best pizza in calgary?

[alex8alot]

new-ish to the city and seeking best pizza info for a friend who is a die-hard fan. I remember that Giovanni's used to be good, still so? This pizza fanatic's parameters are as follow: thin, chewy crust and REAL sausage (versus miscellaneous and extraneous bits of meat crushed into transparent membrane of dubious origin)

all help appreciated.

[electroleum]

This isn't really a gourmet or high-end pizza joint, but there's a new-ish spot on 17th Ave called Red Mile Pizza, which I find is a GREAT place to grab a quick slice for lunch, or on the way home after a night out. The owner (or at least I assume he's the owner) is really nice, and recognizes me because I've stopped by on a number of occasions (I work nearby).

Lunchtime you can get two slices (their slices are a good size) for $3.50...and any other time it's only $2.50/slice. It's 100x better than that CPU crap, and it's now my go-to "quick slice of 'za" spot.

[The Gut]

I really loved Avatara even though it is overpriced. Last time they made it on thin crust. I did not realize you had to specify because their default used to be the good crust, part of why I liked it so much.

Tonight I read on urban spoon they are only doing thin crust. Pffft! I guess I'm done going there.

So tonight we had Rea's. I wish they did some more veriety. The Pizza Tuto Mare was spectacular though.

[indiazi]

If you're looking for a new place to check out, Cibo just opened on 17th Ave between 9 & 10th streets.

The crusts are amazing and though I've only tried two of their pizza's, I am absolutely going to be back for more. They are sisters with Bonterra Trattoria so you're in for authentic Italian.

[23skidoo]

Anyone tried Gaga Pizzeria?

[Leibowitz]

Yes. It's absolutely delicious. Gets my vote for best, easily. Italian style, thin crust, fresh ingredients. Beautiful sauce. Had one last night: prosciutto, figs, olives. Fantastic.

[Leibowitz]

Retasted tonight. Yep, if you live in the Beltline, there is no reason to have any other pizza. Famoso, Una, and Beer Revolution also do well. but this is out and out great.

[josey124]

Outstanding pizza. Best in town in my opinion! That is the closest to what I am used to from Europe that I have found in Calgary. YAY! Now I am happy.
Also, try the Burek (meat version is my favourite) it is so delicious!

Added bonus is that both owners are super nice and very passionate about their food. And they now sell German chocolate (Milka!) for a decent price.

I love that place!

[Scary Bill]

Is Gaga only takeout?

And I saw a poster refer to deep-dish - is that what they make?

Thanks.

[josey124]

They have a counter with 5 chairs and two tables with 4 chairs I think. So don't bet on getting one. They mostly do take out.
Deep dish? No way. Thin crust. White and whole wheat. Organic flour. Italian amount and type of toppings, if that makes sense.

They have a homepage now: http://www.pizzeriagaga.ca/

[existential_crisis]

Here is my 3 years of compiled pizza research shortened into a neat list:

Calgary Greek Style (I have learned to love):
1) Atlas Pizza
2) Jeanne's Pizza
3) Spiros Pizza
4) Sophie's Pizza
5) 4th St. Pizza

Thin Crust and/or Italian Style Pizzas
1) Una Pizza
2) Tom's House of Pizza
3) Vogglio d'Pizza
4) Without Papers
5) Gondola Pizza

(I never tried Pulcinella)

I don't like floppy pizza much.

Best Chain pizza?
Chicago Deep Dish

[Incredibleman]

The only ones on your list that I've tried are Gondola and Chicago Deep Dish (the 5313131 one) and I like them, but here's 3 excellent greek style to add to your list:
1. Nick's Pizza & Steakhouse
2. Stavros pub (half price Wednesdays)
3. Verona Pizza (only if you are downtown at lunch time during the week)
These 3 are all fantastic

[BladeXT]

I second Vogglio. Their Mexicana is my pizza of choice downtown.
I recently tried Pizza Bobs, not bad! And the fact it was wood fired made a taste difference.

[existential_crisis]

I think you have to eat Bob's in-house. I ordered it a couple times and it was always so lackluster by the time it got to me... I was also disappointed by Nick's. Again, it's probably better if you eat in.

Stavros was excellent. That should be on my list. Never heard of Verona.

[nonlinear]

Did Pizza Bob's get a new oven? previously they had been using Blodgett (or whatever) deck ovens.

