#22: An ode to pizza
There are endless combinations
👋 Hi friends, it's Hesam with issue #22 of 4 bits. 4 bits is a biweekly newsletter where I share thoughts and musings on how to build memorable experiences.
A quick update:
Something I’m excited about but unsure where it’ll go: I picked up a pocket operator, a portable synthesizer and sequencer created by teenage engineering. You can make simple beats and tracks with it. This particular model, the PO-20, lets you choose from arcade-like 8 bit sounds. Beep bop boop beep!
The pocket operator is fun and addictive. I’m still learning how it works, and I’m discovering new tricks every day. While I’m unlikely to drop an album anytime soon, I find the interface and design fascinating. The pocket operator might find its way into a future 4 bits issue.
Pizza. Yes, this issue is about pizza.
There’s a running feud between a coworker and I about who has the better pizza oven.
I insist that their wood pellet powered oven is the Fisher Price of pizza ovens; more to play with than anything useful. My gas powered oven makes a quality pie more easily.
My coworker defends their oven, asserting that the pellets are not pellets, but big chunks of wood. They believe that going through the effort of tending a fire for a pizza that’s cooking in there for 30 seconds (at 700 degrees) is worth it. We have yet to reach a resolution on who can make the superior pizza.
The truth is, it doesn’t matter. But one thing is certain: I have strong opinions about pizza.
I’ve sampled a fair share of pizza in the city. Whether it’s from the dive bar that has a good thin crust (Kenneally’s), the Italian restaurant in a house that makes creative neopolitans (Dolce Vita, RIP), the quirky cocktail bar with cast iron pizzas (Betelgeuse), or the serial pizza entrepreneur that makes unusually addictive Detroit style pizzas (Goldtooth Tony’s), each has it's own character and style.
And I'm not alone in my pizza dedication. 1 out of every 3 people in America eat pizza at least once a week. 3 billion pizzas are sold every year in the United States. That pizza count doesn't include the countless others that are made at home in cast iron skillets and pizza ovens.
My love for pizza leads me to try new places when they show up in Houston. Last week, I was excited to finally visit Nonno’s, a relative newcomer that promises a selection of 14” Chicago style, thin crust tavern pizzas.
Located in a nondescript shopping center, the tavern has no phone and doesn’t take reservations. It seems like it could be a low key neighborhood pizza joint, unassuming but delicious.
When we walked in to visit, I was surprised to see a sea of people waiting for a table. It was only 6 PM, an hour after they opened. How could this be?
Meanwhile, I could hear the sounds of a pinball machine going off a few feet away. The hostess let us know it’d be a one hour wait, and we decided we could entertain ourselves with the machines and arcade games nearby.
After we had burned through $5 in quarters playing Cruisin’ USA and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we were seated and ordered our pies. Moments later, pizzas and sides arrived.
The pizza was absolutely worth the wait. The pie was thin but not too thin, the sauce was punchy and rich with flavor, and the toppings were just the right amount.
But it wasn’t just the pizza that was excellent, it was the surroundings.
Simpsons and Star Wars action figures behind the bar.
A Back to the Future Delorean Lego set.
A Pacman shaped host stand with a tape deck recorder on the side.
Domino tiles in the restroom walls.
Pizza Hut lamps above the booths.
I found out later that Esquire Magazine chose Nonno’s as the Best Pizza Joint of the Year in 2023 despite having only opened in August.
I’m not surprised. The pizzas are just one part of the puzzle that makes this place noteworthy. The little details throughout the space create an atmosphere of, as the design group behind the look put it, “A teen in the 80's hanging in your Grandpa's basement gameroom”.
There are endless combinations of pizza. And there are endless ways to wrap an experience around it. Sometimes a touch of nostalgia with a carefully thought out atmosphere can make an ordinary meal like pizza into an exceptional experience.
This made me think of the White Rabbit Gastropub in Frederick, MD. A little off the beaten path, very quirky, and excellent Detroit-style pizza. I would drive... have driven... out of my way to get it. Good pizza and a fun ambiance is worth it!
You know what I under-estimated? A NYC slice. Don’t know if it was cause of the drinks/late night... but it was legit and hit the spot.