Friday, February 24, 2006

An important part of being a resident of the United States of America is having a favorite pizza place. It's like being addicted to oil, or making fun of Canada -- it just defines who we are as a nation.

So, we all have our pizza allegiances. There's the near-religious battle about thin crust versus thick crust and the minor skirmishes about Mom and Pop Joint A versus Chain X. When it comes right down to it though, we're just talking about minor variations in the ratio between dough, sauce, and toppings. Yes, quality of ingredients is imporant, but I'd bet that most of people's favorite joints have fairly fresh ingredients (except for the Domino's morons. Hah!). Maybe this pizza debate is a non-issue.

So, do we call it a draw? Do we treat pizzas subjectively, like paintings, expecting that each person will have their own opinion of the relative merits of a given pie? Or do we adopt our abortion-hardened battle stances and wage a holy war?

Personally, I'm going with option B.

Zachary's pizza, available in 2 locations in Northern California (Berkeley and Oakland) is THE BEST PIZZA, BAR NONE. No ifs, ands, or buts, this is the very finest pizza in the world. Allow me to explain.

Zachary's pizza is a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. You may have had deep-dish pizza from other places like Pizzeria Uno or some dump in Chicago, but those are irrelevant. To be honest, it's not even really fair to call Zachary's pizza a pizza. Not because I don't think it qualifies, but rather because no other pizza could possibly match it in deliciousness. Yes, the crust is both crisp and flaky, yes the cheese is melted, and yummy, yes the toppings are fresh and tasty, but it's all in the sauce.

Zachary's pizza is layered...nay, SMOTHERED, with the most mouth-watering layer of perfectly-spiced stewed tomato pieces. It's heaven. It's ambrosia. It's indescribable by hack bloggers. I don't know exactly what makes it so delicious. The taste is so rich, I can only assume they've added something insanely decadent like baby harp seal fat.

Damn, I LOVE baby harp seal fat.

I had often heard the expression "pizza pie", but it never really made sense before eating Zachary's. This, my friends, is a pizza pie.

Look, if you don't believe me, believe their list of awards.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you have not yet tried Zachary's pizza, then you MUST make your way to Zachary's presently. This is not up for debate. Even people who hate pizza often enjoy Zachary's.

There. Done. Discussion over. That's it. Now, let's go back to making fun of Canada, eh?

5 comments:

nomax said...

Their deep pizza (I've never tried the thin ones they do) really does expand the definition of pizza. It's the only time I've eaten pizza and had to mumble "oh" chew "my" chew "gawd" chew "mmmaaaaaaaaabbbbuh". Yes there is a point where overwhelming data coming from the mouth overwhelms any attempt to send signals back to it to speak.

Really. It's good.

Tasty said...

I particularly enjoyed the "some dump in Chicago" portion of the program. If you're ever in Chicago and want some yummy pie, try Giordano's. ;-)

zelda1 said...

Okay, I know that this might sound unamerican, but I hate Pizza, I like the crust, I like the chesse and the meat, but I hate the red sauce they put on it, so my favorite pizza spot is down the road from here because they will make me a pizza without the red sauce, just the crust, the cheese, the vegetables, and the meat. I can hook you up to a great barbeque place here in NW Arkansas and one in the Ozarks, should you come this way and want to really pig out.

Unknown said...

Yum, Zachary's... (drool). Love, love, LOVE their spinach and tomato pie.

Mike said...

Nomax's last name is Italian. If he says it's good....

Tasty, okok, maybe all the pizza places in Chicago aren't dumps.

Zelda1, my dad doesn't like pizza either, but he enjoys Zachary's!

janelle renée, I believe it's their spinach and mushroom pizza that you're referring to, and, YES, it is drool worthy. Their best, by far.