What’s your favorite food?

Welcome to my blog page, where I talk about books and anything that comes to mind.

Over the years I have been asked, what’s my favorite food? Or where do I like to eat?

I thought I would take the time to address those questions today. When it comes to food, I enjoy a good submarine or hoagie as they call them up north. The fresh meats, trimmed with all the veggies, they are close to the top of my list. Banana splits would be my number one if that weren’t a desert. I never understood why that wouldn’t make a complete meal; after all, it has dairy products, plenty of fruit and even protein from the nuts and who doesn’t like Ice cream?

After much consideration, I would have to say pizza is my favorite food. My dad was part Italian, and he taught me at an early age to love pizza and pasta. There are so many styles, New York with their thin crust, Chicago with the pie, and I can’t forget to mention thick crust or stuffed crust, we even have a place here in town that double stacks the pizza one on top the other, that’s a Babes Pizza. I prefer the thick crust or medium crust most of the time. Smothered in cheese and loaded with pepperoni, ham, sausage, the more meat, the better.

I love them all, some more than others. I like it when you can see the large chunks of meat; I don’t care for the meat to be thinly sliced or shredded, I think it takes away from the flavor. Every pizza has a unique taste; the different sauces, cheese, and the dough can make or break a pizza. That’s why I could eat pizza seven days a week. Oh, did I mention pizza is great for breakfast too; you don’t even have to heat it up.

There is always someone trying to build a bigger and better pizza. I’m up for trying each one, as long as there are no mushrooms on it. Don’t get me wrong; I like mushrooms, they just don’t like me.

When I was younger, I started making the Chef Boyardee pizza from a box. Years later I took that to the next level; I buy the Martha White pizza mix. Publix sauce and mozzarella cheese and sprinkle a little Colby cheese on the top. The topping is as desired. My wife likes veggies on her half, me I stick to the meats. My family calls it, Steve’s pizza, and I don’t get any complaints, so I guess they like it, why not, it’s a free meal for them.

A few years ago my wife and I had the privilege of going to Italy for two weeks. We had quite a bit of pizza, even a stromboli, and calzone. They say the Italians invented pizza, but in my opinion, American Italians have perfected it. You gotta love the USA. I also look for those local places, the mom and pop joints, every town has one. I’m not saying I don’t like the big chain brands, I do. But I’m always searching for those hidden gems. Do you know of any great pizza places I should visit? I’m all ears.

If you’re ever in the Tampa area, you just might spot me hanging out at the local pizza place. I’ll be the guy with the sauce stain on his shirt and a big slice hanging out of my mouth.

There you have it; I’m team Pizza!