Folded Pizza ?

[Doctordec]

I have a running debate about this and need some ammo. I prefer to fold my pizza slices before I eat them because it makes a more stable structure, less prone to dropping cheese and sauce in your lap. The fold is simple, running from the point of the slice back to the midddle of the crust and is essential, I think, to eat any slice from a pie over 15 inches. My dear friend insists that this fold ruins the taste of the pizza because all you taste is crust and you need to hit your mouth with the full cheese blast in order to get the best flavor from the pie. Does the SDMB fold their pizza or not ?

[Ukulele Ike]

Had to peek at your profile to make sure you weren't a New Yorker.

OHIO? How the hell do you fold your slices in OHIO? I grew up in Ohio! The crust on the pizza's too damn thick to fold! Can you tear a telephone book in half, too?

All New York City natives fold their pizza slices before consuming, because our crust here is about the thickness of carbon paper. So do most transplants.

Not me, though. Even after a good twenty years here, I still like to get my money's worth for MY buck-fifty. I delicately balance the slice on my fingertips (after dousing with garlic powder and crushed red pepper) and I nibble and nibble and nibble, just like Lenny and the bunny rabbits.

So native New Yorkers laugh at me, just like they do when I put mayonnaise on my cheeseburgers. To them I say "Suck my ass."

[tiggeril]

I must say... it depends on the slice. Now, this is the Illinoisan wishy-washy way to put it, but some slices are, well, more rigid and stable than others. Big 'n' floppy? Fold it. Capable of standing on its own? No-fold. One thing I do have to agree with, Doc... all pizza tastes better drenched in red pepper.

[Ukulele Ike]

Illinois? You try to fold a slice of Chicago pizza, the crust'll snap like cheap cardboard and you'll end up with a half-pound of cheese and sausage in your lap.

[Doctordec]

Uke...

I actually prefer it with paper thin crust, at least 2 feet across, and covered with red pepper and I usually find the best outside Ohio. But since you're a "non folder" I gotta ask, how do you keep your shirt clean ? Plus, I think the folding cuts down on the nasty cheese burns on the roof of your mouth.

[Persephone]

You fold your pizza?

Geez, Doc, you seemed like such a nice guy. Now I know that underneath that mild-mannered exterior beats the heart of a real freak. Yikes. Now I'm totally creeped out!

[Omniscient]

If it can be folded, the pizza isn't pizza. Its some bastardized NY creation hoisted upon good unsuspecting suburbanites by the evil Pizza Hut empire.

Now, if you'd really like to hear my opinions on pizza, but continue to discuss the ability to fold, I'll invite you to the pit.

sitting back enjoying his Giardano's 'za

[techchick68]

techchick suggests eating a calzone. ( think that's right )

anyhow, pizza should never be folded....and I am from Colorado damnit.

< big grin >

Oh and I used to love pizza but these days I could take it or leave it.

[Mr. Cynical]

A true Pizza Pie should be thick, and heavy. Sometimes, you should need a fork to eat it. If you're able to fold it without a steamroller, it's bread with ketchup.

[ChiefScott]

::Glancing about sheepishly::

Two pieces at a time, one inverted on the other sandwich-style.
I like pizza.

[tiggeril]

Yeah, except I don't live in Chicago. The floppy Pizza Hut/Papa John's slices we get around here require folding to preven a scorched lap and a stained shirt. Giardino's, now... that is some good pizza (requires a fork and knife, IMO, tho).

[Edwardina]

I'm with Chief Scott. I do this with two different varieties at a time, sometimes. My sister's a vegetarian, so I'll get a slice of her Veggie and my mom's Meat Lover's and sandwich them. BUT, they should never, ever be folded.

[Ukulele Ike]

Two pieces at a time, one inverted on the other sandwich-style.

Geez, all these months I've been picturing you as a slim, trim, go-getter, kinda like Robert Francis in The Caine Mutiny.

-- Uke,
still smarting over that "middle-aged" crack in the IKE thread

[vandal]

I'll fold it if the slice is extremely large and cannot be held up on its own with one hand (like a slice from Sbarro's). But those little Domino's or Pizza Hut slices, I don't fold because it's not necessary.

[monster]

I thought EVERYBODY knew that you get your pizza from Uno's!! Then you are forced to eat it with a knife and fork until you get to the crust. Then you eat the crust with your hands!

DUH!!

[Max Torque]

Chicago-style pizza shouldn't be called pizza; it's more of a "cheese pie". Hell, I've bought blocks of mozzarella that don't have the pure cheese content of a slice of Chicago-style. It sits in your stomach like a brick. If you order just one pizza, you'd better have at least four people if you expect to see the pizza finished. And to top it off (literally), the sauce is on TOP of the cheese. Why even freakin' bother!

