Best Breakfast #1: Spicy Olive Pizza
My commute to work loops me through the northeastern part of the city of Pittburgh, and down through the Strip District. The Strip is a long, narrow section of the city, bounded by the Allegheny River on one side and the long ridge of Polish Hill on the other.
A few mornings a week, Nat and I stop to get coffee at La Prima and breakfast from Il Piccolo Forno. Il Piccolo Forno is an Italian bakery that also serves pasta lunches and pizza; in the mornings, they have huge, beautiful muffins set out in trays - flaky, sugary meles filled with apples or almond paste - mini strudels in tempting, jewel-like rows. I am not there for any of that. I am there for the cold pizza, thin and crisp and perfect, that sometimes sits on the counter. It looks rather forlorn next to the lovely pastries, but each small slice hides deep and delicate flavor beneath its humble skin.
When I am lucky, the pizza is topped with spicy green olives: briny and peppery and faintly bitter, their flavor setting off the cheese and sauce to such perfection that I wonder how I will survive the loss when the slice is gone.
July 14th, 2004 at 3:56 pm
I’m hooked - you have a new reader here. I live in Pittsburgh and would absolutely welcome hearing more about the culinary world around this area. I adore La Prima (especially the iced tea they have downtown) and Il Piccolo Forno. Really impossible trying to get lunch there, though, because of parking.
Also, a belated note on your spices post - I’m not so good with spices and am timid of them after cooking a dinner for four 15 years ago which was a complete disaster and totally inedible. So I wouldn’t use something I hadn’t tasted now. One of my favorite recipes is sauteed zucchini and carmelized sweet potatoes with sage, and if you don’t know if you like sage, how would have a clue if you’d like the dish, you know?
July 14th, 2004 at 5:09 pm
Melissa - hello & welcome! I’ve lived in Pittsburgh most of my life, and I’m still forever finding new and interesting places to eat. I hope you enjoy my future posts on the subject.
Spices can do a real number on you if you’re not prepared - I’ve been fortunate so far, and I try not to inflict my experiments on too many people. My husband, luckily, is quite willing to put up with me & my culinary accidents.