Training for a Marathon and Perfecting Pizza, More Alike Than You May Think
'77 Club helps to support local artists and community while Rockaway Pizzeria gives out free pizza to those affected by the recent storms.
Well it’s another marathon weekend here in Pittsburgh. An amazing display of a city’s dedication, hardworking and perseverance. I’ve run over a dozen marathons and the event has not lost its awe. Giving everything you have in front of a crowd. Succeeding, failing, cramping, crying in the middle of a street as the hamstrings refuse to function properly. Dreams and goals slipping through your fingers surrounded by thousands witnessing you coming up short despite months of dedication. And sometimes it goes well. What could be a better experience?
Part performance, part a show of months of selfishly squirreling away time to yourself to get better at something that ultimately doesn’t matter. Does anyone care about your marathon time beyond the first number? What’s a few seconds or minutes in the grand scheme of life.
The parts of the marathon that seem meaningless are what I find most intriguing. Putting your body under extreme stress by clicking off mile repeats at six in the morning before work. Running twenty miles around the city on a Sunday morning that starts off at 75 degrees and 90% humidity. Months of toiling in hopes of having some agency over a couple of variables to run 26.2 miles faster than you’ve done it before. Carefully studying forum posts, articles, research to understand the new and innovative ways to prevent lactate build up or fuel your body. Looking for shortcuts or cheats only to find out that the only real way to improve is by doing the work. Day after day.
Understanding all the effort, care, expertise and dedication that produced the finished product makes the performance all the more amazing. If you get a chance to watch the runners keep that in mind as they jog by with dreams in their heart.
And making pizza is similar. Up and coming pizza makers post up outside a brewery, on a street or in a park. Completely naked save for a table holding a digital cash register and a tent providing meager protection from the elements. For hours they need to expertly create pizzas for the masses. Nowhere to hide their mistakes. A performance in front of hundreds, completely vulnerable as they sharpen their craft and hone skills with a smile on their face.
At the end of the day, do people really care how many iterations of dough a pizza maker experimented with before arriving on their final product? Or how a tomato sauce is blended together and seasoned? These small seemingly minute details may not seem important in the grand scheme of things, but it’s those tiny decisions that create an intriguing, complex product.
‘77 Club x Bunker Projects Blow Out
Today, May 2, is one of the best days of the year. It’s First Fridays! Which means me and the fam head down to Spak for our famous order of a large pizza (light cheese), fries, two orders of ranch and a buffalo chicken hoagie (no cheese). We sit at Two Frays, fuel up, drink a beer with a pickle in it, then explore the art galleries. Charlie begs us to hurry up so we have more time at Assemble to do whatever that month’s activity is. We urge her to explore the different art galleries because you never know what you might see.
But this month there’s a fundraiser for the Fruit of the Dirt Block party, an event happening on June 21. To raise funds for that event, ‘77 Club and Les Deux will be stationed on Coral St, behind the Bunker Projects.
This is an event that Brittani and Dustin of the ‘77 Club have been talking about for a while. So I reached out to understand exactly what compelled them to bring an event like this to life. We exchanged messages through Instagram so I’m not entirely sure who’s sending what so I’ll attribute these quotes to ‘77 Club.
If you’re familiar with the ‘77 Club or their Instagram presence you’ll immediately get artists vibe from what they create. Pizza is a canvas of expression. Their promotional videos are ethereal, nonsensical, entertaining and thought provoking. They don’t adhere to anyone’s standards but their owns. They want to be successful doing things their way. And part of that mission is to contribute to the community of artists.
“There has never been a better time to support the arts,” ‘77 Club. “It is a very difficult time to receive grants and a Block Party is a perfect way for community to come together. Our goal with this Block Party is to help fundraise for Bunker Projects and to provide opportunity for artists / makers and food vendors.”
The name of the event is Fruit of the Dirt and the symbol isa pomegranate. “The Pittsburgh community is the embodiment of building something from nothing,” ‘77 Club said. “We all plant our seeds and what comes through hard work is the beautiful fruit of a supportive community.”
Community is core to their mission. Dustin and Brittani are affable, charming hosts at any event they pop up at. Happy to chat or entertain any questions I throw at them. It’s not unusual for me to get texts from friends or messages from readers about their ‘77 Club pizza. This doesn’t happen with other pizza shops, there’s something special about the ‘77 Club.
With the advent of their new oven they have been able to upgrade the ‘77 Club experience as they hone their craft. “People are responsive to our unique pizzas and we are so happy to continue working with our farm and local purveyor partners. With just salt and fire we are able to elevate local produce into something delicious and unique to us.”
Their goal is to eventually find a permanent location where they can foster their own community. “We are always looking to connect with like-minded businesses and we value the opportunity to serve and nourish Pittsburgh,” ‘77 Club said to me. And the Bunker Project has been a great partner to them.
I asked them if they considered pizza making art. They said:
Of course! It's a fleeting medium but there is nothing like dropping a fresh steamy pie out of the oven and watching its first moment of life which is also the beginning of its decay. Pizza mirrors life
Wow, wise words.
Rockaway Pizzeria Giving Away Free Pizza in Regent Square
The storms on Tuesday have laid waste to a number of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. The roof was blown off of Fiori’s. For many, power is still out and there’s potential they’ll be powerless for a few more days. Tough to live without electricity. Rockaway Pizzeria was supposed to open today but had to delay their opening due to the power outage. But seems like Josh is trying to help out his new neighbors.
Rockaway Pizzeria posted this on Instagram:
Just caught word that a lot of Regent Square won’t have power till May 6th. This Saturday at noon, free Margherita, pepperoni, and vegan pizza. No phone, one per person/group, until dough is gone.
While their official opening date is to-be-announced if you find yourself without electrify in Regent Square, Rockaway Pizzeria has your back.
Wild week here in Pittsburgh. If you’re going to be out on the half marathon course this year I hope to see ya! If you’re running in the marathon let me know - I’ll see you at mile 22 where I’ll be cheering!
-Dan Tallarico, Pizza Journalist
Very visual writing this week, wish I was joining you today, good luck Sunday!