Tom's Bourbon Street Pizza

On Friday night my friend Allison had some people over for a wee birthday celebration (for me!). She introduced me to Tom's Bourbon Street pizza...

This is officially my new favorite pizza (on the Northshore). It reminded me of the old Rantoul Pizza in Beverly...

(Have I told the story of Rantoul Pizza? It's a sad story - Rantoul Pizza was awesome. It was a fun place to go and hangout with a friend. As a bonus, it was near an ATM and a CVS AND there was a ton of parking, so I could easily pop in there after doing some errands. The pizza was oh, so good. So very good. Tasty, tangy, salty, and with just the right amount of grease. One day I found out that Rantoul Pizza was moving over to Cabot Street because CVS was buying out their building. It was sad, but I felt comforted, knowing that the same pizza would be just a block or two away. When Rantoul Pizza moved to Cabot Street, it became Cabot Pizza. I tried to go often, but it was different. They stopped selling slices, so I had to buy a whole pizza. There was limited parking. A friend noticed changes in the pizza, but I believed it was consistently super tasty. I was wrong. The pizza got worse and worse. I think there was a change in ownership at one point? It started smelling weird and was overall unappealing. My relationship with Rantoul Pizza was really over.)

Tom's Bourbon Street Pizza was amazing. It was gooey, cheesy, and with juuust the right amount of grease. The sauce was flavorful and evenly distributed. Everything about this pizza is perfect. Except that it's in Peabody, near the mall. We can't get there terribly easily, but it's really nice to know that it's out there, just waiting for us to stop in a pick up an ooey, gooey pizza pie. Thanks Allison and thank you Tom's! You made my birthday just that much better! :)

Carrabba's

Last week the Hubs and I went out to Carrabba's for dinner. I like Carrabba's, especially because the kitchen is all open and you can see everything the cooks are doing to the food. It's all fresh and clean. I had not had their pizza recently so though I would give it a go. I ordered the margherita pizza and a cosmo...

It looks really good, doesn't it? Sadly, it wasn't. They had put on a ton of black pepper before bringing it to the table, so every now and then I got a mouthful of it. I don't like pepper. Other than the pepper, the pizza didn't have a whole lot of flavor. Overall, the pizza was bland and boring. I might try it again in the future, perhaps another time of year when the ingredients are perfectly in season. Though I am not a huge fan of the pizza, I do love Carrabba's and look forward to my next visit!

London Pizza: Paul's Pizza

While I was in London I stayed with some friends of mine and was thrilled when pizza was suggested for dinner one night. I don't know what I was expecting from Paul when he said he would make the pizza, but I was blown away by the time and effort Paul put into making the pizza. He made the dough and sauce from scratch! He made several margherita pizzas and some garlic bread. It was amazing and we couldn't get enough of it. I don't know what else to say except that Paul should make more pizza and make it often!

London Trip: Pizza Express

I recently took a trip to London to see some friends and family. My all time favorite restaurant in the UK is Pizza Express. I love that place. Everything on the menu is yummy and it's a great dining experience. So, whenever I am in the UK I make a trip to Pizza Express. I usually go more than once... I think my record is three times in a week. Like I said, I LOVE Pizza Express.

During this trip I went twice. During my first visit I had my usual menu selections - doughballs with garlic butter, the margherita pizza, the chocolate fudge cake, and a glass of pinot grigio. It was a classic, straight forward meal and it was perfection. I wouldn't change anything. The proportions of cheese to tomato on my pizza were optimal and it was cooked just the right amount of time.

For my second visit I had the doughballs again, a Pomodoro Pesto Pizza, and the pinot grigio. I had never tried to Pomodoro Pesto pizza as it was a new addition to their menu. It is one of their Romana pizzas, which are bigger, thinner, and crispier. This one had marinated tomatoes, fresh basil, pesto, baby mozzarella, and garlic oil. It was really good, but I still like the margherita pizza best... though this one might have trumped the margherita if they had put more cheese on it. Overall, it was really good with excellent quality toppings.

I could rave all day about Pizza Express, but I won't. I just want to suggest that you make a trip to Pizza Express the next time you are in the UK.

NYC Pizza blog

GSS sent me this link to a blog about New York City pizza. Yummmm....

http://sohomemory.com/2011/10/15/the-golden-triangle/

Frozen Pizza

We have recently sampled some new frozen pizzas... Trader Joe's Pesto Pizza and Newman's Own White Pizza. I think overall, we were really impressed by both pizzas. It's pretty amazing what you can get for a few bucks in the grocer's freezer!

