Pizza

This deficiency was the focus of an extended passage in the Douglas Adams novel The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Costco has issued a document [3] clearly leveled at the charges of mural damage and unnecessary tree removal. Until the early 1990s, pizza delivery was relatively unavailable in England. Costco tore down the Casino de la Selva in Cuernavaca, Mexico, to build a store there and has faced opposition [1] from TIAA-CREF shareholders as well as its own shareholders [2]. Pizza has also been used in teaching fractions and in computer games, such as Pizza Tycoon. A yearly event (usually in mid-July) is pizza week, where $3 coupons are distributed for whole pizzas. Pizza was the food of choice of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The chicken strips found in chicken bakes are the same chicken strips used in the chicken salads.

Pizza plays a prominent role in other films, such as Loverboy, Mystic Pizza and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. The company has added other types of food, such as pizza, chicken bakes, chicken salad, smoothies, churros, pretzels and ice cream. In the film Splendor in the Grass, set in 1929, the character Bud Stamper visits a New Haven pizzeria (see also apizza) as a freshman at Yale University, and has to ask the waitress, "What is pizza?" In the 1920s, pizza would have been virtually unknown to a non-Italian Midwesterner. The hot dogs used are kosher and the brands used are Sinai Kosher or Hebrew National. Recently, frozen pizzas with a rising-crust have appeared on the market. As a matter of fact, the price of the hot dog and soda is still the same price as it was when they first opened, $1.50, a price Jim Sinegal has stated will remain indefinitely. Frozen pizzas are generally considered inferior in quality to pizzeria-made pizzas, though there are some exemplary frozen pizzas. These began as stand-alone impromptu arrangements outside of warehouses but are now built directly into current warehouses as actual mini-restaurants.

In Japan, where full-size ovens are a rarity in the home, pizza toast is a popular version. Finally, Costco is well known for its hot dog stands. In some countries, creations such as pita pizza, bagel pizza, and tortilla pizza are popular, especially with children. Even the membership fee is fully refundable at any time. In home-made pizza, there are many variations on the bread used for crust. Computers, which most retailers loathe to accept for a refund, have a six-month return period. Greek pizza, like Chicago-style pizza, is baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven. Buyers effectively "rent" the product temporarily by buying and later returning it for a refund.

Another option is grilled pizza, in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Many people take advantage of this with DVDs, software and other media. When making pizza at home, it can be baked on a "pizza stone" in a regular oven to imitate the effect of a brick oven. Unlike other stores, Costco allows returns of opened media. On deck ovens, the pizza can be slid into the oven on a long paddle called a peel and baked directly on the hot bricks or baked on a screen (a round metal pan that has holes in it like a screen). Costco has a very generous product return policy that allows customers to return most products indefinitely. In restaurants, pizza can be baked in a gas deck (stone bricks above the heat source) oven, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven. They have also introduced an automobile purchasing program where members can purchase new cars at specially arranged prices.

Some pizzas are now made with a cheese-filled crust. Costco also acts as a broker for services such as investment products and travel including air travel and cruise vacations. The crust can be very thick as in Chicago-style pizza or almost non-existent as in the Roman pizza. Some locations have liquor stores which are usually separate in order to comply with liquor license restrictions. Pizza may be baked with a thin bread bottom (Italian or "hand-tossed" style) or with thicker bread (pan pizza). Many stores have tire garages, pharmacies,Hearing Aid Centers, optometrists, photo processing and gas stations. "Supreme" pizzas typically include a thick layer of many different toppings. It now sells many other products that are more difficult to handle, such as fresh produce, meat, seafood, fresh baked goods, flowers, clothing, books, software, home electronics, jewelry, art and furniture.

Breakfast pizzas are topped with ingredients such as scrambled eggs. Initially it preferred to sell only boxed products that could be dispensed by simply tearing the shrinkwrap off a pallet. Pizzas can also be made without meat for vegetarians, and without cheese for vegans. Over the years, Costco has gradually expanded its range of products and services. These pizzas consist of the same basic design but include an exceptionally diverse choice of ingredients, such as anchovies, egg, pineapple, grilled lamb, coconut, sauerkraut, eggplant, lamb, couscous, chicken, fish, and shellfish, meats done in ethnic styles such as Moroccan lamb, kebab or even chicken tikka masala, and non-traditional spices such as curry and Thai sweet chili. Sinegal in 2004, saying "it's better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder." Sinegal counters that good wages and benefits more than pay for themselves by holding down employee turnover, reducing employee theft and by appealing to a certain percentage of affluent customers who appreciate that the low prices do not come at the workers' expense. In recent years, pizza has become an international food since the toppings can be extensively varied to meet local variations in taste. Wall Street analyst Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank criticized Mr.

