(Roughly) Daily

Jeff Varasano, who learned his craft in NYC, now runs a pizzeria in Atlanta– one that, your correspondent can attest, is very, very good.  While that’s rare enough, what’s rarer still, is that Varasano is willing to share.  And just as Jeff is generous in the preparation of his pies, so he is forthcoming– very forthcoming– in explaining how he makes “the perfect pizza.”

Readers can visit “Jeff Varasano’s Famous New York Pizza Recipe” for everything– and your correspondent does mean everything— one could possibly want to know.  (The page takes a while to load, but it’s worth the wait:  at the bottom is Jeff’s list of top pizzerias around the country.)

As we reach for the crushed red pepper, we might recall that it was on this date in 1938 that “Porky’s Hare Hunt” was released.  The Warner Bros. cartoon was a remake by Ben “Bugs” Hardaway and Cal Dalton of a 1936 animated short by Tex Avery, “Porky’s Duck Hunt.”  The earlier toon had introduced Daffy Duck; “Porky’s Hare Hunt” was the debut of (the still-unnamed) Bugs Bunny.

While Bob Clampett created the character, Hardaway’s character sheet for (visualization of) Bugs– who became Warner’s biggest star– was chosen from among several; thus, “Bugs’ Bunny”– note the possessive apostrophe…  But as the rapacious rabbit became a hit, he was emancipated from his maker; the apostrophe was dropped.

Porky and “Bugs’ Bunny”