Purpose of this blog

This blog will really be a true web log. I will post here about different wood-fired ovens as I find them.

If you know of any wood-fired ovens I should know about, you can send an e-mail to me. (If you build wood-fired ovens, I would like to hear from you too.)

There will lots of posts and lots of labels, since I plan to create one post for every appropriate web site that I find, and however many labels it takes to describe each one (usually at least the type of page and the location of the oven).

The accumulated information will still be found at the real Quest for Ovens web site links pages, but that is not updated as frequently as this blog will be.

If you are from outside the US and Canada, let me know what you find interesting about it. I see that I get visitors from India and Iran, and other faraway places. I'd like to know what draws you to this blog.

I received e-mail from the organizers of the BBC Two television show asking if the Saint Paul Bread Club could post a notice about their show Great British Bake-Off for amateur bakers. The information they gave me is now accessible through a link. (The organizers don't have a web page for the show itself yet.)

Please share this with any amateur bakers in Great Britain you may know, or post the link where they might see it.

Thanks.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Mobile Pizza Oven For Sale, Colchester, Connecticut

There was an entry (now expired) on Craig's List for mobile pizza oven for sale.

Here is the description, "Mobile wood fired oven with many improvements, trailer is road safe and CT dmv inspected, brakes, mounts for various tools and work has been done to ensure longevity. Brand new retails for 17,000. Genuine hand forged copper exterior,"  and the asking price, $10500.

Just in case you were thinking of starting your own mobile pizza business.

If you got to this post by searching for "mobile pizza oven for sale" then here is a potentially useful link for you; it's a topic called "Mobile Oven Suppliers and Projects" that is part of my mobile oven link collection for my "Quest for Ovens" site. (The link collection evolves, so there will be more links added as I find them.)


I also have links to "Mobile Oven Businesses" on this page. I have found that some places, like Bend, Oregon, and here in the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota) have multiple mobile oven businesses.

Wegmans, NE US

A blog post by NJ Spice says in part, "When Wegmans first opened, I loved their artisan breads, baked in their wood-fired oven. Then it seemed like the breads got dumbed down, and I lost interest. But over the last year or two, I’ve found much to like again."

This got me curious about Wegmans. A press release about the opening of their first store in Virginia mentions this special feature, "A wood-fired brick oven, designed by fourth generation Spanish masons, bakes European and artisan breads and rolls. Wegmans' bakery also produces water-boiled bagels, decorated cakes, muffins, and other desserts."

The store locator for Wegmans mentions 77 locations in the northeast US (Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pensylvania, Virginia).

I have no idea how many have brick ovens, but good for them.

Table 310, Lexington, Kentucky

A food blogger with the creative handle of BraveTart has a blog entry about her new place of employment,
Table 310, in Lexington, Kentucky.

The blog post says in part, "This phase features an outstanding cheese menu, a dozen and a half sorts of charcuterie items, an oyster bar and a tapas like menu of marinated mushrooms, olives, shaved salads and desserts. Future phases will add in pizza from our wood fired oven, house brewed beer, and full menu that will change almost daily."

It sounds like a restaurant still in development, but already very interesting.

Pizzeria da Lupo, Boulder, Colorado

There was a PR Newswire post about the new restaurant, Pizzeria da Lupo, in Boulder, Colorado.

The press release says in part, "the wood-fired oven is hot. The pizza is smoking. Executive Chef and restaurateurs Jim Cohen and Ken Wolf announce the opening of Pizzeria da Lupo at 2525 Arapahoe Avenue. Located in the fast-paced Village Shopping Center at the northwest corner of 28th and Arapahoe, pizza lovers will want to check out this engaging Boulder pizzeria."

The restaurant does have a web site.

Their home page says in part, "The recipe is simple. Pizzeria da Lupo serves delicious wood-fired pizza and seasonal dishes in a comfortable, unpretentious setting. Beer, wine, and spirits are available."

Tennessy Willems, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Normally I prefer to link to a business's own web site, but in some cases that is not an option. (It's a new restaurant, and apparently they had more important things to do than creating a web site for me to link to.)

A Canadian blog, Apt613, had a blog entry about a new pizza place in Ottawa, Tennessy Willems.

The post says in its first paragraph, "The newest addition to Ottawa’s expanding and diversifying Hintonburg / Wellington West Village foodie scene comes in the form of Tennessy Willems, a wood-fired oven pizza restaurant that opened last week at the corner of Wellington West and Melrose. Named after the owners’ son and daughter, Tennessy Willems charts a new course forward for pizza in Ottawa by carefully looking to the past." The post includes pictures of pizzas and the storefront.

Dry Stacked Wood Fired Oven & Grill, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

A Google Alert brought a blog post to my attention. There is an nice description and some good pictures of a person's dry stacked oven.

It says in part, "Turns out last winter’s research on how to build ovens paid off, and I improvised a design I’m quite pleased with, including a nice entry space and functional chimney."

Cosimo's Brick Oven, Sarasota, Florida

A site for the Herald-Tribune has a review of Cosimo's Brick Oven, Sarasota, Florida.

Cosimo's web site says in part, "Our culinary team prepares fresh, homemade signature pastas, refreshing salads, tantalizing desserts and incredibly delicious award-winning wood-fired gourmet pizzas, using only the freshest ingredients."

Brick Oven on 35th, Austin, Texas

A now-expired coupon deal pointed to the Brick Oven on 35th, Austin, Texas.

The page says in part, "Favorites include the brick oven baked spinach ravioli, aromatic rosemary chicken lasagna, and the beautifully simple yet irresistible margherita pizza."

Figs, Charlestown, Massachusetts

A restaurant review in the CharlestownPatch had some nice things to say about a Todd English (Boston celebrity chef) restaurant called Figs. (The web site is Flash-based, so getting to the info about Figs is a pain.)

The review says in part, "An open kitchen and brick oven keeps the atmosphere at Figs warm – in a curl up by the fireplace with a glass of red wine kind of way.... The Oliver's pizza is your basic thin crust with the perfect amount of sauce and cheese and a nice brick oven crunch."

Earth - Bread + Brewery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

An entry for the chestnuthilllocal.com blog profiles the Earth - Bread + Brewery including a picture of their brick oven.

The oven was built by one of the owners himself, Tom Baker. The posting says in part, "Baker also built the brick-oven at the restaurant using directions he found the internet.... And while the flatbread shape and style of pizza make it difficult to eat the traditional way, with one’s hands, the flavor and look of the brick oven-heated dough and melted cheese are enough to make you forget about your ‘earthly’ cares."