Sorry to hear about your cheese problem, CarolC. I didn't think a pie could be called pizza without cheese -- but apparently I was mistaken.

One fairly recent "gourmet" trend, which supposedly has its roots back in Naples, is the "white pizza," with no red sauce (tomato sauce) of any kind. Little more than cheese, plus (usually) garlic. Interesting, sometimes very good, but hardly traditional or "classic."

Knife and fork are in appropriate for most non-deep-dish pizzas, but absolutely necessary for Chicago-style. The upside-down "pizza pot pies" at Chicago Pizza and Grinder Oven Company, for example, couldn't possibly be picked up and eaten by hand.

Back to basics (thin-to-medium pizzas): When I'm really hungry and unwilling to wait for a just-baked pizza to cool, and I want to avoid burning the roof of my mouth, I will sometimes cut a small piece, spear it with a fork, and nibble. Before the first slice is finished, however, I'm back to my usual hands-on technique.

And I *always* eat the crusts. The stupidest thing* I've ever seen is people who pay extra to buy "breadsticks" while turning their nose up at the crusts of the pizza they're eating. Breadsticks at a pizzeria, of course, are no different at all from pie crusts -- same dough, same oven, etc.

*Well, ONE of the stupidest things...