I Love You, Beef & Blue Cheese Dollar Pizza

My absolute fave dollar pizza place was Pizza Garden on Commercial Drive until they recently closed down. They had the best beef and blue cheese pizza and even had free extra blue cheese sauce on the side so you could blue cheese any flavor pizza you wanted. Don't be fooled because this blue cheese sauce is not as pungent as the actual blue cheese. It must've been mixed with some cream or mayo to equate the goodness that poured from its spout. Drizzled atop tiny crispy balls of ground beef on a sesame crusted triangular slice and sometimes graced by the presence of tomatoes, this pizza will go down in history. Give it a whirl peeps (at other pizza joints) as it's a Phan Fave!

PS - Remember the good ol' days when dollar pizza was actually a dollar? Now it's at least $1.50!!! It's a cruel, cruel world y'all.

Goat Cheese on Pizza - My Latest Obsession

I just can't stay away from goat cheese these days. And eggs. Luckily for me, I've found places where both these ingredients can be found on pizzas (Italian Kitchen and Campagnolo)! Panago will forever be my favorite fast food pizza chain place (and not only because I once worked at the call center as a wee teenager). There's a little 'Phun Fact' for you! I love the chewiness of their dough, their cheesy cheddar dip (can never eat a pizza without this), and how you can half the pizzas to enjoy more varieties. I also love ordering multi grain thin crusts because the sauce and toppings disguise the 'healthy' taste! This evening, we shared a quattro fromaggio and veggie Mediterranean as you can see above and below we have the chicken club (with their original jalapeno white sauce, yum!) and my newest favorite, goat cheese and grilled veggies (yes, there's eggplant on this, droooool!).

Pizzeria Right in Your Own Home!

My friend GL makes a mean pizza - from scratch! However, he's just bad at emailing me the recipe which is why you'll have to take my word from the photo. GL is a one of a kind guy. He has a one track mind and has timely obsessions. In this case, and to my delight, it's FOOD! Not only does he only cook from scratch, he'll know the origin of every ingredient he uses and has an explanation for why he uses it! I've also tried his risotto and Korean chicken and it's to die for. I sure am glad he chose cooking as his passion this time around. In the above picture, GL kneaded some pizza dough, added fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, prosciutto and his secret touch - no pizza sauce! Yummy!

Dr. Oetker's Ristorante pizzas tastes just like delivery! No, better! Like homemade! My gal pals MR and JG introduced me to these amazing oven-baked pizzas not too long ago and I must admit, I always have one in the freezer. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes and voila! The cheese is crusted to perfection at the edges, bubbling in the middle and ready to serve. The thin crust ones are the best! My Phan faves are: Quattro Formaggi, Mozzarella, Funghi, and Spinaci. So delicious and satisfying! Sometimes, they're even on sale, 2 for $10!

Unpleasant Experience at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.

My third time coming to the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and let me tell you, I will not be back. We chose this place mainly because of it's location (we were headed to the Children's Festival after) and because of the entertainment book coupon (which I used in 2009 for my 2nd experience). When we presented the coupon at the time of the bill, the server let us know that there was a sign on the door, stating something to the effect of 'The Entertainment Book printed the coupons without consent from the restaurant, therefore they will not be honored'. Wow. Can someone tell me why the customer has to suffer because of a disagreement and confusion between the book and the restaurant? Was it MY fault that the book was printed without consent? No. Therefore, I feel that the restaurant should suck it up, honor the coupons for 2010 (because really, you are losing my business and I am spreading the word like rapid fire), and work it out with the Entertainment Book for funds lost. It's just ridiculous and the situation was not handled properly. PLUS, the service was REALLY slow and the food wasn't too great either. Seriously made the 4 of us really upset and made our experience unforgettably unpleasant. I emailed the restaurant and the Founder, Dominic Fielden, was nice enough to promptly reply and address my email. Although I found his response quite sincere and apologetic, the issue was not resolved AND he did not offer any type of compensation. So, in conclusion, it STILL really grinds my gears.

Now for a real food review. This evening, we shared the Wild Yukon pizza with double smoked boar bacon, potatoes, provolone cheese, arugula and other veggies and quite honestly it was tasteless. The 2nd Bradner Farm pizza with rosemary lemon chicken, pesto, and veggies alike was much better and actually had flavor.

We also tried a half portion of their beef lasagne with the fig and goat's cheese salad which surprisingly was pretty good. Loaded with mushrooms and meat, the lasagne didn't fail my taste buds but the slice was a tad on the skimpy side.