Pizz-adventures

Well a weekend has passed and I just found myself too busy to make a pizza! It's kind of a sadness when a weekend goes by and I have not eaten the delightful combination of bread, tomato sauce, and cheese. But life goes on - I'm not starving. Hence I bring you, travels and pizza. After all, my own za making would be nothing if it were not for nearby pizzas that inspire me. 

• First, The Buffalo.

I probably would not have thought to make a buffalo chicken pizza on my own had it not been for The Bufflo at CJ's Pizza in Columbus, MS. This lovely za is covered in wing sauce, chicken, onions, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and a spiral of ranch dressing. 

Not too shabby. 

Not to mention, CJ's was apparently voted "Best Pizza" for 3 consecutive years. I don't know who voted (I know that I didn't), but I would definitely say that CJ's does have the best pizza in town. Given of course, I live in a very small town (we're talking about a population of less than 30,000) and the only other pizza joints are Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut. So not to say that they don't deserve that award, but I don't think anyone else could really compete with them. 

 

I do have to hand it to them - for a little pizza shop in a strip mall, they are a force to be reckoned with. Their large pizza is huge. Really, it could feed four hungry people and there would still be leftovers. And it's fresh. You can see back into the kitchen where they do all the prep and that dough is being tossed by hand. My other recommendations from their menu: the Pesto Gourmet (pesto sauce, ham artichoke hearts, onion, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese) and the Chicken Florentina (ricotta cheese, chicken, spinach, mushrooms, fresh garlic and olive oil). The Rock & Roll is also a good, but that's something I would call "man food": pepperoni, onion, green pepper, jalapeños, ham, sausage, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. 

Although the buffalo chicken pizza was tasty and satisfying during this particular eating adventure, it was just a bit greasy. In the past it has not been quite so greasy, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they may have just been a bit too heavy on the bacon this time around. Too heavy on the bacon? Impossible! You must think I'm insane for saying that. But yes, the bacon bits themselves were very large - more like small pieces of ham instead of tiny bits of bacon. But like I said, that was unusual for this place as we have ordered that pizza at least 6 times before and have never had it turn out that way.

• Second, Pizza Rustica.

You're probably looking at that picture and thinking, the heck is a salad doing on that pizza? Hear me out. That is arugula, which is a close sibling of our friend spinach, which is by no means uncommon on a pizza or any other dish for that matter. 

Yes, I know this pizza looks a little bit, well, different. But my goodness, once you tasted it you would not care if it looked like roadkill. 

This is from the restaurant La Famiglia which we visited while on vacation in Destin, FL earlier this year. This Italian restaurant serves more than just pizza, but since we hadn't filled our weekly pizza quota prior to this restaurant visit we just knew that za was what we were ordering. This one is topped with mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses, tomatoes, ham, grilled chicken, and of course, arugula. What made this pizza so memorable was the crispy thin crust and the gorgonzola, which I never would have thought to use on a pizza as that is one cheese I've never really cooked with. And the fresh crunch of a little arugula on top was just the perfect thing to finish it out. 

Pizza lovers, gather round the table at La Famiglia when you have the chance. Our waiter that evening told us that the place was started up by three "very Italian" sisters. He didn't say they were somewhat Italian, or even half Italian. He said very. So it made sense that the food was so enjoyable...I guess those three really knew the cuisine of their motherland!