After my good luck with California Pizza Kitchen’s version of thin crust Margherita Pizza, I thought I’d give the Safeway version a try. The differences were amazing. It’s really hard to understand how two products that have basically the same ingredients can differ so much.
The Signature Margherita pizza cooked faster than the suggested time, and the crust was think, super crispy and closer to a cracker than a pizza. The sauce was non-existent, providing no hint of flavor if it was actually there. The rest of the ingredients were tasteless, either together or in the aggregate. The basil provided the occasional shot of bitterness, but even that was fleeting. Basically, it tasted like nothing.
The pizza, which should serve two (particularly if you add a salad) was $6 on sale from $7 regular price.
California Pizza Kitchen is both a pizzeria chain and a brand of premium frozen pizzas. They were famous back in the 90’s because of their unusual toppings, which has become far more common in the decades since. Their frozen offerings have changed over the decades, and lately they seem to specialize on thin crust pizzas. I prefer thick crust myself, but I decided to gave these a try last time they were on sale at Safeway ($5 each from $10 regular price – $8 at cheaper stores).
I was actually quite surprised with how much I liked the pizzas. They don’t tste like frozen pizzas at all. While the “crispy thin” crust was, indeed, crispy if cooked for the full time, it had a nice, chewy texture if lightly undercooked. It held the toppings well, without much spillage, and because it was so thin, it didn’t compete with the toppings. And the toppings were very good.
Each pizza realistically serves 2 people when accompanied by a salad (or if they aren’t too hungry).
Unfortunately, California Pizza Kitchen is manufactured by Nestlé – a company that I try to avoid whenever possible because it’s evil. Doubly unfortunately, I often forget what items are made by Nestlé and buy them anyway – this was the case here.
The Sicilian Recipe pizza has Italian sausage, spicy ham, Genoa salami, sweet basil, Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses and a spicy marinara sauce. It definitely had a kick – enough that it woke me up but didn’t turn me away from eating it. I can handle a little bit of spice, but I’m someone who orders her food “mild” at a restaurant.
The toppings are well balanced, complementing each other without interfering. It’s clear someone worked to make sure they all worked together in the right proportions. The sauce had a slight sweetness to it that worked very well to counter the spiciness – again, thought went into this. What the toppings lacked, however, was an element of crunch. This might be provided by the crispy crust – but I purposely undercooked it. I would have liked some added onions or peppers.
I liked the Margherita pizza even better. It has Roma tomatoes, Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses, olive oil and basil, and comes with an Italian herb sauce. The toppings were tasty and extremely well balanced. The sauce succeeded in not being too sweet, being subtle and not competing with the tomatoes while still providing some needed acidity. The tomatoes were bright and fresh tasting and the basil pesto was very tasty and used sparingly, which made it a welcome surprise when you took a bite with it. In all, I enjoyed this pizza very much.
I picked these Garlic Gondolas last time I visited Trader Joe’s, as they somewhat reminded me of khachapuri, a tasty cheese bread from the Caucuses. These, however, eat more like cheese sticks from a pizzeria, though the bread is somewhat harder (though still doughy). They were, indeed, very garlicky, maybe not cheesy enough, but otherwise pretty generic.
The size is a little problematic. They are really too big for just one person, but it’s a bit awkward to share them. I think it’d be better if they had 4 mini-gondolas. Then again, I don’t eat much bread nowadays and these might be perfectly adequate in size for those who do.
In all, I wouldn’t buy them again but I was glad I tried them.
Better than expected and a great (now expired) deal
It’s been a couple of decades since I last ordered pizza from Domino’s, despite having an outlet not very far from my home. Domino’s is definitely not what I think of when I imagine quality pizza, and I had the vague memory I was boycotting it for some reason (apparently, its anti-abortion founder has long divested from the company, though there might be a grassroots boycott due to the behavior of Domino franchises in Israel). Still, I couldn’t remember why and when I saw an ad for large pizzas with up to 7-toppings for $10 ($11 here in the Bay Area), I was tempted. We have pretty much stopped getting take out due to the exorbitant prices, and I been on a cooking strike as of late.
We ended up getting Domino’s a couple of times while the promotion lasted. I was surprised to find that Domino’s pizza is pretty good. The pizzas are nothing to write home about, but they are pretty solid in comparison to other chains and mom & pop pizzeria pizzas – and at $11 while the promotion lasted, they were far, far cheaper. My only real complaint is that the pizzas could have stronger flavors, maybe some oregano would help.
We tried both the handtossed and pan pizzas – the handtossed are on the thin side, and pan are what used to be a normal thickness a few decades ago. The handtossed only comes in medium, which I imagine is a 12″ – the others come in 14″ / large size.
I wouldn’t order Domino’s at the regular price, but I just got a promo for a 2-topping large carryout pizza for $7, and given that I mostly buy pizza for my children and they prefer just cheese pizza, I’ll probably get these at some point. Hey, at that price they are competitive both with 7-11 and supermarket pizza.
I like that Domino’s lets you pay online when you order, or use cash and pay at the store and, of course, that it’s close enough that we can save all fees by walking to get them. Note that this is not a restaurant, there is nowhere to seat, just a kitchen with a counter to pick up pizza.
Domino's 1768 E 14th St San Leandro, CA (510) 351-3301 M-Su 10:30 AM - 12 AM
I had a $10 Doordash credit that I could only use to pick up stuff at 7-11, and we figured we’d use it to try their pizza. I had first heard about it a few years ago, when a cousin was visiting from abroad and found 7-11 pizza an affordable and easy way to feed a picky child. Still, with frozen pizzas available at the supermarket, and lots of pizzerias around, I never had an actual reason to buy it at 7-11 – until now.
I failed to take a photo of the pizza before we ate it – and the photo of the slice is after microwaving it a day after -, but it looked like a normal pizza. It wasn’t bad. My daughter felt it tasted like frozen pizza, but I liked it better than most commercial brands. It has a good amount of garlic in it, which helps flavor it. I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out – but I can see having it again, either to use that $10 credit again or if we wanted something while on the road. The slices, once they cool down a bit, are pretty firm and not too messy.
One of the cool things about 7-11 pizza is that you can buy it cold and have them heat it up for you. This means that you can use EBT (food stamps) to buy it, despite the fact that EBT doesn’t work for hot foods. Given how many people on food stamps don’t have access to a kitchen – or might want to give their kids the “treat” of a “real” pizza, I love this option. I’m not sure whether you save tax if your order it that way too. As I ordered it through Doordash, the pizza was hot and taxed.
The 14′ cheese pizza was $8, so about the same price or cheaper than a frozen/refrigerated pizza at the supermarket.
A second visit to this popular San Leandro brewery
Last week, we met our friend William at Fieldwork Brewing in downtown San Leandro for a long awaited catch up. It’s amazing how time flies.
William suggested Fieldwork as he frequents its Berkeley location and we were game. Mike and I tried it a year or two ago, with our friend Elektra, and while we weren’t impressed by its expensive pizzas, we did appreciate the patio-like atmosphere.
Fieldwork is a small but expanding chain of tap rooms situated in the Bay Area and surrounding counties. They offer a wide variety of beer as well as pizza and other bites. The San Leandro location is at the Washington Plaza, in front of the downtown Safeway. It features a large enclosed patio, with both picnic-style tables and benches and lounge-type chairs around gas fire pits. It’s open air, though they have a retractable roof they can close down when it rains. They also have some indoor table and bar seating.
We were there before dinner time, so we just got some beers and appetizers. William had a tasting of 3 beers, and I went for a 1/2 glass of Hills & Valleys American pilsner ($5), which I enjoyed very much. It was a bright, easy to drink but balanced and flavorful pilsner, without the bitter tones often found in this style of beer.
We shared some Honey Calabrian Wings ($16), which were very spicy and quite messy. They probably weren’t sweet enough, but they weren’t bad. the portion was quite generous (or we weren’t that hungry).
We also got the Brussel sprouts ($13) and they were a hit at the table. They were nicely caramelized.
We had the pizzas once before and we also felt they were OK but overpriced – their small pizzas are $19 to $25. They are now offering all their pizzas in “Detroit style,” with a thicker crust, so I might enjoy them more. I’m usually not a fan of “Neapolitan style” thin crust pizza, their other choice.
What annoys me most about Fieldwork is their ordering system. You have to scan a code and order and pay online. You can also go into the restaurant and order at the bar, but of course that means waiting in line (if there is one). Waiters bring your food and drinks, but if you need anything you need to go inside the restaurant to get it.
Fieldwork Brewing 100 West Juana Avenue, San Leandro, CA (510) 564-4298
A favorite San Leandro pizzeria never fails to satisfy
Last night, my oldest was in town and had a hankering for pizza. I didn’t myself, but I still have been craving pasta, so I decided to order from an old favorite: Porky’s Pizza Palace. This is a restaurant we have frequented ever since we moved to San Leandro, almost a quarter of a century ago. I love the old-fashioned, family-oriented, small-town-America feel of the place, and there food is pretty good as well. I didn’t take pictures this time, we just dived into the food.
The kids had a half-pineapple, half-Golden cheese pizza ($28). They thought the pizza was OK, pretty average pizzeria pizza.
We also ordered cheesy garlic bread ($6.3) and it’s definitely very cheesy. However, the cheese is not that flavorful. Next time we’d order the garlic bread without the cheese.
I decided to order a quart of ravioli ($14) and three meatballs ($12), so I’d have food for three meals. I really like Porky’s ravioli and meatballs. They are not going to win any culinary awards, but the ravioli are well cooked, with soft pasta, and are bursting with beef filling. The meat sauce is flavorful and tastes home made and the meatballs are light and, while commercial, not something I can actually buy myself at the supermarket. They are also pretty large.
In all, I like Porky’s Pizza, in particular the ravioli, and I’ll continue to order from there from time to time, as I have over the decades.
Porky's Pizza Palace 1221 Manor Blvd. San Leandro, CA (510) 357-4323 Mon-Thu 3 – 9 pm Fri 3 – 10 pm Sat 1 – 10 pm Sun 1 – 9 pm
I love Chicago deep dish pizza, so when I saw Gino’s East of Chicago Deep Dish Pizzas for sale at Safeway a few months ago, I got very excited and got two of them. I absolutely hated the plain cheese pizza. I thought it tasted only of a bad pasta sauce and couldn’t stand eating it. Thus I was very wary to cook and eat the supreme pizza. It sat at the bottom of my freezer for months. But it was occupying valuable freezer space and, having waited so long to do something with it, I didn’t feel good about giving it to someone else. So I baked it.
Imagine my surprise at finding that this pizza wasn’t bad. I won’t say that it was particularly good either. It didn’t have the overwhelming cheesiness of great Chicago style pizzas. But it was perfectly edible. The sauce, so offensive in the cheese pizza, could not compete with the flavors of the sausage, onions and green peppers, and thus could be ignored.
I still didn’t love it, so I don’t think I’d order it again, but I’m glad the pizza didn’t go to waste.
I don’t think it was until I tried this Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust ($6) that I came to the realization that I don’t really like pesto. I always thought I did, though I could never quite get it right when I tried to make it, but I think it might be too bitter for my taste buds – at least at this stage in my life.
In all, I can’t say I enjoyed the pizza. In the areas without the pesto, it was pretty “blah”. It didn’t have much flavor – the lack of tomato sauce was really felt here. In the areas with the pesto, it was too bitter and salty. The one redeeming quality was the crust, which was pretty good – though not out of this world – particularly when dipped in honey mustard dressing .
This Hayward pizzeria serves great wings, but just average pizza
I discovered Susie Q’s Pizza a couple of weeks ago while going to dinner at Khao Hom in Hayward. I don’t usually pay attention to pizzerias, but they had posters expressing support for Palestinians and calling for an end to their genocide by Israel – which made me want to support them in turn. So when Mike was out to dinner one night, I suggested to my daughter that we get some take out from Susie Q’s. Mike never wants to get pizza, unless it’s Zachary’s.
Susie Q. had pretty good reviews online, and I decided we should try a little bit of everything. They have a family pack for $40 that includes a large one-topping pizza, cheesy bread, an order of wings and a 2-liter soda, and I got that in addition to a sub for my daughter.
The cheesy bread ($10) was really disappointing. It had gotten really good reviews online, but it was way too salty and just not that tasty. It came with a green sauce and a red pasta sauce, neither of which was particularly great either. I still have some of it left in the fridge waiting garbage pickup tomorrow. Needless to say, I wouldn’t order it again.
For my large 1-topping pizza ($25.2), I got half mushroom, half cheese. The mushroom were very, very scant – you’d think they could have used the half they saved on the cheese only part in the other half. Where I tasted them, the mushrooms were fine, but a single mushroom in some slices was just sad. Other than that, the pizza was OK, but not memorable. It has a medium crust, and a good balance of bread to sauce to cheese. It just wasn’t better than any of the other pizzas at local pizzerias. If Susie Q was my closest pizzeria, I’d order it from them – but otherwise there isn’t a particular reason to.
Susie Q has lots of options for make-your-own-pizza, including different sauces and thicknesses, as well as a number of specialty pizzas.
The tossed wings ($13 for 6), however, were delicious. They have them on several flavors and we went with the honey garlic. The wings were very crispy and the sauce clung to them very well. The honey garlic was a little spicy for me, but I could only eat one anyway, as the kids just loved them. I will definitely order these again in the future and try the other flavors.
Finally, my daughter ordered a classic Philly cheese stake ($15), which comes normally with mayo, grilled onions and sweet peppers only. Other toppings are extra, but they didn’t charge her the 80cents for the lettuce (perhaps because she held the onions and peppers). Still, the fact that they charge you extra for lettuce and ketchup since a little bit stingy.
My daughter liked the sandwich, though the filling was a little stingy too. She wasn’t awed by it – she’d have it again if were eating there, but wouldn’t go out of her way to get it.
I really, really wished I had liked Susie Q’s better, as I’d love to support a Palestinian supporting business. And I will give it another try – they also have pastas, and their wings were that great.
Susie Q's Pizza 22580 Foothill Blvd Hayward, CA (510) 537-2888 Sun - Th: 11 AM - 11 PM Fri - Sat: 11 AM
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