Ohio pizza (Cookeville, Algood, Guys: buy, construction, restaurants)

[JMT]

Does anyone here know anything about Wedgewood Pizza? It's an Ohio pizza chain but is opening its first location outside of Ohio in Cookeville. I was just curious how it stacks up against other pizza chains. I'm always up for trying good pizza.

[alleycat]

I don't know anything about them. I kind of like the Bellachino's pizzas and "grinders" that has come in; they're a chain that started near Pittsburgh. It's nothing so special, just a good pizza.

I hope the Ohio pizza company does better than Empress Chili did (they started in Ohio). They went over like a lead balloon here (and they never seemed to understand why).

[gary1958]

JMT, Glad to see you got some replies on the Ohio forum. I have never tried it,but heard it was good.Where is the one in Cookeville going to be? Do you know when it will open?

[mrs1885]

I've never heard of it either, but we'd tried the Bellacino's pizza and didn't like it. That's the pizza problem - everyone has such a different idea of what 'good' pizza is. We like the really thin floppy crust with lots of oil. We had 2 good places in Florida - wish I could get them to open a place up here. Rural TN isn't exactly known for it's awesome pizza!!

[WOWAddict]

Pizza is like golf even when it is bad; it is still pretty good.

Really it is like something else but I wanted to keep with the wholesomeness of the forum

[LauraC]

You probably don't know this but there are 10 Rules of Pizza:

1. You don't buy pizza at chain restaurants or in grocery stores or
supermarkets. That is psuedo pizza. You can buy it. You can eat it. You can roll it down the side of a mountain (hey, good idea for a TN festival). You can toss it like a frisbee. BUT, it's not real pizza.


2. Despite what you see on TV, there is no such thing as Mexican pizza
or Chinese pizza. Just because you throw some Chinese/Mexican stuff on a crust, does not make it pizza. This is merely Ethnic Fast Food Encroachment techniques meant to disorient the pizza consumer. Ahem, there is also no such thing as Barbecue Pizza, either, although I have heard that a city that shall remain nameless but rhymes with Cashville, has given sanctuary status to these sellers of illegal pizza.


3. Real pizza diminishes outside of NYC, it's Westchester and Long Island suburbs, and some places in Jersey and and Philly unless a person from one of those places runs a pizza place in your town/state because they had to move. Chicago deep dish pizza is the only pizza worth mentioning there. California pizza is an oxymoron.


4. Guys who are legally allowed to sell REAL pizza have names like
Vinny, Frankie, Tony and Crazy (fill in the blank), usually have sauce
or flour on them, wear jewelry and want to whack you if you ask for
eating utensils with your pizza. NEVER EVER eat pizza made by a famous
chef in a splashy restaurant. They fou-fou it up too much.


5. When you pick up a slice of REAL pizza, it's gotta drip. In fact,
the real sign of good pizza is that you get some on you when you eat it.


6. There is no such thing as 4 cheese pizza.** There is one cheese for
pizza --- mozzarella. It is permissable to add cheese to your pizza AFTER
the pizza guy gives it to you. Same goes for any of the stuff on the
Pizza Guy's counter you can shake on the pizza. All legit add-ons.


7. Real men don't put fruit and vegetables on their pizza or any other
topping that isn't sausage, meatballs or pepperoni and/or is capable of giving you a heart attack. There is no free-range pizza. Immediately discard any pizza sold within a 30 yard radius of tofu.


8. You drink Coke, Pepsi, regular (not designer or lite) beer or root
beer with your pizza. If you want to drink wine, for cryin' out loud,
take your date/spouse/significant other to a nice Italian restaurant and
have dinner, not pizza.


9. Nobody stuffs nuthin' in the crust. It is also probably worth mentioning here that any place that serves cinnamon anything with pizza is probably eligible for water boarding under the law.


10. Pizza places are run by Italian-American families. If the guy who is making the pizza isn't related to the guy/woman who takes your money, get out of there fast. You will know if they are related when they yell at each other.


**The Supreme Court has yet to rule on white pizza made with ricotta cheese.

[Shenandoah]

My son used to be a pizza cook. He actually had a following when he went from one pizza parlor to another. Altho, some of that following were girls head over heels in love with him, but that's another story on his resemblance to Andre' Agassi and teenie-boppers wanting his autograph.

