Union Station, Washington DC. I'm headed to the Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar. John and Kelly Blottenberger run the Café Latte Da tent at the market. I want to learn about their mobile wood burning oven.
Pizzeria Uno at Union Station.
The ceiling inside the station.
Arriving Penn Station, Baltimore.
At the market. Man and fire. Pizzaiolo John Blottenberberg works the oven.
John removes a pizza through the arch of the oven.
The origin of pizza: Communal ovens are first used by the wealthier citizens to bake their breads. Ashes on the floor of the oven stay hot for hours after the fire is out. As twilight approaches, the poorer citizens take what little dough they have and stretch it into thin plates which they place on the ashes and cover with vegetables and spices.
The pizza inside is brought outside, to be consumed, in turn, by the fire within us. Nourished by this flat bread and robust company and conversation, we are energized to work creating art, business, science, entertainment. It all starts with the pizza.
Before the written word is the alphabet. Twenty six letters combine and recombine to become libraries of books. Before great architecture comes the simple arches, and from there the myriad variations of the buildings in our lives. The oven, cornerstone of cities and civilization.
Back in DC. The arch of the subway ceiling at Union Station echoes my hope to invite John to bring his oven on a visit to Silver Spring.
5775.08.17.3
No comments:
Post a Comment