Incendios -- Vancouver, BC

[james]

We had a great family vacation in Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler. Between the Islands, Stanley Park, ferries, Butchart Gardens, and Bikes in Whistler, the kids (and parents) had a great time. Vancouver is the perfect west coast, new world city. Everything works and it's a great place.

We found one authentic brick oven in Gas Town in Vancouver. The oven was built by an Italian immigrant about 20-30 years ago. The current owner bought it from him 10 years ago -- it was previously called Al Forno. The oven is huge -- about 6 feet round internally. It looks great, with a brick exterior, brick encased chimney and a series of changeable "faces" that the owner sets above the oven opening.

The pizza wasn't great. The oven was too big for the restaurant, and they didn't keep it hot. The owner said they cooked about 100 pizzas a night, which meant keeping a small fire on one side and cooking 5-7+ minute pizzas in a cool oven. An oven that size kept hot could bake 1,000+ pizzas a night. They overhandled the dough, so they were kind of tough. Oh well. Our 12-year old commented on the pizza.

Still, they are really nice folks, and it is a bustling and popular restaurant and the oven is really nice looking.

As a funny aside, I found a couple of gas-fired pizza ovens in Vancouver and Whistler. Most were burning in the 500Fs, though my favorite was a white linen Italian restaurant (molto caro, tre chic) where the oven was set to 475F! You wouldn't want to eat there, but at least the oven looked cool.

James

[El Puaco]

Tutta Bella

In keeping with James' report on his recent store-bought pizza experience I'd like to report that I recently had pizza at Tutta Bella in Seattle. They have a wood fired oven with a floor temperature of over 700f. They use Tipo 00 fluor and had #10 cans of DOP Tomatoes. The crust was thin and good although not as crisp as I would have imagined. This restaurant was the first in the area to be recognized by the Italian pizza organization. I wish I could remember the exact name, but pizza followers will know what I mean.

I really enjoyed James' story about the Vancouver/Vancouver Island area. It's a special area that gives you a real get-away experience.

Mike

[JamesDa]

Re: Tutta Bella

In keeping with James' report on his recent store-bought pizza experience I'd like to report that I recently had pizza at Tutta Bella in Seattle. They have a wood fired oven with a floor temperature of over 700f. They use Tipo 00 fluor and had #10 cans of DOP Tomatoes. The crust was thin and good although not as crisp as I would have imagined. This restaurant was the first in the area to be recognized by the Italian pizza organization. I wish I could remember the exact name, but pizza followers will know what I mean.

I really enjoyed James' story about the Vancouver/Vancouver Island area. It's a special area that gives you a real get-away experience.

Mike

Pizza is good

[JamesDa]

Re: Incendios -- Vancouver, BC

We had a great family vacation in Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler. Between the Islands, Stanley Park, ferries, Butchart Gardens, and Bikes in Whistler, the kids (and parents) had a great time. Vancouver is the perfect west coast, new world city. Everything works and it's a great place.

We found one authentic brick oven in Gas Town in Vancouver. The oven was built by an Italian immigrant about 20-30 years ago. The current owner bought it from him 10 years ago -- it was previously called Al Forno. The oven is huge -- about 6 feet round internally. It looks great, with a brick exterior, brick encased chimney and a series of changeable "faces" that the owner sets above the oven opening.

The pizza wasn't great. The oven was too big for the restaurant, and they didn't keep it hot. The owner said they cooked about 100 pizzas a night, which meant keeping a small fire on one side and cooking 5-7+ minute pizzas in a cool oven. An oven that size kept hot could bake 1,000+ pizzas a night. They overhandled the dough, so they were kind of tough. Oh well. Our 12-year old commented on the pizza.

Still, they are really nice folks, and it is a bustling and popular restaurant and the oven is really nice looking.

As a funny aside, I found a couple of gas-fired pizza ovens in Vancouver and Whistler. Most were burning in the 500Fs, though my favorite was a white linen Italian restaurant (molto caro, tre chic) where the oven was set to 475F! You wouldn't want to eat there, but at least the oven looked cool.

James

good pizza is hard to find