Trader Joe's Pesto Pizza had a chewy crust which was really yummy. The tomatoes and the pesto sauce created a really moist pizza that was at times messy, but always tasty. We really liked this pizza and I think it was something like $3 at Trader Joe's. We will definitely buy this one again! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Newman's Own White pizza had a crispier dough. Overall, it was easier and less messy to eat, though the spinach did tend to get stuck in teeth. I loved the feta cheese topping (yum!). The pizza was a little dry... maybe we overcooked it? Not sure. We may buy this pizza again. It came in a huge box and made closing our freezer a little tricky, so it might be best for us to buy at the last minute on a night we know we will eat it. It was also more expensive at around $8.

(Sorry for the lack of photos - we ate both pizzas before remembering to take a photo!)

Amazing Pizza: The Mystery Continues

The Hubs and I have been watching and waiting for "Amazing Pizza" to open soon. We saw a sign on the little building months and months ago. We have been (not so) patiently waiting for the awesome pizza. We note small changes occurring and exciting share with each other, "I saw someone go in Amazing Pizza the other day!" or "The flowers outside aren't dead yet! Someone is still watering them..."

We've had some developments in the past week that need to be shared here. About a week ago, after weeks of no noticable activity at Amazing Pizza, I noticed that the sign had been taken down. It seemed that Amazing Pizza would no longer be coming soon. It was a very sad day.

And then...

Two days ago the sign went back up! I feel that this is promising. Why go through the bother of putting a sign back up if you're not going to actually open up shop? Things are looking up!

White Pizza

The Hubs and I have been experimenting with pesto and white sauces in the past couple weeks. We had a less than successful attempt at making a pizza at home with Trader Joe's whole wheat dough, pesto sauce, and mozzarella cheese. It ended up being kind of dry and bland.

Tonight we got pizza from the Engine House in Salem, MA. We ordered the white pizza with spinach and tomatoes...

It was really good! I was pleasantly surprised. It was moist and cheesy and the white sauce had a nice light garlic flavor. Also: it still tasted awesome when I reheated a couple slices for lunch the next day.

Amazing Pizza, Coming Soon?

The Hubs and I live in Salem, MA. It's pretty great, but one major downside of our location is the lack of a good pizza place. We have tried the pizza in our area and have not found anything special. We usually end up ordering from Dominos, which is good, but not great. Early in the Spring, we noticed a sign outside a small building in our neighborhood - "Amazing Pizza - Coming Soon."

We were so excited! At last! Amazing pizza in Salem! So, we waited and watched. We happen to drive by the building every day on our way to work, so it was easy to watch progress on the building. We saw people going in and out. We saw painters and workmen. When it got warm, they put out some hanging plants. And now... nothing. I haven't seen any activity all summer. I am beginning to think that this "Amazing Pizza" will never appear, but I'll keep you posted...

Roasted Vegetables and Goat Cheese Pizza

Today I had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with a good friend. We were excited about their lunch special of pizza and a green salad. It was $11.50 each, which I felt was a bit steep for a smallish pizza, but it was a special occasion - my friend is moving to California, so it was our last meal together for some time.

He ordered the Tomato and Basil pizza with a Caesar Salad ($1 more) and I got the Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Pizza with the green salad. My pizza came with roasted eggplant, red and yellow peppers, grilled onion, artichokes, kalamata olives, tomato and mozzarella, though I asked them to hold the olives. I've had this pizza before and I had forgotten how good it is! I love this pizza. Love. This. Pizza. Everything about it is awesome. The crust is soft and lightly seasoned, the sauce is tasty, the cheese is gooey, and the toppings are roasted to perfection. I can't praise this pizza enough and I can't wait to go back for more...

Homemade Birthday Pizza

Last week was my younger brother's birthday. He wanted pizza, but we ended up making reservations at a local restaurant that doesn't serve it. To try to compromise a little we made homemade pizza that afternoon. We ate small squares of the pizza as appetizers and then walked to the restaurant for dinner.

