Clank's Bar and Pizza

326 Market St.
Marcus Hook, PA 19061
(610) 494-9770

Couple of facts about Marcus Hook (thank you Wikipedia): named "Marrites Hoeck" after the Dutch conquered the area in 1655; officially incorporated as a borough in 1892; oil refineries are dominant industry; the lowest point in the state of Pennsylvania is located on the Delaware River in Marcus Hook. Also, it's Delco.

Unless you hit the gas trying to flee Chester before you get shot/robbed/worse, you probably have never been there. There is a light in the dark for residents, however, in the form of Clank's.

Once you get in, you may not be able to find your way back out, due to a combination of beer, overeating and camouflaged door.

Clank's, as you can probably imagine, is old school. Another warning, it is a smoking establishment. This is usually a nonstarter for me – but it wasn't too bad due to some well positioned ventilation apparatus.

This place is as blue-collar as they come. Nothing fancy, nothing healthy, but a rib sticking, hearty meal that will not break the bank. Square pies, chicken wings that resemble turkey legs from the Renaissance Faire in size, and cheap domestics.

The whole wings were much bigger than usual, but luckily they were fried extremely crispy. I am also usually not a fan of whole wings, but these were pretty good. Sauce on the side led to a slop fest of schmaltz, crackling skin, and hot sauce.

The square pies (only kind served there) were huge. Much thicker than a traditional DelCo square pie, I was worried these would stuff me after only two or three slices, but it ended up being lighter than it looked.

The pepperoni added a nice spicy grease, and the crust was comparatively fluffy inside and crunchy outside for how thick it looked. It's amazing that sheet pan pizza is even a thing, and even more amazing that it's pretty damn good.

It probably has something to do with the age-old oil on the pan adding seasoning and increasing the browning characteristics.

As if there was not enough food consumed at this point, the previously forgotten cheesesteak stromboli came out. This thing was almost laughable at how big it was. It was also possibly my favorite item of the trip. The meat was well chopped, the cheese added a nice creaminess, and the portion was fit for a fatso like myself.

My only complaint would probably be that the dough could have used a touch longer in the oven or an egg wash to really give it that golden brown visual. Overall though it was mighty tasty.

I wouldn't say you should leave wherever you are and rush to Clank's this moment, but if you find yourself down that way, you could do much worse than a square pie and a 'boli.

Gaetano's Pizza

210 S Springfield Rd.
Clifton Heights, PA 19018
(610) 626-4826

If you are looking for Delaware County's answer to Santucci's, that is how I would describe Gaetano's. Although they now have multiple stores, the original is in Clifton Heights, and it's everything you would want it to be.

Pizza on the right, pasta and sauce on the left. Nothing fancy, just delicious homemade food.

The cheese-on-bottom, sauce-on-top thicker crust pie is a steal at about $12, and is enough to feed a couple of hungry (or greedy) eaters.

The best way I know how to do this comparison is against Santucci's, so I will do it that way. Crust – the W goes to Santucci's, as they have that foccaccia style crust that is bursting with flavor. Here, the crust was good, but it just couldn't compete. I want to also say that just because circle doesn't get the square here, it's still a fine shape.

It could, however, more than compete on sauce. The sauce at Gaetano's is sweet, garlicy, and had plenty of herbs and spices. The sauce was deep, rich, and complex, kind of like me. Except for the rich, deep, and complex parts.

The cheese was delicious, and loaded on there. I love the cheese being baked into the crust. It lets the tomato sauce carmelize just a bit further, and still allows the Maillard reaction to hit any exposed dairy.

I also tried the pepperoni, which was generous, greasy, and delicious. The spicy encased meat added some unneeded, yet welcome, flavor. I certainly didn't need it either, but I was not unhappy to have the entire top covered in meat.

Basically, this is every bit as good as Santucci's, yet significantly cheaper. DelCo doesn't mess around. This pizza is great.

La Rosa Pizza

2106 South Broad Street,
Philadelphia, PA‎
(215) 271-5246‎

La Rosa was on my radar for a while, I forget where I heard about it - actually, upon further introspection, I think I may have eaten it once a long time ago. Whether that happened or not is hardly relevant to the matter at hand; which is that fact that I tried it last night, after I was reminded of my desire to get some potato pizza by these guys. I have to say, despite the fact that I would normally not expect much of anything that came off of Broad and Snyder, this pizza was incredible. (Disclaimer: I say was, which is a stretch, because I am currently eating a portion of the massive amounts of leftovers, and I am thoroughly enjoying every bite)


I was hungry and in my never-ending quest for impartial food journalism, I decided it was only right to order two pies, and try three topping combinations therein. (I am becoming ever so clever at masking my gluttony under the guise of journalistic integrity) So I tried to find a menu online, to no avail. Apparently, and I mean this in all sincerity, they do not have one. So I called to verify this, and it appears to be true. You literally just call and tell them what you want. If they have it, they will make it, if not, they won't. You have to love South Philly. I called and asked for a pepperoni, black olive and onion pizza, but they didn't have black olives so I subbed mushrooms. I knew I had to try the potato pizza, so I ordered an additional pie, half white with potato and half sausage and green pepper. I also ordered them well done. This was a wise move. I guess for every ten poor moves in life (such as writing this while "studying" for finals), something has to come up roses. So they said it would be delivered within the hour. And the waiting game began. After an hour and fifteen (mostly spent staring out the window and jumping up every time I thought I heard a car), I was about to start eating my hand, and there was a knock on the door. I would have eaten an Ellio's with glee at this point. It was $24 for two pies, which is a really good deal. I was also relieved because they did not offer the price during the ordering phase and they only accept cash. The gruff yet polite delivery man was an additional treat. So I bring the pizza inside and as I am getting ready to binge like I am in Animal House, my phone rings. I can't be bothered with unknown numbers at this point, so I let it go to voice mail. It turned out to be La Rosa calling to let me know my pizza didn't have enough peppers to meet their standards and I wasn't charged for it. A+ for effort, and honesty.


