I'm sure everyone who lives away from the town they grew up in has
places they must eat at when they visit home. When I make it home to
Wheeling, WV there are at least two must haves on my list - Di Carlo's
Pizza and Coleman's Fish Sandwich. Now to the non-native neither of
these may seem all that interesting, nor look all that appetizing, but
that's because you aren't from the Ohio Valley! My Step Dad will eat
Coleman's but will not even entertain eating Di Carlo's. I think he
considers it a disgrace to pizza world-wide that it would bare the
sacred name. He is also convinced that there is some sort of illegal
substance in it that makes the masses crave it, especially with all you
have to go through to get some. Our Toy Poodle, Dexter, even turned his
nose up to it, and he LOVED pizza! That's okay... that meant more for
me!
It's true obtaining some of the beloved substance is a bit
like arranging a drug deal, or rather how I would imagine arranging one
would be, as I have never arranged a drug deal. There are actually
several establishments that bare the Di Carlo's name around the Valley
and even in other places. I know there is one in Morgantown, WV and my
cousin said she found one in her Pittsburgh suburb. Every Di Carlo's
lover has their favorite establishment. It's not like Pizza Hut, and
the product you receive will vary from location to location. My
favorite DC establishment is in Elm Grove.
If you want to have Di Carlo's for dinner and not a late night snack you must plan ahead! Here's the acquisition process:
First
you must call to place your order. They don't deliver and you will not
be eating in... you can't, there aren't any tables. You could in
theory walk in and place your order, but I've never seen that be a
successful endeavor. The person answering the phone is unlikely to say
more than, "Thanks for calling Di Carlo's," in a tone that lacks both
personality and enthusiasm. Don't expect them to say, "Can I take your
order," or "How can I help you?" If they do they are probably new and
haven't been taught the ways of the 'phone spot' yet. It is your
responsibility to inform them that you would like some pizza. You
haven't called to check on the weather or the WVU score. You don't want
to shoot the breeze. You want to order pizza. And please, don't do any
of those things, there's no call waiting and no answering machine and
there are others wanting to order pizza.
You won't be ordering a
small, medium or large. You will be ordering by the slice, and
consequently paying by the slice. You could order by the tray, but that
is going to give you 24 pieces of pizza. At the Elm Grove location you
can get either pepperoni or cheese... there are no other toppings
available. Generally my Mom and I order 12 pieces with extra cheese and
no pepperoni. (To ensure there are leftovers.) Some people prefer to
order a bag of cheese (The phrase "dime bag" comes to mind.) rather than
ordering extra cheese. I don't know why except that they may not want
the cheese melted on. (I'll explain that in a minute..)
Upon
placing your order you will be given a number. They don't care what
your name is, and they probably don't care if you ever show up to get
your pizza because usually they will not tell you how long it will
take. You will have to ask for that information. Last night we were
told 45 mins. That's actually pretty quick. Unless you call right at
3pm when they open you could wait anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hours.
I've actually been waiting to pick up my pizza during a football game
(getting to that too...) and heard them tell people, "It'll be 2 hours."
The scene inside DC in Elm Grove is always the same. One
little lady that reminds me of Linda Hunt mans the list, the money and
sometimes the phone. Then there's the girl who puts the boxes together,
building a tower of box tops and bottoms. (I've always wondered if
this job is given to a newbie... and always felt a little bad for the
box girl. How monotenous!) There are two guys who's sole responsibility
is to put pizzas in the oven and take them out. It is important to
point out that true Di Carlo's pizza is cooked without the cheese. Only
the crust and the sauce are cooked, on rectangular pans, the cheese and
pepperoni are applied later. This technique means the cheese is rarely
fully melted on your pizza. But the small chunked mozarella they use
is better when not fully melted. One worker is usually in the back
prepping crust trays. There is usually one girl who is given the
responsibility of applying the first layer of cheese. Another cuts the
pizza into it's signature square slice. (Like brownies everyone has a
preferance. Some people are ends, others middles and the adventurous
ones are corners.) Another girl is responsible to consult the list and
instruct yet another to fill boxes for each order. Boxes hold six
slices which are typically the first six they scoop up and place in the
box, unless you order something specific. Then they are given pepperoni
or extra cheese, or both. There are no uniforms, only red aprons worn
over everyone's personal style, and there are no gloves. Gasp! At
least you can see them making your food!
I don't recommend going
early in an attempt to get your pizza quicker than the ETA. It won't
happen and you will most likely find yourself in a 8x20 space crammed up
against the soda machines or arcade games with about 20 other people
until your pizza is ready. You will stand. Like I said before there
are no chairs! If we're told 45 mins we usually wait an hour and a half
to go pick up our pizza. It's likely to be almost impossible to find a
parking space and even more impossible to make it through the throng of
people to the counter to give them your number. (Last night it was
surprisingly empty for a Friday night before a snow storm. I would have
expected people to be stocking up.) They will find your number on the
list, a spiral steno pad with rows and rows of numbers and hyroglifics,
and confirm your order. Then you will... wait some more. Eventually
they will call your number and you will pay. Did I mention this is a
cash only establishment? Well it is, so if you have a check or credit
card... NO PIZZA FOR YOU! (Steve, my Step Dad, likens it to the Soup
Nazi from Seinfeld.) Just because you paid does not mean you will be
given your pizza and sent hiking. No, you will probably wait a little
longer. They will call your number one more time and you can maneuver
your way to the counter to get your box, or stack of boxes, and leave.
It is quite a balancing act to get out of the holding area, through the
jealous hungry on-lookers, alive and with all of your pizza. (Actually
people are fairly nice and part the waters for you, but it sounds so
much funnier the other way.)
Last night when my Mom and I walked
into the establishment the smell was intoxicating. It took a lot of
self-control not to bust into the box as soon as we got to the car.
Good thing I was driving and Mom was the designated box holder. Though I
will eat an end or corner with out complaining, I am a middle girl! My
earliest memory of eating Di Carlo's was in our house in Oakmont
Hills. I was probably six and I was eating a middle piece. My hands
were too little to balance the piece by gently applying pressure to
opposing sides. Instead I just gripped it like you would pizza with
crust. However, being a middle piece it had no crust and my little
fingers squished around in the cheese and sauce. I thought it was the
greatest thing ever! Though I now make much less of a mess I'm just as
happy to eat the middles and leave the ends and corners for my Mom.
(Which interestingly enough is the way I feel about brownies too!)
I
mentioned earlier that we always order enough to ensure we will have
leftovers. Each DC lover is as particular about their left overs as
where they get their pizza to begin with. My Grandmother, Gibby,
insisted the only right way to reheat it was in the oven so that the
crust would be crunchy. I on the other hand am willing to exchange limp
crust for cheese that is warm, but not melted. I usually nuke mine for
about 35 seconds. Just enough to take the chill off but not enough to
melt down the yummy cheese.
The only "delivery" you will get
from DC comes via Fed Ex. That's right, they will ship you pre-cut
slices, cheese and pepperoni, with dry ice and cooking instructions.
Gibby sent me some for my birthday one year. It was the best present!
Last night I saw they have a jar on the counter where you can contribute
to sending trays to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I thought that
was pretty cool... and next time I'm in there will be depositing a few
dollars to the fund!
Even though it's a 50/50 chance you would
like it if you're an "outsider" I encourage you to try it if ever given
the chance! To me it beats any pizza even the Colby Special or the EBA!
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