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Luciano\'s Pizza - RANT

Started 3 years ago by cjboffoli
Latest reply from CindyLou

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cjboffoli
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I hadn\'t heard of this place until JanS mentioned its sandwiches in another thread. I decided to give it a try today. Man, am I sorry. (JanS....you did me wrong sista-friend!).
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I was actually intrigued by some of the interesting pizzas listed on the Luciano\'s website. I also appreciated being able to place the order and pay for it online. In addition to trying one of their Luciano\'s House special pizzas, we also ordered some of their buffalo wings (which according to their website are actually made in-house by a guy from Buffalo, NY).
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Nearly an hour after the order was placed, it finally arrived. The first indication I had of what I was in for was when we opened the pizza and saw that the sausage on it was the tiny ball variety (and looks like rabbit pellets). Never a good sign. The other toppings were OK but the crust was ther worst of it: made on thin, greasy, pre-made frozen food service crust. The wings were even more alarming. Though I had selected the \"BBQ\" option there was not a drop of BBQ sauce on the wings. They were the strangest chicken wings I had ever tasted. They had a sweet, onion, cinnamon flavor to them and the chicken meat itself tasted really gamey. We were able to salvage them by slathering them in our own BBQ sauce. But needless to say we will not be ordering from Lucianos again.

Posted 3 years ago #
spana
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That sounds awful! I particularly hate rabbit pellet pizza sausage. What is with that?!

I\'ve actually never had pizza from Luciano\'s, but we\'ve gotten delivery from them before (also on Jan\'s recommendation) and been really happy with the pasta dishes and sandwiches (and the moussaka -- mmm). Not to mention it\'s always been at our place in under half an hour, but we are just down the street.

Maybe it was a bad day?

Posted 3 years ago #
barb
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cjboffoli, that sucks that you had such a bad experience the first time out with them. I have been ordering from them for a few years and I\'ve always been very happy with what I\'ve ordered, and the delivery time. I\'ve even turned quite a few people on to them and they have been happy each time. My favorite is the artepesto

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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Christopher :\'( I\'m so sorry you had such a bad experience. My apologies, for sure. I\'ve never had their wings, so...couldn\'t advise one way or the other. And I don\'t get sausage ever because of that rabbit pellet thingy. If I have one with meat, it\'s usually one with shredded pepperoni on it.

I suppose different people, different tastes, and yes, I live only a couple of blocks from them, so easy delivery for them...

again...:\"(

you could work your way down Calif. Ave. I suppose - lol..next is Amante\'s. I have only had a couple of things from there, so am neutral on it. Then there\'s Pagliaccia\'s...and from there you have Garlic Jim\'s (delivery charge).

Have you been to Pegasus? They don\'t deliver, but you can order and pick up..they have some decent pizza there, too..but...someone else will now have to recommend - lol...as I\'m off the roster now :)

Posted 3 years ago #
Bonnie
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I\'ve only had Luciano\'s once and it was okay. (or I don\'t quite remember) We order from Amantes. I never order from Pagliacci\'s (sp?) because they think we\'re second class citizens and won\'t deliver to us because we are in the south end of West Seattle.

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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JanS: In all fairness you had only commented about the sangwiches. So I went out on a limb on my own by trying the pizza. Being Italian and from the Northeast, I tend to be a bit picky about such things. The best pizza I\'ve found in West Seattle so far is at Giannoni\'s Pizzeria down at Westwood Village. I don\'t know very much about their owners. But my taste buds tell me that someone in the kitchen is a genuine goombah.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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I have never tried that one, but have read stuff about it on here...I\'ll have to try it :)

remember...pizza here may be like sandwiches. There was once a place at 35th and Barton called Hoagie Corner, I believe. All sorts of sandwiches, on \"italian\" rolls/bread...and they used american cheese and mayo, mustard...oy !

Posted 3 years ago #
mellaw6565
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We have to chime in with a Rave for Luciano\'s - they\'re pastas and sandwiches are good and their pizza better than many of the \"fast food\" types around (i.e. Pizza Hut, Domino\'s, Papa John\'s, etc.....)Also their salads are HUGE!

