Pizza in Switzerland

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
21
Now you got me hungry...

22
Being a Chicago native, I'd like to point out that there are 3 styles of pizza popular in Chicago.

1. Deep-dish - pan-style with a thick crust which is what the OP is seeking (Chicago examples include Lou Malnati's, Gino's East and Pizzeria Uno)

2. Stuffed pizza - is even deeper with a thick layer of fillings and sometimes has another layer of crust on top (Chicago examples include Giordano's and Edwardo's)

3. Thin crust - the Chicago variety features a spicier tomato sauce than in most of the rest of the country and is always cut into square pieces rather than triangles.

Personally, my favorite is the Chicago thin crust, followed by the stuffed, then the deep dish. More info can be found, as always, on Wikipedia .

For some reason, I'm hungry again even though I just finished dinner...

23
Mmmmm, Chicago thin crust pizza - it's first thing I have on the night I arrive home for a visit.

24
YUM!!! I wouldn't mind a slice of Uno's deep dish or the thin crust right now

I have never had the stuffed one (in the middle), but I learned how to make what I'm guessing is a variation of it (Pizza Rustica) when I took a cooking class years ago.

One was called Pizza Rustica Milanese, which is filled with spinach, ricotta ham, Parmigiano and Emmental (no tomato): http://www.nickmalgieri.com/recipes/pizza_rustica.html

And another one, Pizza Rustica Napoletana, is filled with ricotta, mozzarella, Romano, sausage and prosciutto (no tomato here either):

http://www.nickmalgieri.com/recipes/...apoletana.html

These *pizzas* are deep dish and have a double crust (top and bottom). Both are delicious, but very VERY rich.

25
Heh, that's much how I felt when I left NYC. I was glad to be gone, but after a few months back in Cleveland, I remembered why I left! Still, had a few good years there before I moved back.

Agreed on arguing about pizza. We're talking about the Americanized version, after all!

26
Stuffed pizzas are very similar, but will always have tomato sauce even if only a bit on top. I got a kick out of people who would order the stuffed spinach pizzas and think they were being healthy...there's enough cheese in those things to stop a triathlete's heart! Very tasty though...

27
Boston is not the best for Chicago-style deep dish pizza, I give you that. But you could start adjusting your taste buds to the thin-and-crispy style by checking out Santarpio's near Logan airport. They are consistently ranked the top pizza joint in Boston by regular folk, not just food critics. Tip: Ignore the attitude; you won't get a smile there unless you were born in the neighborhood. And bring cash.

28
You're in for a world of hurt.

To add insult to injury, Pizza is also one of those foods that falls into the "crazy expensive", rather than just "expensive" category. Even a basic Pizza is CHF20+.

29
Do you use a pizza stone ? I'm considering getting one and experimenting. You can buy purpose-made pizza stones but DIY people say a piece of unglazed quarry slab or terracotta tile will do just fine. Just stick it in your oven and crank up the heat. It's just a stone that stores heat and releases it to the pizza, nothing fancy to it.

30
This brings up something I was going to suggest...start experimenting with making your own pizzas. I used to make my own pizzas all the time, using a simple dough recipe (um...don't know where it is anymore, but I'm sure you can find a decent one online) and one of those pizza pans with holes in the bottom (so the crust is nice and crispy). It was never quite as oily greasy good as some of the deep-dish ones I've had, but I was also about to throw herbs into the crust and make some really nice combinations of flavor.

At any rate, there are lots of resources out there to get you started in making your own. It's relatively easy, and you can mostly find very nice, fresh ingredients here in Switzerland. Good luck!

31
Funny you should mention Santarpio's because I live near there and am a regular. I've even been upgraded from the backroom seating to the front booths! It's not only Boston's best, but it's the only pizza I like here and I've tried a lot. The sausage and garlic is my personal favorite and don't forget the BBQ lamb and sausage.

By the way, I did go to Uno's tonight and it was fantastic! It's no Lou Malnati's, but I'm stuck on the east coast.

32
You're from the midwest and aren't used to thin crust pizza? When I went to college in St. Louis, that's all anyone liked to eat there - cracker-thin pizza, Imo's Pizza being the most popular.

I never liked the St. Louis style pizza, but usually I can find thin pizza here that isn't all that bad (actually, we've only found one place here in Winterthur that had truly bad pizza). And the places that roast your pizza in a brick oven? Mmmm! Who needs deep-dish?

There are tons of recipes for making your own pizza dough - perhaps you could just make your own pizza? It isn't too terribly difficult, just time-consuming.

33
There is an Italian rest. on just about every high street in Switzerland!

And the thin crust pizza definitely has more taste then the spongy American style pizzas that I liked so many years ago but will NEVER voluntarily eat again.

Don't forget the pepporoncini (spelling?)

Mind your manners and use a knife and fork

34
I'll stick the the original 'Italian' pizza's, never like these 'thick Crust' versions. Most good pizzeria's use a wood oven and they taste great.

Have you tried SAMS's

btw, according to your location you are stil in the US !!!

If you are in Zurich now, then check out Grottino's between Schmeide Weidikon and Goldbrunner Platz (Aemtlerstrasse). This place has great Pizza's

35
The OP mentions that he likes the Italian-style pies ok. He's just searching to see if there are deep-dish options here in Switzerland. Trying to convince him that he should only like the Italian-style thin crust pizzas really isn't helpful.

36

Thankfully, he didn't ask something totally controversial, like where to get a good American beer in Zurich.

37
The Rappi Bierfactory is the place that makes the same sorts of beer that rivals the very best American microbreweries.

Don't take my word for it, however, go visit yourself.

38

Sounds like a great plan (I haven't been yet). They don't show 'real' Football games do they?

39
Oh god, You didn't say "real football"!

Even I, a die hard Bears fan since conception, no longer think that American football is as real as a game as rugby or football (soccer).

And to answer the OP question. I'm a Chicagoian. None of the pizza is really what I love back home. But, it is a deliciousness of it's own.

40
Well, Pizza Hut went tits up in 2004 .

Domino's Pizza makes something akin to a deep-pan pizza (better ask, they may be willing to go "real deep" for you )

Aforementioned Sam's Pizza does an "American-style" thick crust pizza. Have eaten there (had a thin crust though), they're delicious. Locations = Standorte.

For more American food (like Buffalo wings), try Papa Joe's . I was especially in love with their Nantucket Burger. Fish fillet the size you get at a good chippy in Blighty, coleslaw, real big sesame bun... No longer on the menu Never did pizzas.