Table of Contents
- Enough Already!
- Nebaletan Word of the Day – Honey Bears (Cioffe/Frappe/Bow Ties)
- Pizza Review – Primanti Bros, Washington (Pittsburgh), PA
Enough Already!
Ok, it’s been several weeks of posts about all the pizza lists that I maintain. So, enough is enough! I’m on to other topics…of course, there will be a pizza review! But I’m likely to return to the lists…especially since we’re going back to Napoli in April!
Nebaletan Word of the Day – Honey Bears (Cioffe/Frappe/Bow Ties)
In my last couple of blog posts I’ve referred to last year’s Christmas post the “7 Fishes? Make that 0!“. Even though I have a distaste for fish, I certainly didn’t (and don’t) mind the Christmas cookies. One might argue that I didn’t eat the fish to save more room for the cookies!
My favorite was what I called Honey Bears. Honey Bears? That doesn’t sound like Nebaletan! Well, it’s a term that was created by a small group of Nebaletan (Neapolitan-Americans)!
What is a Honey Bear? It’s a rather simple fried dough cookie. If you look on the web for “Italian Fried Dough Cookie” you might find a picture like the one to the left:
Frankly, I’m unsure how we (my cousins, brother, and I) came about the name of Honey Bears. Possibly because our Grandma and Aunt’s version was drizzled with honey as opposed to powdered sugar, and honey came in that ubiquitous Honey Bear container from the 1960s!
I could routinely devour 20 – 30 of these addicting Honey Bears at a sitting which probably explains why I looked like I did as a child!
I’m not sure if I ever knew the real name of Honey Bears. This article (see here) says, “Depending from (sic) which part of Italy one’s family originates, and what that family named them, they can be called bugie, canestrelle, cenci, chiacchiere, cioffe, crostoli, frappe, galani, guandi, storce, and so many other names. In English, these are often called bow ties, angel wings, or Italian fried cookies.”
My brother believes the Italian name is Crostoli or Cenci. I reached out to my cousin Bonita (our family’s matriarch), and she called them Bow Ties. Per Bonita’s text message, it’s a simple recipe – 3 eggs, 3T. Sugar, 1/2t. Salt, 1T. Vanilla, 3 cups flour, Mix all together, Roll thin [cut, twist, and pan fry].
It’s the “Mix All Together” that gets to me!
Here I am, 60+ years later, as I’m kneading my pizza dough (I made sourdough yesterday and today too), thinking about how Grandma Maouri and Aunt Theresa were always “mixing it all together.”
As my right arm and shoulder start to tire from the kneading, I ponder my Grandma Maouri’s (Grandma Lorretta) and Aunt Theresa’s forearms. They had forearms like Popeye. It must be from all the different doughs that they kneaded – pizza dough, pasta dough, cookie dough, fried pizza dough. The list goes on.
Pizza Review – Primanti Bros, Washington (Pittsburgh), PA
You are not likely to find Primanti Bros on any pizza list, but it’s always been on my list.
Several of our son’s college teammates were from Pittsburgh (notice, from Pittsburgh, and decided to go to college in Cleveland!!!!). On one of our son’s trips to visit his friends, he mentioned the sandwiches at Primanti Bros, and on my list, Primanti Bros went!
But wait, Primanti Bros is a sangwich joint, I thought this was a pizza review. It is! I didn’t even know that Primanti Bros had pizza, but once I saw it on the menu, I had to try it. Buying pizza in a sangwich joint usually doesn’t end well!
| Date | October 25, 2023 |
| Pizzeria | Primanti Bros |
| City/Neighborhood | Washington, PA / Chartiers Township (Not the original location…. which likely is part of the problem) |
| Website | Almost Famous, Always A Favorite. Since 1933! | Primanti Bros. |
| About Us | Our Story | Primanti Bros. |
| Style | New York – ish |
| Ambiance | Another high ceiling, exposed utilities, concrete bar…e gads! LOUD. It’s taken two months for my hearing to return. No charm…. when will I learn. Their original, donton (see 8/31/22 blog post here) location in the Burgh looks very joint-like. We shoulda’ gone there. |
| Beverage Pairing | Beer! Outstanding, especially after a long day’s drive. Luckily our accommodations were immediately next door. |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Round |
| Dough/Crust | The pizza that was delivered was thin with a soft cook without any airiness. The bottom was browned as if cooked in a gas or electric oven. It was SO soft that the dough wasn’t cooked fully through, especially in the center, it was basically raw. On the bright side, its rawness made it nice and chewy! The dough had no discernable flavor making it just a delivery tool for the sauce (which didn’t really exist) and the ample cheese. |
| Cornicione | Also on the bright side, the cornicione had a sweet flavor, but it was without air. I’m guessing this was quick-rise dough that used sugar to enhance to speed of rise. |
| Toppings | Very nice cup and char pepperoni! |
| Sauce | Not much sauce. It was thin but tasty. I could taste the spices but not much of the tomato. |
| Cheese | The cheese was moozedell and it fully covered the pizza. The was very greasy, salty, and stringy There was way too much cheese. |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce = A little Cheese = A lot Balance = Way out of balance, the cheese totally overpowered the sauce and crust/dough. It even overpowered the taste of the pepperoni! |
| Value | Very good. $14.50 for a 8 slice (usually 12″) and $2 for a slice. I had ordered two slices. |
| Overall Rating | Meh (which is not good, but there’s no bad pizza). The sangwich was good (not great) – it was kinda’ bland. I’d truly expected more from the sangwich. I can’t help but think that expansion (franchising?) has hurt the quality of this company’s product. We had a great ol’ school pizzeria in Rochester called Captain Tony’s. Tony’s children decided they’d franchise. All their efforts went into franchising and the Original Captain Tony’s turned to CRAP. Is that Primanti Bros story too? |
| Would I Go Back? | Not for Pizza, but I’d like to try their original donton location for a sangwich. |
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