Now, I haven't made homemade pizza in years, however I didn't worry because my older brother was around to help and we cheated a little by buying pre-made dough, bottled sauce, and pre-grated cheese, so it was really a matter of assembly. We used dough from Bertucci's Market, Ragu Pizza Sauce, and Sargento Mozzarella. We didn't really fool around with toppings. I thought a simple cheese pizza would make everyone happy, though I did add a little bit of minced garlic. The pizza turned out really well. I think having the appropriate proportions of sauce and cheese are important. When I would make homemade pizza as a child I would dump a TON of sauce and cheese on the dough and it would just not be good. I think in order to have a really saucy or cheesy pizza you need a proper pizza oven, which we just don't have. Anyway, the pizza turned out well and it was quickly consumed as we sipped our cocktails. Nom! Can't wait to make pizza again!

Fran and Diane's

Fran and Diane's pizza was also recommended to me by a patient. I was so excited to try it. The Hubs almost tried some a few weeks ago but I wouldn't let him go without me. We finally got some last night. It looked awesome. My first bite reminded me of Papa Gino's pizza, but after a few more bites..... sigh. I realized it was boring pizza. Bland. No real zing of flavor. Everything about it was decent and well done, except that it was clearly lacking in the flavor department. It was as if they forgot to add some essential spice to the pizza. The Hubs added a bunch of red pepper flakes to his and was very happy, but I was sorrowful as I ate my pizza. I still managed almost three slices, so it really wasn't that bad. Just disappointingly boring.

Last minute pizza

Last night I was heading over to a friend's house. I had just finished dinner, but was very interested in her suggestion of sharing a pizza. I offered to pick one up on my way over. I wanted to go somewhere on the way, so decided to try Harry's Pizza in Beverly Farms. They have changed owners several times and I wondered if the new ones were any good at making pizza. I ordered a large cheese. It was $10, not bad. It was ready promptly, which I appreciated. I picked it up and drove over to my fellow pizza lover's home. It smelled good, but not overly tempting, which may have been for the best or it might not have survived the drive! My friend and I admired the pizza. It looked pretty good. Cheese evenly spread and the crust nicely puffed. It tasted pretty good too. It was a good, solid cheese pizza. It was what we were looking for at the time and we downed a couple slices each. I can recommend Harry's Pizza to people looking for a quick pizza fix. My only reservation is that it's not very... special. While I feel that it's a reliable, good pizza, I might not be tempted to dash back there anytime soon.

A review of January

January was a busy month! I did manage to try a few new pizza places here and there. Some of the pizza was quite memorable, other pizza... not so much.

In early January I headed to the Dominican Republic for a relaxing week at the beach. We stayed at the Occidental Grand in Punta Cana. The food was all inclusive, so we could eat at any of the 9 restaurants as much as we wanted, any time we wanted. They had a couple buffets and a couple late night eateries, so every night we had two dinners because we could. We often ate at 6:30 and then had sort of a light supper around 9 or 9:30. La Fontana was a relaxed pizza place that didn't take reservations. Their pizza was really good. I don't remember many details since it was a month ago, but really, an open air pizza place in the Dominican... pizza in one hand and a daiquari in the other, how can you go wrong? That said - the pizza at the buffets were not as good, despite similar surroundings.

More recently I went to the Riverview Restaurant in Ipswich, MA. I had actually been given a hot tip about this place by a patient in the hospital! She told me about two other places which will be reviewed at a later date. Anyway, the Riverview Restaurant only serves pizza and they only accept cash. This might put some people off, but not me. The pizzas are super reasonably priced. A 12 inch pizza is around $6, a cheese pizza even cheaper. The most expensive pizza on the menu was $10 and it had like 12 toppings, so no wonder. Their drinks are also reasonably priced. Sodas are .50/small and $1/large. Wine was $4/glass, I think and beer was around $2.50. We spent $14 on two pizzas and they were filling enough to feed 3 of us. A very good investment. Also, the pizza was awesome! We got a cheese pizza and a broccoli and garlic pizza. The crust was thin, but not too crispy. The cheese had a slight tang, which we think came from some cheddar in the mix, but were not sure. I really enjoyed the broccoli and garlic pizza, despite the fact that the broccoli had clearly been frozen. The cheese one was also good, but the broccoli garlic was amazing. There was just enough garlic for a good flavor, but it was not overpowering. After a bad garlic experience at Bertuccis a couple years ago I have been hesitant to order garlic on my pizza, but Riverview did not disappoint. I will definitely go there and order garlic on my pizza again. Yum!

January was a good month for pizza. Looking forward to more pizza in February!