Seventeen slices of pizza… and counting

0 comments

Updated Monday, March 17, 2008 - 11:44am by LauraB.

Location

Baci Nite Club & Fine Dining

Cameo Pizza

Chet & Matt's Pizza

Danny Boy's Italian Eatery

So the first thing I thought, upon completing my stint as a Rotary Pizza Challenge celebrity judge, was "Ugh. I'm stuffed. No one should ever sample 17 pizzas in one sitting."

Followed immediately by, "That was fun! I hope I get to do it again next year!"

And then followed by (and I'm embarrassed to say this,) "Where's the Cameo table? I want a piece of cheese pizza."

I know. Seventeen slices of pizza and I went looking for another. But I had just sampled pizzas topped with pineapple, pesto, potatoes, raspberries, lasagna noodles (I think) and almonds... I just wanted an unadulterated piece of plain old cheese and I did have on my stretchiest pants...

And honestly, I followed the advice given prior to the tasting: "Take a bite or two of the cheese/topping/sauce and do the same with the crust." So it's not as if I ate 17 entire slices of pizza.

Right?

And besides, look at you. According to Rotary reports, you ate 1,065 whole pizzas! (Good for you - that means needy kids get hats, shoes and school clothes through the Rotary Clothes Kids program.)

Ok, moving on...

I have to tell you, this was a ton of fun but the judging? It’s serious business. First of all, you don’t know whose pizza you’re tasting, only it’s title, like “Super Supreme” or “Chicken Club.” Then, each un-sliced pie is paraded out like a beauty queen for its “appearance” score before it’s divvied up into slices and served. And this year, one unfortunate pepperoni was disqualified because it was sliced before its time. Yikes!

So anyway, you may have guessed, I was not a pepperoni judge. They sat at a different table. I was a "specialty pizza" judge. Did I mention the potato pizza?

Yeah. Out of 17 submissions, the specialty judges sampled one Potato Pizza, one Baked Potato Pizza and two Potato Wedge Pizzas. Call me conventional, but I really prefer my potatoes served alongside a steak or something.

Potato pizza: not a fan.

But hey, obviously somebody is, or it wouldn't be on the menu so many places.

And that's part of the fun of being a judge. Take my boss, for example (no, this is not a Henny Youngman joke.) He's not fond of artichokes, so while he pushed aside the Pesto Chicken Pizza after a couple quick nibbles, I gave it the highest marks on my scorecard. And promptly picked the artichokes off his slice and ate them!

The point is that everyone's idea of pizza perfection is different...

Do pepperonis belong under or on top of the cheese? The pepperoni judges' opinions varied and even the specialty judges weighed in on this debate.

Big fat chewy crust or parchment thin and crispy? I like mine somewhere in-between, but more on crispy side.

Does feta cheese ever belong on pizza? Not according to the gentleman to my right.

So you see, it's all a matter of personal taste.

By the way, the Pesto Chicken Pizza, submitted by Danny Boy's, came in third in the specialty division.

The other stand-outs on my scorecard - Cameo's Chicken Ranch and Pizza House East's Mexican Pizza - did well too. They came in first and second, respectively.

The others I had to remind myself to just nibble? All-Ways Pizza's Tomato Basil Chicken and Domino's Philly Cheese Steak. The tomato-basil, sure, but a cheese steak pizza is not one I would've expected to like.

Hm.

It would seem somebody needs to get out of their ordering rut.

It's true. I have a particular weakness for Pizza House West's Hot Wing Pizza. Now I just need to decide which new taste is first in line for an encore performance!

And speaking of encore performances, did I mention I hope I to be a pizza judge again next year?

CROWD PLEASERS

Best Dine-In

1st place -- Chet & Matts Pizza

2nd place -- Danny Boy's Italian Eatery

3rd place -- Cameo Pizza

Best Take-Out

1st place -- Eats 'N Treats

2nd place -- Pizza House West

3rd place -- Pizza Brothers

JUDGES PICKS

Best Specialty