[dmlarsen]

Would love to try some of the recommendations. So many posts, have to add -that is if not posted-olive grove pizza express. Awesome gooey ness, unbelievable taste, great variety.

[KcM]

Hmmm, maybe not the "best" pizza in Calgary (as per the thread title) but since this seems to be the go-to pizza thread I'll leave this here...

Ordered two pies from Filos in the Deervalley shopping center (Canyon Meadows and Bow Bottom Trail) and was totally blown away by how decent they were. We weren't expecting much, but had a coupon for $10 off a $40 order so thought we would give it a try. Had a peperoni, mushroom and bacon and a Filos special (peperoni, ham, black olive, onion, green pepper, shrimp) and both were great. Nice chewy crust, not to thick and a rich earthy taste (not quite Sophie's level, but still good). Tomato sauce with some herb in it and not a crazy amount of toppings, but well balanced.

I don't think we'll be dining in at Filos any time soon (though I did see that they have a vintage table-top Arkanoid video game unit in the corner) but this will likely be our new go-to for take-out.

[johnjohnson78]

My 3 votes currently go to:

1. UNA- Pseudo neopolitana style....well not really. The pies are fairly thin with oil brushed on the crust and they are only cooked at, or just over 600 degrees in a deck oven. That being said the toppings and cheese are of high quality and the service is hard to beat once you actually get a table. If I'm not mistaken the tomato sauce is of the uncooked, crushed variety....possibly San Marzanos or something similar. One of my favourite pizzas here doesn't even have sauce. It's a sausage and leek number with a creamy cheese that I can't seem to recall the name of....fantastic. The house made chile oil with accompanying chiles are a must order here if you like a little heat with yer pie.

2. Il Centro- A slightly thicker Italian family style pie (less bready and less greasy than Greek style) without actually being thin crust. I've only had one pie here and it was topped with Calabrese sausage and roasted peppers, I think. There was plenty of good quality cheese and the sauce was well seasoned and is obviously cooked down with plenty of herbs and spices. Great pie, albeit fairly pricy.

3. Rhea's- To be honest I haven't even been there since Sandro's burnt down but have some very fond memories and I'm planning to revisit this week! I'll report back with my thoughts...

[Jasz]

We went to Famoso yesterday for the first time and I really liked their crust. I'd definitely go back but would try different toppings next time (we had the Thai).

[Jaycobb]

Double Zero and Una get my votes. Not true pizzeria style (and by that I mean Greek), but tasty and good value nonetheless.

[Doc1200]

Take Sophie's Pizza off my list. Last night was the last time we will order from them for sure. Since they changed their menu, opened a new location and increased their prices (they seem to do that quite often) the quality has went way downhill. I can no longer justify paying almost $30 for one 12' pizza! Toppings have been reduced drastically as I found about 3 flakes of onion on the whole pizza. One of the slices had 2 pieces of ground beef, one bit of tomato and almost no cheese. This is supposed to be "Greek Style" pizza with loads of toppings and cheese. Their crust is now thinner and does not have the same great crispy texture it used to have. Looks like the former family run business with the old Spiros recipes has been replaced with a chain like look and taste to their product. Avoid.

[Sidekickeh]

yeah i got a sophies a while back.. and it actually leaked grease out of the box and on to our car seat on the way home. Really the only two places I have been getting pizza from are still 1. A pizza plus. and 2. vogglios. Pizza plus when i want that thick delicious greek style, and voglios for every other time. I went to a friends house the other day to watch a boxing match, and he ordered Nick's thick n juicy and it was ok. But still, unless i find a better place, it will only be a pizza plus, vogglios, or of course.. homeade pizza. If anyone has any other good reccommendations please serve them up. I will try Stavros eventually as reccomended above.

[thevalleyboy]

Stavros Pub in Ranchlands has excellent pizza, and 1/2 price dine in only on Sundays

[kritafo]

really I won't touch this place.

[burge]

Rio Pizza on 14th st had one and is not that bad at all. good toppings good cheese and good crust about 30 bucks for 2 14 inch pizzas ad good weight

[DoubleFine]

It's hard to find good pizza here. You either get the "Calgary-style" pizza which falls into the "2-for-1" category and isn't much different than the bland US chain pan-pizza made with frozen ingredients, or you have to seek out an authentic Italian pizza place which serves high-end trendy and expensive ultra-thin crust with scant and exotic toppings.

