This pizza was a last minute decision that I made with my roommate. It was roommie night and we had planned on cooking but decided it was just too much effort. She pulled out the ipad and began to order delivery from the Sisson Ave Pizza House.
Pizza Basics
There was cheese. There was crust. There was nothing special about either.
The Pizza
This is, verbatim, what the menu promised:
BBQ chicken, bacon, blue cheese
The Chicken
Chunks of white meat that seemed to have been soaked in brine. It was very, very salty.
The Sauce
There was no BBQ sauce on this pizza. There may have been some trivial amount, but it was not something you could taste over the saltiness of the chicken.
The Toppings
There was bacon, which was also very salty. There was no blue cheese.
Overall
I can't really give a rating to this pizza. It was so fucking salty that it was barely edible. Moreover, there was no fucking blue cheese. The menu said there would be blue cheese (I'm glad there was not, it was already the saltiest pizza I had ever eaten), the menu lied. Liars get no respect from me, they flunk BBQ Pizza 101 and are suspended for academic dishonesty.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
The Fireplace (B+)
Connecticut is a strange place to go hiking. I grew up in Maine, so I'm used to well marked, well maintained trails that scale mountains. Connecticut has many state parks with many hiking trails...but many of them are poorly marked, poorly maintained and some are downright dangerous. Not only that, but CT doesn't have many mountains and the hikes are treacherous scramblings up hills. Having said that, there are many beautiful vistas at the top of CT hills that let you see for miles and miles.
Another difference between Maine hiking and CT hiking is that Mainers usually have to drive long distances to reach the trails they want to climb--they are far from civilization. Most Connecticut parks are right inside of towns. So what did I do after hiking last week? I got a barbecue chicken pizza, of course!
The Location
The Fireplace is a cute pizzeria and pub located in downtown Southington, CT. The atmosphere is quiet and dark, the tone is hip and young. Their website boasts of their many awards and positive reviews.
The Basics
The Fireplace makes all their food in a wood fueled oven, but I would not call this brick oven pizza. In reality, it's New Haven style pizza. I have to admit that the rest of this review will be biased. I just do not like New Haven pizza. Since moving to Connecticut, I've discovered that it's a thing for people here to love New Haven Pizza. I feel like I am keeping some kind of dirty secret because I don't love the same pizza as my local friends and coworkers--and I don't dare tell them.
I guess it's not a secret anymore.
New Haven pizzas are thin and have a chewy, crispy crust. That sounds appealing, but it's terribly unpleasant. The crust requires so much chewing and mashing that my jaw actually gets tired after the second piece. It's like eating a tough, overcooked steak...that occasionally jabs you in the gums. I like New York pizza with its soft, chewy crust, I like Chicago deep dish pizza with its flaky, fatty crust and I like brick oven pizzas with their floury, melt-in-your-mouth crusts. I do not like this New Haven bullshit. I think Tony Stark could have made his Iron Man suit out of New Haven Pizzas.
The Pizza
The Fireplace calls their barbecue chicken pizza the 'Honey Barbecue' and it is described as 'chicken, bacon, mozzarella cheese over honey barbecue sauce.' Sounds great, right? It looked great, too.
The Chicken
Chunks of breast meat that were still moist. Yum!
The Sauce
Ok, I'm going to pause here and say that this honey barbecue sauce was absolutely amazing. It had just the right balance of sweet and tangy. It was full of seasonings and flavors that were subtle and powerful at the same time. The Fireplace may have the best barbecue sauces I've ever had. You can bet that I will be going back to try their wings.
The Toppings
I should point out, here, that the bacon on this pizza was freshly cooked and was laid across the pizza in complete strips. They were a little crispy, a little chewy and added just the right amount of salt to the pizza.
Overall
The flavor of this pizza came together in a really beautiful way. It had just the right balance of salty, sweet and tangy. I was blown away. Unfortunately, I just can't get past the particle-board crust. I am giving this pizza a B+. If you like New Haven style pizza, dear reader, you would probably give this pizza an A.
I think that Connecticut pizza is a lot like Connecticut hiking--beautiful, convenient and a pain in the ass.
Another difference between Maine hiking and CT hiking is that Mainers usually have to drive long distances to reach the trails they want to climb--they are far from civilization. Most Connecticut parks are right inside of towns. So what did I do after hiking last week? I got a barbecue chicken pizza, of course!
The Location
The Fireplace is a cute pizzeria and pub located in downtown Southington, CT. The atmosphere is quiet and dark, the tone is hip and young. Their website boasts of their many awards and positive reviews.
The Basics
The Fireplace makes all their food in a wood fueled oven, but I would not call this brick oven pizza. In reality, it's New Haven style pizza. I have to admit that the rest of this review will be biased. I just do not like New Haven pizza. Since moving to Connecticut, I've discovered that it's a thing for people here to love New Haven Pizza. I feel like I am keeping some kind of dirty secret because I don't love the same pizza as my local friends and coworkers--and I don't dare tell them.
