[quote=“the chief”][quote=“Dragonbones”]
I can make a better and healthier pizza and a better steak for less at home, so why bother paying more for mediocrity? :loco:[/quote]
Bushwah.
You got a proper pizza oven at home? What are you paying for 300g of moozerella?
Pepperoni?
And where’s your secret steak connection where you can get one and make it with the trimmings for the price of one at Ponderosa?
Or even Carnegie’s, for that matter?
I’m not saying PH and Ponderosa aren’t crap, they are, but I’m having a little trouble with your contention here.[/quote]
This is one gauntlet I’ll pick up! [color=#4000FF]Short answer: I figure it costs me no more than $200/pie, and that’s a bigger pie with nicer ingredients than the $630 Italian pie at Domino’s. Prime ribeye costs me $226 for 7 oz.[/color]
Longer answer:
Proper pizza oven? Virtually nobody’s got a gas-fired brick or stone oven at home, if that’s what you mean. But that’s not necessary to make a pizza. Nice, but not necessary, unless you’re trying to replicate something like Alleycat’s style, which I’m not. (Don’t get me wrong, I like Alleycat’s, but that’s not the style I grew up with and it’s not what I try to make at home, nor could I in any reasonable oven I’d buy.)
The above complaint is about the mediocre ones at some other joints, anyway. People order a pan-Slut at the office for a party, I have a piece, and the crust is flavorless and LOADED with grease. Not even good oil. Yuck. And the toppings are often weird. Rubbery squid with mayonnaise? Corn? How could one NOT do better at home? :loco:
As for my oven (NT$1000, used), I’ve installed several layers of ceramic material (free, scrounged) in the bottom of my oven (like a pizza stone), and after a good preheat on full blast, I can get a decent crust, sure, no prob.
I can get 300g for as cheap as NT$53 for Costco shredded, or $114 for Costco fresh pillow. I blend them, so my average cost to top a pizza is probably $84-ish, double for two. Big bags at Costco aren’t too expensive — $399 for 2.27kg = only $17.6/100gms; compare to Jason’s: 100g of Danish (Arla) brand is NT$75 (deli block); the bagged shredded stuff is $172 for 220ish grams ($78.2/100g) or $180 for 300 g ($60/100g).
I freeze what I buy and use a little now and then; and I usually blend the shredded cheese with some of the fresh pillow and some tastier stuff – even after blending the shredded with some nicer cheeses (block moz., fresh moz. pillows, a tiny bit of a couple nice hard grating cheeses like grana padano ($719/kg Costco) or pecorini romano ($715/kg Costco, vs. NT$140/100g at Jason’s), etc., there’s no way my costs could match the price of a couple overpriced Domino’s pies, I think – I glanced at the menu on my way out of the vet’s office this morning, and their “large” Italian (really a medium IMO, at 12”) was $630 :loco:. Mine end up healthier (less cheese, less grease from meats, olive oil only) and couldn’t help but be less expensive than that!
$210/kg from Futong, if I use it. I do, sometimes (cost, perhaps $30 for a couple pizzas), but instead, I often marinade a bit of chicken (leg meat, diced, fresh from the wet market, maybe $100 worth) in something special, and sprinkle a bit of that atop a pie, intermixed with some homemade, spicy Mexican chorizo (made from lean pork, about NT$15 worth, at NT$149/kg for pork), with olive oil added to make up for the lack of fat). Not pricy at all. Add some onions, garlic, bell peppers (all dirt cheap at the wet market if you know where to go) and you’re in business!
A few days ago I made a nice crust (flour NT$15 or so for two mediums; flour is $54/kg at Jason’s but I pay about 20-30/kg I think at a dry goods store) made with fresh basil (NT$1-2 @ NT$10/bag, wet market) in 3 TBSP superior XV olive oil (NT$9.72 @ NT$216/liter, P&P) incorporated in the dough (good basil is only $10 per large bag at the wet market, and after setting aside the NT$1-2 worth that I’ll use fresh, I puree the rest in XV olive oil and freeze it in ice cube trays, to use later in place of plain oil). The dough started with a flavorful aged multigrain starter (3 days; negligible cost), and I did a slow ferment (3 days) for the dough, then let it rise again after stretching it out and brushing it with 2 TBSP of nice cold-pressed extra fruity extra virgin olive oil from Italy (about NT$14.55 @ $485/750ml, Jason’s). I did a quick prebake right on the stacked ceramic floor (pizza stone), brushed it again ($8), and topped it with a superb, flavorful homemade tomato sauce (one of my specialties, made with canned Italian tomatoes (NT$34.9/can) slooooowly stewed in basil, garlic, onion, Italian spices, etc. with fruity XV olive oil) which I prefer to that of any joint in town (NT$40-ish?), then a few fresh basil leaves, a thin sprinkling of five or so cheeses— fresh pillow and regular block moz., grana padano or pecorini romano (I forget which; I’ve got a bit of several similar grating cheeses), some manchego (Spain), and I added a bit of spice gouda and mild cheddar to a couple corners — and it was more flavorful and healthier than a thick layer of one kind on a pie from the Slut – some fresh mushrooms ($10?) marinated in XV olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and spices, then sautéed, some chicken bits ($100?) marinated in XV olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and thyme, diced bell peppers ($10) and onions ($10 – Costco has 3kg for NT$99), fresh garlic ($5), and bits of delicious, spicy homemade Mexican chorizo.[color=#4000FF] I add that up and get about $398 for two very nice rectangular 17”x11” pies, compared to $1260 for two inferior round 12” ones at Domino’s. [/color]And I enjoy the process of making them. Even if some of my prices are off, there’s a lot of room for what I make to still be cheaper than Domino’s.
[quote]And where’s your secret steak connection where you can get one and make it with the trimmings for the price of one at Ponderosa?
[/quote]
Ponderosa won’t even let you eat a single platter with a 7-oz. (196 g.) ribeye, and say a small crappy salad or soup, and a potato. They force you to pay for access to the buffet too (total $539, not sure if there’s a 10% added), even though I wouldn’t want more than the single platter. That’s bullshit. (They do offer a platter with cheaper sirloin, I think, for about $300, but I can get choice top sirloin for $429/kg I think at Costco, so that’s no bargain, and even if you compare it to Costco’s prime striploin at 1155/kg, which I doubt it matches, that’s $226 for 7 oz.). I wasn’t impressed last time I had some of that at a Ponderosa, it couldn’t have been prime, and I didn’t care for the service either, if I recall.)
I’d MUCH rather buy some nice steak at Costco, usually a big tray of good ribeye ($799/kg choice, i.e. $156 for our 7-oz. piece for that platter; $1155 prime, i.e. $226 for 7 oz.), maybe marinate it, and grill it on a VERY hot seasoned cast-iron skillet. My trimmings are delicious and healthy, too, with things like freshly stir-fried greens (spinach, or broccoli) with olive oil and garlic, fresh homemade bread, potatoes with XV olive oil and herbs, and so on. Add $15 (if that) for my side items, and [color=#0000FF]my own platter costs me $241, my side items are much nicer quality, and I save $300 off the buffet price, enough for a very nice glass o’wine to accompany the meal.[/color] And yes, I’d rather do the cooking, which I enjoy, to make very good food, than pay double or triple for crap service and mediocre, less healthy food.