Lists, Lists, Everywhere There’s Lists

Lists…I’ve always been driven by lists. My mother (Grandma Joanne) once said “Michael, you were born with a list!”

Is it a Sign that I have So Many Lists?
My Many Pizza Lists
Nebalatan Word of the Day – Pucchiacia
Pizza Review – Fabrica Pizza, Tampa, FL

I have lists for:

Things to do (real list) and things that are done
Things that I want to do (wish list) and have done
Places to see and have seen
Post Offices that I want to picture and have pictured
Google Maps that I have all of the Places in #4 and PO’s in $5 marked with specific icons to represent what they are
Books to read and have read
All the doughs that I’ve made
All the pizzas that I’ve made
And most importantly, PIZZAS TO EAT AND HAVE EATEN

Is it a Sign that I have So Many Lists?

So many lists! But, in my typical obsessive compulsion, I need these lists to survive. They are my rudder guiding me “To Do” stuff!

Just, typing this conjures up the song “Signs” from the 70s by the Five Man Electrical Band.

My Many Pizza Lists

As I mentioned above, I have a PIZZAS TO EAT LIST. Well, actually, I HAVE 12 LISTS OF PIZZAS TO EAT.

These are gathered while reading. It’s difficult to determine if one list is more credible than another, but I enjoy perusing each list to see if we’ll pass near one on our travels. We won’t go to far out of our way, but if an interesting pizzeria is near our route, we’ll stop.

What’s interesting? The older ones especially. Ones that have an compelling “About Us” section on their website also attract my attention.

We don’t always stop, but most recently, we stopped at 4 such places.

Jay’s Artisan Pizza in Buffalo (an older blog post here)
Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh (future post)
Geno D’s Pizza in Charlotte (future post)
Fabrica Pizza in Tampa (this post)

One list that I like is 50 Top Pizza. I’m not sure why I like it, maybe because it’s in Italian and published at “home” in Campania. I’m also unsure as their criteria for choosing the list. The site shows 3 “curators” but no details on their curation standards.

The 50 Top list is published yearly and includes sections for Top 50 Pizza World, Top 50 Italy, Top 50 USA, and others. Even without standards or guidance on how a pizzeria is chosen, I find it interesting and something to consider.

Jay’s is listed as #28 in the World and #8 in the USA. As that blog post mentions, it was “Good, not Great” which called into question the authority of the Top 50 lists.

BUT I MUST SAY, AFTER TASTING FABRICA PIZZA IN TAMPA, #97 in the World and #15 in the USA, MY FAITH IN THIS LIST HAS BEEN RESTORED!

Nebalatan Word of the Day – Pucchiacia

I’ve been spending some time on YouTube attempting to learn the Neapolitan language.

Although I know some “formal” (read that as Northern) Italian from college classes, any Neapolitan that I know is really Nebalatan (Neapolitan-American) which I learned at home, and that vocabulary primarily consists of swear words.

While perusing YouTube for more language videos, I found:

This video conjured deep emotions from side-splitting laughter in one minute to crying in the next as memories of my family using these words, in real life, flowed from my deep, dark matter to a more prominent place in my head.

In my last blog post (click here to see), I mentioned that in American football, the defensive lineman are no longer permitted to hit the long snapper, at which I called them “pucchiacia.”

It was a word that I’d hear from my dad (Grandpa Tony). Although a nasty word, Grandpa Tony used it as a term of endearment (although, my usage above is not endearing!).

I’m not sure if this word is more Avellino in origin since my father used it, and it was used by Christopher in the Sopranos, whose character’s family originated in Avellino, in the following video at the 1:30 mark.

If you want to find out what Pucchiacia means, you just have to watch to 4:10 of the Neapolitan Swear words video or the Soprano’s video above.

Pizza Review – Fabrica Pizza, Tampa, FL

Pizzeria	Fabrica Woodfired Pizza
Date	November 24, 2023 – Black Friday, while all the suckers were at the outlet mall…15 minute traffic jam…I was Searching for Great Pizza!
Website	fabricapizza
About Us on Web	ABOUT US — Fabrica Woodfired Pizza (fabricapizza.com) – pretty lame marketing mumble jumble, no real info about people, too bad, given how good the pizza is, they should tell their story. It takes soul to make a GREAT pizza, so I’d like to learn about their soul
Location	Downtown Tampa near Amalie Arena (home of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and UCF(there is a 2nd location in St. Pete)

Ambiance

Modern Industrial. Frankly, I don’t like this style of joint with its high ceilings, exposed utilities, and concrete walls and floors. These places are loud and not relaxing. Granted, it’s a newish building, so you won’t get the charm of a real “joint” like in the northeast, but still, the owners can add some charm to the place. Wood fired oven. It was an interesting design. It was more of a “flat” oval with a very small door, unlike any other that I’d viewed before.

Dough	Outstanding, soft middle crunchy cornicione flavor, flavor, not a puffy cornicione
Sauce	Good amount, plain tomato maybe a little salt, it’s nice when you can taste tomato and that’s it without over powering the tang with sweeteners or spices
Cheese	Right amount not overpowering, some salt taste, but again, not over powering, regular moozedell, no hint of parmagian for me though
Cheese to Sauce Ratio	Sauce Amount = Medium Cheese Amount = MediumPerfect balance

Value	Outstanding for the US at $15. Most other so-called Neapolitan joints try to nick you fro $20 – $22. So, not only was it an excellent tasty treat, it was a great value!
Overall	GREAT. This is only the 3rd pizza this year (out of 34 purchased pizzas, less than 10%) that was GREAT. It is so GREAT, that it’s my 2nd favorite pizza in North America so far behind Mercurio’s in Pittsburgh
Would I Go Back?	Can’t Wait. Probably try the other location next since we like to go to St. Pete.