The Place
Wooster Street Pizza is a Connecticut based chain of pizza places. They have some decent food (good wings) and a gigantic pizza that was featured on Man vs. Food a couple years ago. The Storrs branch of Wooster Street is located across from the UConn campus and is conveniently located between my office and the community pool where I swim laps. After a particularly intense swim, last week, I stopped by for a small Barbie's-Cue chicken pizza.
The Pizza
I think that, like the Willi-Brew before it, what really held this pizza back was the Wooster Street pizza itself. They make Connecticut style pizza which is floury, thin and crunchy. Moreover, the toppings don't go out to the edge of the pizza. Around the circumference of every slice, there is about a 2" ring of dry, gum-stabbing crust. Every time I pick up a slice, I have to resist the urge to rake the toppings from the center out to the edge.
The Chicken
The chicken itself was chunks of white and dark meat. It seemed fresh. No problems here.
The Taste
This is what saved the Barbie's-Cue chicken. Their sauce was sweet and sticky, but not too sweet or too sticky. They included onions and tomatoes, which gave the pizza a freshness and heartiness. There was a saltiness to the toppings which counteracted the sweet BBQ sauce. The part of the pizza with the toppings was delicious and I couldn't stop eating it. Unfortunately, not enough of it was covered in toppings! I bought a 12" pie and only got about 10" of real pizza.
Overall
This pizza was delicious, even though it was placed on top of an inferior, crunchy base. I give this one a B.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Union Street Market (A)
The Place
The Union Street Market is the food court at UConn's student union. They serve a variety of mediocre foods that are generally hearty, but lacking in pizzazz. I often end up at the Union for lunch because my building is right near by. In fact, I can see the food court from my office window. I went down there, today, thinking about getting fish and vegetables from the home-cooking themed station. I was pulled away by the allure of a buffalo chicken pizza.
The Pizza
Union pizza is actually pretty good. It's big, floppy slices of greasy pizza that bring up nostalgic memories of a time before 'flatbreads.' I've noticed that their cheese and pepperoni pizzas are of lower quality (seemingly made far in advance and with inferior ingredients) than the specialty pizzas. There's a different specialty pizza available each day and they all seem to be hearty and flavorful and fresh. The cheese is chewy and stretchy and greasy and delicious. The crust is a good mix between thin/chewy and fluffy/bready.
The Chicken
They used shredded chicken on this pizza. It's not too chewy, so I have to assume it hasn't been microwaved. There's light meat and dark meat and it's smothered in buffalo sauce.
The Sauce and Taste
The buffalo sauce that they use is spicy, but not super hot. That gives the whole pizza a rich flavor without being off-putting. There's also bleu cheese, green onion and other seasonings that round out the flavor.
Overall
My best chicken pizza experience since starting this blog. I have half a slice sitting next to me and I am loathe to finish it. I will miss it when it's gone.
The Union Street Market is the food court at UConn's student union. They serve a variety of mediocre foods that are generally hearty, but lacking in pizzazz. I often end up at the Union for lunch because my building is right near by. In fact, I can see the food court from my office window. I went down there, today, thinking about getting fish and vegetables from the home-cooking themed station. I was pulled away by the allure of a buffalo chicken pizza.
The Pizza
Union pizza is actually pretty good. It's big, floppy slices of greasy pizza that bring up nostalgic memories of a time before 'flatbreads.' I've noticed that their cheese and pepperoni pizzas are of lower quality (seemingly made far in advance and with inferior ingredients) than the specialty pizzas. There's a different specialty pizza available each day and they all seem to be hearty and flavorful and fresh. The cheese is chewy and stretchy and greasy and delicious. The crust is a good mix between thin/chewy and fluffy/bready.
The Chicken
They used shredded chicken on this pizza. It's not too chewy, so I have to assume it hasn't been microwaved. There's light meat and dark meat and it's smothered in buffalo sauce.
The Sauce and Taste
The buffalo sauce that they use is spicy, but not super hot. That gives the whole pizza a rich flavor without being off-putting. There's also bleu cheese, green onion and other seasonings that round out the flavor.
Overall
My best chicken pizza experience since starting this blog. I have half a slice sitting next to me and I am loathe to finish it. I will miss it when it's gone.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Willimantic Brewing Company Part One (C)
The Location
The Willimantic Brewing Company is generally considered to be the finest eating and drinking establishment in eastern Connecticut. The food is reliably good and their many home brews are very tasty. The atmosphere is unique, since the restaurant is in an early 20th century granite post office. Vaulted ceilings, tasty chicken wings and a great tasting brown ale make for a nice evening.
I went to the Willi-brew with the intention of trying their barbecue pulled pork flatbread pizza. When I arrived, I saw a barbecue beef flatbread pizza on the list of specials. I decided that I would have to try it and come back again for the pulled pork.
The Pizza
The most disappointing part of my bbq beef pizza experience was the construction of the pizza itself. They used a generic flatbread--the kind you know comes out of a plastic bag--and some generic mozzarella cheese. The flatbread really was just a flatbread, more like a thick tortilla. The hot, juicy toppings slid around on the hard base in a really unappetizing fashion.