Lately, frozen pizzas with completely raw ingredients have also begun to appear. A recent estimate (New York Times, July 17, 2005) puts Costco's average pay at $17 per hour, or 42% higher than Walmart-owned "Sam's Club". Traditionally the dough is somewhat pre-baked and other ingredients are also sometimes pre-cooked. These perks are the highest in the industry and especially surprising considering Costco's price-centric sales strategy (similar to Wal-Mart's, a company criticized for its low pay and refusal to offer benefits to most employees). Modified corn starch is commonly used as a moisture barrier between the sauce and crust. For instance, a cashier with four years of experience can earn more than $40,000 with full benefits, including medical, dental, Rx, disability, and life, and is even entitled to participate in a 401k program and purchase stock options. The main challenges include preventing the sauce from combining with the dough and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. Costco is noted for providing full benefits and comparatively generous compensation to its employees.

Considerable amounts of food technology has gone into the creation of palatable frozen pizzas. This use of float is a major advantage in its own right; Costco is essentially borrowing money from their suppliers with no interest. Pizza is also found in supermarkets as a frozen food. Since Costco has such high sales volume and rapid inventory turnover, it is able to receive cash from the sale of a large portion of its inventory before it has to pay back its suppliers. These national pizza chains often coexist with locally-owned pizza restaurants. This encourages consumers to regularly visit their local warehouse for surprise deals. Even Pizza Hut has shifted its emphasis away from pizza parlors and toward home delivery. In many other categories the company constantly seeks the best deals currently available, so products will appear and disappear over short periods of time.

Today, the pizza business is dominated by companies that specialize in home delivery, including Domino's, Little Caesar's, and Papa John's. In some product categories, the company does not rotate products often, so customers can expect certain brands of snacks or beverages to be in stock indefinitely. Some later entrants to the dine-in pizza market were Happy Joe's, California Pizza Kitchen, and Round Table Pizza. Many of the products it stocks are high quality at a reasonable cost instead of inferior quality at a low price. Some leading early pizza chains were Shakey's Pizza (inventor of the term pizza parlor; formerly, the term pizzeria was preferred) and Pizza Hut, both founded in 1954, in Sacramento and Wichita, respectively. Costco concentrates more on overall value than the lowest possible price for its product range. With its rising popularity in the 1950s, especially in the US, pizza became a component of the growing chain-restaurant industry. Rather, stores carry only a few very popular product categories and selected products within each category.

The American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home. Unlike many retailers, stores do not maintain a full range of every product type and every major brand within each product category. Although the birthplace of modern day pizza is Naples, local bakers were at a loss to satisfy the demand from American soldiers. Besides frugality, Costco is also famous for its idiosyncratic inventory practices. The international breakthrough came after World War II. Costco caps its profit margin on most products at 14% and allows itself slightly higher margins only on its Kirkland Signature store brand (a name derived from its previous headquarters in Kirkland) with a strict 15% profit limit. At this point in time in the U.S., pizza consumption was still limited mostly to Italian immigrants. This contrasts with other retailers who take the additional trouble to break down pallets and stock individual products on shelves.

The D'Amore family brought pizza to Los Angeles in 1939. Most products are delivered to the store on shipping pallets, and the pallets are used to display products for sale on the retail floor. Boston was introduced to pizza in 1926 by Anthony Polcari when he opened Pizzeria Regina in Boston's North End. The company's warehouses are sparsely decorated, with the exception of colorful marketing banners. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana opened in New Haven in 1925. The corporate jet is not used unless it is filled to capacity. In 1924, Totonno left Lombardi's to open his own pizzeria on Coney Island called Totonno's. Costco doesn't have a public relations department either, believing it is unnecessary.

