A Miler's Kick, A Pizza Trip
A slice of Kentucky pizza and seasonal pizza on the horizon
Each year I try to run at least one mile race. I’ve been running sub 5-minute miles and early on it was no big deal. Everyone was doing that in high school and college, it was simply table stakes. With each year that passed my fast twitch muscles faded away replaced with slow twitch fibers ideal for long steady efforts like the marathon.
Unlike a marathon, the mile requires a delicate balance of speed and endurance, compare it to the balance between the crust, sauce, cheese and toppings on the pizza. Go out too fast and you’ll be finishing the race as if someone handed you a piano with 200m to go. Cover a pizza with too many toppings and it will cook unevenly and come out of the oven too floppy.
Finding that balance is tricky, but seeking out that mystical idea of perfection keeps bringing me back to the track and has me searching high and low for new pizza. Maybe adjusting my approach to the first two laps will reward me with a faster mile time…maybe this new pizza pop-up will deliver the greatest, most satisfying slice I’ve ever had…not settling for mediocrity but always looking to improve. There’s excitement and satisfaction in never being satisfied and maybe that’s why I keep on showing up to the track / pizza parlor.
Two weeks ago I did run a mile at the Pittsburgh Pharaoh Hound’s Petite Track Meet on the Schenley Oval. I finished last in the heat with a time of 4:56.90. At nearly forty years old it feels good to be able to run anywhere close to a time that I ran when I was seventeen.
To celebrate the achievement we of course grabbed a pizza from Spak.
Post-anything pizza is the best pizza you can have. When you are at rock bottom, completely drained, running on fumes, pizza can revive. Some say it’s what brought Lazarus back. After a massive effort, the crust always taste delicious, the sauce hits and the cheese fills every crevice of your aching body. It’s not why I run or compete, but it certainly makes all those miles worth it.
Blue Grass Pizza Slices
I recently ventured to Kentucky with Christa and Charlie. Kentucky is an odd state. Home to Louisville and Lexington, only one professional team (women’s soccer) and about every chain restaurant you can think of. It’s a testing ground for food concepts, probably thanks to the demographic mix and Yum Brands having their HQ there.
In the past we’ve hit up Mellow Mushroom, a funky and cool pizza spot. This time we grabbed a few slices from GoodFella’s pizza. This is a local chain that has four spots in Kentucky and a few in Ohio, Tennessee and Indiana. Everything about it is mafia themed. We all know the mafia makes the best pizza and pepperoni rolls. That’s what they are all famous for.
Goodfellas is a slice operation and they have a variety of slices to choose from. I grabbed a buffalo chicken and some plain slices.
The pizza is a step above the pizza you’d find in a mall food court. Thin, crispy slices, slices as big as your freakin’ head. We had these slices at a brewery, the perfect pairing for this kind of pizza.
Pretty good, but still on the hunt for truly great pizza in Kentucky. Maybe next trip.
Summer Pizzas On the Horizon
What a time for pizza. Summer has started which means we’re gonna see summer pizzas sprout onto pizza menus. Paramount of those seasonal pizzas is the Driftwood Oven peach and corn pizza. That will be back on their menu seven days from today, July 5. Start the clock!
If you have a favorite seasonal pizza let me know.
And yes I have seen The NY Times list of top pizza spots. No Pittsburgh spots on the list, but remember, you don’t need anyone’s permission to enjoy your favorite pizza. List is here for the curious.
Pizza ya later!
-Dan Tallarico, Pizza Journalist