In New York, Toronto and Montreal (the only places I've eaten pizza outside of C) just about every neighborhood has at least one authentic old-school Italian/Greek mom-and-pop pizzaria that serves a hybrid of the two; it's got the authentic high-quality made-from-scratch ingredients, and yet it's hearty enough that you can really sink your teeth into it for a reasonable price (and the toppings are simple -- you won't find a "pear and arugela" variation on the menu :-) ).

I am still on a quest to find that in Calgary, and so far I haven't come up with anything. And no, "Tom's House of Pizza" does not come close, nor do any of the local mom-and-pop pizzaria's that I've tried. That said, if you can avoid comparisons to pizza from other world-class cities, Calgary does have a few unique pizza experiences. Coco Brooks serves something that I wouldn't exactly call pizza, but it's quite good. It's like a personal pizza with some unique toppings, and some of them are quite tasty! I highly recommend the Bacon and Egg (I know it sounds strange, but it's really quite good).

Another place I quite like is Vogglio's D'Pizza. They seem to make their ingredients from scratch, and the toppings are again, very unique and interesting. It's definitely not an Italian or Greek style pizza (the owners are actually from Columbia) and has more of a "cracker-like" crust which is not my preference, but the toppings and attention to detail make up for that. I recommend the Mexicana.

BTW, even though I find some of calgary's "upper-crust" Napolitan-style pizza places to be over-priced, last time I went to Pulcinella I thorougly enjoyed the pizza I had there. The dough was almost like warn and fresh Naan topped with the freshest of pizza ingredients. Hopefully that makes sense -- take that "Naan" comparison for what you want, but believe me it was delicious. For the price though, I just wish there was more of it.

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Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[23skidoo]

You contradict yourself. You say the choices are 2-for-1 vs. US chain pan pizza vs. Neapolitan, and then you list alternatives.

Try these places:
Rea's - big, hearty slices from an Italian place. Actually I'd be interested as to what you think about it.
Famoso - the toppings are less scant than Pulcinella, and the pizzas are closer to a sharing size
Una Pizza - A unique crust with more bite/crunch than a Neapolitan crust
Gondola Incomparable - Somebody here compared it to US Midwest thin crust
Spiros - You mentioned it in your other post. Get the lamb one. Actually I don't remember much about it other than the juicy chunks of lamb.

Also try pub pizzas. The Belfry and Watchman's, for example, serve the 90-degree-angle pan crust with a ton of cheese on top style I would call "Calgary-style" myself, since a lot of the older places are like this, although it's not like chains (Dominos, Panago, Papa John's, etc), or like 2-for-1.

Finally, places I haven't been to yet, but would like to try - Il Centro, Without Papers, Double Zero.

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Il Centro
6036 3 St SW #106, Calgary, AB T2H 0H9, CA

Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[23skidoo]

Adding links

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Rea's Italian Cucina
431 41 Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E, CA

Coco Brooks Pizza
640 42 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 1Y6, CA

Vogglio D' Pizza
1514 14 St SW, Calgary, AB T3C, CA

Gondola Pizza
3315 26 Ave SW #4, Calgary, AB T3E, CA

Spiros Pizza On 17th
1902 33 St SW, Calgary, AB T3E, CA

Belfry Gastro House
630 8 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P, CA

Watchman's Pub & Eatery
1109 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2T, CA

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria
2303 4 St. SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2S7, CA

Without Papers Pizza
1216 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0T1, CA

Double Zero Pizza
751 4 St SW, Calgary, AB T2P 1E3, CA

[DoubleFine]

I guess I meant that those are the main types of choices, with a few alternatives outside of the box. Sorry if it was confusing.

Thanks for the suggestions! You've given me new hope :-) I'll try as many of those as possible. I'm a little weary of Calgary pub pizza however -- been burnt on recommendations too many times in the past. I just don't like pan pizza's, and have never tried a "Calgary-style" pizza that didn't taste (to me) like a bunch of goop piled onto greasy toast.

I'll definitely try Rea's and I'll let you know.
An Italian buddy of mine recommended Without Papers. He also recommended Il Centro, with the disclaimer that it "depends on the day" -- sometimes you just get what he's in the mood to cook. :-)

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Il Centro
6036 3 St SW #106, Calgary, AB T2H 0H9, CA

[Merry113]

I second the recommendation for Rea's. They have fantastic pizza. Make sure and call for reservations, though, because if you just show up you will often find it full. There pizzas are very hearty and two slices is the most I could possibly eat.

