Every place we visit has one thing in common with Gold Beach and all the other places we have been to. One word describes it. It is an almost universal word that means the same wherever you live. Yet, the description varies depending on where you live. That word is pizza.
*Disclaimer: This story may be biased. The author of this story got his first taste of pizza before he was ten years of age before it was considered ‘fast-food’. It was at a pizzeria that was ‘family’ owned. It was owned by people involved with an organization known for stepping outside the law. Pietra’s Pizzeria is still in business but with different owners. Still, my favorite place to eat, my favorite pizza joint. I have eaten there regularly since 1964. When in town, I eat several meals there. Too many, according to my spouse. Later in life, I was doing business with a man in New Jersey who owned Mafaro’s Pizzeria. My second favorite place to eat. Italian pizza and pasta at their best.
Pizza. A food that has as many flavors as it has combinations. Some like them meaty, some want stuff that was grown in the dirt for toppings. (vegetables and the like)
We have tried factory-made pies like Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Hunt Brothers, and Godfathers. However, we have also tried the little family joints like the ‘late’ Panther’s Den (late because it sometimes took two hours to get our order), Sunset Family Pizza in Gold Beach as well as the Crow’s Nest.
Recently on two separate trips through Lusk, Wyoming, we ate at The Pizza Place. Nice place if you ever find yourself tiring of café food and want a pie. The place has indoor dining as well as a patio right along the sidewalk on the main drag.
A recent stop near Bowman, North Dakota, required a delivery from Next Door Pizza. Very similar to many other places but with a red sauce that was very smooth. The delivery driver had our pie to us in less than 20 minutes, and we were almost ten miles outside of town. The pizza was hot, and the price was very reasonable.
Every motel has a to-go/delivery menu with pizza, usually from Pizza Hut or Dominos. It seems that no matter how far from home, there is comfort in knowing you can get a pizza. That familiar baked dough, with all the goodies or just a few pieces of your favorite topping, even if you have to pick the ham or pineapple off. Those things your spouse ordered that you don’t enjoy, whether on a pizza or on your plate.
That is why Mike L. makes my third all-time favorite pizza. Each pie hand made just the way you want it in his private pizza oven. I have never had to pick something off of one of his pizzas because I chose the ingredients, from the hand-rolled dough just made by his wife Sheryl to the sliced meat, freshly chopped onions, and the hand-grated cheese.
It seems we all have favorites. Even in small towns, we rarely vary what we eat. We like a certain meal when we eat at Spinners, so that is what we always get. Same at the Port Hole. Who doesn’t always get a hot dog at the Langlois Market? All these places have other items on the menu, but we have favorites. That is why we go to McDonald’s. We want a factory-made burger.
Food, pizza to be exact, available everywhere, yet they are all different. Differing tastes, variety of choices, memories of when we first tasted a REAL pizza. Not out of a box or from the factory but real pizza. Pizza makes us all the same at the same time different.
The next time you have to pick some undesired substance off of your slice or you are suffering through a poorly made factory pie, here is something to think about.
You can close your eyes to reality, but not to memories.
LEC
Enjoy your next pizza from Sunset or the Crow’s Nest.
Guest Author: EsQue