Pizza - Fork or hand?

[pastry634]

Hey all, just another question to gather some opinions of the CH board. If you were at a sit-down (now, I said sit-down, not "fancy") restaurant, meaning you are not eating on the run, and ordered pizza, would you use a fork and knife or your good ol' reliable hands? Personally, I'm a fork and knife person. I don't know why...I guess I find myself enjoying the pizza for longer that way :). What about everyone else? Is pizza strictly a hands on affair, or does a certain type of pie require a fork and knife?

[Midknight]

Some foods are always considered hands-food. I wouldn't eat a hamburger with a knife and fork, and I'm not going to eat a pizza with a knife and fork. It doesn't matter how "fancy" an event is, if they're serving pizza, it's being eaten with the fingers.

Pizza is always eaten only with the hands, hands down (pun intended). :)

[Fydeaux]

Except by those of us who prefer a knife and fork. Different strokes...

[hill food]

there are some foods that are quite acceptable to eat with the hands no matter the setting. IIRC Miss Manners allows pizza, anything encased in bread, fried or roast bone-in chicken, ribs, most shellfish, artichokes and even asparagus (if someone has neglected to invest in asparagus tongs) into this category.

just put out finger bowls and/or lots of proper napkins...

[Kontxesi]

When the pie first comes out, I usually start out with a knife and fork. It's just too hot to pick it up. After the first slice, I'll usually move towards using my hands, generally folding the slice for easier munching.

I do find, however, that when I use my hands, I tend to stuff myself silly. A knife and fork keeps me eating at a more reasonable pace and not making myself sick. I have no "off" switch for pizza. :(

[Dio Seijuro]

The approach of using f&k first until manageable, then using hand, sounds pretty sensible. I've never thought about that though even when eating very slidy toppings. I just wait a little bit so that it cools down somewhat.

On the other hand, I find hamburgers much less manageable than pizzas and often use f&k on a burger.

[Bill Hunt]

For me, it would depend on several factors, though mostly toppings and the thickness OF those toppings. For thick - fork (and probably knife). For thin, then probably hand.

Hunt

[westsidegal]

if you are eating a Neapolitan-style pie, you have only one choice.

[Lillipop]

We have had these huge stuffed crust pizza's that just ooze cheese...sauce and other deliriously tasty bits of heaven all over the plate.They are usually a few inches high and stuffed to the maximum.Pizza is hot when it arrives at the table for consumption be it at home or out in a dining establishment.I use silverware to eat the big messy stuffed pizza I order if my kids come around.I usually make all of my pizza at home and the toppings are simple...cheese...tomato..basil..oregano.Or cheese mushrooms..olives and seasoning and they are quite manageable to eat by hand.

[Dagney]

By hand.

[lastZZ]

Both! Though no knives. Sometimes I like to fork some of it apart to eat. Depends on the situation.

[nomnomnoms]

If it is floppy like a Neapolitan style pizza, I will use a fork and a knife. If gravitational pull is not an issue, all hands!

[tracylee]

Same here, nomnomnoms. It has to be pretty crispy for me to pick it up and eat it by hand. I have a strong aversion to getting food on my hands (a whole different topic) so most things are eaten with knife and fork - or spoon - or chopsticks.

[PotatoHouse]

Hands. I don't care how upscale your place is, if you serve pizza expect most pizza lovers to use their hands.

[chicgail]

It has nothing to do with upscale or not. Deep Dish Pizza - at least the real deal as it was invented in Chicago - is a fork and knife affair. Thin crust, not so much.

[PotatoHouse]

I'm a thin crust fan, so that is my norm. I don't care for deep dish. My wife uses fork anbd knife no matter what kind of crust, but she is rather fastidious.

[MonMauler]

Always depends on the type of pie.

Deep dish I always eat with f&k. Several places near me serve Neapolitan pies that really need to be started with f&k. My neo-Neapolitan pizzas should be consumed with k&f until they are handleable.

At most places, though, I think you get standard American pizza, which is handleable, and which I always just pick up and eat. We often get pizza in my office when we are working late, and nobody uses k&f, but it is always standard American pizza.

I kind of follow the lead of the group. If they are going with utensils, then I will, too. (Not for chicken wings, though. You can use your fork to spear that wing clean, but I'm gonna use my hands and dig in).

