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.
