Ok my pizza-loving friends! Big news out of Muncie, Indiana... Dave Ring & Sara Ring at The Downtown Farm Stand have introduced a New York City (and really most of New Jersey) style pizza that could hold its own if it were in Mercer County, NJ.
True fans of pizza know great pizza lives and dies by the quality and consistency of the dough from one pizza to the next. As a tradition that dates back centuries, it originated as a baker's product with leftover dough scraps to feed those who were making bread.
There's no overlooking the great care and attention Dave has put into every aspect of the pizza, starting with the dough. He's been working on a dough recipe that has a great flavor, great combination of chew, outer crunch, and underlying softness, without being pillowy like a Neapolitan, which this definitely is not. While other places tout a NYC-Neapolitan hybrid, as if it were a good thing, it's usually spin for "we can't make NYC style, this is a close as we can get, oh well." That's not the case here at all. There is no mistaking Dave's allegiance, this is no hybrid pizza. This is solid NJ/NYC pizza from the ground up.
In addition to the great dough, he's managed to find a midwest distributor that carries Grande mozarella. This is the king daddy of mozz in the world of pizza, there is nothing else to say about it. His high-end pecorino-romano adds the right kind of zesty tanginess without being sour or salty like a certain common grocery store brand.
Bianco di Napoli tomatoes round out the trifecta of flavor perfection on his pies... sweet, just the right amount of acid bite. Right from the can, they need almost to nothing as an ideal pizza complement to the cheese and dough. That said, Dave is putting his own personalized stamp on the tomatoes, but like anything done in good taste, it's done with moderation and restraint.
I also was treated to a sample of pizza with carmelized onions, sausage, garlic, and olive oil. Now I've heard of carmelized onions as a topping, but never tried it. Today will not be the last time, and i may start slicing onions in the future to cook down for my own tomato pies. The hand-pinched sausage is another of Dave's creations, uniquely fennel-forward with a peppery finish. Again, it's all done with good taste in mind, where the balance of the finish product dictates the restrained use of his seasonings. I don't know that I've had sausage like it on a pizza before. If he's going to sell the sausage in his store, I'm buying.
My friends know I've been making my own Trenton style tomato pies for 2-1/2 years. If Dave's pizza had been available, I probably wouldn't have bothered figuring out pizza on my own. I'm still going to be making my pies, I've got my own dough recipe and way of making pizza, and I'm very fond of it. Those of you who have had it know it's good stuff in its own right. But: there have been Friday nights when I didn't have dough, or I was tired, or we just wanted date night out after a long week.
Friends, this is the pizza I've wished for years that I could get in Muncie. It relegates chain pizza places to their proper status of only-slightly-better-than-frozen pizza. Nothing in Muncie past or present can compare to what Dave's doing at Downtown Farm Stand.
If you're in Muncie, don't hesitate, get yourself downtown pronto for some proper pizza. If you're from out of town, I'll take you there next time you come visit. And Dave, hat's off to you, you did it, you're doing it. I'll be back soon.
The Downtown Farm Stand
125 E. Main St.
Muncie, IN 47305
765-288-3775
Wed-Sat 11AM-2PM, 4PM-8PM
(I failed to get a picture before my pizza was cut, or a picture with Dave. Next time.)