I guess it's not a secret anymore.
New Haven pizzas are thin and have a chewy, crispy crust. That sounds appealing, but it's terribly unpleasant. The crust requires so much chewing and mashing that my jaw actually gets tired after the second piece. It's like eating a tough, overcooked steak...that occasionally jabs you in the gums. I like New York pizza with its soft, chewy crust, I like Chicago deep dish pizza with its flaky, fatty crust and I like brick oven pizzas with their floury, melt-in-your-mouth crusts. I do not like this New Haven bullshit. I think Tony Stark could have made his Iron Man suit out of New Haven Pizzas.
 |
| "I knew I should have gone with something tougher." |
The Pizza
The Fireplace calls their barbecue chicken pizza the 'Honey Barbecue' and it is described as 'chicken, bacon, mozzarella cheese over honey barbecue sauce.' Sounds great, right? It looked great, too.
 |
| Delicious in the middle, dangerous around the edge. |
The Chicken
Chunks of breast meat that were still moist. Yum!
The Sauce
Ok, I'm going to pause here and say that this honey barbecue sauce was absolutely amazing. It had just the right balance of sweet and tangy. It was full of seasonings and flavors that were subtle and powerful at the same time. The Fireplace may have the best barbecue sauces I've ever had. You can bet that I will be going back to try their wings.
The Toppings
I should point out, here, that the bacon on this pizza was freshly cooked and was laid across the pizza in complete strips. They were a little crispy, a little chewy and added just the right amount of salt to the pizza.
Overall
The flavor of this pizza came together in a really beautiful way. It had just the right balance of salty, sweet and tangy. I was blown away. Unfortunately, I just can't get past the particle-board crust. I am giving this pizza a B+. If you like New Haven style pizza, dear reader, you would probably give this pizza an A.
I think that Connecticut pizza is a lot like Connecticut hiking--beautiful, convenient and a pain in the ass.
Monday, August 12, 2013
George's Pizza Restaurant (D+)
It has been a year since I posted in the Barbecue Chicken Pizza blog! Why did I take an extended hiatus from reviewing the world's favorite pizza--was it because I stopped eating barbecue chicken pizza? Not at all. After a lot of exploring and reviewing, I finally admitted to myself that Fred's Brick House Cafe made the best pizzas I have ever had in my life. I've eaten a LOT of there wood-fired treats over the past year. While I did occasionally order chicken pizzas from other restaurants, it seemed silly to keep reviewing them since I had already found the best.
But I am back now. Why? Because I don't live near Fred's Brick House Cafe anymore! I moved to Hartford, a full 30 minutes away from Fred's. I'm in the middle of a city and I have no idea where to go for good pizza. I asked around and nobody could point me to a good pizza joint, or hole-in-the-wall take-out or a beloved mom-and-pop institution. Nobody seems to know anything about good pizza in Hartford.
So I'm back on the case...and I'm bringing you all with me.
I found George's Pizza Restaurant on Yelp. It had five glowing reviews and a five star rating and was just a couple miles from my house. George's seemed like a great place to start, so I put in a call for...take-out. George's doesn't deliver, but it was ok because getting there turned out to be half the fun. George's Pizza Restaurant is located on Park Street in Hartford which, for those of you that don't know the local geography, is a colorful area. It's a poor neighborhood, predominantly Puerto Rican, and has a reputation for being dangerous. I think there are some annoying things about Park Street, where people yell at each other from a block away and step into traffic without looking, but I have to say that it seems like a warm, vibrant community. George's Pizza Restaurant is located right where Park Street starts to turn from urban (ethnic) to suburban (white). It's a cute joint that looks like it has been serving the community solidly for decades.
The Cheese Pizza
George's makes deep dish pizzas that have a yummy, flaky crust. The cheese on top was slightly overcooked an chewy--something that I actually enjoy a lot. Unfortunately, the cheese pizza I ordered was bland and tasteless. There was no seasoning in the sauce, the cheese or the crust.
The Barbecue Chicken Pizza
The menu promised a pizza with chicken, BBQ sauce, ricotta cheese and bacon, a description that excited my mouth and my belly. When I got home and opened the box, I found that the pizza was constructed using the Envelope Method. All the toppings were tucked in the space between the cheese and the crust.
 |
| What are you hiding?! |
The Chicken
The chicken was leftover dark meat with an unpleasant texture.
The Sauce
The BBQ sauce was a bit sour and unappealing.
The Overall Taste
This pizza was bland. Remember how I said that the cheese pizza was bland? Yeah, this pizza was bland, too. I was excited by the promise of bacon and ricotta but I was disappointed. The bacon? Bland, fatty chunks. The ricotta? Bland, fatty mush. Three blands do not make a bright.
