Peyton Manning, Inside Trader

BunnzMcGinty

New Member
Jul 17, 2011
267
Papa Gino's did get into some concession stands and mall food courts for a while. What was branded as Papa Gino's at those places was definitely not the same as the normal store pizza.
They were in the dining halls at BC for a couple of years in the mid 90's. It was... not good.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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Newton
Wasn't saying you were mixing them up, I was saying the guy originally criticizing them - who's post you quoted - was mixing the two up. It could very well be a store to store thing, I just don't find it noticeably different from when I was a kid. I also didn't know what legit good pizza was when i was in my teens, so yeah, I thought it was the best.

Some one else commented they made them smaller, they just renamed the sizes to small, large and xl, they aren't any smaller.
No but he is saying pretty much the exact same thing I was saying about Papa Gino’s: that they changed their recipe sometime after the 80s heyday I enjoyed them (and I wasn’t the guy mixing them up w Little Caesar’s which I’ve never had).

Also, I mostly ate at the Gloucester one but a few others as well. They all had the same pizza so the “store to store” theory doesn’t really hold up.

Papa Gino’s changed their recipe. It’s pretty different now. Thicker crust, different sauce, probably even different cheese. A little poking around online suggests it may have had something to do with when they bought D’angelos subs in the late 90s and started sharing some spaces and probably ovens.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Dec 4, 2005
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Portsmouth, NH
No but he is saying pretty much the exact same thing I was saying about Papa Gino’s: that they changed their recipe sometime after the 80s heyday I enjoyed them (and I wasn’t the guy mixing them up w Little Caesar’s which I’ve never had).

Also, I mostly ate at the Gloucester one but a few others as well. They all had the same pizza so the “store to store” theory doesn’t really hold up.

Papa Gino’s changed their recipe. It’s pretty different now. Thicker crust, different sauce, probably even different cheese. A little poking around online suggests it may have had something to do with when they bought D’angelos subs in the late 90s and started sharing some spaces and probably ovens.
Really, man? We're going back to the 80s now? You can really think back 35 years and say "this recipe has changed dramatically!" ?

I can't speak to the "80's heyday" cause I was 10 at the end of that decade. What I can say is when I order a PG's now it tastes pretty much the same it did when I used to go have slices before Tuesday night high school hockey games in the late 90s, when we'd go have eat offs and see who could down the most slices. Is it a little different, sure, as anything is 20 years later, whether they kept the exact same ingredients from the exact same purveyors the entire time; and yes, it's going to vary somewhat store to store, especially with stuff like crust thickness - someone has to toss it, it's not universal. (I have no idea why you'd think a sub shop and a pizzeria would share oven space, especially when there's nothing a pizza oven would be used for by a griddle sub shop.)

But whatever man...long live the halcyon days of 1983 Papa Gino's; our lonely eyes look to you.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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Really, man? We're going back to the 80s now? You can really think back 35 years and say "this recipe has changed dramatically!" ?

I can't speak to the "80's heyday" cause I was 10 at the end of that decade. What I can say is when I order a PG's now it tastes pretty much the same it did when I used to go have slices before Tuesday night high school hockey games in the late 90s, when we'd go have eat offs and see who could down the most slices. Is it a little different, sure, as anything is 20 years later, whether they kept the exact same ingredients from the exact same purveyors the entire time; and yes, it's going to vary somewhat store to store, especially with stuff like crust thickness - someone has to toss it, it's not universal. (I have no idea why you'd think a sub shop and a pizzeria would share oven space, especially when there's nothing a pizza oven would be used for by a griddle sub shop.)

But whatever man...long live the halcyon days of 1983 Papa Gino's; our lonely eyes look to you.
This is a great post for a lot of reasons, not least of which is you raising the specter of “eat offs.”

Honestly the 80s are my reference point. For the most part, I didn’t eat a wide range of pizza back then – I probably ate at 10 shops until I was 18. Papa Gino’s stuck out to me because it was really the only “New York-style” pizza that existed in that sphere. Where most mass market pizza that debuted in the late 80s (ie, Dominos and those that came after them) and “Sal’s Pizza”-type joints were dry and chewy, Papa Gino’s was notably thinner and greasier – and I really liked that. So I was sort of surprised when I had it again when I stayed at my parents’ a few years ago because it tasted so ... not distinctive.

Perhaps we need a SoSH pizza eat off to settle this...
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Dec 4, 2005
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This is a great post for a lot of reasons, not least of which is you raising the specter of “eat offs.”

Honestly the 80s are my reference point. For the most part, I didn’t eat a wide range of pizza back then – I probably ate at 10 shops until I was 18. Papa Gino’s stuck out to me because it was really the only “New York-style” pizza that existed in that sphere. Where most mass market pizza that debuted in the late 80s (ie, Dominos and those that came after them) and “Sal’s Pizza”-type joints were dry and chewy, Papa Gino’s was notably thinner and greasier – and I really liked that. So I was sort of surprised when I had it again when I stayed at my parents’ a few years ago because it tasted so ... not distinctive.

Perhaps we need a SoSH pizza eat off to settle this...
I’m still waiting for the Great McNugget Battle. Then we can talk slices. I think a friend put down like 16 slices once.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Sep 9, 2008
42,271
AZ
We got a costco take and bake the other day. It was better than expected and definitely better than the chains.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

T&A
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Feb 9, 2010
5,302
Providence, RI
I hate pizza debates. I firmly believe that there is very very little actual bad pizza out there. Alternatively there is only pizza that is better than others. At the end of the day it’s warm cheese and sauce on dough and that’s a winner by definition. By default any pizza starts at a 7/10 rating and can only go up.

