In an Italian (very authentic looking) pizza place, I noticed that the people cooking put a dash of olive oil on the pizza before sticking it in the oven. Maybe it’s because the ovens are so hot. I admit to having done this at home before cooking, but most certainly not after. I think a lot of American pizzas are thicker and have lots more cheese on. I’m British btw, and I use Palestinian olive oil because it’s much the best I’ve ever tasted.
Pizza puffs are a Chicago thing? Holy shit, another way in which we dominate the pizza game.
Oh god I wish this forum had a “like” button
It’s better than pineapple on a pizza, but only barely.
First place where I encountered it was in fact the US, although it was oil with cayenne in it.
I’ve eaten lots of pizza in the Naples region and in The UK, the olive oil things seems pretty standard to me in the neopolitan-style. Perhaps it is just that form of pizza that hasn’t really made it to the USA (I confess that the USA-style with loads of topping is pretty much inedible for me)
When I was on a caravan holiday a few years back, we bought a supermarket pizza to have on the evening we got to the site, only to discover the caravan didn’t have an oven. So I fried each slice, individually, in a frying pan.
It’s, er, not something I would do again.
Finishing a freshly wood-baked pizza with good extra virgin oil is perfectly acceptable - they even do it in Italy. Hardly comparable with ketchup.
Here’s an italian article debating whether to add olive oil before or after cooking.
Olive oil is a flavour enhancer - it’s like adding seasoning. Everyone needs to chill out about it.
Many (most?) Italian restaurants in Europe have a few small bottles of olive oil available to customers who want it, infused with garlic, chili, herbs or perhaps in Norway, walrus rectums.
I thought this was something everyone knew?
I wonder if we have a disconnect here between US style pizza and Italian. US style pizza tends to be way more overloaded with cheese and other toppings, so perhaps olive oil seems excessive . Whereas italian style is altogether less loaded - a little tomato sauce and mozzarella, then perhaps two other topics, lightly scattered.
I note from the gallery page of my favourite local pizzeria, they have a pic of one of the chefs drizzling olive oil on a cooked pizza.
Pizza styles vary widely in the USA, and without trying to be offensive, there is really no such thing as just plain “US style” pizza, instead, most Americans who know a bit about quality food from an independant restaurant would probably refer specifically to “Chicago Deep Dish”, “New York style” or “Sicilian” pizza, unless you are talking about basic mass market mega-chains like Domino’s or Pizza Hut.
To me, a really good East Coast pizza (NYC, Philadelphia) can be nearly as tasty as a pizza from a little Hole-In-The-Wall somewhere in Naples’ Quartieri Spagnoli.
Different, but still really delicious.
In Genova, every pizza joint had a bottle of olive oil and a bottle of chilli olive oil on the table. Standard practice, nothing weird about it at all.
While they do vary and there are many styles within the US, there is a sort-of generic idea of what US pizza is. I think the types served by the national chains you mention do pretty much cover it.
Since you’re out there, do the Poles still do the ketchup-on-pizza thing? One of my cousins from Krakow visited here about six or seven years ago, and I was absolutely stunned when he asked for ketchup when we went to a pizza joint out in Niagara Falls. He said it was a common thing out there (I’ve been to Poland many times, but the last time was in 2001, and I don’t recall going to pizza places out there.) I thought perhaps he was just exaggerating the popularity of his little quirk, but a few months ago I was at the local Polish supermarket perusing the various condiment offerings, and I saw a bottle of this (or similar brand.) That says “herbal/herbed ketchup for pizza.”
So apparently it is popular enough to have a ketchup marketed to that purpose. (Or I suppose as a tomato base to make your own ad hoc pizzas, I guess.)
Come to think of it, there was one restaurant in Budapest that kinda sorta did a similar thing. It wasn’t ketchup, but they served their pizza sauce in a small jar along with the pizza, so you can pour extra sauce all over it. Here’s a picture.
Their conclusion: Both before and after. The exception is the marinara tomato topping, which is only before.
Interesting. I wonder what type of pizza place that was. Typically in the US, it is not unusual for pizza joints to have some condiments on the table or otherwise available for putting on the pizza after it’s served, but the standard ones are red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese (quite often, the crappy green-bottled stuff unless you’re going to more upscale places), and perhaps a shaker of oregano or dried Italian herb blend.
I would say that the pizza served at Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and the like is “American style” pizza. It’s not very high quality, of course, but quality and style are two different things. Also, in my experience, “New York Style” is just American style, but New Yorkers seem perplexed by the idea that anywhere else in the country could possibly do the same thing they do.
Chicago Deep Dish, however, is a completely different style, but it doesn’t mean what most folks outside of Chicago think it means (hint: “Deep dish” does not mean “thick crust”).
To me, new york style is a very flat but floppy pizza while the more generic american style has a slightly sturdier and thicker crust.
When I lived in Czechoslovakia, lángos was a popular street food. It was always given a good squirt of ketchup before the vendor handed it to you.
I remember one Czech-to-English text describing an Italian dish that said ketchup (instead of tomato sauce) was a main ingredient. At the time, I thought it was a mistranslation, but now I’m not so sure.
I’ve seen Russians heat entire 12" supermarket pizzas in frying pans. Why they don’t just stick them in the oven, I don’t know.
Interesting. I lived many years in the land of lángos (Hungary), and had never seen anyone put ketchup on theirs in Hungary. Those weirdo Czechoslovaks! 
The standard topping was a mop of garlic water and salt. Then you can add sour cream and/or cheese to that. Some places might also offer ham, and I’m sure there’s more exotic combos out there as well, but ketchup is a new one on me!