We have made it half way! Our thirteenth visit marks the midpoint of our goal for the year...26 official tastings. It is a bit of a marathon, but we are still going strong, no fatigue setting in yet - although I think we have gained a few lbs. We just can't get enough!
We intentionally waited to visit Life of Pie because it is a place we are very familiar with. Veggie Doughboy and I have been here dozens of times before we joined forces this year. We also have had the opportunity to talk with the owner (Jason) a number of times and knowing such a good dude just wants to make you support his business more.
All this makes judging their pie without bias a difficult task (yes, we are actually taking it this seriously - haha). Judging Life of Pie is kind of like coaching your child in sports - it is easy to be too hard on them or show too much favoritism. It is difficult to find the right balance.
 |
| Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Garlic Confit |
Life of Pie is on North Williams, in a ever changing, hip part of town. They have a gorgeous brick oven that is the center-pie of their space. The oven was hand made by Stefano Ferrara with Italian fire brick and mortar made from the volcanic ash of Mount Vesuvius. Awesome!
Jason's vision was to create a casual neighborhood pizza joint, that creates top caliber pies. He has nailed it! Here you will order from the counter, prices are very reasonable, they have a killer happy hour ($5 Marga), and judging by how it is always packed...his vision is working. We HIGHLY recommend this place.
OK, let's get to the pies. The caramelized onion pie was nice. The copious amount of garlic and caramelized onions worked well together. I loved the garlic confit. Such nice texture and flavor. The overall balance of ingredients was near perfect as well. The crust, freshness of ingredients, and bake were well done too. We enjoyed this pie and would order it again.
 |
| Mushroom, Pecorino Romano & Truffle Oil |
This pie, like the others we tasted had great crust, but was not perfect. It had a perfect crunch and chew, in my opinion. However, to take to the next level I think it needs to be a bit more airy and have more flavor. I am not sure if they use a sourdough starter, or how they are making their dough, but I think this is a small area of opportunity.
 |
| Salami, Mama Lil's, Goat Cheese, & Honey |
ingredients is brilliant. The slight heat from the salami, vinegar taste from the Mama Lil's, creamy from the cheese, and sweetness from the honey work together very nicely. Honey on pizza is quickly becoming one my favorite "add ons", and I never would have thought about it before this year. Gaining new recipe ideas like this was one of the driving forces behind committing to this endeavor this year.
 |
| Margherita |
And last, but not least, the Marga - our measuring stick. This was a solid Marga overall. It had super fresh ingredients, nice flavor in the sauce, and we like the basil tossed on at the end (rather than charring it up in the bake). This all worked. We do think a few small tweaks could improve this pie though. As mentioned prior, the crust could improve with more flavor and airiness.
Also, we think the Marga could use a bit more sauce. As you can see, the light amount of sauce without chunks of tomatoes, dried out a bit with the high heat of the wood fired oven. Both suggestions are minor things, as this is a very good pie. Sauce quantity, and texture after the bake is a personal preference. As Veggie Doughboy likes to say "the sauce should be the bridesmaid of the pie" It shouldn't overshadow the bride, but in this case we thought the sauce was just a good friend in the audience.
We enjoyed our visit as expected. The pies are great and they scored very well. We will see how they stack up to our other visits. We love this place, and you will too.
Overall Rank: #10 (tied)
Comments
Post a Comment