Jack Nicholson’s Favorite Eatery is Just Outside Hudson Valley
One of Jack Nicholson's favorite eateries can be found just outside the Hudson Valley.
The Daily Meal recently released a list of "The 101 Best Pizzas in America."
To come up with its list, The Daily Meal says it "used internal expertise, scoured Yelp and other review sites, looked at coverage by local journalists and gathered suggestions from readers."
In order to make the list, a pizzeria's pie must be "saucy, cheesy slices of heaven with a doughy-yet-crispy crust and a nice flop; along with a respectable amount of grease."
Perreca’s Bakery in Schenectady, which according to The Daily Meal is a favorite of Nicholson, placed 70th.
"A favorite of actor Jack Nicholson, Perreca’s Bakery in Schenectady has been run by the same family for more than 100 years. The Upstate New York landmark uses a coal-fired oven to bake a much-desired bread, and the star of the show — tomato pie — gets seasoned red sauce with romano and parmesan cheeses served at room temperature," The Daily Meal said about Perreca’s Bakery.
Nicholson loves the bread from Perreca’s Bakery and reportedly has it shipped to his home in Californa, according to WMHT.
"Perreca's is the best bread made anywhere," Nicholson said, according to the bakery's website.
The Oscar-winner got hooked on the Schenectady bakery around 1987 while filming Ironweed in the Captial Region. "Friends of Jack" still stop into the bakery to pick up food for the actor.
“Jack was hooked immediately on the bread,” Perreca’s Bakery co-owner Maria Papa told WMHT. “His driver would buy the bread every day and bring it to the set. We’ll get friends of Jack Nicholson’s coming through Schenectady, on their way back to Los Angeles, to get bread so he can have it on the same day. They say the bread is going to Jack Nicholson. It’s usually a neighbor or a friend. And they say they’re told ‘not to come back without the bread.’”
While a number of New York pizzeria's made the list, the Empire State did not top the list, as most New Yorkers would assume. John’s of Bleecker Street in New York City was the top-ranked New York City pizzeria, coming in third on the list.
The website claims the best slice in America can be found at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut.