Day 2 of a 3 day bike tour to Utica and Schenectady, NY, two Pizza Meccas of Upstate NY. This day ended in Utica where I’ve been wanting to try their Tomato Pie, THAT WAS THE DAY!
Neapolitan Word of the Day – Scugnizz
Scugnizz (or Neapolitan shorten form of scugnizzo) is a word for “street people” or “street urchin”. I guess it’s considered a derogatory term as some look down their noses at those who work, or worse live, on the streets. See Scugnizzo definition here.
But, to me, when I hear “hey, scugnizz!”, I envision the kids I’ve seen in Napoli playing soccer in the streets in all parts of “La Mia Bella Citta”.
I deeply relate to this vision! As a kid, as a term of endearment, I’d hear mom say “hey, scugnizz!” as we’d play baseball, and even tackle football, on the hard black top street in front of our house! So, I find nothing derogatory about that!
Additionally, my favorite soccer player, other than Lil’ Spicy, is Lorenzo Insigne (Wikipedia Link). Lorenzo is tiny, 5’4” and maybe 140 lbs! But was born in Napoli, and plays with the heart of a Neapolitan!
ASIDE – Lil’ Spicy is tiny and played with lots of heart too! A true Neapolitan! END ASIDE
Insigne is currently one of the best Italian born players and wears #10 on the National Team as an indicator of being the best.
Insigne grew up in an impoverished part of Napoli, and when he first started playing professionally, others called him “scugnizz”…So, what’s derogatory about being one of the best in the world and having learned in the streets? Small, but mighty!
FORZA NAPOLI! FORZA SCUGNIZZI! FORZA UN PO ‘PICCANTE (translation = Go Lil’ Spicy!)
Day 2 – Oneida to Utica, NY – 12 PO’s and GPS #34!
Day 2 was exciting, I was biking to Utica, one of the Pizza Meccas of Upstate, NY! Strava Link to the ride.
I started at the Oneida, NY PO. Oneida is another fading Upstate city that is seeing a resurgence as many from NYC are escaping to move up here. It’s charming with the feel of a college town, but there’s no college! Oneida has an interesting history; well worth clicking on the Wikipedia Link to learn.
The Oneida PO is FABULOUS and definitely A rated! It is a Wetmore design, but the interior is “opposite” of other Wetmore PO’s. There’s verde tile like others, but this has green verde tiles with white veining. While his other PO’s have white tiles with green veining. Even though I like the white tile better, it was great to see a variation.
ASIDE – I’m finding it funny that I’m getting to know PO designers and their styles. END ASIDE
Also, the woodwork inside was OUTSTANDING which is another style element of Wetmore PO’s.
As I continued on the ride, I’d not realized how important this part of NY was to the both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. I rode past several battlefields and their corresponding monuments.
After a nice day of riding, I made my way into Utica another historic Upstate NY city in decline (Wikipedia Link). Utica once had a population over 100k but now has ½ of that. I rode through much of the downtown on recently created in city bike lanes! It was fabulous to be protected from Friday afternoon traffic.
Utica had (has?) a HUGE Italian population and Bleecker Street was their Little Italy. Most of the shops and stores from the early 1900’s are gone, but luckily a choice few have survived!
Once on Bleeker, I decided to ride the entire 2.5 mile length to the end to try to feel what it might have been like in the 1920’s and 30’s. I’ve ridden in city centers in several countries.
Though not long, Utica’s Bleecker Street has a Euro feel in some parts, but unfortunately, urban decay in others 😦 To me, riding in a city center is more adventurous than riding out in the woods.
GPS #34 – O’Scugnizzo, Utica, NY
O’Scugnizzo bills itself the 2nd Oldest Pizzeria in the US, in the same spot since 1913! WOW!!!!
Even though Utica is famous for Tomato Pie (see Wikipedia – here), O’Scugnizzo is known for “Upside Down” or “Reverse” Pizza.
In the last post, I noted that Tomato Pie does not have moozedell, but O’Scugnizzo has moozedell, but it’s under AMPLE amounts of pasty sauce. The sauce is put on AFTER baking! That’s why it’s considered “Upside Down” or “Reverse” pizza.
Ambiance and Presentation = Good
The building is definitely old and brick! But it’s not a corner building. Inside was more like an old sub shop with a long order counter right in the front. It’s not a joint.
We ordered and went back out to our campervan. Soon, a worker delivered the pizza to us in the parking lot. That was GREAT!
There was a great, hard cardboard box, but NO BRANDING!? I was astounded that such a famous pizza place didn’t have personalized branded pizza boxes!
Dough and Crust = GREAT!
O’Scugnizzo pizza is a Sicilian style rectangle with thicker, crunchier crust, but it wasn’t too thick or doughy. It was also nice and airy. Most importantly was the crunch…OOH INCREDIBLE!
Cheese and Toppings = MEH
We ordered cheese, peppers, and mushrooms. The first couple of slices…where’s the cheese or toppings? It wasn’t until we made it to the middle slices did the toppings became apparent. Even with that, there seemed to be little cheese taste…bummer 😦
Sauce = GREAT
There was a lot of sauce! And it was thick, rich, and tasty!!! And even though the moozedell was disappointing, there was a nicely spread amount of parmiagian on top of the sauce. It was noticeable and very tasty!
Overall Rating = Good
I really wanted O’Scugnizzo to be GREAT, but it was “only” really good. The topping “problem” stopped it from being great.
Besides, a “large” wasn’t too large at 12 squares for $23! That’s not a bargain 😦
Given that, I STILL ATE 7 (of 12) SQUARES IN ONE SITTING!!!!!!
Would I Go Back??? – Probably
I don’t get to Utica very often (only my 2nd visit in 38 years). Given that there are other Tomato Pie options on Bleeker Street. I’d probably try them first.
Oh yeah…we stopped at Caruso’s Pasticceria (pastry shop) on Bleecker for sfogliatell and biscotti “ends”! Great way to end the day.
One more day on the Upstate Pizza Mecca Tour. I go to Perreca’s in Schenectady listed as one of the top 100 pizzas in the USA!!!!
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