The world has a lot of opinions regarding pizza. The pineapple on pizza debate has been raging for years. And we all know that Swedish banana pizza deserves a top spot in the Pizza Hall of Shame. But this weekend the internet found a new phenomenon to rage about: "Altoona Style Pizza." The revelation came courtesy of the 'Fucked Up Looking Pizzas' Twitter account. It's exactly what it sounds like: a rage-inducing museum of mostly-disgusting and questionable pizzas. The pizza in Altoona, Pennsylvania definitely deserves its callout on the page.
It's undeniable that the "food" is an abomination. It appears as though the pizza is basically sauce on matzoh, with plasticky-looking American cheese ungracefully draped upon its surface. Allegedly, this uniquely terrible za was developed at the Altoona Hotel in the 1960's or '70s - an era that was definitely a bit less worldly and more gross where food is concerned. Somehow it was one of the establishment's most popular dishes. After the hotel burned down, other restaurants began serving the pizza, keeping the heinous dish alive.
The people of the internet were not shy about their opinions of the dish, calling it ungodly, and even anti-semitic. Best of all was probably the roast from the official New Jersey Twitter account. They simply retweeted with the comment "can't drive or make pizza." As a New Yorker and connoisseur of the savory Italian pies, it brought me great joy to see this blasphemy met with the proper scathing responses. The only thing that would make me happier? Seeing the creation made punishable by law.
