Never let it be said that we here at Seattlest can beat a popular idea right down to the ground. Due to the responses to our search for the best cheeseburger, we have decided to expand upon that idea and search for the best slice of pepperoni pizza. Some might say that this shows and inordinate lack of creativity on our part, others may say that we're simply using this to write off our trips to pizza houses throughout Seattle. Both camps would be correct.
For this inaugural search, we stop at both Mad Pizza (several locations) and Hot Mama's(Capitol Hill).
Right off the bat, Seattlest has an issue to raise with all pizza joints. Be careful when you claim you have "Fresh Mozzarella Cheese". Fresh mozzarella is a bright white, moist ball of water-logged cheese made from unpasteurized milk that's damn near impossible to grate well (usually it's sliced). What most pizza places have is a dull pale yellow cheese made from pasteurized milk that is easily grated and has a much longer shelf life than true mozzarella. Understood?
Good, let's move on below the jump to see who wins in this totally subjective comparison:
Crust: A good crust can cover up mediocre topppings. A mediocre crust makes the mediocre toppings stand out. Mad Pizza? You have a mediocre crust. Overly floured and oddly gritty (and not in a good way), the crust ends up tasting pasty in the center and spongy on the outside. This is the Wonder Bread of Pizza Crusts. This is not a compliment.
Hot Mama's however is much better.Crispy on the outside crust and tasting slightly of homemade bread on the inside, their crust has, dare we say, character.
Mad Pizza - 4/ Hot Mama's - 8
Sauce: The sauce at Mad Pizza has lotsa garlic, which is not a bad thing. It also is very sweet, which isn't bad if you're into that kind of thing. Good, but not great.
Hot Mama's? Where is the sauce? More please. What was there was sweet and spicy which is a nice combination.
Mad Pizza - 7/ Hot Mama's - 7
Pepperoni: Call us crazy, but Seattlest feels that pepperoni should taste of...surprise...pepper! Mad Pizza seems to have picked a pepperoni which is sweet and only vaguely spicy. The texture of the meat is also odd, having the consistency of being organically styro-foamish.
At Hot Mama's was spicy and hot, which is exactly what we are looking for. A little bit of an odd texture, but not as bad as the pepperoni at Mad Pizza.
Mad Pizza - 4/ Hot Mama's - 8
Cheese: This is the area that most pizza places flounder, and these places are no exception. Melty cheese is good. Gooey cheese is also good. But these are texture/mouthfeel issues. Cheese is supposed to have a taste as well. Mad Pizza's cheese? Unremarkable and tasteless. However, it melted nicely but not gooey in the least. The same can be said for Hot Mama's cheese.
Mad Pizza - 5/ Hot Mama's - 5
Misc.: Both places offer slices and both places deliver. This is a good thing. Mad Pizza re-heated the slices that were sitting out, which pleased us. Hot Mama's gave us slices that had been sitting out without reheating. The person behind the counter seemed put out by the fact that we wanted a second slice of pepperoni, when only one slice was left under the "heat" lamp. Mad Pizza was a much better service experience.
Mad Pizza - 7.5/ Hot Mama's - 6
Som as we tally up the numbers we find that Hot Mama's beats Mad Pizza 6.8 to 5.5, which puts Mad Pizza as ooookay, but not good, Meanwhile, Hot Mama's is good but not great. That sounds about right.
Mad Pizza
Several Locations, tasted at
1314 Madison Street
Seattle WA 98122
Telephone: (206) 322 7447
Hot Mama's
700 E Pine
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 322-6444
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If you want to taste bad pizza, spend two years in San Francisco. The first thing I'm going to do this weekend when I move back to Seattle is have a Mad Pizza Pepperoni delivered (with their unbeatable, cheesy breadsticks). I know I'm risking sounding like I work for them, but I don't. I just find their pizza distinct and yummy-- a great alternative to the city's best: Pagliachi. Never had Mad Pizza in the store though; always delivered.
Good pizza in Seattle? Doesn't exist. Everything else is great in Seattle but pizza is a disaster. I just wait to visit NYC to get pizza. You need a coal brick oven to make real pizza. To my knowledge there are none in Seattle.
I just wish there was another crust besides doughy bread crust. Every single pizza place has it. Mad, Paggliacci, Piecora, Romio's, Hot Mama's, Palermo, just to name a few. Just once I'd like a normal pizza place to have real crispy thin crust. I do love Via Tribunali, but i don't always want fancy pizza.
The best pizza I've ever had in Seattle was at Via Tribunali. What a brilliant place. It should be in San Francisco. Speaking of San Francisco; Trey has never been to North Beach Pizza? Goat Hill Pizza on Potrero? How about Zachery's over in the East Bay? Oh, and then there's Pauline's in the Mission. And Pizzetta 211 out in the fog in the Richmond District. Maybe you're just suffering from homesickness Trey.
Pizzaboy, I have to clarify a point you bring up.
The key thing in making good pizza is the heat of the oven. The higher the temp, the quicker you can bake it and the crispier it will be. This is the basis of Naples pizza (from which the tradition New York pizza is based).
Very few types of ovens can generate that kind of heat (roughly 700 degrees F if my mind recalls correctly). Coal ovens can get that hot very easily, as can a few wood ovens, depending on the wood.
Gas ovens and especially electric ovens either can't or have difficulty it getting that high of temperature.
So to say that it's coal ovens is both correct but not. If other ovens can reach the high temps needed then a good pizza can be produced.
And don't get me started on the type of water that should be used in the pizza dough.
All you pizza purists out there should check out Tutta Bella in Columbia City. They are actually certified by Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, an organization of Italian pizzaioli. This means that they meet Italian government regulations on everything from specifying the origin and freshness of the basic ingredients to the stone cooking surface of the oven.
Great stuff, their pizza. It comes only in an 11" size and ranges from $6-$10 in price.
Mad pizza is great, however i have a soft spot for "a new york pizza place" its a small neighborhood pizzaria on 5th ave and 82nd in maple leaf. It is comparable to average nyc pizza. This place even will make sicilian pizza. I'd recomend ordering the godfather, or anything with their homemade meatballs.
I can't believe Mad Pizza is even being considered. Their pizza is terrible--barely a step above something you'd find in the freezer section of a second-rate grocery store.
Frankly, I have to say my experiences with NYC pizzas left me going, "Eh. So what?" I probably wasn't getting the best (the two places I tried were a Ray's or a Famous Ray's or an Original Famous Ray's Or an All Those Other Ray's Are Lying Sacks Of Shit Ray's, or whatever), but I didn't find any noticeable distinction between them, and say a Piecora's or an extra well-done Pagliacci.
Still, I do have an especially soft spot in my stomach (and a really hard spot in my arteries) for Palermo's Quatro Formaggio...
Zagi's in Ballard (http://www.zagispizza.com/locationhourscontact.htm) has some really awesome thin pizza. I heartily endorse their Guiness carmelized onions.
If you go, be sure to check out the Larsen Brothers Danish Bakery across the street. They have all sorts of amazing stuff. My favorite are their various marzipan creations.
It's a bit of a ways away, but well worth it.