Why is Florida soo crazy?

In reply to Huckleberry:

I'm probably a bit jealous that I'm getting up for work at the ass crack of dawn headed for work while they're just staggering home with another young lady with bad judgment and a good tan.

Don't get me started on FL pizzerias. There must be a million mediocre-to-lousy NY-style pizza joints in Pinellas county alone. If even the best of those is representative of the style, I don't like it.
I'm a transplant married to a native and even she doesn't know but a couple places to get a decent pizza pie.
Lack of access to decent pizza is a major quality of life issue that could be contributing to the craziness down here.

When the state of Massachusetts decided to come down on my neighbors for welfare fraud, where do you think they took off to? First to Pennsylvania and then to Florida. Now that the smoke has cleared, they are back staying at the family compound. They do still make monthly trips to Florida and back that is soon followed by a guy in a black Mustang coming over and walking into the house with an envelope of cash and walking back out with either an overstuffed manilla folder or a small box.

johnnie wrote: Don't get me started on FL pizzerias. There must be a million mediocre-to-lousy NY-style pizza joints in Pinellas county alone. If even the best of those is representative of the style, I don't like it. I'm a transplant married to a native and even she doesn't know but a couple places to get a decent pizza pie. Lack of access to decent pizza is a major quality of life issue that could be contributing to the craziness down here.

Have you been to Greggarios?

Wall-e wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: I'm probably a bit jealous that I'm getting up for work at the ass crack of dawn headed for work while they're just staggering home with another young lady with bad judgment and a good tan.

As we get older we have the opportunity to reflect upon where life went wrong. Getting up, on purpose, for work was definitely a turning point. There is no reward for a life of punctuality. It's like an addiction - I took a vacation from work to ... work on my house. I landscaped 10hrs a day for a week fer berkeleys sake. I talk a good game but I don't even know where to buy bath salts or how to pick up strippers then dispose of them properly. I hope it's not too late for me.

Enyar wrote:

johnnie wrote: Don't get me started on FL pizzerias. There must be a million mediocre-to-lousy NY-style pizza joints in Pinellas county alone. If even the best of those is representative of the style, I don't like it. I'm a transplant married to a native and even she doesn't know but a couple places to get a decent pizza pie. Lack of access to decent pizza is a major quality of life issue that could be contributing to the craziness down here.

Have you been to Greggarios?

Or Lat 28 on Alt 19 in Dunedin?

I feel the pizza pain. I grew up in Chicagoland, where awesome pizza can be found on almost every corner. (not just deep dish--- the crispy thin-crust, cut into squares-type was awesome too) I actually worked in pizza joints all through HS and college.

I've lived in Florida for 14 years now, and have yet to find a really good pizza. I've had some that were ok, but most of it is mediocre at best. Down here 90% of the pizza you find is the cardboard, floppy-crust NY style. I haven't seen any place that makes the type of thin-crust pizza I liked so much up North. Maybe it's the humidity, or the water---- I hear that makes a difference in making a good crust.

I love living in FL---- but yeah, the pizza sucks down here.

Joe Gearin wrote: I feel the pizza pain. I grew up in Chicagoland, where awesome pizza can be found on almost every corner. (not just deep dish--- the crispy thin-crust, cut into squares-type was awesome too) I actually worked in pizza joints all through HS and college. I've lived in Florida for 14 years now, and have yet to find a really good pizza. I've had some that were ok, but most of it is mediocre at best. Down here 90% of the pizza you find is the cardboard, floppy-crust NY style. I haven't seen any place that makes the type of thin-crust pizza I liked so much up North. Maybe it's the humidity, or the water---- I hear that makes a difference in making a good crust. I love living in FL---- but yeah, the pizza sucks down here.

It is the wrong part of the state from where I think you are, but there is a Rosati's in the Tampa area and an Aurelios in Naples.

In reply to spitfirebill: Gators can't stand the cold water.

Joe Gearin wrote: I feel the pizza pain. I grew up in Chicagoland, where awesome pizza can be found on almost every corner. (not just deep dish--- the crispy thin-crust, cut into squares-type was awesome too) I actually worked in pizza joints all through HS and college. I've lived in Florida for 14 years now, and have yet to find a really good pizza. I've had some that were ok, but most of it is mediocre at best. Down here 90% of the pizza you find is the cardboard, floppy-crust NY style. I haven't seen any place that makes the type of thin-crust pizza I liked so much up North. Maybe it's the humidity, or the water---- I hear that makes a difference in making a good crust. I love living in FL---- but yeah, the pizza sucks down here.

It's not just FL, we just tried a place in Biloxi last night and the best I can say is it was cheap, and tasted at least as good as Chuck E Cheese without the fear of communicable diseases.

I really wish Monical's had a place down this way. Maybe I should check if they franchise...nah, I'd eat all the profits and the pizza.

iceracer wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: Gators can't stand the cold water.