I also really enjoy Without Papers (though it is totally different than Rea's). It's more Neopolitan style though I find it less soggy than Pulcinella.

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Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[josey124]

I am just back from lunch at Double Zero and I am not impressed. The place is loud and I had the AC blowing straight down my neck. The waiters were confused about who is serving our table. Finally figured out and we ordered a caprese salad as a starter to share and two pizzas. The pizzas arrived luke warm, no starter. Only after we asked they remembered and it took another 10 min. or so to get the salad. The pizza arrived on a stand which got placed on the other side of the table. Very inconvienent. The pizza was ok, the crust very chewy and no flavour at all. The toppings good. The salad was ok but I don't think it was buffalo mozzarella, it was just bland. We asked to wrap the leftover pizza and the waitress seriously ask if she can put both together in one box. Huh?
Anyways, she didn't say anything but they didn't charge us for the salad.

I won't be back that's for sure.

[nonlinear]

i hear what you're saying. about 98% of pizza in calgary sucks. that said, you clearly haven't read this thread... you have your italian pie shops - il centro, reas, lina's, all of which are really good (in addition, you also have the several trendy faux-neopolitan places that have popped up in the last year or so). There is also Matador's, which is an excellent american/greek cross. what about Gondola, a midwestern-style thin crust, which doesn't compare to anything you can get in the twin cities or chicago, but is the best of that style you'll find west of minnesota. Pizza D'Vogglio can also make a great pie - try the Mexican - but their quality is inconsistent.

as for your MTL pie, I would say you're looking more for a NYC style pizza than a greek pie. greek pie has a thick, pan-fried crust. the pictures you show have a hand-tossed pie with a hand-made rim (not from a pan). i'm not aware of anywhere in the city which makes a semi-authentic NYC pie, aside from sabarro which i would not personally recommend. i can make an excellent version in my own kitchen however, using the Lehman formulation found at pizzamaking.com.

[johnjohnson78]

It's funny you brought up the lack of a proper NYC style pie in Calgary. I too have resorted to hand-making my own with some pretty satisfying results. Getting the proper dough takes a fair bit of practice with our elevation, humidity and all of the other variables but it's well worth the effort.

I hope somebody fills this gap in the market place one of these days

[DoubleFine]

Yeah, I think you're right. Mtl pizza is a tad different than NYC pizza (from what I've tried at least), but for descriptive purposes they're close enough that I might as well just say NYC pizza since Mtl isn't exactly known for its pizza.

Mtl style pizza, as I've come to find out, is actually inherently rooted in Italian tradition. But in Montreal a lot of the old-school pizza places have been appropriated by Greeks, and so the Mtl pizza has become somewhat of a hybrid; it has the traditional Italian crust and sauce, but also has mounds of ingredients under a very thick layer of chewy dense cheese.

The problem is that when you describe that to someone as "authentic italian", they automatically think razor thin crust topped with boccancini and sun-dried tomatoes. Those trendy "faux-Neopolitan" pizza places have really gotten everyone thinking that there's only one type of authentic italian pizza. So for lack of a better description I've been calling it "Greek-style"... which I've come to find out is actually really nothing like what I wanted.

I've learned a lot from this thread. I haven't read every single post (there are 200+ comments) but have skimmed, so sorry if I've missed stuff. BTW, in my post I mentioned Voggio's and also recommended the Mexicana. :-) Just saying.

[nonlinear]

for the pizza nerds out there, it's also interesting to note that pizza varies substantially even within Italy. If you go to Rome, you'll find that the pizza is completely different from the neopolitan style... it's actually a very thick, dense "bread," in a large rectangle shape and cut into very large squares (you actually order it by weight, and they cut it from the large pie). It's rare to see tomato sauce on the roman pies, they instead use an herb and olive oil "sauce."

[DoubleFine]

Interesting! Your description makes me think of focaccia-bread. Is that close?

An Italian friend of mine has said that there are as many types of pizza's in Italy as there are regions. Every region claims to have the best and most original -- but nothing we have in Calgary comes close to any "version" of pizza he's tried there. He claims that the Neopolitan style we have comes the closest.

