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:: Writings | Sep 25/16
Sermon : Sodom and Gomorrah

The Great Pizza Quest

I have a lot of ambitions. Just ask my wife: I am a dreamer.

One of these ambitions will be attempted and recorded here. It is a lofty and honourable goal; something to be taken incredibly serious. I would like to take it upon myself to try every pizza in the city.

And I'm not simply talking about the big names - restaurants like Domino's, Pizza Hotline, Pizza Hut, Boston Pizza or Panago. Nor am I even talking about the no-names - restaurants like Olivia's Pizza on McPhillips, or Pizza Shack on Sargeant, or Pizza Bite on Sherbrook. Nay, I'm also talking about places that aren't even pizza-specialty restaurants, the places you wouldn't normally go to thinking about pizza - restaurants like Prairie Ink, Moxie's, or even Red Lobster.

In this process, I will attempt to relay to you my individual, partial opinion of each place I venture - and as I go from an amateur, inexperienced pizza-eater to an experienced, expert pizza-lover.

Ratings

While ratings are mostly subjective and somewhat arbitrary, I will break down my rating system as follows.

If it's the one that defines what 'pizza' is and should be - the one first thought of when thinking of pizza - it'll warrant:

   

If it's good enough to enjoy more than once, but not enough to love with a passion, it shall receive:

 

If it's worth trying for the novelty, but not good enough for recommendation, it'll get:

If there is any pizza out there which is simply not worth eating - one that simply doesn't cut it in any circumstance - I'm going to give it a:

Recent Posts

Domino's Pizza is a well-established pizza restaurant, even if it doesn't seem to blip frequently on people's radars. Yet, unlike Pizza Hut, Domino's has managed to maintain a presence - perhaps in part to its 2010 re-invention.

Some time ago, when my wife and I placed an order on-line, I signed up for the e-coupons which they send twice a week. Some of the deals are in fact deals - not merely a few bucks off to simply get you to buy from their menu. For example, we ordered two large specialty pizzas with breadsticks for about $20. (That's the advantage - the disadvantage is I crave pizza every time I receive the emails) This time around - which I'll be writing about  ... 


Bonfire Bistro is a place my brother has mentioned a number of times - and he always mentions it with the highest regard. As a result, my wife and I have often talked about going to check it out. Finally, on our friend's birthday, we went.

And it deserves praise - it deserves to be raved about.

All the pizzas are made to a so-called 'individual size,' though rightly it could easily be shared by two people. They are made in an attractive stone, wood-fired pizza oven and come on a white, 10-inch dinner plate - a size that sounds reasonable but is a few pieces more than a comfortable feeling of being full (I know because I finished all of mine). But  ... 


My family used to order from Tony's Pizza almost every Friday. They were the nearest pizza place to our home and they just so happened to be locally owned. While now there are about three other shops in the close vicinity, with others coming and going, Tony's has remained humbly yet boldly positioned at its corner. The other day, my family decided we'd order a pizza from Tony's for good ol' times - and see if it's as good as our sense of nostalgia dictated.

One thing is for certain: the pizza tastes the exact same as I remember it - and that's definitely a good thing.

The pie comes with a ball of dough in the center, likely to soak up any  ... 


The last time I was at Bella Vista I was in my mid-teens and went with my aunt. One recent Friday, my wife and I spontaneously decided to have a little jaunt over to the restorante to share a pizza for supper - and the place looks exactly as I remember it.

The interior decoration gives the restaurant a lot of character. Giant hand-painted murals adorn the walls (or are the walls), which themselves are vibrantly coloured hues of orange and blue. Golden wall sconces light the room between orangey-red pillars where there is no mural hung. Little wooden tables line the outter walls of the second-level dining area while the main-level bar is a dim blue, with a flat-screen TV playing sports  ... 


Pizza Hotline is taking over. Or so it seems. The locally and privately owned franchise has opened up various locations across the city, and has even spread to outlying areas such as Brandon and Steinbach. For a franchise that began as a small restaurant in 1988, Pizza Hotline has established itself as an unmistakably successful pizza presence within the city - and beyond. Their radio ads boast of 'great pizza at a great price' and they do not disappoint. I'm not sure how they do it, but Pizza Hotline offers cheap pizzas. Like, they're cheap. But they don't cheap out on taste.

When my wife and I order, we get the regular crust well-done and thin; this makes for a crispy, yet chewy  ... 

 
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