Heading back to Tony's

We did it. We had another dining adventure at Tony's Napoletana Pizzeria in San Francisco.

Two of our pizza making friends, Dean & Joanne treated us to one of the two tickets she had won at a raffle to cruise out under the Golden Gate, around Alcatraz and back to the pier. After a walk on the wharf and cruising through a couple of art galleries

we headed up Stockton Blvd. to Tony's. Unfortunately Tony had taken the day off after returning

from Italy and winning the triple

crown of pizza cooking contests. Nobody has ever done it before; not even an Italian. He is, to pizza over there, what our Lance Armstrong was to the French and the Tour de France–beating them at their own game. So, it was an hour wait on a Saturday evening, but what a beautiful spring day in San Francisco it turned out to be. Again we ordered his crown jewel,

the Napoletana Margherita,

a Garlic and Clam

and a Cal Italia which was another Gold Medal Winner from the Pizza Challenge and the Food Network. It carried mozzarella, asiago, imported Italiann Gargonzola cheeses with a sweet fig preserve,

thin slices of proscuitto and and topped with parmesan and a basalmic reduction. No wonder it won! It was a delicate balance of simple flavors, not outweighed by the sweetness of the fig sauce which made it almost a pizza pastry. Wow, I had no idea a pizza could be sweet and salty at the same time and just leave you drooling for more.

We both came home with a signed copy of Tony's book of pizza recipes and desserts. How could we not? After tasting his pizza masterpieces you have to know how he did it! One pizza at a time I suppose, is the only way to go right now.

I don't know why he does it. I suppose after winning these world championships of pizza he wants to share his expertise with those who are interested. In the business world I would have to think it would be business suicide to let go of your secrets. However, in his school of pizza where you can become certified in pizza making of every sort, you will learn his secrets anyway. On a professional level he will train you and you will become certified in only 5 days in one certain type of pizza making. For example: at his International School of Pizza (Scula Italiana Pizzaioli) which is the only international school certified by the Italian International School of Pizza,

Tony will personally train you to bake his world famous Margherita for a mere $1800 to $2000 in a 5-6 day course. Other courses cost less, such as Romana or any one type of American Pizza for only $1500. Or if you prefer all 3 of the American styles which would include all 3 of these certifications in New York, Chicago and California styles for about $4000. Do you think Ray Kroc would have done that to make hamburgers? Or Colonel Sanders? Ahh, but Tony, you give away the very types of flour you use, the brands of cheese and tomatoes. On YouTube I will see all of your techniques. What do I need to become certified for? You have taught me practically everything that I know so far. But he has also taught me that when I return to Tony's, to bring friends. Anybody want to toss pizza dough with Tony? Only $500 for beginners and $500 for advanced!

Form is now Following Function

When you wake up thinking about dough, sauces, techniques I could've tried instead of things I need to do today you start to wonder about yourself. At least I'm not skipping work to wrestle with a new dough recipe. But, on your day off you drive 78 miles one way to find some canned tomatoes that are nearly impossible to get your hands on unless you are a restaurant is that cause for alarm? I say yes, if the tomatoes are no good. However, these aren't any old canned tomatoes. These are Alta Cuchina whole plum tomatoes from the Stanislaus Valley. So what, you say! OK, let me explain. The canned tomatoes that I paid $5.99 that came from Italy's Compania region near Mt. Vesuvius called San Marzanos are becoming harder to get. I have heard rumors that the region is becoming polluted and the tomatoes are not what they used to be. In any event. Tony, remember Tony from earlier blogs? Tony is buying these tomatoes. If Tony is buying these tomatoes it's like saying,"OK, Van Gogh is using Grumbacher paints. Shouldn't I be?" The tomatoes by the way are available to the public if you can find this place in Modesto at an Olive Oil plant called Sciabica & Sons. His olive oils are worth the drive alone.

But that's not what this web log is about. I would wake up and know that the dough in my refrigerator is in a kitchen that is bordering on total boredom. Face it, the kitchen is where guest congregate and lean on the counters and set their drinks. There is no escaping it. You can build a wine room, you can build an outdoor patio station that some people would envy, you can decorate your family room with actual artists like a signed original by Peter Max, a signed print by Salvador Dali and two by my very good friend and international wildlife artist, Terry Isaac, it doesn't matter. The people come back to the kitchen. That's where the food is. That's where the action is and that's the comfort zone. (Just a thought: maybe it's the original Vince Larsen pizzas that keep them in the kitchen! ) Anyway, it almost embarrassed me at how plain the kitchen was. Yeah, I know, I'm an artist so it's my fault. Truth of the matter is there wasn't much wall space but there was a lot of need for some character. I thought about emailing HGTV for a kitchen makeover. I figured I would be lost in the thousands of emails there so I decided to do something about it myself. I wanted color. I wanted texture and I wanted it to represent the current journey of rediscovering pizza that I am on.
After numerous times of asking Sheri what we should do about the boring kitchen, she went out and bought some red accents. To brighten up the kitchen you need color. She bought a rug for under the sink, some red utensils and a container to hold them on the counter. For me that wasn't enough. That was like drinking near-beer or watching a bald guy imitate Elvis. What I wanted was to make a statement. I decided to float the walls with drywall mud in a random and freeform method. After it dried I painted it an off-white semigloss paint then I faux painted it with a rustic rust and an earthy brown to frame it. Sounds kinda 70's doesn't it! Don't worry it didn't end up looking like a page out of a Foxfire book. I hope. The result was an 'Old World' look that accentuated the walls so that the microwave was no longer the focus. Some people will call it a Tuscan finish. Either way the final results are in and I like it. I framed Tony's menu and hung it on the end wall and now I feel like I am being reminded to, as Tony would say, "respect the craft." I am, Tony, I just bought a case of Alta Cuchina tomatoes from the Stanislaus Valley. BTW, Alta Cuchina tomatoes are only $1.99 per can!