October 25, 2011
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A Pizza Des Moines
El Chisme carnitas pizza
Pizza is a flat out contradiction, a “fast food” that takes hours to prepare, a “pie” we eat as a main course, and a relatively “new” food, at least in Iowa, that’s as old as civilization. Four thousand years ago Babylonians, Israelites and Egyptians were all cooking flat unleavened bread in mud ovens. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians were topping it with olive oil and native spices before the birth of Christ.
A popular Italian fable claims that Roman soldiers in the Middle East tasted matzo and decided it lacked “focus,” the Latin word for hearth. So they threw it in a fire along with oil, herbs and cheese to birth the first “pizze.” It took 1500 dark years before Italians improved upon that, after tomatoes had found their way from Mexico to Naples, in the 15th century.
The modern pizza era began in 1830 with the opening of the world’s first pizzeria – Naple’s “Port’Alba,” where the oven was lined with lava from Mount Vesuvius. In 1889, pizza man Don Raffaele Esposito created a pie for Queen Margherita of recently unified Italy.
He used only tomato, basil and mozzarella to replicate the colors of the new Italian flag. That Margherita pie has remained the world’s basic template for pizza ever since.
Gennaro Lombardi opened America’s first pizzeria, Lombardi’s Napoletana, in New York City in 1905 but the dish didn’t catch on beyond Italian neighborhoods in America until after World War II. During that war Naples became a major base of operations for American armed forces. Then G.I.’s brought a pizza craving home.
Most Italians who settled on the south side of Des Moines immigrated from the south of Italy, from Calabria and Sicily. That part of Italy, Il Mezzodi, is rich in olive trees and wheat and is sunny enough to grow tomatoes, everything needed for pizza. By the mid 1950’s, sons of Calabria dominated the Des Moines restaurant scene. One of them introduced this old “Mezzodi” dish to Iowans.
The Calabrese Lacona family opened Union Station restaurant downtown in 1946. One year later, Noah Lacona opened Noah’s Ark on Ingersoll using his mother Teresa‘s recipes. He personally designed a gas oven that simulated the wood-burning ovens of southern Italy and a pie making machine that duplicated Neapolitan crusts.
Noah’s pizza
By 1947 Noah was serving the first pizza in Iowa. Within a few years pizzerias were opening all over Des Moines.
Ironically, Iowa’s taste for pizza was anachronistic. Iowans discovered this most popular use of wheat after the state quit producing it. Once a leading producer of that grain, Iowa had transitioned to become the leading corn state in America. Though still surrounded by the leading wheat states, only West Virginia harvests less wheat than Iowa. Iowa Historical Society fellows Lowell Soike and John Zeller explained how this happened.
“The railroad crossed Iowa by 1869, opening up Chicago markets to corn and corn fed cattle. Iowa land became far too valuable to waste planting wheat,” said Zeller.
“Plus, the development of hard wheat, which grew better in colder, less arid climates became popular after of the invention of roller milling systems at about the same time,” added Soike.
Pizza Controversy
Anachronism goes well on pizza which has, after all, been appropriated from older cultures for over two millennia. Controversy goes well with it too. For most of the time since Des Moines became a pizza town, people have argued about which places make the best pies. Only a consensus can settle such food arguments, so Cityview followed up last year’s “Ultimate Sandwich” tournament with an “Ultimate Pizza” challenge this year. Last year, over 4000 people voted for their favorite sandwich. We quickly discovered that far more people carry strong opinions about pizza. Half again that many voted just during the first three rounds this year.
We started with 42 diverse places nominated by some food professionals. We then turned the controversy over to our readers. Many restaurants on the original list are old school Calabrese. Four of them – Gusto, Noah’s, Bambino’s and Mama Lacona’s – are owned by descendents of Teresa Lacona. La Pizza House might well be the second oldest pizzeria in Iowa. Pagliai’s opened their first pizzeria in 1957 and had been serving pies in taverns for a few years before that. Bordenaro’s, Orlondo’s, Chuck’s, Centro, Christopher’s, Sam & Gabe’s, Scornovacco’s, Paesano’s, Baratta’s, and Polito’s all trace their roots to the southside or Mezzodi traditions. Bagni di Lucca, Leaning Tower of Pizza, and Pagliai’s have Tuscan connections. Others with long histories are associated with a specific style of pie – Felix & Oscar’s, Paradise, The Tavern.
Some fuse Italian traditions with other cuisines. El Chisme features their superb Mexican meats, Fong’s offers Chinese- American verve, and Simon’s employs smokehouse meats. Others hail from fine dining establishments like Trostel’s Dish, Kirkwood Lounge, Court Avenue Brewing Company, Chef’s Kitchen, Marino’s, and Cosi Cucina, which re-introduced wood fired pizza to Central Iowa.
Flour makes Sicilian deep dish pies
Others are primarily known for their pizza – Big Tomato, Flour, Coach’s, Beaverdale, Angelo’s and Adriatica. Some are rather new – New York City, Fia’s, Rock Power. Three of them, Boston’s, Sam & Louie‘s and Red Rossa – are chain franchises from out of state.
Pagliai’s pizza used more cheese than any other
Pagliai’s dominated the first round of voting which produced some upsets. Chuck’s, Flour, Cosi Cucina, Sam & Gabe’s, Paradise, El Chisme and Bagni di Lucca, all favorites of one critic or another, went down. So did The Tavern and Scornavacco’s both of which have long been among the most popular independently made Iowa pies in sales. Dish, Kirkwood, Christopher’s, Sam & Gabe’s, Simon’s and Court Avenue Brewing Company all missed the second round, probably showing that voters like their pizza made by stores that specialize in pizza. Long time favorites Mama Lacona’s, Big Tomato, Bambino’s, Noah’s, Felix & Oscar’s, Bordenaro’s, Orlondo’s on Park, and La Pizza House made it to the sweet sixtenn along with relative newcomers Fong’s, Coach’s, Centro, NYC and Sam & Louie’s.
