Pizza

Dewey’s Pizza School!

by Stephanie on October 5, 2012

in American, Dinner, Lunch, Pizza

So it’s a pretty well-known fact that I love pizza.

And when it comes to pizza, Dewey’s has some of my favorite. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’ll remember that I blogged about Dewey’s before!

So when I was recently invited to Dewey’s to make my own pizza at their appropriately named “Pizza School,” I was more than excited to participate.

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And I invited my sister along!

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She had never been to Dewey’s before; what better way to get her acquainted with their awesome pizza?

While we waited for our class to start, we sat at the bar and sipped on some beer. Dewey’s has a lot of beers on tap (and they switch them out quite frequently!). I settled with a Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

 

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Interesting name, right? It was pretty tasty.

Soon after we finished our beers, it was time for our class to start. We went back into the kitchen, where one of the cooks explained Dewey’s pizza making process.

 

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Dewey’s uses a very high temperature pizza oven; it’s over 500 degrees! Because of this, their baking process is super quick – it only takes about 7 to 8 minutes to cook a pizza. This quick process ensures that the crust is chewy and delicious; not dried out and tough. Yum.

I took a look at some of the pizzas made by the class before us.

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Yum!

It was time for us to get started. First step? Tossing the dough! We received very detailed instructions on how to do so. It was fun to watch!

 

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He made it look so easy.

Our turn! I snapped away as my sister went to work.

 

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After our dough was sufficiently tossed (it’s a lot harder than it looks!), it was time to top our pizzas with whatever we desired. There were lots of toppings to choose from!

 

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I spy bacon!

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Dewey’s had a few “cheat sheets” for us to use as a reference if we desired:

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But I wanted to wing it!

I started with a light amount of sauce:

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And added a ton of mozzarella cheese.

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Then I added green peppers, black olives, and bacon. Lots and lots of bacon!

 

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My sister went pretty heavy on the bacon, as well. Yep – we’re definitely related! Winking smile

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Our pizzas were popped into the oven, and we had a seat in the dining room and waited. Before we knew it, our pizzas were ready!

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Oh boy!

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This tasted just as good as it looked. The dough was perfectly chewy, and all of the toppings worked together perfectly. I couldn’t get enough of this pizza. I’m so glad I had tons to take home as leftovers! My sister was a big fan as well. Smile

Thanks to Dewey’s for letting me and my sister stop by for pizza school! We had a blast.

See you next week with another fun review!

{ 4 comments }

Crushed Red

by Stephanie on May 11, 2012

in American, Dinner, Lunch, Pizza

Good morning! I hope you’re having a lovely morning (or afternoon, or evening!). I’m still recovering from my recent trip to California. It was such a good time! I miss the beach already.

Anyway, let’s talk about a St. Louis spot, shall we?

About once a month, I go to lunch with my mom and sister. We take turns picking out the restaurant, and there’s only one rule: it has to be a place that none of us has visited before.

This time, it was my sister’s turn to choose the spot, and she chose Crushed Red in Clayton.

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Good choice, little sis! Winking smile

I had been wanting to try this place as soon as I heard about its opening in February of 2012. It’s received quite a bit of buzz; its owner, Chris LaRocca, also owns EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery in Chesterfield.

The restaurant itself is quite lovely. I really liked the warm atmosphere. It was very loft-like with the open ceilings and exposed brick. I loved it!

 

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Oh, and I’d like to steal this light fixture and put it in my dining room. Thanks. Winking smile

 

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So neat!

Crushed Red has a number of pre-made salads, pizzas, and soups, but you can also create your own pizza if you so desire. Tough decisions to make!

 

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We all made our decisions, and then it was time to sit back and watch the action.

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I love open kitchen/preparation areas.

None of us went with salad (healthy food?! Psssshhhhh…), but if you decide to create your own, there are lots of fun toppings to choose from.

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After a few minutes, our pizzas were ready!

I went with the Yukon Gold Rush pizza: parmesan cream, hickory bacon, sliced yukon gold potatoes, olives, rosemary, gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese.

 

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Oh baby. This was good! I was worried that the small size of the pizza wouldn’t be enough to fill me up (I have a huge appetite!), but this was the perfect size.

Crushed Red has a self-serve toppings bar that I found quite interesting. Before I dug into my pizza, I paid it a visit.

 

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There was roasted garlic,

 

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crushed red pepper,

 

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parmesan cheese,

 

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and pepperoncini!

 

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There was also tabasco sauce, olive oils, and cholula hot sauce. Lots of options! Not wanting to mess with the flavor of my pizza too much, I settled with a tiny sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

So…the important question…how was the pizza? It was good! I really enjoyed it. The crust was chewy and flavorful. The toppings worked. I love yukon gold potatoes, and whoever made the decision to include them on a pizza is a genius.

My one gripe with the pizza? The toppings weren’t evenly dispersed. At all. One side of my pizza was crowded with potatoes and rosemary, and the other side was mostly cheese. It was very strange, to be honest. Not enough to take away from my enjoyment of the pizza, but it was quite noticeable.