Perhaps you hit them on a bad night? We\'ve ordered from them for 2 years and it\'s always been good.

I\'ll have to try Giannoni\'s though - always looking for a good NY special.

Posted 3 years ago #
HP
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Jan the location that was Hoagies Corner on 35th and Barton still has the famous Cheesy British sandwich from the Hoagie days you should give it a try!!

Posted 3 years ago #
miws
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Ah yes! The German Hoagie from Hoagie\'s Corner/Lavicio\'s!

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Memories going back 30 plus years!

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Mike

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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We get delivery from Garlic Jim\'s all the time and love it -- and, as far as I can tell, they don\'t have a delivery charge. (Of course, Jan, we\'re at least three blocks closer -- so we may be in the free zone.) The sausage and pepperoni are big chunks, not little pellets -- the wings are eh!

Posted 3 years ago #
elgrego
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I haven\'t found a pizza place that can beat a frozen Red Barron\'s 4-cheese pizza yet. That\'s sad. Garlic Jim\'s didn\'t cook their pizzas enough (I like my cheese browned), Olympic Pizza is OK, but just OK, and the major chains are disappointing as always...

Is Pizza Time any good? Despite being a Chicagoan by birth, I like NY style pizza... anyplace good?

Posted 3 years ago #
j
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I also think you hit Luciano\'s on a bad night. We usually choose between Garlic Jim\'s and Luciano\'s for delivery, and Luciano\'s usually beats G.J.\'s. We always get sausage too and I\'ll admit itâ€™s not the best, but it\'s better than most delivery. Garlic Jim\'s has sliced sausage and I don\'t think it\'s that great. Depends on what you are used to. Try Spiro\'s pizza (no delivery). Very similar to Peagusus and their sausage is fantastic. My husband is from a large, Sicilian family and we usually take them to Spiroâ€™s because their sausage is very authentic. In fact, they havenâ€™t been out here for over a year and still talk about Spiroâ€™s.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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Charla...as the crow flies, I think I\'m closer to GJ...and the one and only time I ordered, they charged me a buck50 for delivery...:(

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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If Luciano\'s is \"better than the other chains\" I think it is safe to say that I won\'t be ordering from any of the others. I could almost give them a pass for the rabbit pellet sausage if they put even an ounce of pride and love into their crust. The kind of crust you get at places like Via Tribunale, Tutta Bella, and Giannoni\'s is the way the crust is supposed to be. Still not the same as those produced by the coal-fired ovens in NYC but good. It\'s really a shame that Seattle doesn\'t have an ethnic Italian neighborhood and that people only know these watered down imitations.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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ah...but we have great asian food :)

Posted 3 years ago #
transplantella
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Great asian food?! I hope you don\'t mean this icky teryiaki glop found all over Seattle? Bleh.

I\'ve lived on the west coast for 15 of the last 35 years, and I\'ve been to China, I think Seattle has consistantly the worst asian food anywhere on the west coast. Sometimes awful, never better than ok.

Posted 3 years ago #
austin
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Yeah, seattle\'s a terrible town for sushi, our thai stinks, can\'t get dim sum anywhere, and pho? Fuggedaboudit.
</hyperbolic sarcasm>

Posted 3 years ago #
barb
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austin, where have you gone for sushi? because there are a lot of great sushi restaurants in Seattle, same with dim sum. You just have to venture out of West Seattle.

Posted 3 years ago #
barb
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austin, sorry I jumped the gun and didn\'t notice the sarcasm. My apologies

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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JanS: Not to mention the obvious but the salmon in Seattle is remarkable. Most of what they get back East is farmed salmon that has had its naturally gray flesh dyed red. Each time I have a great piece of salmon in Seattle I recognize how superior it is versus what much of the rest of the country eats.
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I guess what I feel Seattle is lacking is whole ethnic neighborhoods. Like Boston\'s North End, SF\'s Japantown, LA\'s Koreatown, and all of NYC\'s neighborhoods where the food benefits from a codified ethnic footprint. We have a tiny bit of that with our \"International\" district and with places like Little Norway in Poulsbo. But it is sadly not the same.

