Italian Pizza

Rustic Italian Pizza - what a joke!

I rarely go eat a casual meal in a restaurant, not because I don’t like to have someone cook a meal for me, but more because I am often disappointed with the poor quality in most casual restaurants.

Yesterday it was one of those days where 24 hours was not enough to accomplish everything that needed to be done. Kristin and I absolutely have to see one movie in a theater each week. Last night we had a guest sleeping over, so we decided to all go see a late show at the Westbank Theater. We all voted and pizza sounded like a good idea at the time, so Boston Pizza was our stop.

Again, I am not a snob because I am a chef I like good food and I hate it when a food chain takes me for a fool. We ordered a Rustic Italian Pizza and in their defense it was partially my fault - we were in a hurry and I did not read the ingredients, the sound of Rustic Italian did it for me. Wow, first let me say that the service was fine, the lady had no problem bringing the food to our table while smiling - that part was OK! The menu read like this: Rustic Italian (Signature pizza sauce, mozzarella, cheddar, spicy Italian sausage, red onion and green peppers. Finished with diced tomato, freshly grated parmesan and herbs.)

We got the pizza in a normal amount of time and …what a joke. First we couldn’t really tell what was the goal with the dough, it was not thin and crusty and/or not thick and chewy. I believe it had its own category. The top of the pizza was covered with uncooked tomatoes to a point where you could not see the rest of the pizza toppings. Herbs and parmesan may have been used somewhere in that kitchen, but not on our pizza. Herbs are usually fresh and green and spices are usually dry. The Italian sausages tasted spicy and OK, but large pieces of raw diced green pepper and raw diced red onions really killed the Italian idea! Now, I do understand enough about restaurants to realize that a restaurant called BOSTON Pizza is not exactly “Little Sicily Pizza, Tuscany Pizzeria or Roma Pizza” I should not put so much responsibility on them, they come from the land of more is better and taste and flavor come second. Come on, cheddar on a rustic Italian pizza! Again, my fault - I should have read the menu more closely to see that cheddar was one of the topping on this pizza.

Maybe if you are like me, you can make a pizza at home the next time you have a craving. Here is what I would do for a Rustic Italian pizza preparation:

Start with your favorite crust. Add a rich flavorful garlic tomato sauce. Top with a generous mixture of Mozzarella, Fontina and Provolone cheese. Add some thinly sliced Italian sausages, re-hydrated or fresh porcini mushroom, sliced roma tomatoes and some fresh basil leaves. Voila!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.