Tradition did even better in the next round with Angelo’s and Gusto leading the voting for the elite eight by capturing nearly half of all votes. Pagliai’s, Bambino’s and Noah’s also advanced with relative newcomers Fong’s, Sam & Louie’s and NYC. The voting tightened in the third round although Angelo’s and Gusto led again. Pagliai’s and Bambino’s rounded out the final four.
The Final Four
Gusto and Bambino’s are three and two generations removed from Teresa Lacona respectively. Gusto is owned by Josh Holderness, Joe McConville and Tony Lemmo who is a great grandson of Teresa Lacona on the Noah‘s Ark side of the family. His mother Lou Ann is a cousin of Bambino’s owner Vanessa Lacona Devine who comes from the Mama Lacona‘s side of that family tree. Bambino’s pies resemble Mama Lacona’s far more than Gusto’s resemble Noah’s though. And, with over 70 non-pizza items on its menu, Bambino’s is also more of a full service Italian restaurant too.
Bambino pies were the best example of New York style
After opening in Ames, Pagliai’s restaurants moved into numerous Midwestern college towns building life long allegiances at that impressionable phase of life. Pagliai’s Pizza in Johnston, the only one in the metro, is a rare exception to that college zip code demographic. It was by far the busiest of the final flour during my our recent visits despite the fact we visited on a traditionally slow Monday night and we visited the other places on Thursdays and Fridays, usually big nights in the business. Pagliai’s featured the most open kitchens too. Every phase of their scratch pizza making operation could be viewed through windows. Their pies employed more mozzarella than the other final three and Pagliai’s literature touted their mozzarella, which is custom made by an Italian cheese family in Wisconsin. They also claimed a similar relation to their tomato supplier in California.
Angelo’s was the coziest operation among the final four with just four table tops in their West Des Moines store. They were also the least influenced by local allegiances or political correctness. Cincinnati Reds collector items were proudly displayed and an “Illinois Nazi” pizza was still featured, years after that name caused an editorial protest in the local Jewish press.
Angelo’s also made the only true “tavern style” pizza among the final four, meaning that a loaded crust was crispy enough to remain parallel to the table when gripped on its edge. That crust was also more peppered and blistered than other Final Four pies.
Gusto vs. Pagliai’s
Voters then reduced the field to a face off between Pagliai’s and Gusto. That’s about as close to old school vs. new school as any final two could have been. It’s also a city vs. suburb rivalry and a Tuscany vs. Calabria battle.
John and Katrina Pagliai left Lucca, Italy in 1914 and settled in the coal mining town of Zookspur, Iowa. That is a ghost town today but a century ago Zookspur’s numerous Central Italians immigrants supported five bakeries. The senior Pagliai’s came to America with family recipes committed to memory. Their son Sam started selling “tomato tarts” in 1953 in Ames taverns. By 1957, word of mouth about those doughy treats led to his first restaurant – The Pizza House, which he opened with his brother Armond.
Today, the Iowa-based, family-owned Pagliai’s Pizza restaurants go through 12,000 pounds of cheese, 9000 pounds of flour, and 1000 gallons of tomato sauce each month keeping customers happy. Specials such as $2 glasses of wine, $5.50 spaghetti dinners, and $10 two topping pizza help make this one of the busiest restaurants in the metro. Pies are thin crusted but not crispy enough to be called tavern style. Nor are they malleable enough to be called New York style. Double crusted pies were offered as an option. Cheese was promoted as “100 percent Mozzarella.” Tomato sauce was quite fresh with visible chunks of tomato and obvious use of garlic and oregano. The restaurant has never changed John & Katrina’s pizza sauce recipe. Other toppings were quite generous.
Despite Tony Lemmo’s link to Teresa and Noah Lacona, Gusto’s pizza are hardly traditional.
Options include lifestyle and health choices such as vegan Mozzarella and gluten free crusts. Their cheese is hardly 100 percent Mozzarella. Asiago, chevre, Provolone, ricotta, pepper-ricotta, cream cheese, Romano, Colby, blue cheese and even Tallegio (a legendary smear ripened cheese) are all used on pies. Lemmo has sworn he will never serve a “de Burgo” dish at his upscale Café di Scala but Gusto serves “de Burgo” pies that use shrimp and mozzarella with the iconic steak sauce of Des Moines. Another pie includes pears, prosciutto, dried figs and blue cheese with fresh greens. Another mixed roast chicken with a Thai style peanut sauce, cilantro, carrots, and bean sprouts. A “Harry Caray” special honored that Italian-American baseball announcer with Niman Ranch brats and brown mustard sauce. Another special featured rillettes, arugula and truffle oil with Tallegio.
Even the drink selection was more cutting edge than traditional with Peace Tree, Madhouse and Millstream beers plus both Italian and Iowa crafted sodas offered. House wines included Moscato and Malbec along side Chardonnay and Cab.
So there you have your final two. Together, they represent the flat out contradiction that is pizza itself. One is old, one is new. One does it strictly by their ancestors’ recipe book and the other improvises. Yet, it’s no problem for Iowans to love them both because they both take many slow steps to turn out a superior product.
In the end, there can only be one winner. Gusto came from behind in the final 12 hours to win.
Gusto1905 Ingersoll Ave., Suite 106, 24-GUSTO,
www.gustopizzaco.comMon. – Thurs. 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Fri. – Sat. 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.