Austin: Even a hardcore sushi lover would be hard pressed to make that statement having experienced the omakase at West Seattle\'s own Mashiko (and I make that declaration having traveled extensively in Japan, and having eaten at Masa and Nobu in NYC.). Mashiko is a gem.

Posted 3 years ago #
add
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We\'re also from the East Coast and partial to NY-style pizza. The best by far is Abbondanza - at the Morgan Junction. They have a lot of choices for pizza toppings but I always stick with the Margherita - it is soooo good!

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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OK, at the risk of losing my foodie cred, is NY pizza the thick crust and Chi-town the thin? If yes, I love the thin (and got it here, for the first time, at Garlic Jim\'s -- crusty, not burned -- yummy.) Actually, we got it delivered at BPP -- perhaps the pre-pizza pitcher of beer lowered my standards.

My favorite \"east coast\" pizza came from Boston\'s north end -- black crust (squid ink?), a thin layer of equisite meaty toppings-- and, of course, anchovies. Damn, that generic diet breakfast beverage may not be enough this morning. There is nothing like cold pizza in the morning.

Posted 3 years ago #
barb
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I\'ve traveled all over, and had pizza from everywhere, from Japan to England, to Boston, to Chicago, etc...and I have to say I LOVE pizza, has to be one of my very favorite things. But I don\'t care where it is from as long as it is good. Since I\'m not in NY, I can\'t expect a real NY pizza. I\'m not saying that others can\'t continue on their quest for that perfect \"fill in city here\" pizza. But if it\'s a good pizza then I\'m happy...and as much as I hate to say it when I\'m out in the middle of BFE and I crave a pizza I will get a national chain (blech) pizza. And that goes for any food item, if it\'s good then I\'m happy. And CJ, I don\'t blame you for giving up on Lucianos, I had a terrible experience (food and service) at Pegasus and I can\'t find it in myself to try it again despite the many huge raves I\'ve heard about it. Happy food hunting all.

Posted 3 years ago #
HP
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The only chinese we eat is Tai Tung in the ID. After eating there any other chinese is no good. Now I will say the restaurant is not the prettiest but the food is great and the waitstaff is awesome.

Posted 3 years ago #
Ashley
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Garlic Jim\'s does charge a delivery fee. I ordered from them a couple of times and always wondered why my bill seemed so high. I checked on it and saw they are charging a delivery fee and not telling me. I only live Avalon Way as well which is very close. I wrote an e-mail and complained and the owner said all callers are supposed to be informed of this charge. I just decided not to order from them anymore.

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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charlabob: You have it reversed. NYC has the super thin crust and Chicago rolls with the deep dish. The best places in New York have coal-fired ovens (building new ones are disallowed but existing coal-fired ovens are grandfathered in) which make for a crucible-like cooking chamber for hot, fast cooking and that gives you that crispy, thin almost-charred-but-not flavor.
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I recently read an article about Mario Batali\'s new restaurant in Los Angeles and the tremendous amount of research and work he has invested in giving Angelinos an authentic-tasting New York pizza. There is a surprising amount of science and chemistry that has gone into the process, looking at the ingredients and the composition of the water. One of the most interesting theories was that years of cooking pizzas in certain stone ovens leaves residual flavors on the inside of the ovens that in turn deposit flavor molecules on whatever food you are cooking. I suppose the same might be said of Chinese woks that are used repeatedly and never washed with soap. It was a fascinating article. I\'ll have to find it and like to it here.

Posted 3 years ago #
Sue
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Christopher, on the blog New York Food Anywhere -http://www.nyfoodanywhere.com/ - there were a few posts dedicated to the science of making your own NY pizza. It\'s not a site that\'s updated often, but the blogger is from the Seattle area, so there are some hints on NY food in general in this area.

In 6 weeks I will be back in my own NYC food heaven, gorging myself on those things I severely lack here. I don\'t miss living in NYC at all, but I do miss the food. I agree though that the salmon is better here. :)

Posted 3 years ago #
RainyDay1235
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(IMO) Best TO-GO pizza is Amante\'s - look for their coupons in the mail - very good quality!

