Pizza City with Steve Dolinsky

We’re back in Chicago and no, we're not talking about stuffed or deep-dish or tavern-style, but rather, a hybrid between New York and artisan at Bob's Pizza. The New York part comes from the dough – it’s stretched to 18”, the slices are foldable with no tip sag, they’re baked on stone hearths and toppings are applied judiciously, all in balance. The artisan part comes from the fact the chef and owner – Matthew Wilde – is a trained chef from Minnesota, who might sweat garlic and reduce cream for a base instead of just tomato sauce (which he also, incidentally cooks before adding it to a pie). He makes his pickles, he uses fine sea salt and most notably, uses beer in his dough rather than water. The results are mighty impressive.

Ontario native Mike Lange was a graphic designer who happened to be backpacking in Australia when he met his girlfriend (a fellow Canadian). They decided to set up shop in her hometown of Calgary, where Noble Pie has been a hit almost since it opened. Demand these days is off the charts, for Lange's artisan thin pies, inspired by New York City pizza.

During the two-day festival at the end of August, we always hold a series of educational and informational panel discussions. We have excerpts this week from "The Dough Whisperers" and the "3rd Wave Deep Dish/Pan" panels, held at The Salt Shed in Chicago.

Peter Dorrance and Eric Ehler met while working at Mr. Jiu's, the Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. They left to open Outta Sight, a NYC-style pizzeria in the Tenderloin. Convincing locals that it's OK to re-heat slices to-order took some getting used to!