Pizza

NAPLES - When the hot pies come out of the wood-fired hearth ovens, they look big enough to feed a family. Crispy bubbles of crust hang over the edges of the plates. The mozzarella in the middle swells and pops, venting steam. But nobody shares a pizza in Naples. Nobody. "The crust is very thin," one slender young woman told us, explaining why she can eat an entire pie. It's true that pizza in Naples, its presumptive birthplace, is known for its thin crust - crisp on the bottom, slightly chewy on top. But we believe there is something else going on: Neapolitans commune with...

The second-largest pizza chain fell the most in nearly two years after quarterly sales and profit trailed estimates. Net income declined 23 percent to $20.7 million. Per-share earnings, excluding some costs, were 47 cents, less than the 50 cents estimated by analysts. Revenue fell 1.2 percent to $384.6 million.

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. - It would take a special place to get me to board a plane for a 10-hour flight from Paris with a squirmy toddler and in my fifth month of pregnancy. Bainbridge Island, where my parents moved in 2004, has that pull, and family is not the only reason to go. A 35-minute ferry ride from Seattle, the island makes the perfect side trip for travelers to the rainy city, which shows its sunny side in the summer months. At 28 square miles, Bainbridge just outsizes Manhattan, but counts a million fewer residents.

Pizza-delivery chain Domino's Pizza Inc. said Tuesday its first-quarter profit fell 24 percent, hurt by lower revenue and costs related to a debt recapitalization completed during the quarter. Its results missed analysts' expectations, and its shares dropped $2.81, or 7.4 percent, to $35 in premarket trading. Net income fell to $20.7 million, or 35 cents per share for the three months ended March 25. That is down from $27.1 million, or 43 cents per share, last year. The company said excluding costs related to completing a recapitalization of debt, its earnings amounted to 47 cents per share.

Amid a flash of cameras, Mitt Romney signed the check to buy Domino's Pizza with a flourish. It was a huge deal for Romney's Bain Capital back in 1998, worth $1.1 billion. Thomas Monaghan, the pizza magnate and orphan raised by nuns in the Detroit area, was cashing out all but a small stake. He wanted the proceeds to start a Catholic university. So he handed over control of the company he built from a small pizza shop in Ypsilanti, Mich., in 1960, to Romney and the partners of Bain Capital.

New Haven's grim reputation is long out of date. Located about halfway between Boston and New York, it's a great place to meet big city friends for a weekend. (They take Metro-North's New Haven line for $27 round trip; your round-trip Amtrak ticket from South Station is $98 or more, but it comes with ocean-side glimpses.) Stay cheap at the throwback Hotel Duncan (203-787-1273, from $44), and blow your cash on a show at the Yale Repertory Theatre (203-432-1234, www.yalerep.org) or the legendary try-out venue for Broadway hits, the Shubert Theater (888-736-2663, shubert.com)

It calls itself a pizzeria, but Bill's is much more than that. Since it tripled its space last fall with a dining room that includes local artwork on its exposed brick walls, Bill's has been also spreading the gospel of pasta, house "dinners," and specialty sandwiches. But first among equals is the pizza. There are about 20 signature pies, which you can get "dressed" (traditional sauce), "naked" (ricotta or Alfredo sauce), "green" (pesto sauce), or "red" (no cheese, just sauce)

BRYSON CITY, N.C. -- Dripping wet, paddling instructor Jeremy Anderson returns from the walk-up window of a rustic cabin beside the Nantahala River holding two piping-hot, pepperoni-speckled personal pizzas. Water is gushing downstream just a few feet away; chants from raucous paddlers careening past linger within earshot. Having spent multiple days training in rogue water with Anderson, I've gotten into the habit of following his directions with little hesitation. I paddle when he paddles.

Rose & Vicki"s 655 Bridge Street (Route 3A), Weymouth 781-340-0111 www.roseandvicki.com Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily Some small businesses - such as bicycle shops and pizzerias - seem to have escaped the big-box-store market takeover. Others, such as office-supply stores and bakeries, haven't done as well. So it's interesting that Dave Smith has combined one of the former and one of the latter into a growing business. Rose & Vicki's in Weymouth is the fourth pizzeria and bakery opened by Smith and his partner, Vinnie...

A newcomer is upping the pizza ante in Harvard Square. Otto owners Anthony Allen and Mike Keon, both Bay State natives, hope their airy, crisp crusted pies ($3 for a slice, $8 to $21 for a round) will receive the same rapturous huzzahs that foodies have already offered up to their two locations in Portland, Maine. One reviewer on Yelp.com gushes: “This pizza is not baked, it’s created, I think, by angels. . . . I almost wept.’’ Hyperbole aside, Otto is onto something. Delicate, air-pocked crusts are thin enough to thrill Neapolitan-style fans but sturdy enough to hold up to signature toppings.

