Pizza in the wind

The other morning I was getting into my car and noticed that the wind blew some pizza into my yard from my neighbors trash can.  Honest to God.. my first thoughts were:


1. Who the hell throws away pizza?

2. I wonder what toppings that slice has on it?

3. Hey.. I know exactly where they Bought that pie!

Yeah, I know some people would call my pizza obsessed mind a problem, but heck.. I call it a gift!

 

 

Still Alive and Eating Pizza!

Wow.. I can hardly believe it's been eight months since I've posted here.  I have been active on Instagram, but I'm afraid new content here has suffered in the meantime. 

Up until now my posts have focused largely on Northern Colorado, but soon they will be dedicated to Florida pizza!  Which helps to explain the main reason for my time being capitalized.  Yes.. a cross country move is in my very near future, and I'm super excited to see what kind of life it breathes into the blog and social media!  Stay tuned my friends. It should be fun!

I feel like Grilling... Pizza! Screamin' Sicilian's 'Holy Pepperoni' pizza review

Last Sunday I decided to grill up dinner, so as not to heat up the house on a fine 96 degree summer day.  However, the only thing I craved that late afternoon was pizza.

Enter Screamin' Sicilian's Holy Pepperoni pizza. A beautifully made pie that sports spicy, rough cut, thick pepperoni, heaping piles of shredded whole milk mozzarella straight from the fine state of Wisconsin, and a tongue-popping tomato sauce crafted from the finest tomatoes available.  All of it is set atop a stone-baked, artisan crust, that acts as the perfect vessel to deliver all of this goodness straight to your pizza piehole.

As far as frozen pie goes..

  

my rating is 5 out of 5 slices

First off, all of the Screamin' Sicilian pizzas are a sight to behold cooked or uncooked.  I love the cutaway mouth on the front of the box that lets you peek at what you're actually buying.  It's what coerced me into buying my very first Screamin' Sicilian pie not too long ago!

 

I have a decent gas grill that holds a consistent temperature pretty well. I got the grill up to 425 degrees, placed the pie over indirect heat, and checked it at 15 minutes.  It ended up taking around 17 minutes to cook it the way I wanted.

As you can see, the artisan crust looked beautiful, and actually attained a nice char that reminded me somewhat of a pie pulled from a brick or wood fired oven.

The pizza looked great and tasted incredible.  I wasn't sure at first about the rough cut pepperoni, but once I sunk my teeth into a slice, I realized I wasn't missing a thing.  The pepperoni was thick, spicy, and you could definitely tell a difference between this uncured pepperoni versus your traditional pepperoni.

All in all it was a great tasting pie, and I'll definitely be grilling up more Screamin' Sicilian pizzas outside very soon.  If you've never cooked a pizza on the grill, I highly recommend it, and Screamin' Sicilian is an incredibly fine pizza to cut your teeth on!

Visit Screamin' Sicilian Online

I feel like a Pizza... BURGER! Old Chicago 'Pizza Burger' Review

For a limited time, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom is offering a one pound pizza burger on their 40th Anniversary menu.  I was more than intrigued when I first heard about it, and finally got a chance to give it a try this week.

Old Chicago's Pizza Burger really is a sight to behold, and I must admit that my pictures don't do it proper justice.  The burger sports a one pound hamburger patty, sandwiched between two pub pizzas that are topped with Italian sausage and pepperoni.  Oh yeah, this behemoth is also served with sides of onion rings, fries, and ranch dressing.

My burger was cooked perfectly, with the center right on the verge of turning from pink to light brown.  The outside of the patty had a nicely seasoned and crispy char to it.  No other condiments are added to the burger, apart from a nice layer of pizza sauce on the bottom "pub pizza bun".

This pizza burger was incredible, and had neither too much or too little of any one ingredient.  The proportions were spot on as well.  The pub pizza buns held up perfectly, and worked nicely with the massive hamburger patty.   A bit on the pricey side at $19.76, the burger was still worth every penny, and is totally big enough to split with someone.

I love burgers, and I'm of course a pizza addict, so this wild creation was right up my alley.  If you are adventurous enough to give it a try, get to your nearest Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom soon, as it's not going to be around for very long.

Visit Old Chicago Online

Review - Right Coast Pizza in Greeley Colorado

Right Coast Pizza

811 8th Street

Greeley Colorado

(970) 352-9129

When it comes to New Jersey style pizza, I believe Right Coast is the only pizzeria in the town of Greeley (and the surrounding areas for that matter) that touts such a style.  As you can see, Right Coast's Jersey pie looks very similar to New York Style pizza, maybe with a thinner hand tossed crust.

 As far as Jersey style pie goes..

 

my rating is 4 out of 5 slices

What you get with this type of pizza, is a very simple and wonderful tasting pie. A very simple sauce, super thin but not crispy hand tossed crust with just the right amount of char, and nice tasty cheese that's not piled on too heavy.

Right Coast always has a nice selection of beers on tap, and on this particular scorcher of a summer day, I opted for a New Belgium Watermelon Lime lager.

"Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication" - Leonardo DaVinci

I love that quote.  It applies to so many different aspects of life, but especially rings true with pizza.  And hey.. DaVinci was an Italian cat, so he may have even been talking about Pizza!  

Whenever I am trying out a pizzeria for the first time, I order at least one cheese slice.  This is the quickest way to find out if a pizzeria is worth its salt.  Plain and simple, if you can't even produce a good cheese slice, you won't be getting anymore of my business.  When a cheese slice physically moves you in some way, whether it's making you close your eyes, relax your upper body, or even give an audible "Mmmmmm", you know you've found a great pizzeria. 

Right Coast Pizza is located right next door to my favorite comic book store "The Nerd Store".  More often than not, I will stop by the Nerd Store to pick up a few comics for my son and I, and will then pop over next door for a light lunch.

As of the time I hit publish on this article, Right Coast currently has these two standing lunch specials:

• Two Slices and a Drink for 6.⁹⁹

 

• One Slice, a Salad and Drink 6.⁹⁹

Their lunch special ends at 4 pm daily. All prices above are for slices with one topping, feel free to add as many as you’d like, but it will cost extra. Salad included is their house side, drink special is for soft drinks only.

A side note/tip

As you are probably well aware, craft beer can sometimes get pretty pricey.  That being said, Right Coast currently has a deal running, where you can get $2.00 off of your beer if you show them you are following them on Instagram.

I really dig Right Coast.  Great pizza and beer, in a warm and hip atmosphere.  If they don't change a thing, I will continue to be a patron for years to come.

Visit Right Coast Pizza online  (or in real life)

Thank the maker for " Pizza Pizza " from Little Caesars!

Let me tell you.. it's been a real scorcher of a summer so far in Northern Colorado.  So much so, that we have been avoiding cooking inside as much as possible to keep the inside of the house cool.  Therefore, my crafting of homemade pizza has been pretty much non existent in recent weeks.

Enter Little Caesars Pizza! Only 1.2 miles from my front doorstep, they have been a lifesaver when I need a pizza fix, or a quick and convenient meal for the family.  This is not a paid advertisement or sponsored post.  I just love the pizza chain and always have.

First off, it's a given that I order their DEEP! DEEP! Dish Detroit style pan pizza. This massive pie squashes my brood's hunger instantly.  Next, I make sure to get a cheese or pepperoni traditional pie.  If we're really hungry, an order of Crazy Bread and sauce will make its way home as well.

I can't help but assume that other mega chains are taking cues from Little Caesars, and drastically slashing their prices.  Although, I've yet to see any mega chains get down to $5.00 pizzas yet, nor do I expect them to.  As far as I know, no one else can offer Hot n' Ready pies like Little Caesars does either.  I have noticed lots of "Detroit Style" Pan Pizzas being added to many a pizza chain menu as of late. Coincidence?  I think not.

Quite simply, Little Caesars has done an incredible job of building their business model to accomplish what they do.  Everyone else is scrambling to reverse engineer their business models to cut prices.  In my experience, that's not an easy thing to do.  Something usually suffers, and in the restaurant business it's usually quality.  Honestly, how can you compete price-wise with a chain that has no sit down restaurants or delivery?

Do you know I've had people tell me my taste in pizza cannot be trusted because I like Little Caesars?  Many of my friends and acquaintances are very quick to call it cheap and bad pizza.  I don't really think all of them believe it's bad pizza.  I think they simply equate cheap pizza as being bad pizza.  I don't particularly care for 99¢ frozen store bought pizzas, but I know many folks who love them.  I totally understand that certain styles of pizza may not be to everyone's liking, but to say Little Caesars is bad tasting pizza seems crazy to me.

I'm an equal opportunity pizza eater and most importantly, I am not a pizza snob.  I can appreciate Little Caesars for what they are.. a good tasting affordable pizza.  Just as I can appreciate a truly authentic slice of New York Pizza or a super thick slice of Chicago style pie.  I can honestly say that there has never been a pizza I've eaten in my life, that I couldn't at least say one thing nice about.  I guess you can chock it up to the old adage..
'Pizza is like sex.  Even when it's bad, it's good'.

Fresh pizza dough made daily, a peppy pizza sauce, and a mozzarella and muenster cheese blend.  How much trash can you really talk at the end of the day, about pizza like this that only costs five bucks?  Not to mention you get less quality at double the price at many other chains.  I really do dig Little Caesars, and will continue to patronize them until they give me a reason not to.  I'm not sure that will ever happen, as they have yet to disappoint me in 37 years.

Visit Little Caesar's Online

Monday Blues? Nah.. not for the Pizza Chap.

I don't know of many people who love Mondays.  In fact, most folks I know dread them. That being said, attitude has a lot to do with how your Monday is going to play out.  One thing that always helps me get through a tough Monday, or any day for that matter, is this..

No matter how bad it gets,
at the end of the day.. there's always Pizza and Beer.

Words to live by!