Same logic applies to barbecue and sex
 

Reverend

for king and country
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Jan 20, 2007
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I hate pizza debates. I firmly believe that there is very very little actual bad pizza out there. Alternatively there is only pizza that is better than others. At the end of the day it’s warm cheese and sauce on dough and that’s a winner by definition. By default any pizza starts at a 7/10 rating and can only go up.

Same logic applies to barbecue and sex
What an impoverished life you must lead.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
I hate pizza debates. I firmly believe that there is very very little actual bad pizza out there. Alternatively there is only pizza that is better than others. At the end of the day it’s warm cheese and sauce on dough and that’s a winner by definition. By default any pizza starts at a 7/10 rating and can only go up.

Same logic applies to barbecue and sex
So you've never had Elio's? I don't want to ask about the other two.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

has big, douchey shoulders
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I hate pizza debates. I firmly believe that there is very very little actual bad pizza out there. Alternatively there is only pizza that is better than others. At the end of the day it’s warm cheese and sauce on dough and that’s a winner by definition. By default any pizza starts at a 7/10 rating and can only go up.

Same logic applies to barbecue and sex
I actually pretty much agree with this, although I've had bad barbecue.

EDIT--and I'd probably start at 6/10
 

Leather

given himself a skunk spot
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Jul 18, 2005
28,451
I think the key to take and bakes and even store bought frozen pizza (when necessary) is to make sure to broil it for a few minutes at the end to give the cheese a thorough melt and with some crispy sections, and to crisp up the pepperoni.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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FWIW Trader Joe’s pizza dough, jar pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni is exceptional. You have to stretch the dough yourself which can be a bit of a pain if it’s not room temperature and if can need to rest if it’s been stretched too much. But it is our go-to on Friday nights w the kids and never disappoints.
 

Jimbodandy

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Jan 31, 2006
11,403
around the way
I think the key to take and bakes and even store bought frozen pizza (when necessary) is to make sure to broil it for a few minutes at the end to give the cheese a thorough melt and with some crispy sections, and to crisp up the pepperoni.
You know your pizza. That makes a world of difference, especially if you just crack the oven a few inches while you're broiling.

As an aside, this thread is a truly wonderful example of the awesomeness of this place.
 

Byrdbrain

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Jul 18, 2005
8,588
FWIW Trader Joe’s pizza dough, jar pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni is exceptional. You have to stretch the dough yourself which can be a bit of a pain if it’s not room temperature and if can need to rest if it’s been stretched too much. But it is our go-to on Friday nights w the kids and never disappoints.
We've recently started using store bought Nan and it works well for a quick, cheap meal when you don't know what to make.
 

reggiecleveland

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I think it is wonderful that a thread about a hated rival's wrongdoing, in an offseason after a disappointing loss and full of legitimate worry about the future, quickly exonerates said rival and becomes a pizza debate.
 

Jimbodandy

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Jan 31, 2006
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I think it is wonderful that a thread about a hated rival's wrongdoing, in an offseason after a disappointing loss and full of legitimate worry about the future, quickly exonerates said rival and becomes a pizza debate.
Exactly, but not just a pizza debate. It is an informative and thoughtful pizza debate. In the Manning thread.
 

changer591

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
961
Shrewsbury, MA
Has anyone ever eaten at Lui Lui's in West Lebanon or Nashua? I worked there a summer after my freshman year ages ago. I am convinced that the pizza there was vastly superior to other brick-oven pizzas like Bertucci's. However, I am wondering if my memory is tainted by the fact that I was the one making the pizzas.
Who can confirm or deny my claim?
 

The Needler

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Dec 7, 2016
1,803
(I have no idea why you'd think a sub shop and a pizzeria would share oven space, especially when there's nothing a pizza oven would be used for by a griddle sub shop.)
Most of the pizza/sub shops of my youth would finish their subs in the pizza oven. Some places would ask if you wanted the bun toasted, others did it as a matter of course, and certain subs, like chicken parm, would be finished that way even in the first category.
 

Curt S Loew

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Most of the pizza/sub shops of my youth would finish their subs in the pizza oven. Some places would ask if you wanted the bun toasted, others did it as a matter of course, and certain subs, like chicken parm, would be finished that way even in the first category.
Not D'Angelo's, though.
 

The Needler

New Member
Dec 7, 2016
1,803
Not D'Angelo's, though.
I haven't been to a D'Angelo's in decades, so I'll take your word for it that they don't use a pizza oven for their subs. That said, their online menu has a "Toasted & Hot Sandwiches" section, so I don't think the earlier poster's assumption was off the wall. But that wasn't the point of my post anyway, which was that in my experience it's not true that "there's nothing a pizza oven would be used for by a griddle sub shop."
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Dec 4, 2005
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Portsmouth, NH
I haven't been to a D'Angelo's in decades, so I'll take your word for it that they don't use a pizza oven for their subs. That said, their online menu has a "Toasted & Hot Sandwiches" section, so I don't think the earlier poster's assumption was off the wall. But that wasn't the point of my post anyway, which was that in my experience it's not true that "there's nothing a pizza oven would be used for by a griddle sub shop."
D’Angelo’s uses a conveyor belt toaster. My point was worded poorly if you want to get down to toasting a sub - the implication was that by combining pizza and sub shops led to poorer quality pizza because they were ‘sharing an oven’. Even if they were toasting the roll or finishing a sub, they’re not changing the temperature of the oven for that purpose and altering the cooking temp of the pizza. Quite simply, they’re not fucking around with the pizza oven to cook anything. Shoving a roll in for thirty seconds isn’t altering the pizza.