Soupy pizzas, deep dish pizzas, floppy pizzas, and extremely hot pizzas, I handle, initially with k&f, but I often switch to just hands once it gets manageable.

[Motosport]

Watch the opening of "Saturday Night Fever" to see how it's done. No Brooklyn boy ever uses a fork.

[Kholvaitar]

I have a "hands on" approach...

[michele cindy]

I eat the tip up to 1/3rd with a fork and knife, then the rest I eat with my hands. I know it is strange, and must be in my mind, but the fork eaten secition of the pizza tasts different from the hand eaten.... But, maybe it's the way the pizza hits the tastebuds???

[Caroline1]

Or maybe... Well... uh.... Do you ALWAYS wash your hands first? '-)

[Tay]

lol! ...

[Fydeaux]

I Knife & Fork it for a couple of reasons. One is that I like to start from the crust, and once that is done, what is left can become unmanagable, depending on the toppings.

Additionally, my favourite local pizza place cuts the pies in squares, so most pieces have no crust to begin with.

As much as I love New York City and New Yorkers, eating a slice on the run is something I will never be able to do.

[Caroline1]

I'm beginning to wonder what some people mean by folding their pizza slices. I fold mine at the middle of the crust, but not tightly. Just enough to keep the pizza slice from flopping like a limp noodle when I pick it up. When I've eaten enough that it won't do that any more, then I let it flatten out. I don't mush it together when I fold it so that the toppings stick together or fall out.

It's the way I was taught to eat pizza at Pernicano's Pizza Parlor, in San Diego, in the 50's! They made their pizza in an "open kirtchen," tossed them by hand, and the kitchen ceiling had to be scraped down every night to get the crusts down that had been tossed too high. Try finding that in a Pizza Hut!

[Tay]

If you have access to the Food Network, they present the annual Pizza Tossing, Championships... Amazing coordination...

[Caroline1]

Yes. I've seen it. I keep wondering what those guys want to be when they grow up. '-)

[Harters]

Maybe their ambition is just to be tossers.

[aelph]

:)

yeah...it's them and the bar "flair" people...such "talent"

[Tay]

aelph
I don't know about you, but II've seen some pretty cool moves at both the pizza counter and the bar. I know I couldn't do it.
I'd have to say it is a talent of a sort. :-}

[aelph]

yeah...but I just don't care it adds nothing to the eating experience

[Tay]

Ahh.. Perhaps not for you. For those of us who view food, and food related events as part of the 'fun of food', it often adds a great deal to the total experience of eating :-}

[chelleyd01]

I have never and will never eat pizza in the shape of a triangle, nor can I imagine folding it.

Our pizza is a just right crust...not too thick, not too thin, nice crispy edge crust. We order sheets which are cut in squares and are always perfect.

sheet with salami and extra cheese or a sheet with pepperoni or a sheet, white with potato and bacon and lastly a sheet of red with ham, pineapple and hot peppers.

www.wedgewoodpizza.com

[Tay]

Funny..
I hit the site you posted and what do I see? That's right: Pictures of ROUND (AKA: Neopolitan style) pizza.
Are you referring to square (AKA: Sicilian style) as "sheet" pizza?
I hear sheet, I think cake... Or bed :-}

[chelleyd01]

Correct...they make them. I wont eat them. Sheets only!

[jfood]

Tay

jfood thought the same thing and was confused. Go back to Chelley's site and click "see our menu". They have a "sheet" pizza.

[Caroline1]

It's the ONLY U.S. pizza place I can ever recall seeing potato listed as a topping! I've seen Tater Tots on Japanese pizzas, but this is something new. Can't say it sounds any more appealing than a potato sandwich. But maybe that's just me.

[TonyO]

Potataoes are a great pizza topping. You cook them first (boil them like for a salad, almost done) and then toss in some olive oil/garlic/salt and pepper/etc. I dice them and combined with some loose sausage/bacon/fresh fennel etc. it makes a great pizza (no sauce).

