The Study of Pie

I like pizza. There were whole years in my early married life that pizza was on the menu for dinner whenever we could afford it. 

We've eaten abysmal pizza in Jo-burg and Milano, we've enjoyed outstanding, even glorious pies in Idaho Springs, Colorado and Gallup, New Mexico. We've piled extra cheese on our Tombstones, office-microwaved Red Baron.

But until yesterday, we had no motivation to study pizza. The science and knowledge of pie, short of that imparted from the taste buds, was totally unnecessary.

That was before we walked into Pieology, a new local pizzeria that replaced the defunct Blockbuster video in the shopping block at the bottom of our hill. The concept—fast, artisanal, custom-built pizzas—is unlike the Dominos model. Here, all pies are medium (11.5 inches across), and the build process is more like Subway than Round Table. There is a single price for all the toppings you want, and they do not deliver.

I had a whole wheat crust brushed with herbed butter, piled with extra mozzarella, and sprinkled with black olive slices, corn and bacon. For my spouse, the thin crust was a negative, but the availability of whole wheat or gluten-free was a plus; that pie was built with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, Next time, we may try the hand-made (standard) pizza crust and choose a different cheese. They have a dairy-free cheese that might be interesting.

However beautiful a pie may be, the bottom line is the taste. I watched the pepperoni pizza disappear, crisp crust and all, as I savored my own herb-buttered, corn and olive bedazzled slices. This was an $8 pie with $28-worth of flavor!

Pieology—I believe we will be attending regular classes here. Maybe even take along some homework!