago Deep Dish pizza.

Although, the best typical-corner-in-NYC style slices in Seattle is the little window at Delaurenti's in Pike Place Market. Kinda shocked no one mentions the slices there.

Tribunali is mediocre, and Tutta Bella is fricking HORRIBLE. I've been back numerous times for some reason, and every time it's the same: soaking wet in the middle, barely cooked, droopy yet spongy, and a terrible red sauce that tastes rancid to me.

Seriously: get yourself a slice of Veraci and you'll stop talking about these wanna-be places that have the recipe but not the art.

r place smells like ass...

piecora's crust tastes like cardboard..

jino's makes better pizza than tutta bella.

I can't imagine eating at Hot Mama's in the middle of the afternoon.

@42 - I've heard the pizza at Tribunali is good, but it looks so pretentious I've never had any desire to go in.

Speaking of pretentious, one place that was an iffy idea with mediocre results is Serious Pie, Tom Douglas' place in Belltown. Talk about trying to make pizza into something it's not, and then overcooking it to boot.

Ugh, enough with the "insert city here-style" food comparisons. It's a useless disclaimer, especially when it comes to pizza. If something tastes good, who gives a shit? And yes, I have eaten street pizza in both Chicago and New York.

Southern barbecue, ok, I might consider that, but for the most part it doesn't really make a difference.

Sit-n-Spin used to have that combination of not too much of a bar or a resturant. It was a place were you were welcome to chill out with ordering more drinks or turning over the table.
Belltown still has Pizza but the places are much more have your food and go or have another drink.

@48: lol, agree to disagree and all that. I found Tribulani kinda horrible myself, much worse than the least from Tutta. And Serious Pie is good if you pretend that you're not getting pizza but specialized bread.

Over pizza quality in Seattle is directly proportional to how far away from the center of town it is, Delaurenti's aside... until you hit that Shari's DMZ.

You want good pizza? Go to Little Old Lake City and hit the Italian Spaghetti House. Fucking old school pepperoni, excellent crust, and that mozzarella that makes you wanna cry.

Mama's sucks and their service is appalling. Piecora's is far superior to anything on the Hill. RIP, World Pizza.

Thanks for all the outstanding recommendations around town, everyone!

And Hot Mama's pesto is bar none the best in town - oh so gratifying.

But Dan, how can you deny Bill's pizza - the next best thing to your hometown pizza: effectively burnt layers of cheese & that thick & crispy crust.

I say keep 'em both on the same block and compel both to serve food til 3am on weekends!

Just to clarify, I'm in no way suggesting that any of the places under discussion are comparable to dreck like Dominos or Pizza Hut. Just that crowing about the "best" whatever-style food is pointless. There's probably more shitty pizza joints in New York than all the pizza restaurants in Seattle. If I find a place I like, why should I care whether some name-dropping New York wannabe thinks it's "worthy"?

Food on the Hill is generally kinda there at best. It reminds of San Francisco as far as plenty of just-OK options everywhere. You need to get away from the central neighborhoods if you want a dynamite meal. (analogy: NORTH BEATH)

lol, "North Beach" but it pronounced "NORCH BEATH"!

fave pizza place in NYC used to be on 3d near the Astor Place cube. Original Ray's? Derivative Ray's? Tertiary Ray's?? One of those.

If you got veggies they piled high about 2" . A small mtn. of bell pepps, onion, mushrooms, yum.

Best here recently is the place on 5th Ave and 83d NE.

Bill's doesn't make pizza, it makes a delicious pile of melted and gently browned cheese with various things under it.

The only way to make it better is to add extra cheese.

Hot Momma's? Mediocre imitation of NY Pizza, with all the problems of cleanliness and grease and unsanitary conditions, but none of the flavor.

Have to disagree on the pizza quality- I walk down from the other end of Broadway to get pizza to go from Bill's for lunch every week or two. I've ended up grabbing slices from Hot Mama's a couple times because they were handy and wasn't impressed.

Zagi's in North Ballard (Loyal Heights) is way better than Hot Mama's. I used to live within walking distance of them. Sniff. Now I'm in walking distance of Hot Mama's, and it's nowhere near as good as Zagi's.

Agreed with Mackro - Delaurenti's rectanle slices are good.

Mama's and Piecora's are ok, but can be inconsistent. Mama's wins out on the heat'er up, but both are much better when you order a fresh pie.

I've rightly given up on hoping for east coast pizza here, but there's a lot of serviceable stuff if you're not too picky. I even like Pagliacci's. Exciting, hunh?

Extra cheese? That's the problem with most Seattle pizza, it's got way too much cheese on it.

That and the crust. You can't make pizza crust at less than 800 degrees, it's just not possible.