There are only so many shoes you can try on and so many racks of clothing you can go through before it is time to eat. Pickings are slim along the strip of outlets. A few miles away is Wallingford Square, where you will find a lunch worth celebrating as much as your shopping bargains. And you hardly need directions. The intoxicating smell of burning wood at AJ's Wood Grill Pizza will lure you in as you approach the storefront. The 28-seat restaurant is flooded with light; an antique glass popcorn case holds deliciously crisp handcut potato chips; pizzas are rolled and...

Kosta Diamantopoulos, owner of All Star Pizza and All Star Sandwich, is pictured. (MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF) By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent It might slice into the business of their sandwich shop, but that hasn't stopped restaurateurs Kosta and Johnny Diamantopoulos from opening the new All Star Pizza Bar in Inman Square today. The brothers, who also own All Star Sandwich Bar in Inman Square, opened their new pizza shop diagonally across Cambridge Street at 11 a.m. this morning, and had already served 140 pizzas by 3 p.m. ...

WHO Kosta Diamantopoulos WHAT Since buying the shop in 2008, Diamantopoulos and his brother, Johnny, have run the popular All Star Sandwich Bar in Inman Square. Tomorrow, after 10 months of construction, the two will serve their first slices at All Star Pizza Bar, a sister restaurant directly across Cambridge Street. WHERE All Star Pizza Bar is locatedat 1238 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge, 617-547-0836. Q. Your motto at the sandwich bar is "a good sandwich is like an old friend.

The awning reads "Armenian pizza" in capital letters. These freshly made lamejun ($2.25 each, 12 for $16.99) start with thin dough, which is topped with ground beef, slivers of vegetables, and herbs. They're served right from the oven with a lemon wedge. The 10-inch rounds are bright stars at Armenian Market & Bakery, which opened in January across from the Watertown Mall. When you need to take a break from Best Buy and Target, the market offers tender schwarma and kebabs, packaged Middle Eastern foods, prepared dishes, and friendly hospitality.

‘I grew up on tarte flambée," says Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the celebrated chef and restaurateur, about the savory flatbread famous in Alsace, on France's easternmost border. Think of it as Alsatian pizza. Vongerichten says the tart was conceived out of thrift, to use up dough after bakers had finished making the day's bread. Traditionally, it is topped with cream, bacon, and onions. The main difference between tarte flambée and pizza as we know it is the exclusion of tomatoes, which are only fresh several weeks a year in Alsace.

The Dedham Police Department released a report Saturday indicating that the other driver was cited for a Friday night two-vehicle accident, which involved an SUV in which US Senator Scott Brown and his wife, Gail Huff, were passengers. The driver, whose name was withheld, was cited for failing to yield when making a left turn, said Dedham police Sergeant Richard Keane. The driver was delivering pizzas for Dedham House of Pizza. An aide from Brown's Senate office was at the wheel of the other vehicle, with the senator and his wife riding as passengers.

A table of men enjoying a few laughs suddenly becomes very quiet. Each is holding a small piece of pizza, nibbling it or just looking at it. We can't resist asking, "What are you eating?" "Pizza with cinnamon and sugar," comes the reply, then more silence. Among the many pies that Ecco Pizzeria offers, which include something for breakfast and a PB&J pizza for children, are a handful of dessert pies. Cinnamon-sugar is one; chocolate-hazelnut is another (this is the sweet pie that silences our table; more on this later)

A Springfield man convicted of killing a pizza delivery driver lost his bid for a new trial Monday. The Supreme Judicial Court rejected an appeal by Alex Morales, who was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping in the 2007 killing of Corey Lind, 20, of Chicopee. During his trial, prosecutors said Morales called Domino's Pizza so he could steal the delivery person's car, but after realizing that Lind could identify him, Morales forced him into the trunk and drove about 10 miles to Monson, where he stabbed him. Morales testified that he stabbed Lind in self-defense.

A table of men enjoying a few laughs suddenly becomes very quiet. Each is holding a small piece of pizza, nibbling it or just looking at it. We can't resist asking, "What are you eating?" "Pizza with cinnamon and sugar," comes the reply, then more silence. Among the many pies that Ecco Pizzeria offers, which include something for breakfast and a PB&J pizza for children, are a handful of dessert pies. Cinnamon-sugar is one; chocolate-hazelnut is another (this is the sweet pie that silences our table; more on this later)