[Caroline1]

hmmm... Push them to one side, add a couple of fried eggs, and it seems to me you have breakfast on a bread plate. Either way, doesn't sound like #1 on my pizza parade! '-)

[Tay]

Caroline1
I also thought it was overkill when I heard about it. I mean how much stuff can you pile on before it's no longer considered pizzza? And then I saw an episode of "Diners, Drive ins and Dives" (Do I have that right?) on the Food Network, that featured a place that served, (along with a bunch of other things) tater tots,on pizza. It looked messy but strangely appealing and the customers all said the same thing: "Looks weird. Tastes delicious!"
I dunno....Maybe

[Caroline1]

In Japan, pizza seems to be on a roll of restored sanity. Or at least the online pizza is settling down to the traditional non-traditional toppings of Japan. Can't find Tater Tots any more, and this page is the only one I came across with any kind of potatoes: http://tinyurl.com/3563n7 Don'tcha love the headline under the Monterey pizza? "Plenty of Potatoes are the Best Match With Mayonnaise!!"

I don't doubt that a lot of people find potatoes on pizza enjoyable. I just happen to be one of those people who starts packing on weight if I inhale while walking past a bakery. Food does run in fads, so I just figure if potato pizza is catching on now, can waffle topped pizza or rice pizza be too far behind? I think I'll go with The Elvis, thank you. Peanut butter and banana pizza.

[dolores]

Sounds good, TonyO. I remember the first time I tried macaroni and potatoes -- what, two starches?? The person I was with encouraged me to try it, and it too is delish.

I can see cooking the bacon and diced potatoes until very brown with some carmelized onions, and then throwing some gorgonzola over the entire thing. Yum.

I've never tried pineapple and ham, but I doubt there is much of anything that wouldn't taste good on a pizza, although the gravy is a variable.

[chelleyd01]

the potato pizza is pretty spectacular...it doesnt have red sauce but kind of a cheesy garlicky layer, sliced potatoes, mozz and then crispy bacon. The edges of the potato get a little crispy, the cheese is all melty and then the salty bite of the bacon brings it all together. We usually save this one for parties (double cut SHEETS!) or when we have the guys over for a game.

Believe me, I get the concept that it is the exact same pizza only a different shape. The owner Fernando busts my balls about it all the time, however, I just can't do it. I like my perfectly done square. I know I have a glorious bird roasting for Easter dinner as I type, but jeez o man, Id rather have a square of red with salami! (He juliennes the italian salami and puts it on TOP of the cheese to that it gets all crispy and yummy! Anybody ever heading my way, find me. We will go get a couple of sheets!

[Caroline1]

That potato pizza just sounds like a heart attach to me. '-)

[aelph]

I thought potatoes on pizza was a fairly common Neapolitan-style choice.

[vvvindaloo]

yes, potato and rosemary with olive oil is a common type of pizza, but it is cheeseless and quite light.

[Pincus]

Also very tasty, and chock full of delicious carbohydrates! Around here we also only have the cheeseless variety. I think cheese would make it a bit too...something...for me. But that's some nice looking pizza there in that Wedgewood menu.

Just to update, I fold if the slice is thin enough.

[aelph]

being facetious: I know potatoes on pizza are a common choice beyond the gulags of commercial pizza

can be quite yummy when dealt with deftly

[madgreek]

I always eat pizza with my hands, unless the pizza is too thick to allow it, and I never fold. The folding doesn't work for me, b/c I don't like how it hits my mouth. Orientation of ingredients going into my mouth is important to me for some reason. This has always been the case. I remember being annoyed if my mom put the lettuce on the bottom of my cheeseburger, and the jelly has to be on the top of a pb & j, so the peanut butter doesn't stick to the roof of my mouth. It's the same with pizza. Having pizza crust hit both the bottom and top of my mouth at the same time just doesn't work for me.

[dolores]

Interesting on all that. I don't like folding, both for the 'rush' factor of it, and because I like to 'see' the food I'm eating. I never gave any thought to why I don't like folding my pizza, or why my jelly has to be on top of my pb.

[Caroline1]

Well, the jelly HAS to go on top of the peanut butter because you CANNOT spread the peanut butter over the jelly. But I suppose you could drop it on top in blobs... '-)

[madgreek]

You know, I just realized that one reason I don't like folding is that I'd rather smell the cheese and sauce (and toppings, etc.) as I take a bite, as opposed to smelling the bottom crust.