Service at Crushed Red was very friendly, but I found myself quite annoyed with the lack of knowledge that the workers (and later, the manager?) had about their offerings. When I was initially deciding what to order, I was drawn to the Cowpoke Smoke salad: smoked beef brisket, roma tomato, red onion, blue cheese, crispy jalapeno straws, and goddess dressing. My one question: What is goddess dressing? No one – No one – could answer that question for me. In my case, it was just a matter of curiousity, but what if someone with a food allergy made that same inquiry? To not even be able to name any of the basic components in the dressing was a little alarming. I was so turned off by this that I skipped the salad altogether and just went with pizza.

Again, this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the restaurant (or my pizza), but it is worth noting.

Aside from those minor complaints, I really enjoyed Crushed Red. I would definitely come back to try other selections on the menu. Heck, maybe I’ll give the goddess dressing a try next time and figure out what’s in it myself! Winking smile

See you next week.

{ 0 comments }

PW Pizza!

by Stephanie on February 24, 2012

in American, Dinner, Lunch, Pizza

Good morning and happy Friday! I hope your week is going well. Food. Let’s talk about it. Smile

I went to PW Pizza a while ago with a friend. This new-ish pizza joint is owned by the same people behind the lovely Vin de Set (review coming soon, I promise!). As delicious as Vin de Set is, I knew that PW Pizza would be just as tasty.

We started with some Spinach & Artichoke Dip:

 

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It was served with warm and chewy pita bread.

Oh my. You guys…this was the best spinach dip I’ve ever tasted. I’m not even kidding! It was served piping hot; it was literally bubbling! I’m drooling right now. Sorry…

Anyway, paired with the yummy pita bread, this was an amazing start to the meal.

Next up? Pizza, of course! PW has a number of specialty pizzas, but I felt like creating my own, so I did!

I picked my crust (honey whole wheat), sauce (BBQ sauce for me!), cheese (mozzarella, please!), and toppings. On one half of the pizza I ordered pulled pork; on the other half I went with bacon and green pepper. Oh yeah, babe!

 

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Amazing. The crust was soft and a little sweet. And the BBQ sauce was the perfect complement to both sides of my pizza. Thanks to the filling Spinach and Artichoke dip, I could only manage to down one slice, but that just meant one thing: lots of leftovers! Aren’t pizza leftovers the greatest?

Service at PW was fantastic. Our waitress was bubbly and super friendly. Prices were reasonable as well.

I can’t recommend PW Pizza enough. Let me know if you decide to visit! You can always tweet me the details. Winking smile

See ya next week!

{ 8 comments }

Epic Pizza & Subs

by Stephanie on December 9, 2011

in American, Burgers, Dinner, Lunch, Pizza

Oh. My. Gosh.

So I have a little blogging secret.

When I visit a restaurant, I take loads of pictures and write my review. I schedule the review to go up on the blog pretty well in advance. And since I only update the blog once a week (every Friday!), the reviews you read are usually from a visit I made a few weeks prior.

But with this place I’m about to talk about, I couldn’t wait a few weeks to write about it. I didn’t want to wait.

No. I had to talk about Epic Pizza & Subs right away. This cute little spot is located in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis.

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I visited Epic last night with my uncle.

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He’s friends with the owner, and he couldn’t stop raving about how good the pizza was. And if there’s one guy that really knows his food, it’s my uncle. He hasn’t steered me wrong. Ever. So when he suggested visiting the newly opened Epic Pizza, I was game. When do I ever turn down food? Answer: never.

The menu at Epic is pretty…well…epic.

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Lots of salads, sandwiches, sides, and pizza to choose from.

Everything sounded good, and we were hungry, so we sampled a bit of just about everything.

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Up first? The fries. These were garlic, parmesan, and herb fries. They were piping hot and delicious! I couldn’t get enough of these.

We also had cheese garlic bread:

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This was also fantastic! Cheesy, soft, warm, and delicious. This was a total carb fest. Have I mentioned how much I love carbs? Mmm.

Next up? Buffalo wings.

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These were spicy, which I loved. You all know how I feel about spicy food, right?

Can you believe we still had room for more food? We had mozzarella sticks next:

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These were super tasty, especially with the marinara sauce.

Our last appetizer? The garlic knots.

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I saved the best for last on purpose. These garlic knots were unbelievable. Unbelievable. They were soft, hot, cheesy, and super super garlicky. I’m so glad I wasn’t on a date! These were my absolute favorite.

After chatting and letting the food settle, we were ready for round two. Yes, there’s a round 2! We don’t play around. Obviously. Smile

We ordered an Epic Burger to share.

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The epic burger featured a blend of all natural ground beef, cheddar cheese (you can also choose American if that’s what you prefer), lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, and Epic sauce. We ordered it cooked medium, and it was perfect. Juicy, flavorful, and thick! I loved it.

Oh, and what is epic sauce, you ask? Check this out:

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This amazing sauce featured a variety of spices, including dill and adobo peppers. And crack. I’m pretty sure the secret ingredient was crack. We couldn’t stop eating this. And you better believe that we dipped everything in here! So good.

