Why I Oughta...

I've posted a photo of the original Dorianell's Cake Shop - the bakery operated by my grandparents where my Mom grew up (upstairs) that was originally located in the Back of the Yards neighborhood at 1114 W 51st Street, Chicago, IL 60609.  I asked ChatGPT - and their DALL-E GPT what the place would look like as an updated pizza shop.   Below are a couple of examples that were built via AI: The spelling of things like "CAKKE SHOP" and "CAKE SHORY" are sure tells that AI was the creator, aren't they? A funny thing happened - when I asked ChatGPT to update the pizza in the windows to be 'tavern cut' or cut into squares:  it wasn't able to do that.  It kept giving me back images with pie-cut pizza.   Here's the original Dorianell's Cake Shop - with awning: The next ask for DALL-E is to reimagine Dorinell's into a pizza farm.  That's for another post.

Despite my best (pinching) efforts, the Large Leaf Italian Basil is nearing the end of its run for the season.  Between bolting and the stalks browning-out, this herb is facing imminent decline.  Will I buy it again?  Of course.  I really like this variety.  Will it bolt in early September again?  Of course.  It always does.   See below for current state of our annual Large Leaf Basil: Next year - with the pizza oven in operation (knock wood) - our basil production will necessarily have to increase, won't it?   What's that you say?  We need a pizza farm?  

The post I put up yesterday regarding how Aurelio's pre-pans their dough and then racks them up pre-service time was drawn from a tip they provided on their Instagram handle.  A few posts back, they shared a photo of their founder - Joe Aurelio - in his red and white striped shop shirt . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aurelio's Pizza (@aureliospizza) That image deserved a post here in the [ pizza dreaming ] category.   Aurelio's has a whole history section up on their site and there are a number of photos with Joe Aurelio wearing this same striped shirt.  Serving beer, visiting a table and in the kitchen. I've posted a number of times over the years here on the blog about the not-going-to-happen pizza parlor spot dream.     It starts with the look of this vintage Little Caesar's Pizza Treat location with a window into the kitchen and side-by-side prep and waiting room.   Just about everything there - the...