[jfood]

M

FYI - The "correct" method of eating a "folded" slice is once the slice is in the V shape, it enters the mouth as a V with the corner straight down and the toppings still on top. So this method should still give you the smell/tatse sensation.

[madgreek]

I (obvoiusly) didn't realize this. Thanks jfood. Now that I think of it, I have seen the type of "fold" you just described, I guess in my head, I didn't really consider that a "fold". I've seen more people fold it completely in half, so that the toppings touch.

Come to think of it, I do "fold" a thin slice (if it's chewy). That's because structurally, it needs to be put in that shape to better support it's own weight. It's usually irrelevant, though, because I more often eat a Sicilian-style pie (square pieces)

[thew]

thats the reason everyone folds the slice in NY

[jfood]

T

You forgot the most important part of "the fold." It gets all the grease on top, then you can point the tip to the napkins, give a little tap-tap and release the grease into the napkin.

[hill food]

but j, the grease is part of the appeal...

[jfood]

so true, but that appeal is short-lived, similar to the reddish onions on a hot dog. Then the tongue starts craving water.

[hill food]

and one's sleeves a cheap reliable dry cleaner...

[filth]

Do you make open-faced PB&J sammies? Cuz there would be a piece of bread "protecting" your hard palate from the PB on a regular sammy.

[madgreek]

Not open faced. Just normal. The bread is technically what touches the roof of my mouth first, but with jelly on it, it doesn't stick to my hard palate as a piece of bread with pb would.

[Sofa King]

This is one of the few times i eat like a muslim, I use my hands.

[Caroline1]

If you use both hands, you're not.

[Tay]

Caroline1
Very true. You took the food right out of my hands with that one ! lol!
tooo funny!

[Caroline1]

I cannot imagine eating pizza with a knife and fork any more than I would eat a soda cracker with a knife and fork. It just doesn't seem right. But let me quickly add that I never order pizza anyplace where eating it bare handed would seem in the least out of place. And yes, I do fold my slices. My favorite pizza for folding is an extra large cheese pizza with dark beer. There is something about the cheese and dark beer that is amost -- I said almost, mind you! -- as good as a great steak with a great red wine. Magic.

Oh. And I never oder deep dish pizza. Had one bite once and... well... it just isn't pizza!

[Tay]

I think it depends on the actual slice and ingredients used. Here, in NYC, a lot of pizza is now being made with fresh mozz, crushed tomatoes and a thinner crust, as opposed to the 'old style' pizza, made with pizza sauce thickened with tomato paste and commercially produced Polly-o style, mozz. The old style was easier to pick up, fold and eat by hand. That type of 'pizza management' is not practical/possible with more fliud ingredients which is why, for many, using a k&f makes sense, at least initially.

[thew]

...except that 99 out of 100 people in NYC eat their slice w/ their hands...

[Tay]

thew
You may think/see that 99% thing b/c at the neighborhood places you frequent/observe they still serve the thicker sauce and commmercial cheese, version of pizza. I'm not being critical or disparaging. Lots of people are perfectly content eating that style of pizza and it's a lot easier to handle that type of slice. If you did that with a differently made kind of pie, you might be in for a painful burn or at the least, a new outfit. :-}

[Harters]

Always knife & fork. But then I'm a European living in Europe. It's who we are. It's what we do.

[linguafood]

Hey, I'm German and see no problem using your hands for a slice of pizza. Though, as I said earlier, for the sake of ease I tend to start of using fork & knife.

[Harters]

Oh, I don't see it as a problem to use your hands. It's personal choice, after all.

It's just that if you went into a "sit down" UK chain such as Pizza Express it'd be doubtful if you would see anyone eating with their hands, even kids.

[harrison]

another vote for by hand with fold...sometimes with very thin crust well done, no fold necessary.

knife and fork? not so much..

[luniz]

you think eating pizza with your hands is messy, try a big juicy dripping hunk of smoked brisket or sausage. as they say at Kreuz "NO FORKS (They are at the end of your arm)".

[linguafood]

Or a well-stuffed döner in a pita, for that matter. Your shoes will be decorated with garlic and hot sauce drippings.....

[filth]

Chicago deep dish - fork and knife
Eating NY style with a fork and knife is like eating a Snickers with a fork and knife--affected.

