Did you hear the one where an acclaimed food scientist and a prestigious pastry chef travel the globe looking for the best pizza city? The punchline is that after consuming more than 800 pizzas along the way, they named Portland, Oregon as their top pick.
And the world belted out a collective screech of shock when word hit the streets.
The narrative is actually no joke.
Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya have chronicled their pizza quest in a three-volume book set, which is due for release in October. The series is titled “Modernist Pizza.” It spans more than 1,700 pages and promises a treasure chest of other information about pizza based on exhaustive research.
Aside from learning about the myriad pizzerias they visited on multiple continents, the authors delve into the rich history and celebrated techniques of pizza making. Also included are 1,000 pizza recipes. The set is available for pre-order for $425 through the affiliated publishing company, Modernist Cuisine, or on Amazon for sporadically less cost.
But why Portland and not New York or Naples—or often-disputed Chicago for that matter?
Myhrvold told CNN that they found high levels of innovation and passion behind pizza-making in the Northwest city, where creativity ruled over any one particular style of pie.
Among the Portland joints he and Migoya visited were Ken’s Artisan Pizza, Sizzle Pie, Apizza Scholls, Nostrana, and several others.
The endeavor took four years to complete. And to all the New Yorkers convulsing in disbelief over the verdict, the authors insist they gave The Big Apple a fair shake, noting that pizza in the boroughs was more riveting than the touristy joints slinging dollar slices throughout Manhattan—but still not good enough to make top ranking.
(Photos by Modernist Cuisine)
They want HOW MUCH for that book??? No thank you. Sorry, I don’t want to pay that much for someone else’s opinion of pizza.