<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Green Lantern Lounge]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright The Green Lantern Lounge]]></copyright><generator>Green Lantern Lounge</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Mailing List]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sign-up for our mailing list and receive special online coupons that only our mailing list will receive!    
  
    
   
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  Ancient Greeks ate a flat, baked bread with assorted toppings called plankuntos. This flatbread may have been a derivative of something Babylonians ate in earlier centuries.
  While originally thought to be poisonous, Spaniards who had been to Mexico and Peru introduced the tomato to Italy in the 16th century.
  The original mozzarella cheese was made from the milk of Indian water buffalo in the 7th century. It was introduced to Italy in the 18th century.
  The world's first true pizzeria may have been "Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba" which opened in 1830 and is still in business today at Via Port'Alba 18 in Naples.
  Italian and Greek peasants ate earlier forms of pizza for several centuries before it became a hit among aristocracy. In 1889, a Neapolitan named Rafaele Esposito prepared pizza for King Umberto I and Queen Margherita, who apparently loved it.
  An Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi opened the first U.S. pizzeria in 1895 in New York City.
  Pizza is now consumed all over the world, though travelers are often amazed by how different cultures have adapted pizza to their own preferences. 
  
    
  The History of Pizza In Detail  
It's kind of silly to talk about anyone "inventing" pizza. Pizza has undergone a very slow process of evolution over the centuries, but it is quite certainly the cultures of the Mediterranean that deserve credit for creating it. Historical records suggest that people in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome all ate things that are very similar to our modern pizza crust. Ancient Egyptians had a custom of celebrating the Pharaoh's birthday with a flat bread seasoned with herbs, and Herodotus, a Greek historian described Babylonian recipes that are very similar to contemporary pizza crust. The word pizza may be a derivative of the Latin word picea, a word which the Romans used to describe the blackening of bread in an oven.
    
  Predecessors of Pizza In The Middle Ages  
Pizza most clearly took the form that we are now familiar with in pre-Renaissance Naples, a large city in central Italy. Poor peasants used their limited ingredients (wheat flour, olive oil, lard, cheese and natural herbs) to make a seasoned, flat bread garnished with cheese. Mozzarella cheese was one benefit of an invasion from Asian peoples, who brought the water buffalo to Italy. Today, the best mozzarella cheese is still made from water buffalo milk.
    
The word pizza, as it is currently spelled, also emerged some time in the Middle Ages. It was used to describe both sweet and salty pies that were becoming increasingly popular among Italian aristocracy.
    
  Feared American Tomato  
Europeans returning from Peru and Mexico brought with them what was originally thought to be a very poisonous fruit: the tomato. Precisely how they decided that the tomato was actually edible is unclear, but as Southern Europeans overcame their suspicions, the tomato became enormously popular. Today, of course, the tomato is a crucial component of Mediterranean cuisine, and is still used in most pizza recipes.
    
  Naples Becomes The Pizaa Capitol of The World  
Naples gradually assumed its reputation as having the finest pizza in Italy throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century, pizza became a popular fast food.
    
Before pizzerias became very popular, however, street vendors (typically young boys) walked around the city with small tin stoves on their heads, calling out to attract customers. While undoubtedly uncomfortable for these 19th-century delivery boys, this street-vending method made pizza ever-more popular, and paved the way for the opening of the world's first pizzeria.
    
The world's first true pizzeria, "Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba", opened in 1830 and is still in business today at Via Port'Alba 18 in Naples. Pizzerias in this era usually included a large brick oven, a marble counter where the crust was prepared, and a shelf lined with ingredients. Contemporary Neapolitan pizzerias are prepared in the same way they were 100 years ago. The large brick ovens make the pizzerias uncomfortably hot in every season except winter, but the unique flavor of these brick-oven pizzas is unmatched. Pizzaioli (makers of pizza) often assemble the entire pizza on a marble counter right before the customer's eyes.
    
Some writers have considered the pizza an invention of the man who is responsible for making it an international phenomenon (but the fact that this man worked in a pizzeria makes it difficult to call him the father of pizza!). In 1889, Rafaele Esposito of the Pizzeria di Pietro e Basta Cosi (now called Pizzeria Brandi) baked pizza especially for the visit of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. To make the pizza a little more patriotic-looking, Esposito used red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese and green basil leaves as toppings. Queen Margherita loved the pizza, and what eventually became Pizza Margherita has since become an international standard. Pizzeria Brandi, now more than 200 years old, still proudly displays a royal thank-you note signed by Galli Camillo, "head of the table of the royal household", dated June 1889.
    
Neapolitan pizza is still widely regarded as the best in the world, probably because of the fresh ingredients available to Neapolitan pizzerias: herbs, garlic, and tomatoes grown in the rich volcanic ash of Vesuvius, and fresh mozzarella from water buffalo milk.
    
Today, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (the Association of True Neapolitan Pizza) maintains strict member guidelines for ingredients, dough, and cooking. This elite organization maintains that pizza dough must be made only with flour, natural yeast or brewers yeast, salt and water. Dough must be kneaded by hand or mixers which do not cause the dough to overheat, and the dough must be punched down and shaped by hand. Also, only wood-burning, bell-shaped brick ovens are permitted in pizzerias that belong to this organization. The pizza must be cooked on the surface of the oven (often made of volcanic stone), and not in any pan or container, with oven temperatures reaching at least 400-430° C (750-800° F). These ovens often have to heat up for hours before the first pizza is cooked.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 26 Jan 2008 23:51:08 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/customer-feedback/history-of-pizza/</link><guid>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/customer-feedback/history-of-pizza/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[City Search Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[This dark neighborhood bar has TVs in every sight line, and parents and kids come for the traditional pizza. Order flat and deep-dish pizzas with all the usual toppings and extra cheese. Most popular is "Tommy's," with pepperoni, ham, mushrooms and green peppers. "The Best Italian Submarines This Side of Rome" are piled-high and come with secret-recipe cole slaw.
    
  Save Money    
What a bargain: $13.65 for a loaded extra-large pizza or $15.35 for deep-dish. Subs and sandwiches are $3.25 to $6.50.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:41:10 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/customer-feedback/city-search-review/</link><guid>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/customer-feedback/city-search-review/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[City Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[Steaming two-inch-thick pizzas tangle the Green Lantern's patrons up to their beer mugs in cheese. Sandy, the long-time drink-slinger, keeps stories of her professional horseshoe pitching adventures close at hand. Domestic taps of Budweiser and Labatt's (isn't Canadian brew considered domestic yet?) threaten to flood the room. All in a corner bar set solidly in its place for over 40 years. The edifice screams from its cross coordinates of John R and Twelve Mile with bright greens and pinks. But don't let that color scheme throw you. Much more chill than the exterior suggests, this homey bar -- cheap, comfortable and packed with miscellaneous walls hangings -- is a prime gathering spot for sports fans and families. Its small size suggests an intimate setting, be it for the regulars who rub elbows or the side-stepping waitresses who run the joint. Sandy suggests ordering the pizza, which has been written up in local newspapers. Neighboring regulars petitioned for the weighty chili boat: a pool of chili, onions and cheese baked in pizza dough crust. For an even more affordable night, scout out the Web site for cyber coupons on both dishes. -- Jessica J. Shaw ]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:30:01 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/customer-feedback/city-review/</link><guid>http://www.greenlanternlounge.com/customer-feedback/city-review/</guid></item></channel></rss>