Talking Sweet About Nothing

I'm not a pizza snob. I will eat a $1 slice, frozen grocery store pizza, school cafeteria pizza, you name it. I love pizza. But I had to draw the line somewhere as to which pizza places I would write about. I mean, Google Maps claims 56 pizza places within 1 mile of my house (they include Shoppers, which is kind funny). So I decided that the division would be dough. If a pizza parlor made their own dough, then I would write about it. That doesn't mean that I won't eat other pizzas. I frequently do, in fact. I'm just not going to put the effort into critiquing and writing about them. How much could I actually say about frozen dough from Sysco or Nino's? Canned sauce and processed cheese taste pretty much the same no matter who's name is on the awning.

Well here's the exception to prove the rule. I had to break my own guidelines for Today's Pizza (pronounced Toe-day's). This place is less than 200 yards from my house and they're open until 2am, so I can walk/stumble there anytime I want. There's also a little bit of sentimentality in that it was the first pizza I had when I first moved here and lived two blocks over on North Bend (the same street as Today's! man, I lucked out). Many awesome evenings of hanging out with friends have been accompanied by a Today's pizza.

Everyone I know agrees that there's something special about Today's. They're right. The crust is unassuming. It's typical carry-out crust; not as crispy as I usually like it, but you can fold it so it doesn't droop. The cheese does not dominate and they do not overload the toppings. Today's Pizza's ace in the hole, however, is their sauce. I don't know where they get it, but it's unlike any other sauce I've ever tasted. I know it's canned, I've watched them open it. But why no other carry-out has ever ordered this sauce amazes me. How is it unique to Today's? How did I get so lucky? This sauce is spicy. Not hot and not overwhelming, but there's a hint of smokey spice. Everyone comments on the sauce, but no one has been able to pin down the blend of spices in this sauce.

While I love going out and eating "serious" ** pizza, I also realize that I'm very lucky to have a really great, really cheap carry-out pie within walking distance from my house. Thank you Today's.




** Serious pizza in my book means sauce and dough made from scratch from high-quality ingredients and especially fresh mozzarella. A serious pizza oven would be nice, but that's a rare find in Baltimore.

I woke up this morning and the headline on CNN.com said, "Candidates differ on Russia." Really? An hour and half of debate and the biggest disagreement worth reporting is their stance on Russia? The debates have become a joke. It's a photo-op where candidates can recite the best quips from their stump speeches to a nation-wide audience. There is no debate.



The citizens of our country deserve more. Unfortunately, as long as the Commission on Presidential Debates is running the show, that won't happen. The Commission on Presidential Debates is nothing more than an extension of the two major political parties, designed specifically (I'm not exaggerating) to exclude third party and independent candidates from having a voice in the presidential election process.

The Commission on Presidential Debates is more concerned with maintaining the two party duopoly than it is with actually letting candidates debate, or letting Americans hear alternative choices. Write your candidate, ask them what they're afraid of? Tell them you're intelligent enough to hear opposing and alternative viewpoints and judge for yourself. Until then, I say, "what debate?"

For more information about the corporate-sponsored, two-party Commission on Presidential Debates, click here.

Fortunato's specializes in a crispy, thin crust with dough made in-house. Seriously, the crusts are wonderful and they avoid over-salting, a common fault at many pizza places I've visited. Although this was some really good pizza, I'm afraid the praise stops there.

I can't give it a "great" because the Margherita had too little sauce and was buried in mozz. I'm a fan of cheese, don't get me wrong, but it's all about balance. And if you're going to offer a Margherita, a classic pizza, at least try to be authentic about it. Let me taste the sauce and the basil, not imagine that it might be hidden in there somewhere.



I can't say it was "amazing" because a simple green peppers and onions pie was overloaded with everything. There was just too much piled onto this pie. While I finally got to taste some sauce, and it was pretty damn great, the ratio of everything (sauce, cheese, and toppings) should have been cut in half. It shouldn't require both hands to support a single slice. (the sauce was great, btw)



One pizza does deserve some recognition, however. The White pizza is a Fortunato's specialty, and with good reason. This pizza had me at "hello." It wasn't overloaded with anything and that delicious crust could really shine through. The crust had a light layer of mozz with dabs of ricotta. It was topped with broccoli and fresh tomatoes, usually a pizza no-no, but in lieu of sauce, this really worked well. It's a very unusual, or unexpected flavor combination for a pizza, but they nailed it.



I don't mean to be such a downer on Fortunato's. It is really good. I'd eat there again tonight if it weren't so far away. I guess I'm just thinking about the potential. They've got a really good thing going. The crust is fantastic, the sauce is almost ideal, and they've got a knockout specialty pizza. If they could work out the consistency and balance of ingredients, I think things could be pretty damn solid. I guess I'll have to keep checking back. Pizza club!