On November 10th, 2005, Lombardi's celebrated its 100th anniversary by selling pizzas at the 1905 price, 5 cents, for the whole day. In fact, many senior executives, including Costco's CEO, use office furniture that was purchased from the Boeing Company when Costco was started. It was closed in 1984 and then reopened in 1994 a block down, at 32 Spring Street. Costco is able to charge sometimes astonishingly low prices by keeping overhead low, returning savings to consumers. The price for an entire pizza was 5 cents, but since many people couldn't afford the cost of a whole pie, they could rather say how much they could pay and they were given a slice corresponding to the amount offered (not unlike the method by which pizza is often sold in Italy today). Purchases made with gift cards, called Costco cash also do not require a membership. Their pizza became so popular, Lombardi opened the first US pizzeria in 1905 at 53 1/3 Spring Street [4], naming it simply Lombardi's. Purchases made at Costco's website do not require a membership, however a 5% surcharge is added to purchases made by non-members.

An employee of his, Antonio Totonno Pero (also an Italian immigrant) began making pizza for the store to sell. Memberships must be purchased in advance; the cheapest membership costs $45 for one year. An Italian immigrant to the US in 1897 named Gennaro Lombardi opened a small grocery store in New York's Little Italy. The food court where one can purchase fast food items such as hot dogs and pizza is open to both members and non-members. Teresa) and an even more decided popular favour, establishing itself as a daily course, dinner and supper of the Neapolitans. As a warehouse club, Costco is open to only members and their guests, except for purchases of liquor, gasoline and prescription drugs in some US states due to state law and liquor license restrictions. Pizza met the aristocratic taste (the King of Naples Ferdinando II of Borbone greatly enjoyed the pizza made by 'Ntuono Testa at Salita S. These goods are usually bulk-packaged and sold primarily to large families, small businesses and small business owners' families.

e basta così"), but then the world's first true pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, opened in Naples and is still in business today at Via Port'Alba 18. Costco's success is a result of its focus on selling products at low prices, often at very high volume. Until about 1830, pizza was sold from open-air stands and street vendors out of pizza bakeries (including "Pietro.. As of 2005, Sinegal and Brotman act as Chief Executive Officer and President and Chairman, respectively. The pizza was very patriotic and resembled the Italian flag with its colors of green (basil leaves), white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes), and was named Pizza Margherita in honor of the Queen and set the standard by which today's pizza evolved and spread worldwide. Costco's closest competitor, Wal-Mart-owned Sam's Club, has two hundred more stores than Costco, yet routinely earns more than $1 billion less in revenues each year. Anna di palazzo, 1-2 - Napoli - [3] ) baked a special pizza especially for the visit of the King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. Costco employs about 103,000 full- and part-time employees, and for fiscal year 2004, ended in August, the company's store sales rose 13% to $47.1 billion.

and that's enough", established in 1780 and still in activity; now called "Pizzeria Brandi" - Via Chiaia, Salita S. As of July 2005 Costco has 456 locations:. e basta così" (literally "Peter.. Costco has also changed the site of its corporate headquarters from the city of Kirkland, Washington, to Issaquah, Washington. In 1889, Raffaele Esposito who worked in the pizzeria "Pietro.. In 1997, PriceCostco changed its name back to Costco, under which the company currently operates. The first dynasties of Neapolitan pizza makers (Italian: pizzaioli) originate in these years: modern pizza is attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Costco's web site was first introduced in 1995, and it started conducting e-commerce in 1998 at Costco.com.

Pizza became a tourist attraction, and visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty. In 1993, Costco and Price Club merged, forming "PriceCostco." The combined company had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales and created the company's current structure. However, by the late 18th century even the poor of the area around Naples added it as an ingredient to their yeast-based flat bread, and the dish gained in popularity. This new venture proved very successful; Costco became the first company ever to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years. The tomato was first believed to be poisonous (as some other fruits of the nightshade family are), when it came to Europe in the 16th century. Its unique model of serving primarily small-business owners proved very successful, prompting James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman to open the first Costco warehouse location in Seattle. The crust of pizza is very similar to focaccia bread common in Italian cuisine today. Costco's first location, opened in 1976 under the "Price Club" name, was housed in a Quonset hut in San Diego.

