When the moon hits your eye like a ---

When it comes to most things, well, OK, when it comes to food and music, I prefer to keep things simple. When it comes to pizza, that tenet is especially true. I've yet to encounter a slice of pizza that makes me as weak in the knees as a big, hot-out-of-the-oven slice of plain cheese Ray's (in NYC).

There are three key elements under consideration here, but your crust, the canvas, if you will, for your pizza masterpiece, is key. It should be light, and crisp, but not too thin like a rice cracker. I love my pizza crust lightly charred on the bottom with a few strategically placed air bubbles that pop with each bite, light and airy, yet somewhat chewy on the inside. Your sauce, is the driving element for that big tomato flavor, and your cheese, melds all three elements together and provides the creamy, gooey depth we crave. Put these together in proper balance and serve hot and bubbling out of the oven and I need no toppings.

I may pay dearly for sticking my neck out with this next remark, but here goes: I've yet to enjoy a pizza on the west coast as much as any I've ever had from the New York Tri-State area! I can't explain why the flavors have yet to be replicated, but they just haven't. I will say this though, the thin crust pizzas cooked in the roaring-wood-fire oven at our local Bellingham Fiamma's are excellent. And the extra bonus? I love getting to watch my pizza dough get a proper tossing before getting placed into the fiery inferno.