Updated GPS (Great Pizza Search) Table. There are now 75 pizzerias rated in the purchased pizza table.
Day 4 of the early September PA-WV-OH bike trip was a day off the bike to visit Youngstown State, my alma mater, to see a YSU Penguins football game. It was only my 2nd Visit to YSU since graduating 40 years ago. The other trip was for our daughter’s soccer visit while being recruited.
On that first trip, I stopped in the former “Willam Rayen College of Engineering” which is something watered down as a STEM College. Although I love STEM, the E part of the acronym shouldn’t be included with the “arts” of Science and Mathematics; and that’s coming from a Math minor!.
Going back to YSU has really caused my brain to ”revive” some fun stories from those days.
Neapolitan Word of the Day
Calamad [pronounced – call-a-mod] – octopus (actual Italian word – calamari). A food that is either put in salad raw or cooked.
I’ve never really been a seafood eater (a good story about 7 Fishes Christmas Eve dinners for the future though). Under certain circumstances, I’ll eat seafood (if you remember from Amsterdam I had herring slathered in mayonnaise…).
Another instance when I eat fish is when I’m stupid drunk. Such as…
Quaker Steak & Lube – The Original!
…during my final year of college. By that time, I’d transferred from Allegheny and out of pre-med (which for me was actually physics and math AND EUROPEAN HISTORY….since I couldn’t touch the frogs in Biology) to YSU and engineering and math.
My roommates then were Zet and Scarp. Scarp was always chasing, but never catching some girl, any girl?. While Zet was already semi (if not fully) engaged to one of our HS classmates.
On weekends, Zet went home, so I’d hang out with Scarp and other friends from Bula. We had intramural basketball and softball teams called the “Bula Bombers”. The bombers would throw great street parties just off campus.
During the week, I’d primarily study with most of our weekly forays being to the mall to play video games; Space Invaders, Asteroids, and Galaga.
Zet was pretty good. I sucked. I’d be pretty rich if I’d kept just half of those quarters. Then, we’d head to Wendy’s to pick up large Frosties on the way back to the dorm.
But, as the weeks to graduation wound down, Zet and I splurged for a visit to the original Quaker Steak and Lube (see link) in nearby Sharon, PA as our last hurrah! Back then, they had specials on pitchers of Kamikazi (see link)….and 5 cent rock shrimp!
As mentioned above, I don’t eat fish, likely the only son, of a son, of a Southern Italian immigrant who doesn’t…except when drunk….enter several orders of Rock Shrimp and multiple pitchers of Kamakazi!
After a picture or so, I don’t recall peeling the shrimp anymore and mostly shucking them whole as I’d observed that others do with oysters!
I REALLY COULDN’T STAND TO LOOK AT THE ROCK SHRIMP GOING IN…JUST THINK OF MY DISGUST WHEN I SAW THEM RETURN AS THEY FLEW BACK OUT AFTER ZET STOPPED THE CAR UNDER THE I-80 BRIDGE ON RT. 422!
Jimmy’s Bakery and Market
We chose to go to Jimmy’s Bakery in Youngstown for a sfoglitelle and coffee before the YSU game.
Although Jimmy’s has existed for 48 years, and its original location was adjacent to campus, I never visited because at that time, it was primarily a gift shop.
But now as a bakery and Market, the lure of a sfoglitelle was too much for us not to try. Jimmy’s didn’t disappoint! The sfoglitelle was outstanding, and we had another fabulous bakery pizza as an added treat at our tailgate!
Date – September 3, 2022
City – Youngstown, OH
Neighborhood – Northside, Belmont Avenue
Style – Sicilian. Mahoning Valley Style
Toppings – Sauce and Cheese
Cheese – Provolone adjacent to the crust, Pecorino Romano over the sauce, Salty
Sauce – Tangy, Sweet, Medium thick, very tasty!
Cheese to Sauce Ratio – Sauce Amount = Medium, Cheese Amount = Medium = Perfect Balance of Cheese and Sauce tastes, neither overpowered the other
Crust – nice pan fry but not crispy, Thick, Buttery – probably from the pan oil, Spongy, Chewy, Soft
Comments – Very good square, the provo Romano combination proves a great flavor profile, and the thick rich sauce was tasty
Rating = Good, almost great
Would I Go Back? – Yes
Avalon Downtown – Youngstown, OH
The Avalon Downtown (see link) is the grandchild (literally) of the original Avalon Gardens which opened in the 1930’s on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown, OH.
I remember going to Avalon Gardens a few times while at YSU, but no details remain in the fog cloud of my brain. Unfortunately, the original closed (see link), but the grandchildren decided to revive it in part in downtown.
Thankfully, the grandchildren did a great job. The interior harkens back to Yo’s industrial past but in a modern remodeled warehouse way, but it seems more sports-bar than restaurant. But the topper, the pizza was pretty good too!
Date – September 3, 2022
City – Youngstown, OH
Neighborhood – Downtown
Beverage Pairing – Pumpking IPA
Style – Mahoning Valley Style (foccacia with sauce and cheese)
Toppings – Sauce and Cheese
Cheese – Stringy and Salty (must have been Provolone, which is also typical for Mahoning Valley Style)
Sauce – Thick
Cheese to Sauce Ratio – Sauce Amount = Medium, Cheese Amount = Medium/A Lot, Good Balance between the sauce and cheese. The thickness of the sauce compensated for the relatively large amount of cheese.
Crust – Thick, Spongy, Soft, Chewy, no real cornicione (the dough thickness just carried right to the edge without any additional puff)
Comments – the Avalon Downtown pizza was similar to the day’s earlier pizza at Jimmy’s, but Avalon’s pizza lacked the both zing of Jimmy’s sauce and the flavor of the combined cheeses of Jimmy’s. Despite this, Avalon was a good pizza, especially after a football game when paired with a flavorful IPA!!!
Overall Rating – Good
Would I Go Back? – Yes
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