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Pleasure Pizza in Santa Cruz: BBQ Chicken Pizza Slice!

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

This is a really simple post but I wanted to feature this great BBQ Chicken Pizza by the slice that we had recently at Pleasure Pizza in Santa Cruz.  I don’t typically like chicken pizza toppings because they can be dry and bland but this is a the best I’ve tasted because of its sweet and subtle spicy flare. There are now two locations for Pleasure Pizza. They are both across the street from each other on 41st Avenue and one is a more of a sit down restaurant “East Side Eatery” and one is a pizza by the slice spot “Pleasure Pizza”.

BBQ Chicken Pizza:

  • Semi Spicy BBQ Sauce
  • Pepper Jack Cheese
  • Red Onion
  • Red & Green Bell Pepper
  • Pineapple

PLEASURE PIZZA | 11AM – 10PM DAILY
BY THE SLICE • TO GO • DELIVERY
4000 PORTOLA DR. SANTA CRUZ, CA 95062
PHONE / DELIVERY: 831.475.4999

A Local’s Local: Cicero’s Pizza in San Jose/Cupertino

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

Cicero’s Pizza opened in San Jose, CA (Cupertino, CA to be exact) in 1968 which has given it thirty years and three different locations to build a local following.  We’ve tried so many pizza joints around San Jose from A Slice of New York (we like the garlic knots and cannoli’s @ Slice of NY) to Rosie’s New York Pizza, Pizza Chicago, Pizza My Heart, Thunderbird, and few others.  Cicero’s feels the most like a neighborhood joint, that you would go to after a softball game or swim meet, even though it is located in a a Safeway strip mall in its current location.  It is a comfort zone where you can wear your sweats and feel nostalgic for your hometown pizza place like my beloved Pizza Villa that I grew up frequenting every Wednesday night in the summers.  Local folks seem to stop by Cicero’s to pick-up pizzas on Friday nights on their way home from work to take to the family.  Cicero’s also has a decent size dining room (please don’t modernize it) where you can order at the counter and take a seat at a booth or table and sip on a draft Sierra while you wait.

Our favorite is the shredded Italian sausage, very fine crumbs, topping on Cicero’s thin crust pizza (crust is not so crispy that it is like a cracker, just not deep dish).  Lots of people suggest the Belly Buster but once we found the crumbled sausage pizza, we were hooked.

Cicero’s Pizza
6138 Bollinger Road
San Jose/Cupertino
408-777-0690

International Food Bazar in SJ & Arugula-Pistachio Pesto Pizza Recipe

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

If you love food and love letting yourself free in a food experience for the eyes, you can spend a lot of time at the International Food Bazaar in San Jose going back time and time again to look through all of the products.  I love Israeli pickles and found them in the mix of tons of other Middle Eastern products.  IFB sells Middle Eastern Specialty foods including kosher, Russian, Bosnian, European, Middle Eastern, Persian, Greek, and Turkish products in the South Bay San Jose Area  (Campbell to be specific).

We bought a huge piece of Afghan Bread from their very large bread section and made a fast dinner with our already prepared Arugula-Pistachio Pesto.

When I lived in Sydney, Australia I ate the most fabulous vegetarian pizza called Arrostito topped with roasted vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese at Arthur’s Pizza in Paddington.  I recreated a version of these toppings below for a pizza combo that loves to impress.

Arugula-Pistachio Pesto Pizza Recipe Click to continue »

Eating Out: Smoqe BBQ in Aptos

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Smoqe is a BBQ and Wood Fired Pizza restaurant just off the freeway, south of Santa Cruz in Aptos.  When I stepped up to the counter of this clean modernly decorated restaurant to order I felt both bombarded and excited when I saw the pretty extensive menu.  The cuisine consists of high-quality various BBQ meats served as sandwiches, tacos, ala carte, or on pizza with such additions as cheddar, avocado, and arugula or smoked bacon and an onion ring.  I was impressed with the flavor combinations and pretty much wanted to try it all but realized that I would have to keep coming back to really get a good feel for the entire menu.  They have a nice selection of beers on draft as well including Affligan.  After you order you take your number, find an unoccupied table and sit down while you wait for your food.  The three times I have been to Smoqe the service is always fast and the bus boy has always been really friendly and efficient each time but I have dined at either before or after dinner rush.

