Pizza Fest + 8 Years of Driftwood Oven Fest
Let's talk about Pizza Fest and a couple other pizza highlights.
Pizza Fest Recap
Pizza Fest is a fest that on paper should be paradise on earth. You have beer, surrounded by pizza enthusiasts, and access to a spread of rock solid artisan pizza made by the best pizza makers in the city, and new up-and-coming pizza shops.
It has all the elements of a killer event, but there’s too much friction between the individual pieces.
After you’ve paid $30 for a ticket, you a thrust into an alleyway of people where you have to push your way through to get the pizza, like a contestant on Double Dare searching for that orange flag. After you get to a booth, you fish out one of your six tickets, pop it in a bucket, and grab a slice. Sometimes the slices are fresh out of the Ooni. Sometimes you have to wait five minutes for the next batch of pizza. Sometimes you have to do a loop and come back as a shop figures out the nuance of the portable oven they’re using for the first time.
Once you grab a slice now you have to juggle biting the pizza and sipping a beer.
The pizza themselves are not a fair representation of the pizza in the shops. It’s a warped facsimile of what you’d get at the brick-and-mortar store. Elements are familiar, but the crust is off. Or, in Alta Via’s case, the pizza is totally alien to what they serve on a daily basis.
It’s a tough situation to be in. These pizza shops are working in unfamiliar territory trying to replicate their pizza in an exotic environment.
Here’s some cursory notes on each pizza shop:
Mercurio’s -Anna and Michael Mercurio were making the pizzas while Ed Stalewski, award-winning pizzaiolo, did the cooking. These pizzas were as good as the pizzas you get at Mercurio’s. I especially liked the sauce, which was rather bright and juicy. The level of expertise under this tent is incredibly impressive.
Alta Via Pizzeria - Crust had the consistency of dried glue. Would not eat again. Not very good. They were using pre-cooked crust. I don’t know if they made them or purchased them somewhere, but it was atrocious
Caliente - Had to wait five minutes for a slice. Dough was actually pretty good, had the white pizza which delivered.
Large Plain -They were serving the Black and Gold pie. Had two types of BBQ sauce. Could only taste the sweet BBQ flavor. Not very balanced, but a nice novelty pizza for the crowd.
Asti Italian Steakhouse - This was the newest pizza shop at the event. Their dough was stacked high with tremendous bubbles. I talked to the owner who introduced me to “Pizza Jesus.” Pizza Jesus makes their dough and Cookes their pizza. He wasn’t too fond of the nickname. The pizza was a little charred, which I enjoyed. Pizza Jesus was very enthusiastic about his dough and showed a ton of promise.
Mediterra - Can never go wrong with Mediterra. They kill at these events as their roman pizza is so hardy and durable. Kevin Konn was working the ovens and serving up the best pizza at the event.
Trying to enjoy pizza as the drizzle came down on me and my wife, Christa, was not the best environment for this. We did snag one of the rare tables dotted in the alleyway. This was a space we shared with complete strangers. That added an interesting element as we swapped pizza stories and got to know each other a little better with each new pizza we tried.
Everyone’s instinct at this Pizza Fest is to rank these pizzas. “Which did you like best?” was a question I was asked frequently. “Mediterra” was the answer I gave. But could Pizza Fest help strengthen that critical thinking muscle? Is it too much to ask attendees to rate various aspects of the pizzas and create an event that helps people form a better relationship with pizza?
I don’t know how to host a pizza event that makes money and starts a discussion. I also am not sure what pizza makers get out of this deal. I spoke with a pizza shop that went to a Pizza Fest years ago and they were paid in “exposure.” I certainly hope that’s no longer the case. This event takes up hours of work and the cost of supplies. The pizza is the draw of the event, I hope they’re getting compensated fairly.
Pizza Fest is an interesting event. It’s busy, it’s packed, and the pizza is a subpar replica. While you may get to try some new shops, it’s hard to recommend to the average pizza enthusiast.
Driftwood Oven Celebrates Eight Years
And you’re invited! Driftwood Oven has been in operation for eight years and they’re throwing a party in August to celebrate. It takes place on August 5th in Lawrenceville. Details in the Instagram post here. I’ll try and grab some time with Neil of Driftwood Oven to talk about his path of pizza and what’s next for this premier pizza shop.
Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Pizza Results
Well the people voted and they voted for: Fiori’s Pizzeria. Do you think that’s the best pizza in the city? Are the readers of Pittsburgh Magazine right? Sound off in the comments I guess.
Wow, will I be invited back to Pizza Fest at this rate? Probably not. Thanks for reading. I’m a little tired this week, but I had to get this pizza news off my chest.
Pizza ya later!
Dan Tallarico, Pizza Journalist