# Males vs Females: Do you eat pizza with a fork and a knife, or with your hands? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139 "2013-01-23T19:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/61 "2013-01-24T04:35:01Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > The sort of person who eats pizza with a knife and fork is the same type of person who would put ranch dressing on chicken wings – heathens! I love ranch dressing with chicken wings. But I do eat pizza with my hands. Using a knife and fork is just being too dainty. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/62 "2013-01-24T05:17:23Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ are perfectly fine terms for the vast majority of people. I’ve always wished there was a female equivalent of guy, which to me sounds like the normal casual word. Gal sounds like a word from the 40s. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/63 "2013-01-24T05:32:52Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > My parents were friends with Shakey Johnson and among those who encouraged him to take the plunge with the first store. The chain no longer exists outside of a much-revised version in SoCal, with a few scattered outliers. > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I miss that place! We used to go there in college all the time. I’m wistful every time I drive past the old building. My parents met for the very first time at the original Shakey’s. Without that place, I don’t get born. Either of your parents still around, **Nitro**? If they are, thank them for me. How’s that for wistful? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/64 "2013-01-24T07:49:07Z")
Moving this to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/65 "2013-01-24T08:51:13Z")
Knife and fork. I despise getting anything even a little bit greasy on my hands if I can possibly avoid it, and almost every pizza winds up with at least some oil/grease on the bottom. Indeed, I avoid eating almost any kind of food with my hands, with only a very few exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/66 "2013-01-24T09:56:59Z")
This really depends where I’m eating the pizza. When I eat out, it’s normally at Italian pizzerias (either in London or Italy), where pizzas are not served ready-sliced and proper knives and forks are present and correct. At home, in front of the telly, it’s hands all the way… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/67 "2013-01-24T10:20:02Z")
Depends. If I’m served it on a plate in a restaurant, it gets the knife and fork treatment. If it’s delivered to my home in a box, it’s hands. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/68 "2013-01-24T12:05:45Z")
99.9% of the time, with my hands. If I’m eating Chicago Deep Dish, there’s really no way to eat that gracefully with hands, unless you want to burn the snot out of yourself, so I use fork and knife for that…or in Europe (since they don’t slice it). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/69 "2013-01-24T12:18:05Z")
I have never in my life seen anyone eat pizza using a knife and fork. I’m gone for one week and everything goes to hell. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/70 "2013-01-24T12:22:08Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I have never in my life seen anyone eat pizza using a knife and fork. I’m gone for one week and everything goes to hell. How about a Snickers bar? Have you ever seen anyone eat a Snickers bar with a knife and fork? ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/71 "2013-01-24T13:14:22Z")
I hate messy hands as well but pizza is definitely a hands-on food. Don’t think I’ve ever eaten one messy enough to consider otherwise. And I like pizza cut into squares! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/72 "2013-01-24T13:17:29Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > Knife and fork. I despise getting anything even a little bit greasy on my hands if I can possibly avoid it, and almost every pizza winds up with at least some oil/grease on the bottom. Indeed, I avoid eating almost any kind of food with my hands, with only a very few exceptions. My (non-Sicilian) homemade pizzas are not greasy at all. I bake them naked on a stone dusted with cornmeal, and I also coat the bottom of the crust with durum flour, which is an even better release agent. No grease enters into it. Since I’m vegetarian, they stay free of animal grease too. Therefore I can even include a modest amount of olive oil in the topping without making it greasy. My stone pizzas are neat, sweet, and ready to eat. Non-greasy eggplant parmesan, however, is a goal I’m still striving for. I’m not at all sure that’s possible, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/73 "2013-01-24T13:22:58Z")
The current score is Men: 8 to 1 in favor of hands, and Women: 10 to 1. Hands down, you might say. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/74 "2013-01-24T13:39:33Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Grandma style isn’t anything like a magherita with (usually sliced) fresh mozz and fresh basil (also now commonly seen in pizzerias). > > It’s a lot like what **Johanna** describes IF its well made. If not, it’s like Sicillian’s crappy little cousin. In every single pizzeria I have seen it in here in NJ it is exactly as I described it. Yesterday when I was responding I had just gotten back from lunch and I was staring at the Grandma pizza and debating if I should have a slice with my salad (went with a slice with pepperoni instead). Square pizza much thinner than Sicilian, light on the tomato sauce, fresh mozerella melted on top, a fresh basil leaf or two. The pizza Johanna’s Nonna made sounds really good but it is not like how they make Grandma pizza anywhere that I have seen it in NJ. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/75 "2013-01-24T13:43:40Z")
Most often I use my hands, unless you just can’t. Pizza is more of a fast food thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/76 "2013-01-24T13:50:19Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I love ranch dressing with chicken wings. Right! You’re on the list! ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/77 "2013-01-24T14:43:48Z")
I’ll do either, but I picked ‘knife and fork’ because I think I do that more often, when they’re available. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/78 "2013-01-24T15:26:29Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > In every single pizzeria I have seen it in here in NJ it is exactly as I described it. Yesterday when I was responding I had just gotten back from lunch and I was staring at the Grandma pizza and debating if I should have a slice with my salad (went with a slice with pepperoni instead). Square pizza much thinner than Sicilian, light on the tomato sauce, fresh mozerella melted on top, a fresh basil leaf or two. The pizza Johanna’s Nonna made sounds really good but it is not like how they make Grandma pizza anywhere that I have seen it in NJ. And that’s cool. Pizza terms obviously speciated on either side of the river. OTOH, it does seem that what I get in Queens is more like that served by one actual Sicillian grandmother. 🙂 Mmmm, might be time to run out for a slice. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/79 "2013-01-24T15:28:24Z")
Some of those pizzas at CPK that are heaped with salad greens or tostada fixings or whatever demand to be eaten with a knife and fork if I want to get more of it in my mouth than in my lap. But I still feel funny eating a pizza that way. Normal pizza is always finger food. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/80 "2013-01-24T15:31:27Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > Only very messy, sloppy pizzas get a fork and knife. I haven’t had a pizza messy enough for that in at least a year or two. Same here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139.md?page=5)