We lived in North Carolina for two summers and so we absolutely love Carolina-Style Pulled Pork (Vinegar-Based) from Pigman’s Bar-B-Que so to find out their is a great BBQ place in Santa Cruz that does pulled pork with slaw on the sandwich made us happy.  The only thing missing off of the menu is hush puppies, but that’s OK because we don’t need to gain an extra 10 lbs. just from that additional carbs of goodness.

Click to continue »

Where to Eat Pizza in NorCal: From Serious Eats, Slice Blog

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

The United States of Pizza: Where to Eat Pizza in California (Part 1, Northern California)

Blog Posted by Adam Kuban, April 18, 2010 at 5:00 PM

They say in the Norcal pizza post that in the 80’s it was hard to find great pizza in the Bay Area.   However, now there are many worthy contenders for the best pizza in Norcal!

Their Top Three Overall Favorites:

  • Pizzeria Picco in Larkspur
  • Pizzaiolo in Oakland
  • Tony’s Pizza Napoletana of North Beach in San Francisco

The Top Chicago Style Pizza Joints Battle (Stuffed vs. Deep Dish):  ->

Click to continue »

Perfected by John: Best Pizza Dough Recipe!

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Pizza Dough Recipe Here!  Toppings Recipes to Come!

I found this recipe in the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Cookbook.  The Master Recipe: Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf) recipe can be used for pizza dough or anything really.  This is a no-knead bread book and involves mixing your ingredients and storing them to rise a few hours.  Sometimes we make this full batch and let it stay in the refrigerator for a few days and make a pizza every night for a few nights!

John took it upon himself to master this pizza dough and has made it many a’ times.  The first pizza crusts had a bit of a sweet taste for a while.  After some experimentation, John happened upon the solution.  Reducing the amount of salt by half did the job!  Zach and I can be harsh critics at times, and this pizza dough rocked our world!

For home pizza you must have:

  • A Baking Stone or Pizza Stone
  • A Wooden Pizza Peel

Pizza Dough Recipe   ->

Click to continue »

Cannoli Get It Here: A Slice of New York, San Jose

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Walking into A Slice of New York (“Slice”), one is not just reminded of New York City, but in fact beaten about the head, neck and arms with NYC accoutrements.  The subway signs, bus handholds, maps, sports gear, photographs, and servers looking to move the line along, tell you forcefully, “we love NYC and so should you!”  But even if you don’t like New York or even the East Coast, the pizza will have you coming back time and time again.  Here, the kitchen serves up classic thin crust pizza with a satisfyingly crisp crust and all your basic topping favorites.  I would certainly be lying if I said there was no Bay Area influence here.  At no time have I witnessed a pesto, chicken and garlic pizza offered up in a neighborhood pizza joint in NYC, but I do have a hard time finding a good slice of thin crust outside of NY.  Besides the classic thin slice, Slice offers a Sicilian-style rectangular thick crust option.  They serve a plain cheese version of the Sicilian, but the meatlover is the way to go if you want the thicker crust (trust me).  Don’t let its name fool you either; Slice sells calzones, stromboli, desserts and something else you’ll certainly want, garlic knots.  The garlic knots are bits of dough covered in Slice’s garlic, parsley, and basil olive oil blend, served with a side of marinara sauce.  One could easily make a meal out of the knots themselves.

Side notes: Slice is closed on Mondays, so don’t bother showing up.  Also, Slice is next to a blues bar, JJ’s Blues, which allows you to eat your pizza while enjoying a beverage and some music.  Slice is open late and is a favorite post-drink stop, so keep that in mind when you’re getting a late night snack on a Friday or Saturday (i.e., Long Lines).  Slice is also popular for mid-week lunches, but don’t let a line dissuade you, the service is always quick.

http://www.asliceofny.com Click to continue »

Zach Attack in the East Bay: Zachary’s Pizza, Oakland & Berkeley

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009


http://www.zacharys.com/

Zachary’s pizza is a local favorite in the East Bay.  The restaurant’s popularity is exhibited by the unavoidable forty-five minute to one hour wait for a table.  An Oakland friend described the wait at Zachary’s as just part of the experience.  She said, “You know you will have to wait, so just hang out and have a Red Tail.”

So we were happy to finally eat Zachary’s pizza after all of the hype.  It is definitely a Chicago-style deep dish variation and its popularity proves that Americans just can’t say no to the carb, dairy, meaty combo called pizza.

I lived in Chicago and love all varieties of Chicago pizza.  Zachary’s serves the deep dish version that made me nostalgic for my Chicago pizza favorites.

If you like Zachary’s or if you are just a pizza connoisseur, visit Chicago and check out three of our favorite varieties: Click to continue »