The Chicken (Beef)
The quality of the meat was excellent. I was expecting to find some slices of roast beef soaked in barbecue sauce. I did get that, but so much more. There were chunks of sausage, ground beef, corn and other roasted vegetables on this pizza. The toppings were hearty and varied and that was much appreciated.
The Sauce and the Flavor
Willi-brew used it's trademark beer-becue sauce, which is pretty damn tasty. The combination of the sauce, the vegetables and the meat was pretty fantastic. The flavor was right on.
Overall
I am torn about this pizza. It used high quality ingredients--except for the flatbread--and had a great taste--except for the flatbread. Unfortunately, the crust of a pizza is really, really important to me. I'm going to have to give this one a C.
The Willimantic Brewing Company is generally considered to be the finest eating and drinking establishment in eastern Connecticut. The food is reliably good and their many home brews are very tasty. The atmosphere is unique, since the restaurant is in an early 20th century granite post office. Vaulted ceilings, tasty chicken wings and a great tasting brown ale make for a nice evening.
I went to the Willi-brew with the intention of trying their barbecue pulled pork flatbread pizza. When I arrived, I saw a barbecue beef flatbread pizza on the list of specials. I decided that I would have to try it and come back again for the pulled pork.
The Pizza
The most disappointing part of my bbq beef pizza experience was the construction of the pizza itself. They used a generic flatbread--the kind you know comes out of a plastic bag--and some generic mozzarella cheese. The flatbread really was just a flatbread, more like a thick tortilla. The hot, juicy toppings slid around on the hard base in a really unappetizing fashion.
The Chicken (Beef)
The quality of the meat was excellent. I was expecting to find some slices of roast beef soaked in barbecue sauce. I did get that, but so much more. There were chunks of sausage, ground beef, corn and other roasted vegetables on this pizza. The toppings were hearty and varied and that was much appreciated.
The Sauce and the Flavor
Willi-brew used it's trademark beer-becue sauce, which is pretty damn tasty. The combination of the sauce, the vegetables and the meat was pretty fantastic. The flavor was right on.
Overall
I am torn about this pizza. It used high quality ingredients--except for the flatbread--and had a great taste--except for the flatbread. Unfortunately, the crust of a pizza is really, really important to me. I'm going to have to give this one a C.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Mama's Pizza (C)
The Place
Mama's Pizza was the logical place to kick off this blog. It is the neighborhood pizza joint that is closest to my apartment. It looks townie and run-down from the outside...seems townie and rundown on the inside...but the food is great. The staff are always really friendly and they seem to thrive in this rural college town.
The Pizza
As I said, the food at Mama's is pretty great. Their pizza is deep dish, which a spongy and crispy crust. They use a cheese that is particularly gooey--which makes it particularly satisfying. I would classify Mama's pizza as great comfort food.
There is no BBQ Chicken Pizza on the menu at Mama's. However, when I asked, I was informed that they have an off-menue BBQ Chicken option. Their version of the pizza did not include any other toppings, just the pizza and BBQ sauce, which was used as the base of the pizza.
The Chicken
I was really disappointed by the chicken on this pizza. It was real chicken meat, but it was leftover dark meat that had been chopped up into chunks for our benefit. The chunks were chewy and we found the occasional piece of bone. Ouch.
The Sauce and Taste
The sauce had a good flavor, at first. It was nice and sweet. However, as I began to dig further into our pizza, that sweetness turned against me. The pizza started to taste syrup-y. There was nothing salty on the pizza to counteract the sweetness of the sauce. I think it could have benefitted from some feta cheese or something similar.
Overall
Mama's BBQ Chicken Pizza was saved by the fact that Mama's regular pizza is pretty darn good. I love the crust and the cheese but the chicken and the sauce just weren't very good. I give it a C.
Mama's Pizza was the logical place to kick off this blog. It is the neighborhood pizza joint that is closest to my apartment. It looks townie and run-down from the outside...seems townie and rundown on the inside...but the food is great. The staff are always really friendly and they seem to thrive in this rural college town.
The Pizza
As I said, the food at Mama's is pretty great. Their pizza is deep dish, which a spongy and crispy crust. They use a cheese that is particularly gooey--which makes it particularly satisfying. I would classify Mama's pizza as great comfort food.
There is no BBQ Chicken Pizza on the menu at Mama's. However, when I asked, I was informed that they have an off-menue BBQ Chicken option. Their version of the pizza did not include any other toppings, just the pizza and BBQ sauce, which was used as the base of the pizza.
The Chicken
I was really disappointed by the chicken on this pizza. It was real chicken meat, but it was leftover dark meat that had been chopped up into chunks for our benefit. The chunks were chewy and we found the occasional piece of bone. Ouch.
The Sauce and Taste
The sauce had a good flavor, at first. It was nice and sweet. However, as I began to dig further into our pizza, that sweetness turned against me. The pizza started to taste syrup-y. There was nothing salty on the pizza to counteract the sweetness of the sauce. I think it could have benefitted from some feta cheese or something similar.
Overall
Mama's BBQ Chicken Pizza was saved by the fact that Mama's regular pizza is pretty darn good. I love the crust and the cheese but the chicken and the sauce just weren't very good. I give it a C.
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