Table of Contents
- And, Away We Go!?
- Nebaletan Word of the Day – Mooshad/Mushad
- 1Q24 – Pizza Update
- Pizza Review – Giuseppe’s- Venice, FL
And, Away We Go!?
Jackie Gleason had a famous saying on the show the “Honeymooners” which was “And away we go!”
So, once again, “And, Away We Go” as we’re off to Campania! It is our daughter’s first trip to the South! She previously had been to Italy, but in the North in Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio to play soccer with an all-star team while in high school. She was invited to play for the Lazio women’s team (Italy), since through my bisnonno (Great Grandfather Lucio), she (and I, my son, and grandson) could get an Italian passport. She wisely turned down that offer. She’s much smarter than me!
Nebaletan Word of the Day – Mooshad/Mushad
Recently, I was listening to the “Growing up Italian” podcast. In one particular episode (listen here at minute 10:40), I heard the word MOOSHAD (MUSHAD). This word truly inspired memories of my mother (Grandma Joanne).
MOOSHAD (MUSHAD) – pronounced = moo-shod. Meaning = mushy, like crap
American Italian Dictionary has the spelling as musciad and also lists the Italian words musciata/ammosciato which in formal Italian (read: Tuscan) mean “to go soft”
In conversation with my mother (Grandma Joanne):
- Grandma Joanne, “Michael, don’t time the cooking of macaroni , TASTE IT!”
- Before I can answer, Grandma Joanne would continue, “AND DON’T LET IT GO TOO LONG, THE MACARONI WILL TURN MOOSHAD!”
- Me, licking my burning finger tips from grabbing a piece of macaroni from the boiling pot, “Ma, they seem soft.”
- Grandma Joanne, in frustration, grabbing a spoon, swishing it into the boiling pot of macaroni, and lifting out a ZEET (ziti), “Michael, you made MOOSHAD! PAY BETTER ATTENTION…BAHFANGOOL!”
1Q24 – Pizza Update
I haven’t written something like “1Q24” since I’ve retired. In nearly 40 years of working at Fortune 20 companies…well, both companies were Fortune 50 when I started there, By the time I left (or was told to leave!) corporate life, neither was close to Fortune 50…is there a “cause and effect” in there?
I often had to do reports (early on) and then PowerPoints (later) on the quarterly results. For example, the first quarter of 2024 is abbreviated at 1Q24. So, here’s a quick synopsis of 1Q24:
| Blog posts published | 13 |
| New Nebaletan Words introduced | 19 |
| Pizzas Purchased | 13 |
| Average purchases per week | 1 |
| Number of Homemade Pizza Making “Events” | 10 |
| Total Doughs | 17 |
| Number of Homemade Doughs & % | 10 59% |
| Number of Purchased Doughs & % | 7 41% |
| Total Homemade Pizzas Made | 66 |
| Homemade Neapolitan Style | 51 75% |
| Homemade Tomato Pie/Grandma Sheet Style | 9 14% |
| Homemade Detroit Style | 6 9% |
| Average Pizzas Made per Event | 6.6 |
| Average Pizzas Made per Week | 5.1 |
On average, I’m eating pizza twice weekly at the very least, and some weeks daily between buying and making homemade! Oh, the suffering!
On the homemade side, while Detroit, as a city, like my hometowns of Cleveland and Rochester, is firmly entrenched in MEH (that’s painful to write), my Detroit pizzas are trending too great.
The same cannot be said about my Grandma/Tomato Pie style. I seem to have lost touch and need to revisit my baking recipe and become more consistent.
Because many of my homemade bakes have been for groups, I’ve had to supplement my homemade dough with more purchased dough from both Publix and Walmart than in the past. Neither is optimum and neither is consistent which helps lead to the inconsistent Tomato Pies.
These purchased doughs don’t seem to affect the Detroit pizza as much though. I’m guessing that the purchased dough holds up better to the thicker Detroit versus the thinner Tomato Pie. But in a pinch, I need to go there so that I can bake enough so that everyone can take at least one pizza home…that’s become the Da Michele V trademark!
Pizza Review – Giuseppe’s- Venice, FL
Before we left Florida, we made the rounds with severals friends. One friend, Bob and his wife, as is customary with many friends, suggested that we try Giuseppie’s near their home.
ASIDE
I met Bob while cycling io Florida. It turns out that he and his wife live about a mile from us in NY, and we’d never ridden together there!
END ASIDE
So, in our last week, not wanting to buy food before leaving, we, what else, had pizza!
Turns out Giuseppie’s (pronounced jew-zep-ees) is actually Giuseppe’s (pronounced jew-zepps). This was exciting for me. Growing up I had a neighbor Joe that my dad ()Grandpa Tony) called Giuseppe!
Out also turns out that the place used to be called Pizza Gorda!
| Date | 3/28/2024 |
| Pizzeria | Guiseppe’s |
| City/Neighborhood | Venice, FL/North Venice (east of the I75 exchange) |
| Website | Giuseppe’s Wood Burning Oven (giuseppesofvenice.com) |
| About Us | Yes, but very little there. It seems that Giuseppe’s had a connection to Puglia due to restaurant pictures inside the dining room and a add for Puglia tours on another part of the website. So, WHY NOT SAY THAT? Also, the young man who brought us out take out said he was from Northern Italy, so there must be some connection. |
| Style | NY |
| Ambiance | Take Out |
| Beverage Pairing | Athletic Brewing “Orange” (Hazy IPA) |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Round |
| Dough/Crust | Tickness – ThinMedium Cook – Soft, some chew, slight charing, little to no air or bubbling Flavor – lacking much flavor, slightly bread, heavy |
| Cornicione | Very slight cornicione, almost a flat pizza |
| Toppings | Pepperoni (1/2) with a very nice cup and char, Cheese Fresh – unlikely on such a lackluster effort |
| Sauce | Tangy, Bitter, medium thick with tomato pieces/chunks and although not heavy I really liked the sauce. It had a definite rich, tomato paste type flavor |
| Cheese | Cheese Type – Moozedell Cheese Distribution – All over Stringy, Salty |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce = A little to Medium Cheese = A lot Balance = out of balance, too much cheese |
| Value | Not good, high price of $19+ for a 12″ (cheese with 1/2 pepperoni) |
| Overall Rating | Good. Since I only have 3 ratings – Great, Good, and Meh (and remember, there’s never a bad pizza). Only about 10% of pizzas are exceptional or Great, and on the other end, 10%-20% are Meh, therefore, most pizzas are good. Giuseppe’s would be on the lower end of good. There was nothing special about this pizza. Not special in between the dough.and poor balance, it’s just ok pizza |
| Would I Go Back? | Maybe – but I’d probably not have pizza next time. It’s also a ristorante, and we’d like to try there food. |
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