Anyway, about folding: only when I have to, as in when one hand is too occupied to help with the lifting. If it's that floppy, I'd rather slide the pizza just over the edge of my paper plate and take a bite.

[tiggeril]

You use plates?

[Annie-Xmas]

Pizza sandwich! YES! I thought I was the only
one. The best way to eat it: two slices put
together.

Man, you can't come up with anything unique
these days.

[Minxsmom]

Chief, that's what my SO does! I always thought he was strange. I'm glad to see that someone else does that - I was worried about him.

I am a native New Yorker, but I only fold if I must (eating on the run). I prefer to eat my pizza with a fork (it's just neater that way). I am almost ashamed to admit this, but the way I really prefer to eat pizza is to eat off the cheese and toppings with a fork, then eat the crust, but I only do this in the privacy of my home.

[Gazoo]

Hard question to answer because of the many types of pizza, but here goes (along with some editorials) --

Real NY/NJ Pizza - fold it, much easier to eat it that way. (My personal favorite when it comes to pizza).

PizzaHut Big New Yorker/Papa John's - No need to fold, not as floppy as the real deal.

Chicago Style - yeah, just try to fold a "slice" from Gino's East. (My second favorite).

Indiana Pizza - usually has a very thin crust, commonly cut into squares, the sausage is some sort of ground up crap. No need to eat it let alone fold it.

Wisconsin Pizza - most common variety around here (other than Dominos, Pizza Hut, etc.) is a very thin crust that actually becomes crisp when cooked. Folding it would simply give you two smaller pieces than the one you began with. (Also commonly cut into squares, about 16 or so for a medium pizza).

[Pizzle Boy]

never, never, never fold pizza...I'd sooner use a knife and fork

[Fanny May]

The fold should always be down the "radius", so a long slice looks like a paper airplane.
Any other fold is simply wrong.
Of course, I learned to eat pizza when they still used forks, so I may be wrong.

[tracer]

Ode to Pizza
by yours truly, a couple of years ago


O Pizza, Thou noblest of vegetables,
Who dares to walk where others fear to tread!

Yea, by the strength of Thy Crust, thou standest!
And by the strength of Thy Sauce, thou movest!
And by the strength of Thy Cheese, thou winnest!
I am unworthy to gaze upon Thy Pepperonies.

The circle of Thy Shape shall be my shield,
And the points of Thine Slices shall be my swords,
Though I may walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
By Thy Grace,
I shall not want for any of the four basic food groups.

Though Thy Fats and Oils give me a spare tire,
Not to mention the occasional bout of the runs,
And the nitrites of Thy Pepperonies can't be doing me much good --
But verily, Thy hearty Flavor, Thy sensuous Texture,
The stringy threads of Thy hot Cheese as I take a bite,
The thrill as Thy munched-up pieces travel down my throat
To my eagerly awaiting stomach!
I would not trade Thee for all the tea in China.
(The fact that I don't like tea notwithstanding.)

Pizza, Thou brave warrior, Thou dearest friend,
Thou most intimate of lovers;
(Hey! I meant that in a spiritual way!
Getteth thy mind out of the gutter!)
Thou who wert always there when all else had abandoned me,
Thou shalt never vanish from the Earth.

[August West]

LMAO! That is hilarious! but "O Pizza, Thou noblest of vegetables,"???

[TVeblen]

A deep bow and funds to pick up the next round to Tracer! ::applauds madly::

Mind if I copy that off the for the staff room? We devoutly believe in the healing properties of good pizza delivered on bad days.

Okay, Chicago pizza is "deep dish"; it's a damned casserole! Very tasty but not pizza in the mundane sense.

I'm sorry; folding pizza is Just Wrong. So is eating it with a fork. Neat, yes; tidy, sometimes, but still just Wrong. A discreet bend to start, to keep the good stuff from flopping off the sides is one thing. But folding it in two removes all the heady fumes of melted cheese, pepper flakes, good sauce etc. from sight and nose.

It's like kissing through a plastic bag: possible, but why would you want to?

Happily hedonistic,
Veb

[Doctordec]

All of the posters prefering folded pizza are most welcome as my guests at the Adams reunion in Las Vegas in September as we proceed en masse to the New York, New York Hotel/Casino to enjoy properly prepared and folded pizzas.
You Chicago thick unfoldable pizza fans are SOL. But you can watch. As for the double slice pizza sandwich people, uhh, I'm not sure yet.

[HomeSlice]

I must be weird or something. I usually eat pizza with a knife and fork. Weird eh? And dont try folding pizza in Italy, in fact, dont try lifting it at all.