We went out for pizza last night. We’ve done this a few times before, here on Okinawa, never the same place twice, if that tells you anything. We went to a new pizza place, which specializes in American style pizza. The options were some variation on sausage pizza (“sausage” is code for hot dog here), potato and mushroom (which actually sounded kind of good) and chicken teriyaki. We ordered a the chicken teriyaki.
It came with marinara sauce, cheese, teriyaki chicken, canned mushrooms, corn, mayonnaise (the kewpie doll kind, squeezed liberally in a cris-cross pattern across the whole pizza), and was topped with shredded nori (seaweed). The crust was one of those standard frozen pizza crusts.
Officially the oddest pizza I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t exactly bad, just very strange.
When I first moved to Japan in the early 80s, “pizza” was a crust, ketchup sauce and a bit of cheese. Fortunately there were a few Shakey’s around with American style pizza. Even better, they had all you can eat lunches.
With Domino’s and Pizza Hut here now, the concept of pizza is reasonably similar to the US, but the toppings can be different. The teriyaki pizzais similar to what the OP describes. I haven’t tried their “Whip and Berry” yet, though.
In Fairbanks, Alaska. In the Blue Marlin Pizza Joint.
The Red Barron Pizza. A rather zesty red sauce on a nice thin crust. Covered in saukraut (sp?) and a hearty German sausage. Never seen it since. Was pretty good IMO.
Tastes exactly like a Tony Packo’s Hungarian Hotdog, which IMHO is the best Hot Dog in the world, it’s a Toledo Institution- spicy and delicious. The mustard seems like the hardest part of this pizza (French’s Yellow) but it is in fact the crowning jewel of this pizza… you got to take it as a whole. Yum… my favorite pizza!
There’s a really good pizza place around here that specializes in nontraditional pizzas. Probably the weirdest one I’ve had was a Thai pizza, with peanut sauce and I don’t remember what all else.
devilsknew, I’m all for good hot dogs, but French’s yellow? There are plenty of better mustards than that. For my money, the best topping ever for a dog is Cleveland stadium mustard.
I agree, it’s a very good mustard for frankfurters. But, it is just not right for the food phenomenon and tradition, that is the Packo Dog. Got to go with ancient and cheap sour mustard since '32. No offense, but it just wouldn’t taste right.
I think this pizza is truly a “graduated” food. You must first have a Tony Packo’s Hot Dog to understand it… but you can eat the pizza and still enjoy it.
Heads up for celebs vis a vis Tony Packo’s. Their walls are plastered with vacuform plaques containing ensigniaead Hot Dog Buns. The best celebrity signature collection I have seen in the entire world. Like the Carnegie Deli,but better. You ain’t nobody unless you got your buns on the wall at Packo’s. Ask them, and they will send you a styrfoam, painted, food art, bun (They originally used real bunsm but they eventually succumbed to mold and deterioration.). You sign it and return it. You get put on the wall… sometimes with a picture… but you have to be really famous for that.
The closest ethnological, culinary, and epicurean, delikates, equivalent genus and “style” comparable to the Hungarian Hot Dog is the D.C. Half Smoke with chili (Ben’s Chili Bowl), or theMaxwell Street Polish. They have a lot in common, but if I were to describe Packo’s, I would still term it a delicatessen.
They still offer that all-you-can-eat lunch which includes 10 pizzas with different topping combinations, mojo potatoes, curry and rice, and spaghetti. All for 800yen (about US$9.00). I visit the one north of Shinjuku a few times a year.
One time, the (otherwise normal) pizza in my dining hall was inexplicably topped with crushed Oreos.
You can get some strange versions of pizza in China. Pineapple on pizza is one thing, but I’ve had pizzas here with freaking peaches lurking beneath the crust. Now, when I order pizza I make sure to ask if there is any fruit on it!
Can’t you order the one that had the crust, marinara and cheese to leave off the mayo and other non american traditional stuff? Or do japanese places not do custom orders?
Maybe you could convince them to make an americano … crust, marinara, cheese and maybe chunks of grilled chicken [do the japanese have a pepperoni type sausage?]
I have always thought that the German ‘specialty’ Pizza Hawaii with a topping of pineapple and ham was a travesty, but then some years ago in the Netherlands, my then girlfriend ordered pizza topped solely with different fruits (I remember pineapple, strawberries and oranges). I definitely had something different that day…
Ham and Pineapple (AKA Hawaiin) pizza is also popular in Australia. Another weird one in many Australian pizza parlors is The Aussie pizza which has a fried egg on it.
A few years ago Dominoes in Australia sold a pizza that had a topping of meat pie. It was only offered for a limited time. I tried one. It was OK.