Old school NY and Mtl pizzaiole claim that their style and recipes come straight from the motherland. It would be interesting to know if that's true, and if so then what region of Italy it comes from. Perhaps it reflects a specific era of Pizza-making in Italy.

[nonlinear]

OK so I'm back to report some disappointing news about Matador. The last few times I've been I noticed the pizza didn't seem nearly as good as it used to be, but I waited to post anything about it because I thought I might have just been on an off night or something... but after a few "just average" pies, I've decided that something has changed. Matador used to make an OUTSTANDING pizza - one of the best in the city. However, they are now making a more standard greek-style pie like you can find at any neighborhood pub in Calgary - there is no longer anything special about their pie, folks. The crust is A LOT thicker than it used to be (filling you up on bread), and the cheese and other ingredients aren't as fresh or high-quality as they used to be... and somehow they switched to using gross spongy bologna "pepperoni." WTF!?!?!??!

a big disappointment, since that was one of the stand out pies in the city. :(

[julzanderson]

I would say Una (on 17th Ave) is my current favourite, although I am a Famoso fan as well (4th Street/Mission). They both do the thin chewy crust pizzas which I adore. Pulcinella is also good (Kensington) but I do think Una is at the top of my list. Very long wait times to get in though if you are wanting to go at a popular time. Although they will serve you wine while you are waiting!

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Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[burge]

Costco has good frozen ones superstore and the Newyork upper crust is not bad. CPU is not that bad. Chigago Deep dish pizza is good as well. CPU for example is good pizza good quality fresh ingredients real mushrooms and retains its heat well. But this column tends to go for the Gourmet pizza . When the true definition of the frist pie was a smourgousboard of ingredients with sauce and cheese. CPU is not that bad same with victoria park pizza where they make the crust by hand buy tomato sauce and spice it up and use good amounts of cheese thats a real pizza and that is how they can sell it for so cheap.

[Scary Bill]

When I moved to Calgary 2 1/2 years ago I felt like it was a pizza wasteland, nothing but chain pizza and crappy independents.

About a year ago I had a Margherita at of all places, Earls, and it was, for me, transcendental (yeah, I know, a bit over the top). I began to feel that things on the pizza front were really evolving as that pizza was quite possibly the best Margherita I'd ever had, my pizza model of comparison as it is the standard which cannot be deviated from, otherwise it is not a Margherita.

Mrs Scary recently became a regular at the new Double Zero and has almost gone through the menu, with only one pizza she didn't rave about. We were going to go yesterday, my first time, but they were closed, not staying true to the hours posted on their menu. Hopefully that changes.

Disappointed, I recalled that a new place had just opened in Inglewood, Without Papers, so we went and it is terriffic. We ordered a wild mushroom and a wild boar pizza, both with roasted garlic sauce (should have tried one with a tomato sauce, but that will have to wait til the next time). Both were terriffic, my only mild issue being that they went a bit overboard with the olive oil to finish.

Mrs Scary also told me she heard about Una, which I understand has been open for a few months, that has a similar style and quality of pizza.

So, I just want to say thanks to those restauranteurs who saw the need and are meeting the challenge well.

[nonlinear]

^^with all due respect, i utterly disagree. a few establishments joined this neapolitan bandwagon, but pizza is diverse and IMO the fact that all of these new trendy places are focusing on just one single style really shows just how poor and undeveloped the pizza scene is here in calgary. still can't find a single place serving ny style, or (real) chicago deep dish.

[crazy_eoj]

While that may be true, you can't deny this town has excellent neopolitan and greek style pizza's now?

[Shazam]

As someone who's lived here for thirty years, I can most definitely say that the pizza scene has gotten way better, especially in the past ten years.

Of course, there is still a ways to go, but that's life.

[nonlinear]

i agree that we have a few places with good neopolitan pizza, but I certainly wouldn't say calgary is a good city for pizza. it's pretty ridiculous one has to drive across the city just to get a decent pie. and still, 98% of the pizza sold in this city comes from those fly-by-night 2-for-1 shops that litter every street corner around here.

[Scary Bill]

Oh, and I guess that you won't be buying todays Groupon.

[Scary Bill]

Non, "utterly" disagreeing doesn't leave much room for respect, if any at all.

