Loading ...Starr Pizza
Posted by Foobooz on May 14th, 2009
KYW’s Hadas Kuznits tracks down Stephen Starr and she gets him to spill some beans on Pizza Select, Starr’s brick-oven pizza restaurant planned for 2nd and Lombard.
“I’ve been wanting to do pizza for a long time because I usually do things that I want. And I can’t get really good pizza here in Philadelphia, so I’m just doing what I want to eat!”
He says they’ll offer lunch, dinner, and may even a little Italian-style breakfast. But they will specialize in pizza:
“It’s going to be real thin-crust, Brooklyn-style pizza, which you’d think is served here but it’s not. Here it’s just thick, doughy pizza. We’re doing a lot of research on this.”
Stephen Starr Creating a Pizza Restaurant for Headhouse Square [KYW Newsradio 1060 via MenuPages]
Coming Soon: Another Starr Restaurant [Podcast (MP3)]
Related Tags: Pizza, Pizza Select, Queen-Village, South-Street, Starr, Stella Pizza
May 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
he obviously hasn’t done that much research
May 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I agree. Pizza pretty much sucks in Philly.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
ugh, so sick of the “i cant get good pizza in philadelphia” crowd. sorry stephen, but you might need to do some more research. i shudder at the thought of your interpretation of italian-style breakfast.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
well i’m so sick of people thinking the garbage in philadelphia is decent pizza. there are obvious exceptions… OSTERIA… but on the whole, pizza in this city is terrible
May 14th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
@anna: what makes a decent pizza?
May 14th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
There are a few places to get good pizza but not a whole lot. I think if a lot of these Egytpian pizza places started serving middle eastern or mediterranean food we’d all be better for it. what makes a decent pizza? you know one when you taste one
May 14th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I can’t lie, I really do like Angelino’s in Fairmount. However, you have to like garlic…
May 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
@ andre: “you know one when you taste one.” exactly my point. its pretty subjective.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Tony’s in Mayfair, Merc’s on the Boulevard, Vince’s on Grant Ave. Far Northeast pizza for life.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Philly pizza is weak. Even in South Philly where it should be good. Philly is a sandwich town, not a pizza town. Marra’s on E Passyunk is a notable exception. Franco Luigi’s (13th & Tasker) makes a good pie, as do other neighborhood spots I’m sure, but none even approach the “Brooklyn-style” that Stevie is referring too.
He is right that we need a good destination pizza spot. Tacconelli’s is an expensive joke. Let’s see if he can pull it off. Hard to claim any kind of authenticity at a Starr place, but it’s a good idea.
May 14th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
instead of endless debate i think foobooz should finance a quest for the best pizza in philadelphia and publish the results. i will gladly donate my time and well being for such an endeavor.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
there is o.k. pizza in philly, but no great pizza. marra’s is bottom of the barrel, and i agree that osteria, tacconelli’s and franco luigi are good. but philly, don’t fool yourself, there ain’t nothing to write home about. here are some examples of GREAT pie; difara in brooklyn, una pizza in the east village, and pizzeria bianco in pheonix. stephen starr may get it right, but i doubt it. good luck philly
May 15th, 2009 at 12:05 am
This whole ‘no good pizza in Philadephia’ trope is sheer gibberish. I live in Brooklyn and I’ve lived in Philadelphia. Most pizza in Brooklyn is mediocre, most pizza in Philadelphia is mediocre… Most pizza everywhere is mediocre, period. There are a few standouts in both cities, but the average corner pizza place in Philly is indistinguishable in every way from the average corner pizza place in Brooklyn.
New Yorkers (and especially ex-New Yorkers) clearly have some vested interest in pretending that you can walk into any random pizza place in the city and get a great slice, but it’s just patently untrue.
May 15th, 2009 at 6:03 am
There is a lot of crappy pizza in Philly; there is also a lot of crappy pizza in NYC; there IS some good pizza in Philly (Zio’s on 13th in CC comes to mind), but there’s a whole lot more good pizza in NYC and some great pizza in NYC.
To Matt L: I agree with what you say about not being able to walk into just any joint in NYC and find great pizza but in just about every neighborhood one can identify a “go-to” place. That is sadly not the case here. Luckily for me, I live in Zio’s delivery zone, so I’m happy. I may never move for that reason alone!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:40 am
@ Matt Leiderman: thank you! you took the words right out of my mouth. i wonder if all the people that are crowing about philly pizza being “weak” are just displaced new yorkers.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:44 am
finally. someone who understands the importance of a brooklyn-style slice. thank you!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Pizza is Pizza, But Nothing can touch Santucci’s! If STAR is gonna make another cardboard cracker, brick oven nastiness they please stop right now!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
@ Bob Newhart: you are out of your mind on your Marra’s comment. There’s a reason it’s been around for 80 years.
May 16th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hey “me” you sound like a Craig LAban wanna be! or someone who wasn’t allowed to speak as a child and you finally got a voice. Starr is obviously generalizing about the Pizza, but it would be nice not to go on a all day scavenger hunt just to get a slice.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Pizza is… MOST DEFINITELY…not Pizza
May 17th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
One name: Lazaro’s on South & 18th – look it up. Eat it, love it.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Marra’s sucks so bad i want to burnt hat place down. Been there three times because i want to believe that a place that has been around for 80 years would be decent, but that whole crew over there just doesnt give a crap and it shows.
I hope everyone wakes up and realizes that place is a crap hole. I am embarrased to live in a city where that is out example of old school pizza in south philly.
May 18th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Hey “Gaj”, calling someone out on food blog as a critic wannabe seriously lacks self-awareness. You’re reading a food blog.
Still, for what it’s worth, “me,” I’m sure foobooz would be real keen on your expedition. But they don’t fund anything, though they’ll be happy to publish your findings. Get to it!
May 19th, 2009 at 8:27 am
when people hype lazaro’s, then i know philly pizza ain’t good. their sauce is way too sweet and their dough nothing special. its an acceptable slice, but nothing special.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:28 am
once you have pizza in Italy you will realize how average almost all the places mentioned are
actually having pieces of garlic and oil infused fresh tomato picked from a garden would be a good start
i wonder how many south philly italians have even tried pizza in Italy
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
IF YOU THINK YOU CAN”T GET GOOD PIZZA IN PHILADELPHIA
MOVE (back?) TO NEW YORK
June 13th, 2009 at 1:48 am
You guys have failed to mention a true Italian pie in the heart of south Philly!! A new place called SliCE! Rick Nichols wrote about them craig Laban also raves about them!!