pizza crawl

last weekend, T and i embarked on a new ride okc tour of pizza! you heard me right, a tour based on tasty, mouth-watering pizza from six pizzerias. normally, i wouldn't be able to finish six slices, but the biking in between helped us to work off some of it before we were set to try another one. plus, how awesome of a way to get to know more about our city. 

[ready for pizza!]

stop #1: the wedge

slice: the italian stallion - port wine sundried tomato sauce, house made italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, and fennel

[pizzas waiting to be eaten...mmm]

verdict: tasty, and the perfect start to our pizza tour. 

[bike tour knowledge being dropped]

stop #2: hideaway pizza

slice(s): pizza of the gods - olive oil and garlic glaze, mozzarella, provolone, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and roma tomato; the bratza - garlic glaze, bavarian mustard, mozzarella, sauerkraut, bratwurst, red onion, cheddar, jalapeños, and parmesan-herb shake

[pizza tossing demonstration]

verdict: surprisingly my favorite pizza had all day and i say surprisingly because the bratza completely caught me off guard. it tasted like having a bratwurst with spicy mustard and sauerkraut aka octoberfest. had i gone in outside of the tour and the waiter told me about this pizza, i would have politely declined thinking it couldn't work. but, i was floored to find that it was so well paired and crafted. so, this slice gets the gold star for the tour!

stop #3: pizzeria gusto

slice: the margherita - tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, basil, and evoo

[perfect way to quench our thirst]

verdict: classic. you really cannot go wrong with a crisp, fresh margherita. also, the co-owner of this restaurant, who runs the kitchen, came out to speak with us. after hearing her talk about their wood-fire oven (which is always burning, regardless of if they are open or not), her ideas about pizza, and her overall demeanor, i was impressed. so much so that it completely changed our thoughts about the restaurant!

stop #4: empire pizza

slice: foghorn leghorn - sweet marinara, roasted chicken, bacon, jalapeño, and sriracha drizzle

verdict: a great by the slice pizza, but not sure i could do a whole pizza. not that it wasn't tasty, which it was, but a little went a long way. 

[biking to the next stop]

stop #5: hall's pizza

slice: saturday night - pepperoni, sausage, housemade sauce, fresh basil, whole milk mozzarella, and parmigiano reggiano

[cheers-ing to our city]

verdict: hot, steamy (which i loved during a cool bike ride) and delicious. plus, hall's is a personal favorite for T and i so it would be hard to not love everything they do. also, hall's uses a wood-fire pizza oven too and are one of two pizzerias (with pizzeria gusto) that does not use gas. aka, all that heat is coming from the classic wood-fire oven which takes some finesse to get the temperature just right.

stop #6: joey's pizzeria

slice: bianca neve - fresh chopped baby spinach, fresh garlic, smoked bacon, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese on our signature alfredo sauce

verdict: delicious, and the perfect way to close out the pizza tour, especially since it had started to rain on our way to the last stop. 

we learned so much about our pizza community and have so much more appreciation for the work and creativity that goes into each slice. added bonus was that i found new favorites to order when we go back to visit. 

thanks ride okc for putting together such a great day!