And because we could visit a place called Epic Pizza & Subs without trying pizza, we ordered a small White pizza to sample:

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This had mozzarella, ricotta, and another cheese whose name escapes me. That’s not important. What is important is the fact that this pizza was terrific.

I think this had something to do with it:

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Check out that pizza oven! This monster cooks pizza in two minutes flat. Is that impressive or what? I had fun watching the guys play with the dough and bring the pizza to life.

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Yum. Who doesn’t love hand tossed pizza?

After all of this food, I could have rolled out of the place. But dessert beckoned. And who am I to say no to dessert?

We tried the gooey butter cake and New York Cheesecake first.

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The gooey butter cake was fantastic. My uncle and I couldn’t stop raving over how good this was. And they served it warm! I’ve never had warm gooey butter cake before, and now I’m afraid there’s no turning back. Do yourself a favor and order this. And make sure they serve it to you warm! So. Stinking. Good.

The cheesecake was amazing as well. Easily some of the best cheesecake I’ve had in my life. I especially loved the graham cracker crust. Perfect!

Just when I thought I couldn’t fit another morsel into my mouth, this comes out:

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Zeppole. This was a pastry that reminded me of a mix between funnel cake, a donut, and a cream puff. It was topped with caramel sauce and powdered sugar, and was filled with thick cream.

Service at Epic was attentive and speedy. Our food came out really quickly, and was always piping hot. And the prices were very reasonable. I absolutely recommend Epic Pizza & Subs. Two cheesy and garlicky thumbs up!

I’m still in shock at all of the food that we consumed. I have a feeling I’m going to be full for a very, very long time. Smile

See you next week!

{ 14 comments }

Bad pizza…again!

by Stephanie on May 20, 2011

in American, Dinner, Lunch, Pizza

I don’t seem to have very good luck with pizza!

I mean, there’s Imo’s, Katie’s Pizzeria, and now Westport Pizza Co. Sigh. I don’t understand how something so right can taste so wrong!

I went to Westport Pizza Co. recently. It’s a small restaurant in Westport Plaza. It’s cute enough from the outside…

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And even the inside was nice!

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However, everything went downhill from there. Everything from the food to the service was pretty poor.

Our overworked waitress came to our table after a substantial wait. Well, first she had to wipe it down; it was still dirty from the previous customers!

We started with an order of cheese bread.

 

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Looks pretty tasty, right? Too bad it wasn’t. At all. It tasted very simple. Like someone went to Schnucks, bought a loaf of french bread and some slices of mozzarella, and sprinkled garlic powder on the bread before popping in their toaster oven. And while that’s a perfectly acceptable method of creating cheesy bread at home (or at least that’s how I’d do it!) when I’m a restaurant, I expect a little more.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the dipping sauce. It’s like they opened a can of tomato sauce and sprinkled oregano on top. So pedestrian.

Hoping for better luck with the pizza, we went with a ham and pineapple pie.

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Looks decent enough. Tasted awful. It was a flimsy, chalky mess! Yes, I said chalky. It was dry and powdery and pretty tasteless. Do you see any ham on there? What about pineapple? Yeah, me either.

Back to our poor, overworked waitress. She was swamped, and it looked like she was the only waitress on duty that night. She was short and curt with us, but I totally understood her frustration. I asked her if someone else had called off, leaving her the only waitress working that night. Her response?

“No – it’s always like this. I’m always the only one.”

Why hello there, poor management! That’s completely unacceptable.

Enough venting. Time for scores.

Food: 1 star (out of five)

Ambiance: 4 stars

Service: 2 stars

Value: 3 stars

It’s pretty safe to say I’ll never be back. Just being honest Smile

{ 11 comments }

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288…

April 2, 2011

As I promised earlier on Twitter, I’m writing about none other than Pi! Also known as 3.14159265…oh, you get it. I remember when I was in the 7th grade, we had a huge project in my Algebra class. It was a math scavenger hunt of sorts. There were 50 questions, and some of them involved [...]

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Pizza Pizza!

January 9, 2011

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that I love pizza. I seem to eat it a lot, don’t I? Let’s recap.   I’ve had really good pizza at Dewey’s, Not-so-good pizza at Imo’s and Katie’s Pizzeria, And even out of town pizza at Giordano’s! Well, recently, [...]

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Failure of epic proportions!

June 4, 2010

Okay, so if you’re from St. Louis, chances are you’re going to be offended by this post. And for that, I’m sorry (maybe!). But I have to be real with you — some things in St. Louis are just a little bit (okay, a LOT) overrated. Ted Drewes, anyone? Don’t get me wrong; some of [...]

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Dewey’s Pizza

April 25, 2010

So you all have probably figured out by now that I’m not the healthiest eater on the planet. I keep in pretty good shape, and I’m definitely not overweight, but my eating habits are pretty bad. I’ve known for quite some time that I need to change the way I eat.  It’s just hard when [...]

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I’m breaking all kinds of rules here…

March 5, 2010

So…for those of you who have noticed (hopefully ALL 3 of you!), this blog is called ‘Off the Eaten Path’. It was originally going to be a food blog about hole-in-the-wall type places in St. Louis. Well…I decided at the last minute that I don’t go to enough hole in the wall places to fill [...]

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