Upstate NY Part 4: Pizza Tour 2011

Who doesn't love a good pizza pie? When we lived in Brooklyn, we were right next to some of the best street pizza around from Luigi's Pizzeria.  Now that we're in LA, we have a shortlist of fine pies, topped by Mozza and followed by Casa Bianca, Mother Dough, and...well that's about it. Whenever we're in Upstate NY, pizza becomes a staple food group. Some of the best pizza we've ever had is in the Triple City region. Our visit this year was no exception in eating as many slices of pizza iterations as possible. Here's a few of the highlights:

Jim Roma's Bakery
Jim Roma's sheet pizza probably had the sweetest of all the sauces, with a light and fluffy crust that was just on the verge of being undercooked. It made for a great saucy slice that was delicious even at room temperature. They slice the sheet with giant scissors, which seem completely appropriate given the "shear" scale of pizza we're talking about.

Jim Roma's Bakery

202 North Nanticoke Ave.
Endicott, NY 13760

Mario's Pizza
Another exceptional sheet pizza is the plain cheese sheet from Mario's. The crust is quite a bit softer than a standard round pizza, probably because of the sheer volume and size of the pie. A mildly sweet sauce topped with a hearty portion of cheese.

Mario's Pizza

51 Fox Street

Owego, NY 13827

Consol's Family Kitchen

Hands down the best pizza we had that week was the "Hot Pie" at Consol's. The pies were made famous by Consul's Uncle Duff back in the mid 1940's. The perfectly thin but substantial crust with a slightly sweet sauce is topped with a nice blend of cheeses.  They also have a grilled pizza which we'll have to taste test next time we're there. The best part is how they package the pies to go- not in a box, but wrapped with butcher paper so the pies don't sweat.

Consol's Family Kitchen

101 Oak Hill Ave.

Endicott, NY 13760

Shortstop Deli
While technically not a pizza in the truest sense, honorable mentions go to the Hot Truck Pizza Sub from the Shortstop Deli, which combines the best of both the pizza and sandwich worlds. These toasted subs are made of fresh french bread baked daily on site, with options for toppings that you check off from an order form at the counter. The Poor Man's Pizza (PMP) is a standout. They even have their own secret "truck sauce" which seems to be some mixture of mayonnaise, garlic, pizza sauce, and amazingness.

Shortstop Deli

200 W. Seneca St.

Ithaca, NY 14850

Upstate NY Part 3: Triple City Carousels

With 6 historic wooden carousels, the Triple City area near Binghamton is the self proclaimed "Carousel Capital of the World". The carousels were donated by George Johnson of the Endicott-Johnson shoe company at the beginning on the 20th Century, with the caveat that all carousel rides would forever be free. What a treat for kids and kids at heart alike. We went to the carousel at Highland Park in Endwell, and even got a fun button for a spin on the carousel. More pics on our flickr feed!

Upstate NY Part 2: The Great New York State Fair

One of the highlights of our week in Upstate New York was visiting the Great New York State Fair, which is the oldest and one of the largest state fairs in the country. While most people think of the City when you mention New York, the state has a strong agricultural core, and the fair was full of agricultural exhibits including barns full of poultry, dairy cattle, hay crops, and of course a butter sculpture.

More pics on our flickr feed, including images of (almost) prized pigeons, honorary Christmas trees, a miniature circus, and of course, Hot Beef Sundaes.

Upstate NY Part 1: Upstate is Gorges

Before the devastating floods hit the Southern Tier region of Upstate New York, we spent a week in the area visiting family, friends, and seeing the sites. The landscape around the Owego, Candor, Ithaca, and Binghamton area is full of lush rolling hills scattered with small farms and roadside fruit stands. We know there's lots of work ahead to rebuild affected towns- hopes for a speedy recovery in the region!