[madgreek]

+1

[tastelikechicken]

As the saying goes "When in Rome......" If you're in a neighborhood place in NYC you are liable to get some serious stares if you ask for a fork and knife to eat a slice. However. I have no problem asking for a set say in a place like Chicago getting ready to attack a deepdish.

[thew]

true NYer born and bred... yes hands fold and eat

[chicgail]

Too bad you "true NYers" miss out on the Chicago deep dish experience. I'd love to see you try to fold and eat one of those slices.

[thew]

i've eaten deep dish. its ok. i don't think its really pizza, but that's another story. the thing is i've had chicago style pizza in and outside of chicago and its pretty much the same wherever ive gotten it - (even in new york- it was invented at pizzeria uno, and we got those here)- but have not had much NY style pizza outside the NY area that comes close.

so we are not the ones "missing out" now, are we?

[thew]

id like to add:
http://www.newyorkpizzafinder.net/ind...

is there A CHICAGO STYLE WIKI TOO?
didnt think so ;)

[hill food]

well let's not get smug...

I think NY-ers get to enjoy their (significantly) different pizza due to something in the air or water, just as there's no bagel outside of NY or a sourdough outside of SF or a plain baguette outside of Paris that can compare.

[dolores]

Or New Haven. Pepe's is still the best I've had.

On the salad pizza, hillfood, I wouldn't have believed it either. It's a recent gimmick, twenty years or so, and since I have to make the most of a meal, and like salad and like pizza, I smoosh it all together, add sugar and crushed pepper and cheese, and it's a meal.

And true on the best bagels being in NY. Hands down.

[linguafood]

You add sugar & cheese to a pizza topped with salad? Sugar?? Is there a dressing on the salad? Sorry, I'm just trying to visualize here.....

[dolores]

Yup. Usually, I just put sugar right on the pizza, but if I put a salad on it, I put the sugar on the salad.

[Miss Needle]

You're not the only one. I once ate at a restaurant with a friend of mine who is on Weight Watchers. She ordered a salad for an appetizer and used balsamic vinegar and Sweet and Low as a dressing. She did preface it with, "I know this may seem strange but this is the way I like it."

[hill food]

no criticism from me, if that's what you like - go for it.

[vvvindaloo]

dolores, what do you mean by, "...I have to make the most of a meal", in the context of pizza and salad? Also, why sugar? Do you like it on your pizza or on your salad? Do you put sugar on a slice with no salad? I'm just curious. :)

[dolores]

vvvindaloo, I can't eat as I used to like to eat. In fact, since losing a great deal of weight, I can't eat big meals at all anymore. So, instead of eating however many slices of pizza as in the past, I get to enjoy my one slice even more by putting salad on it.

Oddly, yes, I admit oddly, I like sugar on just about everything. Yes, on a slice of any kind, and in my salad dressing. My grandmother put it in her gravy, so I can try to blame her. I use it in most of my cooking, even garlic and oil macaroni, but....not in coffee or tea.

Just...odd!

[Caroline1]

Not really odd. Like a pinch of salt in a sweet dish, a pinch of sugar in a savory dish adds a fullness you won't have without it. Today was a lazy lunch day and I made tuna salad. Without a pinch of sugar in it, it's just blah. Add the sugar and it sits up and makes your taste buds smile.

[Tay]

I think adding things like sweet pickle relish to tuna, chicken or egg salad is sort of variation of the whole sugar thing. There is just some vinegar for added punch. You're right. It seems to 'pump up the volume'

[Caroline1]

hmmmm.... Egg salad is the only thing I can think of that I don't add anything sweet to. Eggs, Hellmann's mayonnaise, sea salt, freshly ground tellicherry pepper and dill weed.

[Tay]

Try a little relish...And some minced chives.
Takes it up a notch :-}

[jfood]

Interesting that jfood had this exact conversation with mrs jfood on the way back to the car after a light lunch at this neat little place in Darien called Good Goods. Best caterer in the neighbood, The head chef is also the best around, and a great guy as well, but that's a different thread.

Mrs jfood had her baguette with mozzy, tomato and pesto and jfood grabbed a whole wheat pita with tuna salad. The tuna contained some apples and cranberries and it was really good.

On the way to the car jfood told mrs jfood that he has officially admitted spring is here as he chose t \he tuna salad because it had the sweets versus the savories and he wanted to tell his taste buds that they should start expecting the spring flavors.