Best EAT-IN is Talarico\'s happy hour (3-6 every day)....enormous tasty (sweet sauce, not too greasy) slices for $3.50 - YUM. Killer ceasar salads too! :)

Posted 3 years ago #
feydras
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Lucianos is my favorite WS pizzeria. I like Amantes as well. As much as i wanted to i didn\'t like Giannoni\'s in Westwood village but i only tried it once. The owner was very friendly.

Has anyone tried the Olympia Pizza and Pasta, new pizza place on Delridge? I\'ve held off bcs the price is a bit higher and menu very similar to Lucianos. I\'d love to support more businesses on Delridge though. Anything is better than a used tire store. On that note Bubble\'s cafe on Delridge is fantastic. Very good coffee and nice atmosphere.

Posted 3 years ago #
villagegreen
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cjboffoli - I agree with your general assessment of Seattle pizza. I\'m not from the East coast, but I\'ve had NYC pizza and it\'s the best - cheese slightly browned and the thin crust crisp underneath, but nice and chewy in the middle.

The closest I\'ve had in Seattle is Talarico\'s (dining in - not sure if they deliver). If you\'ve had a bad experience there I\'d give it another try. Their crust is usually done just right and the slices are huge. Try the Sinatra.

BTW - I\'ve had Amante\'s once and it was decent.

Posted 3 years ago #
elgrego
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I\'ve heard Talarico\'s is good, but since it isn\'t open for lunch, I never get to go (I work a swing shift... I\'m \"working\" now, in fact). I\'d like to go, but I\'ve also heard a lot of bad things about the place itself - frat boy central, people who can\'t hold their liquor, etc. I figure if I\'m gonna go out for food, which I only do once or twice a week, I\'d rather take my chances going to a place where I won\'t likely experience anything like \"bro rape\".

Posted 3 years ago #
RainyDay1235
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Every time I go to Talarico\'s - always before 6pm to take advantage of the great happy hour prices - it is 1/2 empty, and quiet. It\'s so nice to sit by the open windows on the pub stools and feel the breeze. I have seen nary a \"white hat\" in there! ;)

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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So, pizza...a favorite topic of mine. In West Seattle Pegasus of course is great Greek pizza, it is important to make the distinction since Greek versus Italian are like apples and oranges. Get the one with the crispy pepperoni on top...mmm. Abbondanza in the Morgan Junction has great Sicilian pizza, thin crust and crisp edges. The pasta is just so so and the atmosphere is a little sterile. For good New York pizza Piecorras on Madison on Cap Hill is good.

Posted 3 years ago #
Sue
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I\'ve heard Piecorras recommended as \"NY Pizza\" but as New Yorker I\'m unimpressed with it. Locally I\'ll go to Talarico\'s or I\'ll drive up to A New York Pizza Place which really is the best (to me) in the city and worth the drive: http://www.snellsoftware.com/anewyorkpizzaplace/

Posted 3 years ago #
RainyDay1235
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I too found Piecorra\'s bland. I guess I like the sweet/spicy style sauce like at Talarico\'s.

For great deep dish pizza (oh, and wings!) - try Tiger Mountain Grill in Issaquah (also known as Jay Berry\'s in North Bend)

Posted 3 years ago #
datamuse
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I\'m surprised that no one appears to have mentioned Spiro\'s yet.

And it\'s in Georgetown, not West Seattle, but Stellar is my favorite place for pizza in town.

