Casabe Crust Pizza
Domino’s Pizza sucks in almost every way in the US. However, here in Caracas, they have managed to make, in my opinion, a delicious breakthrough. Exit wheat crust; enter casabe.
Casabe is a flatbread/cracker/source of carbs made from cassava flour. For those that care, it is, therefore, gluten-free.
Why is this a breakthrough?
1. Casabe is a local indigenous food. That means we can still have pizza when wheat flour is scarce — which it is.
2. Even if there is wheat flour, I’d opt for casabe crust…because of the crunch. We must agree that texture is pretty important. Limp, squishy microwave pizza dough is the opposite of casabe.
3. The thinness. I like thick pizza at Zachary’s in Berkeley, anywhere in Chicago and in Steve Ross’s kitchen. Otherwise the thinner the better.
4. The firmness. The standard thin crust pizza is weak. It flops. This puts potentially loose toppings on a risky precipice or in your lap, and then requires you to lower the first couple bites it into an upturned mouth. Not casabe. Even under the pressure of a high toppings to crust ratio will it hold its shape. So you can enjoy your pizza without the need for advanced hand to mouth coordination. Pizza to mouth — straightforward is the best way.
Fino Cambur 