[Tay]

jfood
You have such a way with thoughts/words...
Who else but you would":
" tell his taste buds that they should start expecting the spring flavors."
I'll have to try that on my official start of spring date: April 15th

"

[vvvindaloo]

Thanks for taking the time to explain, dolores. Now I understand what you mean by "making the most" of it! Enjoy :)

[chicgail]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-...

:>)

[chicgail]

The pizza at the chain called Unos is a deep disappointment (as opposed to a deep dish pizza) compared with Unos and Dues in Chicago. Why don't you come by some time and try it. You might well be surprised.

[thew]

i have.
i did.

i still stand by what i said.

[chicgail]

You're entitled to your opinion and II totally respect it; I just have difficulty with the provincial attitude that stands behind it.

[thew]

you are misreading me completely, and it seems willfully, but i cant make myself worry about it.

other than food , a main passion of mine is travel. I've been many places. I am hardly provincial in tastes or attitudes.

i donot prefer NY pizza because it from NY although it being what i grew up with certainly is part of it.

Deep dish pizza is ok. Just not my preference. And i did not see that great a difference between deep dish in chicago, and outside chicago. certainly not as great a difference as i found between NY stle pizza in and out of the NY area.
SO i questioned your statement that i was missing out on something. I did not miss out on chicago deep dish. I've had it.
If that's provincialism so be it. I'd say it's a discerning palette based on experiencing both styles.

[chicgail]

As I said, threw, I respect your opinion. It's your opinion. It's not right. It's not wrong. It's your opinion and you are entitled to it.

I think we all tend to favor those things that we were introduced to early in life (I presume you are a lifelong NYer) and those become the benchmarks by which we measure other variations.

[chicgail]

One other thing. I've had NY pizza -- in Manhattan -- at a supposedly great place that my friends raved about. I thought it was decent pizza. Not awesome. Not memorable. Just decent pizza.

So where I sit, I just don't get it about NY pizza. Maybe it's my own personal benchmark for what great pizza is like. Still, I'm glad you like what you've got available to you.

[thew]

that was never the issue. the issue was your saying i was "missing out", as if the only reason i could have the opinion i have is ignorance of chicago pizza. Nor was the quality of the pizza what I was commenting on, but whether chicago style pizza differs as much in and out of chicago, as New york pizza does in and outside of new york.

[Pincus]

Hand unless the slices are too floppy or too messy to deal with in this manner, then k&f.

[myclawyer]

A true New Yorker eats a slice by hand. You fold, and the tip of the slice should dip. You hold the slice above your mouth. One or two drops of oil drip off and the cheese should start to slide off as you lower the tip into your mouth.

[aelph]

Yeah, yeah..the thing is I'm a NY slice afficionado and find the whole dripping grease bit unnecessarily messy and gluttonous. But, then, I'm not a New Yorker. I agree with those who qualified "knife and fork" above, I, too, will generally start with utensils until the slice is manageable. And...I eat dine-in mega-burgers with utensils as well.

[Tay]

myc
They don't come much more 'true NYC'er" and I never fold a slice.
The way you eat it, you could be heading for some serious cheese burn :-}

[rockandroller1]

It depends on my company. I just went to a work lunch yesterday where pizza was served and NOBODY picked it up and ate it. I'm not comfortable being the only one doing so in a work situation, so I did the knife & fork thing. sometimes at home we get pizza from a place where the slices are so big they're like a piece of sheetrock, and then I use a knife and fork for some of it til it gets to be a more manageable size. Or if it's really hot, same thing. But unless it's a work meal or one of the situations above, I'm all about eating it with your hands.

[hill food]

RnR:

that's prob. the best approach, after all it's a casual food and for that (in the US anyway) there's no real wrong way as long as it doesn't offend anyone and you don't smear sauce on the furniture.

I've been in contexts (work) where I prob. would have been considered pretentious or fussy for using K+F, not a good team-building move. I know something as dumb as that shouldn't matter, but occasionally it does.

[dolores]

Both. Since I usually dump my salad on my pizza, I start with fork and knife, and then end up picking it up when I'm near the crust.

[hill food]

now that's just weird (smirk) sorry don't do the emoticon thing.

