Today, home pizza delivery is still an integral part of the pizza culture, and there are other areas of our modern culture where pizza delivery fits in just as well. The big screen is one of those places.

The Movie Industry’s Rising Star

Pizza delivery has been making a presence in the movie industry for years.

In the movie “Blue Streak”, Martin Lawrence dresses up as a pizza delivery guy to try and get into the office of the police commissioner. He’s got to be the most stylish (or not!) pizza delivery guy in history.

Kevin McAllister ordered pizza for his jaunt in a white stretch limo around New York City in “Home Alone 2″.

There are even movies that have a pizza delivery guy as the main character. The 1984 comedy, Delivery Boys and Spike Lee’s 1989, “Do the Right Thing” are two examples.

Beyond The Movies

There are pizza delivery guys in novels like Tom Wolfe’s “I Am Charlotte Simmons” and Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash”. Pizza delivery has even made its way in the mainstream television racket with the Australian comedy series, Pizza. Pizza even has its own month. October has been National Pizza Month since 1987.

Pizza isn’t just a food anymore. It’s has been integrated into our society over time. It’s just a part of who we are. It doesn’t matter if you live in Melbourne, Paris or San Francisco, you’ll find pizza somewhere in today’s culture.

Aussie Pizza Connoisseur
Melbourne Pizza Delivery © 2009-2010

A Taste For Hondas And Pizza!

It’s true. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicles, the teenagers allegedly stole more than twenty Honda Accords in and around the Oakland, California, USA area. Seems they had a taste for Hondas and pizza.

The gang would steal a car, drive it around for a few days, all the while indulging themselves with pizza. When they’d had all the fun they wanted to have, they’d strip the car of all of its valuable parts, and then leave it abandoned. So how were these pizza loving bandits discovered?

Pizza Box Leads To Arrest

The mystery was solved when investigators noticed that the pizza boxes had the name of the pizza joint on them, but none of them had the tags that come with them when you buy a pizza. They put two and two together, and deduced that the car-theft bandit must work at a pizza place. At this point in their investigation they had no idea they were looking for more than one suspect. Their hunch paid off.

A 17 year-old suspected car thief was working at the counter of the pizza establishment. The trail eventually led to the arrest of the other 8 pizza-munching bandits, all of whom were underage.

Not many people would look at a pizza as a device that helps solve crime, but here at Melbourne pizza delivery, we know that pizza makes anything possible!

Aussie Pizza Connoisseur
Melbourne Pizza Delivery © 2009-2010

We call for pizza takeaway, and within 30 minutes or so, there’s a knock at the door, and our pizza is delivered right to our homes, piping hot. It may even seem as if pizza delivery always existed, but it didn’t. So when was the worlds first pizza delivery, and who ordered it?

The Worlds First Pizza Delivery

It is speculated that the worlds first pizza delivery took place in 1889. Naples pizzeria owner, Raffaele Esposito, was believed to have delivered a pizza to the king and queen of Italy while they were visiting the city. It is said that the queen wanted to try this new style food called pizza pie, but couldn’t bring herself to actually visit a pizza establishment.

When American service men came home from overseas after World War II, they brought with them a palate for pizza, which was already quite popular in Europe. It wasn’t until after World War II, when the automobile started to become a more accessible commodity, that home pizza delivery started to come onto the scene.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Domino’s Pizza founder, Tom Monaghan, however, was the person most credited with the new age of pizza delivery.

“Delivery at the time was pretty minimal, so I decided to focus on that, and it was the best thing I’ve done. Nobody thought you could make money on delivery. Most places just delivered to get some volume before they could afford to cut out the delivery. But I thought I could do it,” said Monaghan in an interview with Fortune Magazine in the late sixties.

Although he was not responsible for the worlds first pizza delivery, Melbourne and the rest of the world continue to benefit from Tom Monaghan’s insight, determination, and perseverance.

Aussie Pizza Connoisseur
Melbourne Pizza Delivery © 2009-2010

To others, pizza is a fattening indulgence, nothing better than junk food. So what’s the real story? Is pizza healthy or simply sinful?

Pizza Is What You Make It

Perhaps you could have guessed that answer, but it’s really the truth. Pizza can and will be whatever you (or your favorite Melbourne pizza chef) make it. It has a lot to do with your pizza’s foundation, and everything to do with what you use for your pizza toppings.

Making A Healthy Pizza

Basically, pizza preparation follows no different dietary rules than any other health food. To make a healthy pizza, start with whole wheat dough (healthier than white breads and crusts) and your favorite tomato sauce, and then top that with a skim rather than whole-milk mozzarella or pizza cheese.

Pile on the low-fat toppings, mainly vegetables (try tomato, onion, pepper, mushroom, broccoli, or whatever you like best) and you have a quite healthy pizza this is low fat, low calorie and extremely yummy.

Making A Sinful Pizza

On the other hand, if you care more for the flavor than the calorie count, go for the traditional white pizza dough, top it with the creamier and tastier whole milk mozzarella (extra cheese, please!) and pile it high with the meats of your choice…pepperoni, bacon, ham, hamburger, and sausage are among the world’s most popular.

If that makes you feel guilty (but hey what’s life without a few guilty pleasures?) you can take solace in the fact that even the “unhealthy” versions of pizza still have high nutritional value in some respects. Tomatoes are known for their antioxidant power and other health benefits, and carbohydrates, calcium, and protein are all important parts of a healthy diet, too!

Aussie Pizza Connoisseur
Melbourne Pizza Delivery © 2009-2010

Introducing The Greenbox

The Greenbox is a pizza box that is perforated on the lid. The perforations break the pizza box into four different sections that can be used as pizza plates.

You can also tear off a few of the triangular strips from the sides of the bottom section of the box, fold at the score, and you’ve got a handy-dandy half-sized pizza box for your leftover pizza slices!

Pizza Box Turns Into Pizza Plates

Click here to view the embedded video.

Because parts of a pizza box get all greasy they aren’t necessarily considered to be recyclable. This usually only happens to the bottom of the box. The lid, being made out of corrugated cardboard, can usually be recycled, so you could argue that by using it for pizza plates makes it unsuitable for recycling. You could also argue that by not using real plates you save on water use.

Say Goodbye To Dirty Dishes

No matter which argument you stand behind, at the end of the day, if you call for pizza delivery here in Melbourne you’re going to get a pizza box. Chances are you’re going to use some form of disposable plates to eat it off of so you don’t have to worry about cleaning dishes.

After all, when someone orders out, it usually means they aren’t in the mood for cooking or cleaning up the mess associated with it. So why not use your pizza box for pizza plates? You’re paying for it anyway.

Aussie Pizza Connoisseur
Melbourne Pizza Delivery © 2009-2010