Pizza!

Pizza is a hard thing to blog about.  Everybody has a difference of opinion on what kind of pizza is better.  Bringing up the pizza argument in some circles is equal to bringing up politics or religion, I have been in some pretty heated conversations involving pizza.  The pizza pie squabble isn't limited to New York style or Chicago style anymore, now a days you have to be ready to defend your choice against gourmet, California style and even in some unfortunate circumstances "fast food" pizza.  I, myself am more of a pizza traditionalist, East Coast style all the way.  Chicago style is good but it's not pizza in the traditional sense, but if I am ever in the mood for a pizza casserole I will go the way of Chicago style.  I'm not much for gourmet pizza either. Some people use too much seasoning, although Erbelli's makes an awesome pizza. When it comes to gourmet pizza they got it right. I always go for a hand tossed pizza with capicola, pepperoni and feta.  Erbelli's pizza sauce is awesome and it has a good black pepper taste with garlic and a nice basil and oregano finish.   The thing I really can't stand about gourmet pizza is white sauce. Why people put white sauce on some dough and call it pizza I will never know.  California Style pizza, to me, some what falls into the same category as gourmet pizza but in the last ten years or so has really put itself in a league of it's own. However, I still don't think BBQ chicken pizza is pizza.  I refuse to delve in to the "fast food" pizza department. I hope you understand.

Kalamazoo, just like any other city, has a ton of pizza joints and I have had most of them.  There are a few that I frequent. Pizza King and Big Joe's are the most similar to the east coast style and I have always had a hard time deciding who is the best between the two.  I have no problem saying that Big Joe's  and Pizza King have the best pizza in town.  Big Joe's sauce is awesome. It's very traditional and does not over power the rest of the ingredients at all, leaving plenty of room for the flavor of the fresh mozzarella and great toppings to shine through.  Their dough is cooked perfectly every time with a good crispy but chewy texture, not too thin but not too thick, and easy to fold the way it should be.  Big Joe's isn't afraid to have bubbles in their pizza unlike pretty much every other place in town.  There is nothing wrong with a bubble or two on your pizza.  Pizza King also has a great dough that they cover with a great sauce.  Their sauce has a wonderful sweetness to it. Someone really thought about the seasonings enough to let the real flavor of the tomato stand tall on your pallet.  Pizza Kings toppings are pretty unique. Not that they put weird stuff on their pizzas, just unique in how they prep their toppings.  Pizza King uses actual strips of bacon and not chunks. They also dice all of their veggies.  Pizza King only does pizza, and nothing else. They don't even make bread sticks, just pizza. They have been doing it a long time and it shows.   One of the things I love most about Big Joe's and Pizza King is that they have not fallen the way of the conveyor pizza oven, which means the chefs actually have to have some skill when it comes to cooking pizza.  Anyone can put a pizza on a belt and let the machine do all the work.  I could give you my thoughts on other pizza proprietors around town but it would take forever and this blog would be a novel. Even though their are other good pizza joints in Kalamazoo, there are a lot of sub par places as well and the point of this blog is not to talk bad about businesses, but to give people an idea of where they should go.  The pizza dispute will always boil down to regional taste buds. No region will ever be right.
http://www.erbellis.com/menu/fresh-wraps
http://www.bigjoeskalamazoo.com/