Posted 3 years ago #
MargL
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OK We\'ve officially \'written off\' Luciano\'s.
I walked in with my 2 year old to order take-out - a meatball sandwich and spaghetti and meatballs. We got the salad really fast and I thought great we\'ll be ready by the time the Husband gets here from downtown. So Husband gets to Admiral Dist., finds parking, takes the kid outside and we wait another 15 minutes. We\'re at a total of 40 minutes now for a sandwich and spaghetti - stuff they probably already have sitting on the stove that they just have to throw in hot water or microwave. So I go up to the counter and one of the cooks notices while the cashier guy is on the phone. She looks and finds my order was sitting on the counter in the kitchen. So I asked how long it was sitting there and the cashier interrupts to say \"You have your salad? You have your food, there you go. Enjoy.\" He didn\'t say \"What more do you want?\" or sneer, but he might as well have. We\'re done with that place and their not so hot customer service. I shouldn\'t have tipped them before we got the food. :-(
And yes, I know, I\'m stupid and should have asked about my order sooner - but I figured they were really busy, I was distracted by a 2 year old, and the LEAST they could have said was \"Oh, sorry!\"

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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MargL: My pizza delivery took an hour and when the driver arrived he had a cell phone glued to his ear the entire time. Clearly this place doesn\'t put its customers first. Their use of frozen, pre-made pizza crusts reflects that too. Hearing about how challenging it is to run a small business, especially a restaurant, it surprises me that some folks can get by for so long being as mediocre as they are. But then again, with some folks here saying they PREFER Luciano\'s I\'d guess that the restaurant owners are not the only ones to blame.

Posted 3 years ago #
barb
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cj, I\'m going to have to stand by my decision to keep going to Luciano\'s. I\'ve NEVER had a bad experience with them, either walking in or delivery. Maybe my taste buds aren\'t as refined as yours since I\'m not a New Yorker, but I don\'t think blaming people who have not had bad experiences there is the way to go.

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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barb: It is not about having refined taste buds. For me it is about having a passion for food. There is just so much mediocrity everywhere that no one minds. It annoys me a bit when I have food from a place like Luciano\'s and the quality is just so thoughtless. If you like it then good for you. Knock yourself out. I don\'t know you so why would I care where you eat? But with that said, I can tell you with the authority of someone who has been fortunate to have had many of the food experiences I have had, that you deserve better barb.
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There are plenty of people who file into chain restaurants and factory food places like the Olive Garden and the Cheesecake Factory and LOVE those places. That\'s great for them. But those places just aren\'t for me. I have different expectations and make different choices.

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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Check out olypizza.net. It is a small chain, there are ones on Capitol Hill, Queen Anne and Wallingford. Great Greek/Italian food, good portions and prices. They covered the opening on here and got great reviews. Glad to see new businesses on Delridge.

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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Have you tried the pizza at Abbondanza in the Morgan Junction? They toss their own crusts and have great Sicilian toppings!

Posted 3 years ago #
Kayleigh
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It\'s fun reading the different versions of what \"good\" pizza is. :-)

I like CPK-style pizza--no meat, fresh toppings, don\'t care if the crust is thick or thin. Most restaurant pizza is too heavy greasy for me to have it more than a couple times a year.

So like most things, I\'ve learned to make it at home. Pizza stone, real yeast, olive oil, fresh herbs from the garden, real cheese....

/control freak off :-)

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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Well it is difficult to compare Greek to Sicilian to New York. I have my favs in every catergory. You would probably would like Abbondanza they have lots of fresh ingredient options and it is not greasy unless you add greasy meat of course.

Posted 3 years ago #
Kayleigh
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A true connosieur...a fave in different categories. :-)

Abbondonza is close by so I will try them.

Posted 3 years ago #
cjboffoli
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Kayleigh: I\'ve gone the pizza stone route too but I can never figure out how to get the crust right. The stone gives it the right crispiness but it seems to draw out all of the moisture and make it dry. Have you found a crust recipe that\'s working for you?

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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Don\'t even get me started on burgers...lol

Posted 3 years ago #
Kayleigh
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Hehehe, zenguy. I just spent lots of time and money learning about New Mexican cooking....;-)

CJ, I\'ve had the same problem with the crust drying. I wonder if olive oil in the crust will help. Or some bread recipes have you spray the insides of your oven a few times with a spray bottle of water to create moisture...I wonder if that would help. I will let you know if I find a really good one.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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kayleigh...

don\'t let my hubby know we can make it at home...

so far i have managed to hide the benefits of a pizza stone from him:)

i do know that olive oil and yeast are often not a good combination if you are expecting anything to rise...

Posted 3 years ago #