I love pizza.
I mean, even bad pizza (yes, Katherine, that includes Chuck E. Cheese) is only mediocre. Good pizza is great. Great pizza is soul-searingly awesome.
A thick, flavorful crust (though thin crust can be good, I like the structural integrity of a thicker crust, and then the joy of eating it when done). Hot, zesty tomato sauce (though there are other fine sauces that can be used). I like a variety of toppings, though pepperoni (crisped in the oven just a bit) and mushrooms are my favorite. Garlic. Peppers. Onions. Cheeeese …
But deep-dish, thin crust, whatever … just hold the pineapple and anchove … pizza is one of those foods I could probably eat 3-4 times a week — for a few years, before I keeled over dead.
I love pizza.
Mmmmmm ….
Yeppers!
After the Garlic Pizza option at the New York Pizza place near you, I have been ordering that as the Prime ingredient.
While I had a 4 month gap in pizza this year (no idea why), I got one Sunday and enjoyed it greatly.
Garlic
Sausage
Pepperoni
Black Olives
Artichoke Hearts.
Mmmmmmmm….tasty!
For me a good New York thin crust is just as good as a good Chicago thick crust (and the reverse is true if the crust is sucky), and I will eat either.
White sauce or a tasty red sauce are both good, though a good red sauce is far superior and first choice.
I do enjoy the Honey that comes along with the Beau Joe’s pizza’s to eat the nice crusts.
I’m definitely a fan of Big Bill’s, and I like the take-n-bake at Nick & Willy’s, but I must say I didn’t love the supposed “Colorado style” pizza at… ummm… Doyce, where was that? Just off Country Line Road? Was that Beau Joe’s?
Amazingly for someone like me who loves bread, it was actually too much crust.
To be honest, I am disapointed in all of the non Idaho Springs Beau Jo’s, and than one really good Chinese/Pan-asian place, I don’t think there is a good place to eat at in Highlands Ranch.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a Beau Jo’s I really liked, though it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
I was told when I lived in West Lafayette, IN that we had more pizza places per capita than any other place in the US, and (although I can’t swear to the accuracy of that) it sure seemed like it.
My two favorites were Noble Romans, which had good pizza and, if you stopped one of their delivery trucks, they’d sell you a pizza right there. 🙂
Another place was near the levee, run by an Italian couple. Deep dish pizzas that were literally three inches deep, about 1/2 of which was toppings. One of their pies would last me for a week of lunches.
Not really any outstanding places here in COS, though Papa Murphy’s take ‘n bake is pretty good.
What I want to know is, what prompted you to write this paean to Pizza?
I’ve had hit-and-miss luck at Beau Jo’s other than Idaho Springs. I tried Papa Murphy once and was underwhelmed. Locally, Blackjack and Cozzola’s seem to make reasonably good pizza for delivery, and Old Chicago is pretty good for restaurants. The best pizza I ever ate was at Mangia Pizza in Austin. I see on their web site that they offer pizza by mail order; maybe I’ll try it to see how it turns out!
Beau Jo’s on Colfax, long defunct but just blocks away for a time, was fantastic. Gave up on trying any others.
Call me evil and cheap but I like Pizza Hut’s Meat Lover’s Personal Pan Pizzas. PPPs are always (so far) cooked just right or damned close, tasty and small enough that I can lie to myself about how bad it is for me. And cheap.
Pfft. Lee forgot about Mardano’s. Excellent take’n’bake.
Sadly, my block is covered by only a couple pizza delivery services. Both of them pretty much suck. So, I’ve fallen out of the pizza habit at home. But that hasn’t stop me from girding up my loins like a man, traveling downtown, and wolfing New York thin crust with a side of beer. Life simply is unsustainable without pizza.
I enjoy Papa Murphy’s — their De Lite crust substantially reduces the calories in pizza (a surprising number of which come from the crust). We used to have it every Wednesday or so, as there was one right next to my comic book shop, so I could go in, order, go over and pick up my pull stack, then pick up the pizza. Alas, they’re now blocks apart, so it’s a bit less convenient. PM (and any oven-baked) isn’t fabulous pizza, but they’re fine.
As to what prompted this: part of it is something I’ve been feeling for a while, part of it is that we were having a United Way pizza lunch upstairs later that morning and it reminded me of the subject.
One subject that Margie and I disagree on: cold pizza the day after — faboo, or a poor substitute that really needs a zap in the microwave to at least bring it to body temp?