??? Lake Placid, Florida.

hobiercr wrote:

Enyar wrote:

johnnie wrote: Don't get me started on FL pizzerias. There must be a million mediocre-to-lousy NY-style pizza joints in Pinellas county alone. If even the best of those is representative of the style, I don't like it. I'm a transplant married to a native and even she doesn't know but a couple places to get a decent pizza pie. Lack of access to decent pizza is a major quality of life issue that could be contributing to the craziness down here.

Have you been to Greggarios?

Or Lat 28 on Alt 19 in Dunedin?

First I've heard of either, but both are nearby. Kinda gave up on anything but Cristino's and it's too far away to be convenient. Life without pizza is kinda lame.

My brother in-law is a student of pizza pies and damned fine amateur pizza maker. Last truly good pie I had was made by him. I'm all about DIY food, but pizza crust, why you so difficult?

Huckleberry wrote:

Wall-e wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: I'm probably a bit jealous that I'm getting up for work at the ass crack of dawn headed for work while they're just staggering home with another young lady with bad judgment and a good tan.

As we get older we have the opportunity to reflect upon where life went wrong. Getting up, on purpose, for work was definitely a turning point. There is no reward for a life of punctuality. It's like an addiction - I took a vacation from work to ... work on my house. I landscaped 10hrs a day for a week fer berkeleys sake. I talk a good game but I don't even know where to buy bath salts or how to pick up strippers then dispose of them properly. I hope it's not too late for me.

I just did the same thing on my vacation. I spent one day working past midnight on an unappreciative relatives car. If I knew how depressing being a grown up was going to be I wouldn't have bothered beimg so careful growing up.

Wall-e wrote:

Huckleberry Wall-e wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: If I knew how depressing being a grown up was going to be I wouldn't have bothered beimg so careful growing up.

That is pretty damn profound. I may have to steal that.

spitfirebill wrote:

iceracer wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: Gators can't stand the cold water.

??? Lake Placid, Florida.

I think most of us northerners were thinking of the Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. It was all the setting of the 1999 horror flick "Lake Placid" about a huge crocodile taking down tourists in the cold water Mirror Lake, New York.

Oddly enough an alligator did once live in Mirror Lake for a few years after growing too big for the local hotel proprietor's bathtub.

New York History Blog - Alligators in Adirondacks?

Joe Gearin wrote: I feel the pizza pain. I grew up in Chicagoland, where awesome pizza can be found on almost every corner. (not just deep dish--- the crispy thin-crust, cut into squares-type was awesome too) I actually worked in pizza joints all through HS and college.

When I become President I am going to appoint a team that will travel the country to these establishments claiming to serve a regional food be it New York Bagels, Chicago Pizza, Memphis BBQ ect. If you are found lacking in some way as almost all are you will be forced to stand in front of your restaurant with a big sign apologizing to the community while it is burned to the ground and then the ashes are scooped up and burned again.

Been on the East side of S. FL 10 years, haven't found any really good pizza yet. Haven't seen an alligator either. Word is if someone sees one and reports it the game warden type guys come find it and take them away. The canal I live on would presumably make a nice habitat for them with areas of natural land along it periodically.

[URL=http://s240.photobucket.com/user/NOTATA/media/MVC-029F-3.jpg.html][/URL]

If you have not seen a gator in that canal, you have not been looking. I guarantee they are there. As well as a bunch of cute snakehead fish. Those are all over the residential canals.

Wall-e wrote:

Joe Gearin wrote: I feel the pizza pain. I grew up in Chicagoland, where awesome pizza can be found on almost every corner. (not just deep dish--- the crispy thin-crust, cut into squares-type was awesome too) I actually worked in pizza joints all through HS and college.

When I become President I am going to appoint a team that will travel the country to these establishments claiming to serve a regional food be it New York Bagels, Chicago Pizza, Memphis BBQ ect. If you are found lacking in some way as almost all are you will be forced to stand in front of your restaurant with a big sign apologizing to the community while it is burned to the ground and then the ashes are scooped up and burned again.

Bagels. A good New York/Jewish Bagel. Why is that so hard to do?

There are a lot of good styles of pizza--not all are my personal preference, but there are a lot of good ones. Bagels? There is only one style that is good.

In reply to mtn:

Good bagels don't exist outside of 3 of the 5 boroughs

In reply to mtn:

There are several good pizzas but of you are going to advertise a particular type and your product looks nothing like it you should be shut down. Bagels I don't understand. I went up to my inlaws yesterday and they had "bagels" for breakfast. If you described a bagel to a blind person and asked them to draw one it would have been closer than what they had.

I've heard that NY Bagels taste different because the water in NYC is high in mineral content. I guess that's why other places can't quite replicate the deliciousness.

Might be the same with Chicago and pizza. I dunno---- but I'll be up there this weekend and damn straight I'm gonna have some tasty goodness!

In reply to Joe Gearin:

I recommend the offerings from Essa, never toasted of course

I'll offer up a confession here--I've never had an actual New York bagel. But my bagels come from Deli's that do not sell pork products and you can still frequently hear yiddish. So I may be way out of line, maybe I've only ever had mediocre bagels--someday I'll get to New York and find out.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to Joe Gearin: I recommend the offerings from Essa, never toasted of course

Eat more Tacos son