The Neopolitan bandwagon is hardly a bandwagon as this style of pizza certainly has been around far longer than you ( unless you are a vampire, werewolf, a Highlander, or maybe The Mummy), or I. And I think, as do these pizza joints, that doing one thing really well is quite good enough, as the majority of them do nothing well (unless you are a fan of Calgary style pizza, which I am not. Having all the guts of a pizza buried beneath a molten layer of cheese, ready to slide off the underlying crust just lacks appeal)

Great NY style pizza does exist in Canada, the best I've had is in Toronto, and I will put some of them up against any NY style, anwhere. I'd sure like to find a great one here.

While I agree that Calgary doesn't offer the treu Chicago stlye of pizza, with most imitators in Canada throwing inferior toppings on a thick circle of Wonder Bread, I'm also not much of a fan of the original as it is too much like an Italian version of Tim Horton's "Soup in a Breadbowl".

Each to his own, when it comes to pizza

[burge]

I do not mind Chicago deep dish pizza 4ths st pizza is good there is a new one on the corner of 4th and 15th ave in the corner store and so not mind CPU Chicago deep dish i do like though

[clouie]

I'm gonna confess something ... I really enjoy the pizza made by Safeway (11th ave and Brentwood). We bought it because it was on sale for $6.00 (regular price $10.00) and it's HUGE - as in a super large pie. It's a fresh pie - I think its made by the employees of Safeway - it's in a large box but doesn't have a "Safeway" brand. The toppings are thin - but it has a nice gooey cheese. Lol. I don't know what's wrong with me - I've tried Spiros, Famoso,and Pulcinella in Calgary, but still I prefer the Safeway pie. I also make a killer crust - it's a no fail recipe and so easy to make... but it's easier and cheaper just to get one premade.

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Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[Doc1200]

I put A Pizza Plus ahead of Sophies, Atlas, Nicks, Spiros ect ect ect when it comes to "Greek Style" Pizza in this city. They can continue to offer top quality Pizza and rock bottom prices while scareing off the snobs with their 2 for 1 branding :)

[tex_in_yyc]

Well, dammit...I've driven by this place a thousand times and never noticed it. If it rivals Spiros and hits a lower price point, I'm going to have to try it. The only complaint I have with Spiros is the price...

[Hart50]

I gather a "Spiros" family feud created a split thereby producing Sophies in addition to Spiros and so I was wondering how the two compare?

[worldwidestuff]

Anyone heard anything about Sugo's plan to open a Pizzeria in Nectar's old space?

[johnjohnson78]

I believe you're referring to Without Papers and it's a pretty good spot. If you do a quick search there's an entire thread about the place. Although there were a few things they could improve, I had a pretty nice dinner there and would say it's worth a try for anybody who likes Italian style pizza pies. One thing it does have going for it is that you don't have to wait an hour to get in like you would at Una.

[Sidekickeh]

I guess thats the problem - you should stop "assuming", and actually do something to back your statements hey?

Shouldnt judge by the price alone either. Look at Pulcinella. Highly over priced in my opinion. In fact out of my 3 favs there, A Pizza Plus is the cheapest of them all, but I think that they are the best still.

You are comparing apples to oranges (burgers to pizza), but if you want to get off topic in the comparisons, some of my favourite wines are much cheaper than their counterparties 10x the price. This is from myself trying them - not assuming that higher price always = better wine.

All a matter of context. Some people find Pulcinella excellent value for what you get. Some people find CPU not even worth cheap price it already costs. I am not factoring in any type of costs, just going to by taste and type of pizza for what they are. Pizza delight - franchise pizza, but good. FlavourmePizza - Artisan style (think California type pizza). A Pizza Plus - Thick, cheesey, hearty filling pizza. All 3 very different, from one another.

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Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[nonlinear]

hrm, it is apparent you really know what you're talking about. why are you wasting your time here, then? go eat some pizza. ask for pepperoni - i'm sure their slices are even 5" in diameter. WAY better deal than that crappy 1" diameter stuff, eh?

[DeeDub]

I am a little frightened to step in the middle of the sidekick vs. nonlinear fight that is going on right now but I also have to show A Pizza Plus some love. My initial reaction when I heard they were a 2-for1 shop was to stay away. After so goading on behalf of a neighbour who has been going there for years I gave it a shot. It was actually quite good. Do I go there every time I get pizza? No. But it is on my rotation. Really good value and quality toppings. It is not like other 2-for-1 joints out there.

Can't we all just get along???? It's pizza. Eat it. Enjoy it. Move on.

[maplesugar]

+1 sidekickeh v nonlinear is a draw. Separate corners gentlemen please ;)

Pizza is a hot topic around here and we each have our fave styles and places obviously. There are days I like greek style, and others when I'd rather a slice of Panago's thin crust BBQ chicken. Are all the pies authentic italian? Heck no;but isn't it all about delicousness regardless of the pie's pedigree?

[nonlinear]

^^yea but I don't think anyone is debating that. if you look above, I actually asked sidekickeh which genre, since once cannot easily compare between genres.

[maplesugar]

True & yeah I did see you ask which genre sidekickeh preferred and I'm sure we'll hear back from him (her? hard to say from the username sorry) soon enough.

[hclass]

I bit and had A Pizza Plus for the very first time over the weekend. I use to live just blocks form the place and never gave it a try. I was about to order from Spiros when remembered this thread. The SO usually likes only one meat on her pie so with 2 for 1 it gave me a good reason to try them out also, and they delivered.
After about an hour wait I was expecting a soggy pie but was happy it still was crisp on the bottom. I did enjoy the pizza since I was looking forward to a thick crust style pizza. I couldn't really taste the sauce but the rest was good.
For the style I would say its just slightly better then Bella Roma and just a notch below Sprios imho, and coincidentally that is where its priced at too. Also better then Poco Loco which has a location nearby.
Sidekickeh as for Pulcinella being overpriced I disagree. It's got a wood fired over, that ain't easy to replicate so if I want true Napoli style I have no problems opening up my wallet.

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Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, CA

[Sidekickeh]

Nonlinear, would you be so kind as to post up your top 3 pizza places and why in the city? I would be happy and eager to give them a try.

[nonlinear]

I don't have a top 3, since there are different joints specializing in different genres. it's doesn't make sense to directly compare a neapolitan pizza to a greek bar pizza, for example. what genre are you looking for?

[Sidekickeh]

Thanks Doc for the backing on A Pizza Plus. Glad to hear others eat it and love it. Nonlinear, i would like to know how you can tell how a pizza tastes by reading their menu? lol. Do you snif and lick the menus and try to get a taste from the fumes on what their pizza tastes like? LOL. You sir, have some serious pent-up pizza rage! lol.

If you read above, you will notice a few things. 1. Pizza delight IS a franchise. I already told you that. lol. Its my top pick of the franchises, mainly because of the garlic fingers and donair sauce, and their donair pizzas are quite good too.

As far as flavourmepizza goes, the owners ARE Italian. Go in and speak to them in Itlalian and ask them when they moved here. I never said anything other than that. Its not "authentic thin crust italian pizza" - certified by the italian pizza authority or anything at all. Just stating that the owners themselves were italian which brings a lot to the table for pizza, whether they do it authentic italian style or not. Its not authentic italian pizza by any means, and no no one ever claimed that, but best described as "artisan style". This is far far from a canned pizza suace joint that you are describing. And "but looking at the menu as well as pics of the pie and people serving it, it's pretty clear they are NOT from Italy". So you can look at pictures of people on a website and tell where they are from, or not from? Nice stereotyping. Its a website! You are entertaining. But I can assure you that its not a CPU or a sysco dough ball place. Stop knocking this stuff for stupid reasons, and try it for youself.

And as for A Pizza Plus (my number one pick), you can read above from Doc. They have been opened since 1990!! Thats over 20 years my friend. Far from a "fly-by-night" joint. Far far from a chain, and far from a canned pizza sauce joint. IN fact, they have some of the best pizza sauces I have ever tried. But I am sure you can prove that wrong by either looking a the menu, or driving by, rolling down your window, and smelling the fumes, and from the look of the place (its nothing fancy to look it). But this is far from a franchise or canned pizza suace shop. You can see the big tubs of homeade sauce they made, just by looking into the kitchen area when you are waiting to pick up the pies.

Its a family run joint, and yes, some of the friendliest and most proud owners in the city. One thing they are not... is shy on the toppings. I have only met one person who did not like their pizza. And it was because it was too hearty (too much cheese). Why not try it, instead of commenting on how good they are from looking at the menu. I will gladly try any places you reccomend, that I havent already tried yet as well. And i will actually eat it to form an opinion. