It seems every region of the world has a food practice that
leaves much of the world puzzled.
Belgians use mayonnaise on their fries.
New Englanders like cheddar on their apple pie. Minnesotans eat their lutefisk. Some travelers discover regional tastes and
love some. To each his own… and St.
Louis does have its own –
In recent years St. Louis has seen some great additions to
its pizza world. This has to be a
welcome change, as the local pizza favorite has been Imo's.
If you have never been to St. Louis and sampled this odd concoction, let
me explain. It is one of those regional
practices that leave’s many puzzled. An
Imo’s pizza is thin, very thin…but then, many regional pizza styles are. They cut their round pizzas in squares. Most may call that a gimmick, but it can
prove easier to pick up. They cover the
pizza in toppings, leaving no crusts to hold on to. But their calling card is something called Provel
– not to be confused with provolone.
Provel is something you love or hate, and I am pretty sure loving it requires
being born in the 314 or 618 area codes.
Provel is a processed cheese combining the attributes and flavors of
cheddar, swiss, and provolone. I think
it resembles more a blend between the texture and taste of Elmer’s School Glue
and smell of Play-Doh. Again…to each his
own, and I do know people for whom an Imo’s pizza is a beautiful taste of home.
Fortunately for others, a Neapolitan pizza trend has swept
into town. First, some
understanding of the Neapolitian
style. Like Chicago deep dish or
NYC-style, Neapolitan has some specific requirements. I am linking to a couple articles here
because they capture more than I will explain here. The keys to me…a lack of uniformity, a
somewhat soggy middle, charring and bubbles on the crust from being cooked at
900 degrees, light, fresh tomato sauce, simple, fresh ingredients and a selection
of traditional
combinations such as Margherita, Tutto Mare, Napoletana, Quattro Stagioni,
or Capricciosa. In St. Louis a few
places have done quite a good job gathering a following with faithful
renditions of traditional Neapolitan pizza, notably Good Pie and π.
In Edwardsville, we stopped by Peel.
The first two things I noticed as we entered were the beer
selection and the crowd at the door on a Sunday at 11:30am. Much like Cleveland Heath, the waiting area
is at the bar which is right at the door.
It is far too crowded, making it impossible to get to a table without
becoming far too intimate with strangers.
But that beer selection – two
beers from San Diego’s Stone Brewing on tap and a great selection of others,
including Ommegang, Anderson Valley, Magic Hat and Chimay.
The dining space features huge windows so the space is
filled with natural light. The kitchen
is open and busy with the wood-fired oven in full view. The décor is sleek and polished, if a little
too new and shiny to feel like a proper pizza spot.
The menu goes well beyond pizza, featuring sandwiches,
pastas, salads and wide variety of wings…all except the salads are finished in
the wood-fired oven, imparting a pleasant smokiness. But we were here for pizza. The pizzas have plenty of names that sound
traditional but they each seem to throw in a trendy, unique ingredient. I know there’s a market for maple glazed pork
or cheddar on a pizza, but it’s just not…right.
I constructed my own. I started
with the coppa – coppa ham, tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh oregano. I asked to add anchovies and to have raw egg
dropped on top as it came out of the oven.
The server seemed to think that was all possible. A few minutes later she returned to confirm
that I wanted the egg added when the pizza came out. Confirmed.
A few minutes later she returned.
I needed to be aware that the egg was unpasteurized and it might be a
little runny – was I okay with that?
Check. A+ for attentive careful
service and a willingness and ability to create virtually any pizza.
Eventually all our food came just about at the same
time. That’s not easy with a single
wood-fired oven and a table of eight. My
pizza looked just as it should…not exactly round, charred bubbles, the smell of
anchovies, coppa curled at the edges from cooking and a bright white, runny egg
with a yolk the color of sunshine looking up at me. I just inhaled…it smelled great. Digging in, the dough and sauce had the right
consistency. First bite…delicious. The sauce was light with no pasty sweetness. The cheese was mozzarella, just the right
quantity and not overpowering. I must
admit, I just dug in and concentrated on my pizza with little notice of
others’. But I can say this…the funghi
was good, though a few more funghi would improve it. The chicken wings looked huge (apparently
there are some gigantic chickens in southern Illinois) and incredibly hot after
finishing in the oven. The serving was
large enough to share. The maple-cured
pork pizza got a good review. And almost
all the pizzas were completely consumed, so it is fair to say the sizes were
just right.
I would recommend this place if it is convenient. I prefer The Good Pie over near St. Louis
University, but that’s 20 miles away and more expensive. Anticipate a crowd at Peel…all the time. It is extremely popular, even after being
open for at least 5 years. You can count
on Peel providing a quality Neapolitan pizza and a good time for a family
outing or a date.
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