But, he does make excellent pizza.

He works construction now, as there's no money in being a pizza cook.

blessings, Shen

[alleycat]

Okay, now who's going to do the Ten Rules of Bar-be-que?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by gary1958

JMT, Glad to see you got some replies on the Ohio forum. I have never tried it,but heard it was good.Where is the one in Cookeville going to be? Do you know when it will open?

Thanks, and I agree, the people who responded in the Ohio forum sure makes it sound like good pizza!

Wedgewood Pizza is supposed to open in Cookeville on August 20 in a new little shopping center called 10th Street Shops (on, of course, 10th Street, at the intersection with Fisk). That little shopping center is a great change from the dumpy little trailer park that used to be there. 10th Street is the road that goes from Tennessee Tech to Algood.

It's going to be run by a couple from Ohio who moved to Cookeville this year to escape the rat race of the corporate world. Here's the article in the Herald-Citizen that talks about it:

Business Story

I can't wait to go try it!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by LauraC

You probably don't know this but there are 10 Rules of Pizza:

1. You don't buy pizza at chain restaurants or in grocery stores or
supermarkets. That is psuedo pizza. You can buy it. You can eat it. You can roll it down the side of a mountain (hey, good idea for a TN festival). You can toss it like a frisbee. BUT, it's not real pizza.


2. Despite what you see on TV, there is no such thing as Mexican pizza
or Chinese pizza. Just because you throw some Chinese/Mexican stuff on a crust, does not make it pizza. This is merely Ethnic Fast Food Encroachment techniques meant to disorient the pizza consumer. Ahem, there is also no such thing as Barbecue Pizza, either, although I have heard that a city that shall remain nameless but rhymes with Cashville, has given sanctuary status to these sellers of illegal pizza.


3. Real pizza diminishes outside of NYC, it's Westchester and Long Island suburbs, and some places in Jersey and and Philly unless a person from one of those places runs a pizza place in your town/state because they had to move. Chicago deep dish pizza is the only pizza worth mentioning there. California pizza is an oxymoron.


4. Guys who are legally allowed to sell REAL pizza have names like
Vinny, Frankie, Tony and Crazy (fill in the blank), usually have sauce
or flour on them, wear jewelry and want to whack you if you ask for
eating utensils with your pizza. NEVER EVER eat pizza made by a famous
chef in a splashy restaurant. They fou-fou it up too much.


5. When you pick up a slice of REAL pizza, it's gotta drip. In fact,
the real sign of good pizza is that you get some on you when you eat it.


6. There is no such thing as 4 cheese pizza.** There is one cheese for
pizza --- mozzarella. It is permissable to add cheese to your pizza AFTER
the pizza guy gives it to you. Same goes for any of the stuff on the
Pizza Guy's counter you can shake on the pizza. All legit add-ons.


7. Real men don't put fruit and vegetables on their pizza or any other
topping that isn't sausage, meatballs or pepperoni and/or is capable of giving you a heart attack. There is no free-range pizza. Immediately discard any pizza sold within a 30 yard radius of tofu.


8. You drink Coke, Pepsi, regular (not designer or lite) beer or root
beer with your pizza. If you want to drink wine, for cryin' out loud,
take your date/spouse/significant other to a nice Italian restaurant and
have dinner, not pizza.


9. Nobody stuffs nuthin' in the crust. It is also probably worth mentioning here that any place that serves cinnamon anything with pizza is probably eligible for water boarding under the law.


10. Pizza places are run by Italian-American families. If the guy who is making the pizza isn't related to the guy/woman who takes your money, get out of there fast. You will know if they are related when they yell at each other.


**The Supreme Court has yet to rule on white pizza made with ricotta cheese.

OK now THAT is funny!

And I agree in particular about what to drink with pizza. When I was a kid in Florida, my big sister worked in a pizza parlor in Tampa. We'd go eat there ALL the time. Since my mom wouldn't let us drink Coke when we were kids, we would always drink root beer. To this day, I have to have root beer with my pizza.