10/30/2002: Japanese attempt pizza
 

http://cellar.org/2002/squidinkpizza.jpg

I enjoy the Japanese culture and how it is creatively integrating western things in new and different ways. So does this guy who has developed the web's first page dedicated to introducing the world to Japanese pizza. He notes that "in some guises, [it] is truly an abomination for mankind."

And it truly is, including what is shown above: squid ink pizza, where squid ink is substituted for the usual tomato sauce. That's bad enough, but the guy also features the "Curry Monterrey" upon which the toppings are "Curry Sauce, Potato, Fresh Mayonnaise, Canadian Bacon, Sweet Corn, Onion, Green Pepper, Black Pepper".

Curry, potato and mayo as a pizza topping. Mmm, it's almost lunchtime.

The benefit of a meal like this is that if you vomit afterwards, you can't tell the difference between what comes out and what went in.

Mmmm...squid ink
 

While not defending the squid ink, I've had the curry/mayo one after a long night of drinking. I don't know what it is but it sure hit the spot.

I live in St. Louis now, and there's a similar concoction, a slinger. Spaghetti noodles over 2 scrambled eggs over 2 cooked cheeseburger patties, all of it covered in chili. Yummy!

damn...I was planning a curry pizza and thought it was an original idea.

i'd eat it.

Possibly Nummy.
 

Yeah, this concoction sounds like it would work. Pizza has come a long way since Shakey's offered an "Idiot's Delight." I think it actually had more than one kind of peppers on it. In the Sixties.

I think everyone should make their own pizza pie.
 

I always find non-tradition pizzas are always interesting. I have a couple friends who work at Papa Johns and they used the new buffalo sauce that they have for the new chicken strips as the sauce. Then put chicken and cheese on top, It was delicious.
Squid Ink on the other hand, I'm not sure anyone could get me to try that.

Isn't this the very definiton of Americana: taking something from another culture (hey! like pizza!), blending it with elements from your culture, and creating something new (even if I think squid ink pizza sounds particularly foul)?

potato pizza is no joke
 

potato on a white pizza (no sauce) with small pieces of bacon and sprinkled with chedder cheese is fantastic.

Right, splice - pizza is in itself a westernized version of an Italian peasant food.

But the tomato as a crop was originally brought back to Europe from South America.

So this most basic of foods has one amazing worldwide history. But the Japanese won't know what hit them when the next round arrives: the stromboli.

Cam, I happen to have a cold Buffalo Chicken Pizza in the refrig right now. Chicken, three types of cheese, and "buffalo" sauce. From Rocco's Brick Oven Pizza in Collegeville. Y'all know the place, I'm sure!

The secret to reheating cold pizza: just wipe a thin layer of light olive oil across a heavy pan or griddle, and slap it down there on high heat, crust-down. When the crust starts getting black areas, it's done.

Reheating pizza? That's a waste -- it's best cold! (Just like cold Chinese food... mmmm... peppersteak for breakfast!)

I always thought "japanese pizza" referred to okonomiyaki

Yeah I expected that someplace else did this. Sadly I don't believe we have any, how do I put this, original pizza parlors I guess, around here, if we do I havn't discovered it yet and no one has recommended it. But now my stomach is growling, and I have to go to class, oh it's going to be a long night. I have a microeconomics test tomorrow morning. yuck

that sounds awesome. makes me miss living in a college town.

~james

Not original pizza, but,
 

damn it's good. Lorenzo's, dowtown Philly. Best....Cheese....Pizza....EVER!

I've made shrimp pizzas for people at work. I've also made pizzas with no cheese. Then there's the pinapple, ham, and jalapeno pizza.

Some people, i'll never understand.

Aw yeah, splice, 100% agreed!

Maggie, I've had okonomiyaki, it's not especially pizza-like at all (flat != pizza). Tastes more like a warm salad.

Re: Mmmm...squid ink
 

Sounds like a slinger to me, though it's been ages since I've had one.

What part of town Cochese? I'm originally from there (south city).

From what I've heard about it there's quite a bit of variety to okonomiyaki. This makes sense since the word is translated as "cook whatver you like"...probably analogous to the US phrase "garbage pizza". And if your idea of pizza includes a leavened dough, I can see why you wouldn't call okonomiyaki pizza-like.

My point was that what this "world's first Japanese pizza web page" is actually describing come on very much like okonomiyaki....and that's probably why it's not really tuned into US ideas of what pizza should be. They're not trying to imitate yankee style so much, although the pictures do look like a leavened wheat dough was used.

And it's certainly *not* the first okonomiyaki web page, nor even the first web page to call it "japanese pizza". Fans of Ukyou from Ranma 1/2 have been calling it that for ages., although they describe it as more of a pancake.

My lifepartner Gwen, who hails from Chicago, swears that we don't really make pizza here in Philly anyway. She's learned to love calzone, though. I prefer stromboli.

<i>okonomiyaki
(n): pizza-like pancake fried with various ingredients</i>

She's right. Chicago or NYC for deep dish. St. Louis for thin crust. :)

while working at pizza hut, i made our dishwasher eat (or rather dared him to, that guy would eat anything) a pizza i made.

a personal pan pizza, with alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce, then cheese, lettuce, and more cheese. YES. i cooked the lettuce. ew. but he said it was good. i think i took a bite and it wasn't so bad, because save the lettuce it was pretty much a white pizza. but still, cooked lettuce. ew.

Pizza Hut cold chill down spine anything other than thin crust is a sin against God and man.

Wait, there's more!

Check out http://www.strawberrycones.com/ca_france.html
It looks like it has shrimp, some kind of chunks of fish, mushrooms what looks like large half melted pieces of brie and everyone's favorite, mayonaise!

And then there is the Crape Station (do you think they meant crepe?) http://www.pizza-station.co.jp/italian/index.html

You can check out the snazy new uniforms over at http://www.hotweb.or.jp/pizza104/english/welcome.html

If memory serves me cheese is not typical in the Japanese diet.

Main Street Pizza (Home of the Big Slice, which is also an experience not to be missed) in Norristown, PA has a Buffalo Chicken gourmet deep dish pie that ROCKS. They also do a chicken cordon bleu that is beyond awesome (with hollandaise sauce rather than tomato sauce ... DROOL).