Since there is no need for a nurse to eat food, drink water, or use the restroom while at work, food is an important component of off-time activities. For my nurse, a good pizza finds its way onto our menu regularly.
One of the great parts of travel is all the different experiences waiting around every corner. We’ve been lucky enough to meet many interesting people, try some great food, and explore some awesome places. Most of these experiences have been better on the road. Besides the fact we probably wouldn’t have had them, I don’t think we would have paid the right kind of attention to these moments back home.
Exception; our hometown’s pizza.
With all due respect to the tomato soup in a bread bowl that is Chicago-style pizza, and its soggy cousin in old New Amsterdam, Southern Indiana Una style pizza is hands down the world’s best pizza.
As soon as you regain your composure and pick up any objects you may have thrown; I hope you will allow me the opportunity to make my case. It tastes good. Not enough? Since I know how seriously nurses take their nourishment, I’ll try and do better. Low expectations and measured patience will ensure you won’t be disappointed.
Una pizza has a thin but sturdy crust. It’s sometimes referred to as a cracker crust, but this is a little misleading. It’s got a crunch, but not a crumb’s everywhere, can’t eat it in the library type crunch. It’s enough to support its toppings, but not so much as to remind one of the elves baking in trees. It’s like a crisp, unleavened bread.
The sauce is a simple one. With a few variations, it’s basically tomato paste, water, salt, and oregano. It’s the perfect catalyst to carry the pizza’s inherent deliciousness. It doesn’t have so much going on that it takes away from the rest of the flavors, but it is certainly good enough to stand on its own.
The toppings are fresh. I don’t mean freshly pre-cooked at the factory or prepped at the facility. I mean fresh as in veggies cut at the parlor the morning of, and meat cooked on the pizza. A lot of restaurants even shred their own cheese. This is where the structural greatness of this pizza comes to bear. The crust and the toppings cook in unison for about twelve minutes in a scorching brick oven.
There’s no need for pre-cooked ingredients or buy in bulk pizza crusts. Most pizza joints (just about all chain restaurants) use meats that are cooked and then frozen because of the difficulty of evenly cooking the toppings and the crust. I worked at one of these places in high school, and it was possible to eat all the meats straight out of the plastic bag it arrived in. What’s on your pizza?
People travel for the experiences, for the adventure, and the opportunities for growth awaiting them at their next destination. Nurses are a little more special because they care for those in need along the way. They make a difference in the lives they touch. A special demographic deserves a special pizza. So, the next time you find yourself somewhere around Evansville, IN, stop in and get one of these magnificent pizzas. Tell them I sent you. Actually, don’t. They have no idea who I am. The pizza’s going to be good regardless, but you’ll probably look silly mentioning my name.