[Cindy]

I almost always use a fork, no knife. I just don't like getting my hands dirty/greasy. I also do that with bbq (I know, it's awkward), chicken wings - sometimes even cheeseburgers. It's just me, I know I'm weird. :)

[hill food]

no, it's not just you, my great-aunt from upstate NY always ate burgers with a knife and fork.

[pastry634]

Don't worry, I do the same. I don't know what it is...a fork and knife makes me savor a meal for longer, I guess. I also have a big mouth...so that could be why my hand-eaten meals are gone so quick :P

[livetocook]

My BIL is so bad, he'll eat toast with a knife and fork. Some people just can't stand their hands dirty. My BFF had to eat pizza with her hands when we went to this function where you just mingled, there was no sitting. At one point she said to me, "this is taking up all my will to eat this without cutlery". You could almost feel the anguish she had....LOL

[MMRuth]

My husband is the same way - you should see him eating ribs at a roadside BBQ joint with plastic utensils. But, he gets every piece of meat off the bones. He told me that next time we go to DiFara for pizza, he wants to bring "proper" plates and utensils. That should be entertaining!

[luckyfatima]

I have been in situations where I am the only one eating a slice with my hands, I tend to fold it, too---that's the way I have eaten it since childhood. And everyone around me is using a knife and fork. I know I must look so uncouthe, but I CANNOT bring myself to eat pizza with a knife and fork! I don't mind adapting my manners to look appropriate in whatever context in most situations, but no compromising on the pizza thing!

[hill food]

Both, K+F at first until you reach a point where it's not floppy and then hand (pretty much crust at that point)

[Lizard]

Depends where one lives. For example, you wrote pizza, as opposed to slice, so that opens things up.

When I live in the states, the sloppiness of the pizza may dictate fork and knife, but if slice, can fold over (although I actually hate to to that since it makes short work of what ought be a long pleasure).

Personal pie in the US? I usually start with knife and fork but confess to moving to hands.

In Europe? Knife and fork. Always knife and fork. (The insistence on knife and fork among friends and family there had me kvelling when we went out for Ethiopian and it had to be a hands-on affair-- although some moved back to knife and fork for comfort reasons.)

[shoo bee doo]

That's how I do it also. In Europe, always with knife and form. Small personal pizzas, usually with knife and fork.

Here in the US, I'll also eat a shared pizza with a knife and fork while it's hot. It's easier to cool down the bites. I then move to my hands as the slices cool down.

[Tay]

I usually eat the end of the triangle with a k&f and then pick up the rest of the slice and eat it. I never, ever 'fold' it.

[linguafood]

Dito on your method, Tay. Starting off with cutlery, and 'hand-ling' it once it's manageable = not too droopy. Though I should say I am not a fan of droopy pizza, I like my thin crispy crust. No folding possible anyway.

[Tay]

I learned the hard way: I still remember the nasty cheese 'adhesive' burn on my lip and onto my chin from a stubborn piece of cheese that trailed from a bite of the tip of the triangle. I too prefer the crust crispy. I'm not sure how/why they do it, but I have often seen people fold (I guess it cracks) crispy crusted pizza. Seems weird, and if hot, somewhat dangerous, to me.

[linguafood]

Ha. I tend to burn the roof of my mouth with scolding hot cheese.... simply because I cannot wait to bite into that delicious, molten cheesy concoction. It's worth the pain, though :-D

[Bill Hunt]

Now, depending on several factors, I DO "fold it," but it depends.

Hunt

[ricepad]

Both. I hold the crust with my left hand, and support the pointy end with a fork. I dunno why, tho...I've always done it this way.

[Lucia]

Hand... but I like eating just about anything by hand.

[Miss Needle]

If I'm eating deep-dish or an incredibly thin crust pie, I have no choice but to eat it with a knife and fork. However, I prefer eating pizza by hand. It's a more intimate experience.

[Janet from Richmond]

Well said Miss Needle. I used a fork and knife when it's the only feasible option but the picking up and biting off is part of the pizza experience.

[aelph]

Depends on how sloppy the pizza is and the kind of pizza. But, I have no problem digging in with knife and fork if I feel the situation warrants it.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Yeah, that's about right. I prefer hands, but if cutlery is required, cutlery it is.