When searching for a quick meal on a Friday night there are no shortage of pizza places in CNY. The same could be said for
Australia, but after many trials of promising looking pizzas we discovered that the Aussies seldom make a great pizza, and you can forget about making a semi-respectable
Buffalo wing!
As a resident of Upstate New York for nearly all of my life, and having spent almost 16 years in CNY during college and my career, I became especially fond of pizza and wings. Having said that, I suffered from good pizza and wing withdraws as soon as we arrived and had to find a way to get my fix.
This led to my pizza and wing making obsession, which I think I have mastered.
As you probably know, one can go into any supermarket in CNY and buy pre-made pizza dough…and it’s usually pretty good. Well, not so in Western Australia. Wanting a good pizza this forced my hand and required that I make my own dough (actually my wife does the dough making) and experiment with making a superior pizza…Central New York standards and not Australian (no offense Australia).
After some experimenting with dough recipes, pans (our pizza stone seemed useless in the oven here), sauces, and cheese I’m happy to report that I have been successful. We have invited many a mate over to indulge in our pizza and received rave reviews from all and very few leftovers.
As for the wings, well that required more work and effort. The term Buffalo wing is as foreign here as the sport cricket is in the US. Australian restaurants that claim to serve Buffalo wings should be closed down for false identity as it usually is a plain wing with some sort of Tabasco dipping sauce. It’s an absolute horror show.
Even the word wing is interpreted as the whole wing, and not the wing or drumstick. What we would call a wing is referred to as a “drumettes” in Perth. To find them is similar to trying to find snow here. As you know, finding snow and a good wing in Syracuse is not that hard to do. Finding the “drumette” is not that hard, it’s trying to find them plain as it has become obvious Aussies like their wings marinated in soy sauce, barbeque sauce, and anything else but Frank’s Red Hot sauce.
I finally asked a butcher up the street and was able to secure a semi-steady flow of plain wings as he too prepares them with sauces as they’re typically eaten in Australia. However, simply establishing a chicken wing connection did not bring me Buffalo wings. The other key ingredient, Frank’s Red Hot, was simply not on the shelves in Perth. Through some luck, I came across a web site, http://www.usafoods.com.au/ , which sells American foods to ex-pats living in Oz. The logic here is that people are desperate for familiar food. Some genius realized that ex-pat Americans will pay more than double the value for different foods they miss. My wife has paid an extraordinary amount for Goldfish crackers, Dr Pepper, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I scoured the website and among cans of black beans, ranch dressing, and cereals, lay a small bottle of the red gold. My first shipment from this wonderful site included a small bottle of Frank’s Red Hot.
It wasn’t long before my bottle had quickly dried up and I was forced to take drastic action. Instead of ordering another small bottle, I learned from my mistake and ordered one gallon of the stuff. After a few more internal dry runs, Australia was finally introduced to proper pizza and wings.
Literally, every single person we have served them to in Oz enjoyed them. Everybody loves Buffalo wings!! The neighborhood kids love our pizza and wings and beg to eat over when I make them. My mates ask me to cook wings for them and come over to borrow Red Hot. When my co-workers have gatherings I offer to bring them, and of course our American friends, the Gaileys, enjoy them as well.
I am proud to have introduced a piece of CNY to the Aussies and know that when we leave I will donate what’s left, if anything, of the Red Hot to its new fans. (read: sell to the highest bidder) Though if things catch on here, I am not taking blame for any rise in cholesterol.
As for Lou at Twin Trees and Steve at A Change of Pace, my family and I (well, really I) look forward to having the best pizza and wings CNY has to offer when we return!
