Dear dumb guy: I love pizza. Can you tell me where it originated? - Culinarily curious in Chicago

Dear Chicago: Pizza! Yeah buddy! That’s some damn good eating there!
Pizza has a really interesting history, and it starts off in 19th-century France. We begin in the court of the Eleventh Earl of Stromboli, a passionate poker player who whiled away many a night at the table. He was also a portly gentleman - corpulent, you might say - and he liked his vittles. But he didn’t want to get up from the game.

So he calls to his chef and says, “Chef, come here … and make me something I can eat with one hand!” Chef dispatched himself to the kitchen, found some leftover bread dough, and had the brilliant idea of a savory pie.

His first efforts weren’t very appetizing - aubergine and tapioca pizza sucked then, and still does - but eventually he landed on the classic combination of tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella cheese. He named this after his wife Margaret; you may have heard of “pizza Margaret,” still served today.