The tomato was still unknown in Europe and the Indian water buffalo, whose milk is used to make the real mozzarella cheese, had not yet been imported to Campania, the area around Napoli (Naples). . Though several kinds of flat bread made with flour, often cooked with oil and spices, were familiar to ancient Romans and popular in all the Mediterranean area, they were considerably different from pizza as it is known today. Costco Wholesale Corporation NASDAQ: COST is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world, and headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, United States, with its flagship warehouse #1 in nearby Seattle. Further evidence is found in Pompeii, the city "frozen in time" since 79 CE, where archaeologists have excavated shops that closely resemble modern pizzerias. 4 in Taiwan. In the 3rd century BCE, the first history of Rome, written by Marcus Porcius Cato, mentions a "flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones". 5 in Japan, and.

Such products arguably have their first written mention in Book VII of Virgil's Aeneid:. 5 in South Korea,. The history of food items which may have served as the roots of modern pizza can be traced to the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia (southern Italy). 16 in the United Kingdom (1 additional store opening soon),. . 25 in Mexico,. Pizza can also be purchased in grocery stores or supermarkets (usually but not always frozen); in many countries, pizza can also be ordered by phone (or, increasingly, via the Web) to be delivered, hot and ready to eat, to the home. 65 in Canada,.

A restaurant which serves pizza is called pizzeria (from Italian); in the US, the name pizza parlor is also used. 336 in the United States and Puerto Rico,. The term was originally used to refer to a range of dough-based dishes, and is thought to be derived from pinza ← Latin pincere "to mash up".[1] [2]. The word "pizza" is from the Italian word pizza (IPA: /pittsa/), with plural form pizze (IPA: /pit:tse/). Pizza is normally eaten hot (typically at lunch or dinner), but leftovers are often eaten cold.

sauces made with spinach or onions). In some pizza recipes (so-called "white pizzas") the tomato sauce is omitted, or replaced with another sauce (e.g. The crust is traditionally plain but may also be seasoned with butter, garlic, or herbs; or stuffed, with cheese, for example. Various other foodstuffs may be added to this design as toppings, most typically:.

The cheese is usually mozzarella or sometimes a mixture of several specialty cheeses. In its native form, a pizza (occasionally, pizza pie) is an oven-baked, flat, usually circular bread covered with tomato sauce and cheese with optional toppings. "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie,That's Amore." sung by Dean Martin, reached US number 2 in 1953. Borders are sometimes optionally filled with cheddar or catupiry.

In São Paulo, Brazil, pizzas are often made without cheese (if they are not cheese flavoured), emphasizing the topping ingredients. In India, pizza toppings include curry and other traditional sauces or chunks of tandoori chicken. Some pizzas include ingredients such as beans, beef, poblano pepper, jalapeño pepper, corn nibblets, chorizo, onion, etc. In Mexico, pizza is often enjoyed dipped in ketchup and/or hot sauce.

In Hong Kong, Pizza Hut customers may choose to have their pizzas dressed with Thousand Island dressing instead of tomato sauce. In addition, sweet potato puree in a circular ring near the edge of the crust is very popular. In South Korea, kimchi and bulgogi are used as toppings, as well as many of the toppings used in Japan. [7] The Japanese dish okonomiyaki is occasionally referred to in English as "Japanese pizza", although its ingredients, preparation method, and taste are substantially different from traditional pizza.

[6] Another variation is rice pizza, substituting baked rice for the crust. Salad pizza, a pizza topped with tossed salad, is occasionally seen. Tabasco sauce is often used as a condiment. In Japan, pizza toppings may include corn, diced potatoes, scrambled eggs, mayonnaise, Camembert cheese, curry sauce, and various kinds of seafood.

"Hawaiian pizza" (see above) is the most popular topping combination in Australia, accounting for 20 percent of all sales. In Australia, a commonly sold style is the Aussie pizza, which is topped with ham, bacon, cheese and egg. A pizza with mushrooms, pepperoni, and green bell pepper is referred to as "all-dressed". In Quebec, the same topping combination is called a 'Québécois Pizza'.

In Canada, the topping combination of bacon, pepperoni and mushrooms is called 'Canadian Pizza' . In Scotland, a "pizza supper" commonly sold in fish and chip shops consists of a portion of fried chips (french fries) and a frozen pizza which has been deep fried rather than baked. This style also is sometimes called "bakery pizza." A similar product is made in bakeries in Italy. It is usually (but not always) wrapped in individual strips (hence the name).

It has a minimal amount of cheese and is served cold. Rhode Island's strip pizza, commonly sold in bakeries, consists of thick, chewy dough and is topped with a very thick tomato sauce. Brier Hill is the city's historically Italian area. Youngstown, Ohio's "Brier Hill Pizza" features a thick sauce topped with a mixture of Parmesan and Romano cheese and green peppers.

In Dayton, Ohio, the local preference is for pizza with thin crust and a light sauce cut into small squares. This type of pizza is usually served cold, and is topped only with a light layer of Pecorino Romano cheese. In Utica, New York, a type of pizza called tomato pie is common. In Buffalo, New York, pizza is made with a thicker, doughier crust than traditional New York style pizza, with a slightly thicker and sweeter sauce, mozzarella cheese and (usually) pepperoni cooked until it is burned and crispy on the edges.

Louis, Missouri, Saint Louis-style pizza is made with a thin crispy crust, often heavily seasoned with salt and oregano, topped with provel cheese, and served in small squares rather than pie-like slices. In St. Made popular by the originating restaurant, BeauJo's, it is piled high with toppings and kept from spilling over by a large, hand-rolled crust that can also be used as an in-pie dessert. In Colorado, a type of pizza, called mountain pie, is a regional favorite.

In Baltimore, Maryland, pizza is traditionally served with a thick, doughy crust and a heavy amount of sauce. Sourdough crust pizza is the type most commonly associated with San Francisco, however. In San Francisco, California, the Indian Pizza (see below) has become a source of pride. The canonical New Haven-style pizza is a white clam pie.

This thin-crust pizza originated with the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven. In New Haven, Connecticut, the local specialty is known as apizza. In Long Island, New York, aka the birthplace of the "pizza bagel", which substitutes bread with a half sliced bagel, but otherwise has normal toppings and ingredients. Pizza Puffs are dough pouches, usually deep fried, filled with the ingredients of a pizza, such as cheese, pizza sauce, sausage, and pepperoni.

Grilled pizza, invented in Providence, Rhode Island, uses a fairly thin crust cooked on a grill; the toppings are placed on the baked side after the pizza has cooked for a bit and flipped over. Ham and pineapple is also a popular topping combination in Australia although, notably, not in Hawaii, this type is also common within the EU as Pizza Hawaii. A style referred to as "The Perfect Pizza" consists of Hawaiian-style on one half and pepperoni on the other. Hawaiian pizza has Canadian bacon and pineapple toppings and is especially popular in the Western United States.

Plain olive oil is the predominant sauce. It has a thicker, chewier crust and is baked in a pan in the pizza oven, instead of directly on the bricks. Greek pizza is a variation popular in New England. In Rome, the term pizza bianca refers to a type of bread topped only with olive oil.

Most commonly, the toppings consist only of mozzarella and ricotta cheese. White pizza (pizza bianca) uses no tomato sauce, often substituting pesto or dairy products such as sour cream. California-style pizza (often termed in the United States gourmet pizza) refers to pizzas with non-traditional ingredients, especially those that use a considerable amount of fresh produce. Louis-style Pizza chains are Imo's Pizza and Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria.

The two largest St. Sauces tend to have a sweetness to them, some more noticeably than others. Despite its thin crust, it can be layered deeply with many different toppings. It is often salty and seasoned with more oregano than other pizza types.

Louis pizza is somewhat crisp and cannot be folded easily, and is typically cut into three- or four-inch squares instead of the pie-like wedges typical of other pizza. The crust of a St. The pizza has a thin, round crust, as opposed to Chicago's deep-dish style or New York's pan-style. Louisan provel cheese used instead of (or rarely in addition to) the mozzarella common to other styles of pizza.

Louis-style pizza is the distinctively St. It is also sometimes duplicated in other areas of the Midwest.The most notable characteristic of St. Louis-style pizza is a distinct style of pizza popular in Saint Louis, Missouri and its surrounding areas. St.