The Overall Taste
This pizza was bland. Remember how I said that the cheese pizza was bland? Yeah, this pizza was bland, too. I was excited by the promise of bacon and ricotta but I was disappointed. The bacon? Bland, fatty chunks. The ricotta? Bland, fatty mush. Three blands do not make a bright.
Rating
I was very disappointed by this pizza. The description sounded delicious and the pizza looked delicious. When I put it in my mouth, though, there was no delicious anywhere to be seen. The pizza's saving grace was a tasty crust with a great texture. George's Pizza Restaurant gets a D+.
 |
| Your mother and I are very disappointed in you. |
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Willimantic Brewing Company (Pomfret Pulled Pork Pizza) (B+)
I hadn't spoken to my friend Ashley in many months until very recently. We each developed a secret grudge against the other, angry that the other one had not made contact. This didn't come out until very recently when we found ourselves taking the same class. She pulled me aside at the break time and asked me what the hell I thought I was doing, ignoring her for so long. Comedy ensued.
During the conversation, Ashley reminded me that I had not updated the barbecue chicken pizza blog in months. She was not the only person to mention that recently, so I decided it was time. I had several of these pizzas over the summer but hadn't been writing them up! I didn't know that anyone had noticed.
It has returned.
The Location
I met up with Ashley at the Willimantic Brewing Company, also known as the Willibrew, to catch up over drinks. We had a great time, chatted about life and graduate school and dating and marriage. I decided while I was there that I just HAD to get the barbecue pulled pork flatbread pizza. I did review another Willibrew flatbread last year and, as I remember, it was not all that great. I decided to give them another chance.
The Pizza
This pizza was built like a lot of other flatbreads. It had a generic, premade crust, lots of bbq sauce and pork and cheese. It also had onions and maybe a few other tidbits of flavor tossed on top. The cheese was salty and tasty, the crust was MUCH better on this pizza than it had been in the past. I don't know how, but they made the crust feel like it was integrated into the overall pizza, rather than a separate entity with toppings plopped on top.
The Pork
I was really impressed by the pulled pork. They cooked it just right, put it on there in delicious gobs and smothered it with Willibrews own beer-b-cue sauce. For future reference, oh culinary fans, that very same pulled pork can be added to the Willibrew's famous nachos. I highly recommend it.
The Sauce and the Taste
I already sung the praises of the sauce. It worked. It was sweet and smoky and salty and worked with the onions and the cheese really well. All together, I liked the flavor a lot.
Overall
I'm not going to give this pizza an A. I still can't embrace the premade crusts, even if it is integrated with tasty toppings. I will go as close as I can, though, with a B+. This is a solid pizza and makes for a great snack when you are out for a night at the pub.
During the conversation, Ashley reminded me that I had not updated the barbecue chicken pizza blog in months. She was not the only person to mention that recently, so I decided it was time. I had several of these pizzas over the summer but hadn't been writing them up! I didn't know that anyone had noticed.
It has returned.
The Location
I met up with Ashley at the Willimantic Brewing Company, also known as the Willibrew, to catch up over drinks. We had a great time, chatted about life and graduate school and dating and marriage. I decided while I was there that I just HAD to get the barbecue pulled pork flatbread pizza. I did review another Willibrew flatbread last year and, as I remember, it was not all that great. I decided to give them another chance.
The Pizza
This pizza was built like a lot of other flatbreads. It had a generic, premade crust, lots of bbq sauce and pork and cheese. It also had onions and maybe a few other tidbits of flavor tossed on top. The cheese was salty and tasty, the crust was MUCH better on this pizza than it had been in the past. I don't know how, but they made the crust feel like it was integrated into the overall pizza, rather than a separate entity with toppings plopped on top.
The Pork
I was really impressed by the pulled pork. They cooked it just right, put it on there in delicious gobs and smothered it with Willibrews own beer-b-cue sauce. For future reference, oh culinary fans, that very same pulled pork can be added to the Willibrew's famous nachos. I highly recommend it.
The Sauce and the Taste
I already sung the praises of the sauce. It worked. It was sweet and smoky and salty and worked with the onions and the cheese really well. All together, I liked the flavor a lot.
Overall
I'm not going to give this pizza an A. I still can't embrace the premade crusts, even if it is integrated with tasty toppings. I will go as close as I can, though, with a B+. This is a solid pizza and makes for a great snack when you are out for a night at the pub.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Midway Pizza (B-)
Location
Kiley warned me that in Pawcatuck, CT and Westery, RI there is not a lot of food to be found at night. I insisted that there must be a pizza joint open, since it was only 830. She shook her head, but opened her laptop and began to investigate. We settled for Midway Pizza which was located just over the river in Westerly. When we arrived at 8:50, the woman behind the counter asked (half yelling) "Did you order two small pizzas?" "Yes." "Good! I wanna get out of here." We purchased our pizzas and they shut the door behind us.