The pizzas are square and HUGE. Like a Sicilian, but considered "Roman style" which means thinner and better I am assuming. (I don't care much for deep dish, subject to certain exceptions) The pepperoni was fantastic. I loved that the pizza was actually well done, and the onions were cooked on top, and slightly burnt. Perfect. The mushrooms were canned (whatever) but they were acceptable in this application, I suppose. Again, the pepperoni itself was great, not overly greasy, and packed a wallop of flavor. The crust is thick and rich, yet airy and crispy. I was/am a huge fan. This was definitely some of the best pizza I have had in Philly. It fills a niche I didn't even realize I was in search of.


The potato pizza was on another level. The potatoes were soft and tasty, slightly browned and sprinkled with a healthy dose of rosemary and pepper. Perfect. I LOVED IT. The sausage (which apparently is procured in South Philly somewhere) was also great. It had the perfect amount of grease and really added so much flavor to the pie. I have to think that this is what Pizza Hut originally started as, and we won't get into what a mess it has become. This is tavern style square pie at it's finest. Might be my new go-to for delivery. You also can't beat the fact that it was $28 with a nice tip for two pies delivered that could feed 6 easily.

Note the grease glistening below. Delicious.

The lack of peppers was hardly noticeable.



Next day reheat, turned out perfect after 5 minutes on the pizza stone in a preheated oven. Crispy perfection. Look at all of that rosemary.

Deep Dish Cast Iron Pan Pizza

I have heard of this before, but I have never seen it in action. Although I am traditionally a thin crust pizza fan, I have loved a couple of thick crust pizzas in the past. And when a skillet is involved, I am all in. So when I saw a recipe for the dough with butter in it (yes please) on one of my favorite sites (here), I knew it was time to give it a go.


Here is the ingredient list:

• 3c flour
• 1 packet of yeast
• 1T salt
• 1/2t sugar
  
• 1c water
• 3 1/2T butter
  

To start, put the water in the microwave until it is just warm. Add the yeast and stir until it dissolves. Add the sugar and stir until it also dissolves, and set aside for about 5 minutes. At this time, you should mix together the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In the meantime, throw the butter in the microwave for about 8-10 seconds. You want it to be soft enough to mix well with the dry ingredients, but not to be liquid. When the yeast is activated (about 5 minutes after adding to the water), dump the yeast mixture and the butter into the mixing bowl. If you have a nice mixer, feel free to use it. I just got into it with clean hands and kept turning the dough and mixing it. It is really quite easy, and does not take long at all. You can add a pinch of flour or water if your dough is too wet or dry. Roll it into a ball and put it in a glass bowl that is rubbed with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place it in a warm spot.



Now you need to let it your dough rise. Most people say it takes about an hour. I have never found that to be the case. Give this yeasty masterpiece at least an hour and a half to two hours, or make it the night before and leave it in the fridge until you are ready to use it the next day. So, now you have your dough that has risen (you DID punch it down halfway through, right?) and you are ready to roll it out or stretch it by hand. Your choice. Throw some flour down and get to it. Unlike its thinner cousins, this is not a huge ordeal. I stretched it by hand in about 30 seconds. Uniformity is not critical, as this is a deep dish pie. I was also worried about the flour burning inbetween the dough and the skillet, so I just patted it off first and there was no problem. And by no problem, I mean this pizza is absolutely fantastic.




You will need to grease the skillet. Well. I had an already greased skillet, and then took the extra 1/2T of butter and rubbed it all over skillet. Next, take the dough and place it in the skillet, pressing it around the edges of the pan. If some pieces are too long, just rip them off and fill in where the dough is thinner.


Up next, is the sauce, just give a liberal rub around the base to start. I used organic mushroom marinara.


While you were waiting for the dough to rise, you WERE prepping your ingredients, weren't you?


Here I used Italian meatballs (beef, pork, veal), sliced pepperoni, green pepper, thin sliced sweet onion, and kalamata olives. Some sliced mozzarella works really well also. You can use any ingredients you want, and one of the best parts is experimenting. I wanted to go with a (sort of) traditional supreme pizza. I also threw in some Italian shredded blend cheese in the middle layers, to give a nice cheesy flavor base.


I made three layers and I used a light coat of sauce in between each to help keep it moist.


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.


Here is the finished pie before going into the oven. I went light with the onions so as not to over power the flavor.


Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until you see the dough pull up from the sides and the toppings start to brown. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes (it will be hard to wait), and then carefully use a spatula and two sets of hands to slide it out of the pan. I was surprised at how easy it was to (carefully!) remove intact. Look at how amazing it looks below!


Letting the pizza sit longer will allow the ingredients to set up much better (it looked/tasted great the next day). But, if you are like me, there will be no chance for this pizza to cool. It looked as though it might be fork and knife pizza (casserole) when I first cut it, but it was not at all. I was able to eat it like a regular slice with no difficulty. I was beyond impressed with the results. This pizza was awesome. Possibly the best deep dish I have ever had. The crust was light, buttery, flaky and moist. The ingredients mixed perfectly together to create a cheesy, salty, meaty harmony. I will definitely make this again soon, and it is SO EASY to pull off. Not to mention, a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.