Anybody remeber Abruzzi's? Across from the Sheraton, next to the Foot Locker. Great pizza, great atmosphere, and the rudest rat bastard of a waiter on the face of the earth?

As for Hot Mama's, haven't been there in years, but they used to have some seriously sexy delivery boys.

And the young people don't like the R Place anymore? Back in my day, that was the place to fall in love for an hour or so. Haven't been there for decades, either.

What do I love about Hot Mama's? A totally drunk guy gave me his number there on Valentine's Day.

@66: Abruzzi's was HANDS DOWN the best pizza in Seattle. That "rat bastard" you speak of was Saul and, while he had a gruff exterior, he was actually the sweetest man in the world.

His wife, Sharon, used to cut hair in the weird salon in the back of the Gay '90's. She's a little person, and they were the most charming couple you can imagine. Saul loved her with all his heart.

My ex-boyfriend's dad was a bookmaker downtown, and Abruzzi's was his office. And I mean bookie, not person that makes books. RIP Pizza Nick, Boston Tommy Ryan, Saul, and all the other magnificent characters that used to make Seattle so colorful.

But, man, you shoulda seen the rats downstairs.

What about that place next to The Summit? I used to go grab their chicken, garlic sauce onion and other goodies there every few weeks. Tasty stuff.

All that garlic might explain why I have a long-distance relationship eh?

hmmm...that comment about San Francisco was funny to me, because one of the best pizzas that i've ever had was at a place in Cow Hollow...very authentic Italian pizza with delicious, uber-thin crust that had delicious burnt patches on the bottom...it was so fucking good and I've never had a pizza that good here.

Best pizza in the U.S., fwiw, is at L&B Spumoni Gardens in lower Brooklyn.

Next best is, surprisingly, in Orange County, CA -- Nick's Pizza in Costa Mesa. (If *that* place has now gone away, O.C. is deader than dead to me.)

Speaking of Zagi's, here is good buzz about them:
http://seattle.citysearch.com/review/41682687

36. Does it ever occur to you, Dan, that they're happy to do it because you're Dan Savage and they know you will bury their place on Slog, maybe even in the paper, if they don't?

It's a status thing. If I asked them to toast my slices, whether or not they'd do it they'd treat me like a total dirtbag for even asking.

Kerri, I hope you understand that I meant "rat bastard" in the best possible way. He was part of the fun of dining there.

And I remember that salon. Wasn't that the Frederick Salon? Or was it called the Waldorf? I know the building was.

God, you'd never know those few blocks from what they were just a few years ago. Mostly, it's a good change, but I wish Abruzzis, I. Magnin, and the Waldorf Building (including the Gay 90's) could have survived.

I've eaten my weight in Zagi's slices.

Will @ 21, if you're talking about Did's pizza, around the corner from Luvaffair, you must've been drunk. It's good, but it's not NY pizza.

Who needs any of that? I heard SKILLET is coming to Capitol Hill! Hot damn!!!!!!!!!!!

@74: But of course, Catalina. You are one of my favorite commenters, I get your vibe.

Don't get me started on those blocks. Would love to talk with you about old timey Seattle sometime, you know your spots.

But, Gomez, I've seen them do it for other folks, mere mortals, too -- and I was way back in the line a few times, so I don't think they were doing it to impress me.

stellar pizza, anyone?

73, actually they've always done the back in the oven reheat automatically for me and everyone else i've seen in there....actually the best pizza on earth is not from NYC but from Buffalo NY. Bocce's and/or Fatman's are the best hands down.

Seattle's best pizza is in its hottest neighborhood, Portland.

If you were there, could it be they did so because they knew you were watching? People do put on a face for people of note.

81. They've always given me lukewarm pizza, and I never thought anything of it because I saw them do so for others as well. So I have to think you're either lying, there's something you and Dan aren't telling me, or that I've stumbled upon the bad apples in the staff (4-5 times). I would be shocked if Hot Mama's was directing an elaborate act of spite towards me.

Mama's and Piecora are not bad, in fact they're outstanding in comparison to the trash that passes for pizza on the west coast.

Atlantic St. pizza on the Ave used to make good pizza too a few years ago but the owner died and I'm not sure how it is now.

One more spot worth trying (especially if you're ever waiting for the Kingston ferry): Old Mill Town Pizza in Edmonds, just a few blocks up from the ferry, though it's undergoing renovations right now. Solid crust, not too sugary, cheesy, soft, or slimey.

@85 (hairyson), I mentioned Atlantic Street above. Harry died in Nov' 06. His nephew, who had not previously been actively involved in the place, shut it down in march of 2007 without any warning to the customers. He lied and claimed that he was "remodeling it" but instead he decided to sell the space and run.