Just for the record, this was a Saturday night.
The Pizza
I decided to order the buffalo chicken pizza with bleu cheese. Midway makes thick crust pizzas, heaped with bread and cheese. The crust was tasty, as was the cheese.
The Chicken
Generic chicken chunks, but not too chewy. Decent.
The Flavor and the Taste
I think that they used a generic buffalo sauce, but I cannot complain. It was delicious. There wasn't a lot of bleu cheese on the pizza--just enough to give it a rich, salty taste. What this pizza was lacking was vegetables. It could have used onions or broccoli or...something, I don't know.
Overall
I wasn't wowwed by this pizza, but it was tasty and I would definitely eat it again.
Kiley warned me that in Pawcatuck, CT and Westery, RI there is not a lot of food to be found at night. I insisted that there must be a pizza joint open, since it was only 830. She shook her head, but opened her laptop and began to investigate. We settled for Midway Pizza which was located just over the river in Westerly. When we arrived at 8:50, the woman behind the counter asked (half yelling) "Did you order two small pizzas?" "Yes." "Good! I wanna get out of here." We purchased our pizzas and they shut the door behind us.
Just for the record, this was a Saturday night.
The Pizza
I decided to order the buffalo chicken pizza with bleu cheese. Midway makes thick crust pizzas, heaped with bread and cheese. The crust was tasty, as was the cheese.
The Chicken
Generic chicken chunks, but not too chewy. Decent.
The Flavor and the Taste
I think that they used a generic buffalo sauce, but I cannot complain. It was delicious. There wasn't a lot of bleu cheese on the pizza--just enough to give it a rich, salty taste. What this pizza was lacking was vegetables. It could have used onions or broccoli or...something, I don't know.
Overall
I wasn't wowwed by this pizza, but it was tasty and I would definitely eat it again.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Husky Pizza (Chicken Bacon Ranch) (C+)
My friend brought me another pizza, along with the barbecue chicken. I thought it deserved a separate review because this pizza was somewhat better than the first.
The Location
Husky Pizza is named after the UConn mascot: The Husky. Or: The Huskies. Or: Huskies. Who the fuck knows what it actually is. All I know is that there are damned cartoon snow dogs printed on everything.
The Pizza
No red sauce, all ranch dressing. Bacon and chicken on top. Same decent crust, same decent cheese.
The Chicken
Same ok chicken from the BBQ chicken.
The Sauce and the Taste
What made this pizza work was the ranch dressing. It got a nice, potent salty flavor that I enjoyed. Now, I would have put broccoli on this bad mother...probably some other kind of seasoning. There was definitely garlic salt on the crust, which was a welcome addition.
Overall
This pizza worked better than the BBQ chicken, but was still a big disappointment. It just didn't have any pizzazz, gumption, chutzpah or any other kind of oomph.
The Location
Husky Pizza is named after the UConn mascot: The Husky. Or: The Huskies. Or: Huskies. Who the fuck knows what it actually is. All I know is that there are damned cartoon snow dogs printed on everything.
The Pizza
No red sauce, all ranch dressing. Bacon and chicken on top. Same decent crust, same decent cheese.
The Chicken
Same ok chicken from the BBQ chicken.
The Sauce and the Taste
What made this pizza work was the ranch dressing. It got a nice, potent salty flavor that I enjoyed. Now, I would have put broccoli on this bad mother...probably some other kind of seasoning. There was definitely garlic salt on the crust, which was a welcome addition.
Overall
This pizza worked better than the BBQ chicken, but was still a big disappointment. It just didn't have any pizzazz, gumption, chutzpah or any other kind of oomph.
Husky Pizza (C-)
This BBQ chicken pizza was brought over by a nice girl who wanted to help a brother out while he was too busy working to cook for himself. You can't say no to that!
The Location
Husky Pizza is located across the street from the UConn campus. I had not eaten there, until today, because nobody ever recommended it...or said anything about it at all. It was just there in the background.
The Pizza
The crust was ok, the cheese was fine. Their BBQ chicken came topped with tomatoes and onions in addition to sauce and chicken.
The Chicken
Was chunks...cooked...it tasted fine.
The Sauce and the Taste
There was sauce on this pizza. I can tell because some areas of the surface were stickier than others. Really, I can't comment on the taste because this pizza had no taste. It was blander than bland. I don't know how you could make or purchase barbecue sauce with such little flavor. I didn't know such sauce existed. It was unseasoned, unsalted, uneverythinged.
Overall
There was nothing bad about this pizza. And by that I mean that there was no single, off-putting element. However, it was a pointless, flavorless mass.
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