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 ?
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.”
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. 
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
::Glancing about sheepishly::
Two pieces at a time, one inverted on the other sandwich-style.
I like pizza.
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).
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.
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
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.
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!!
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.
You use plates?
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.
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.
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).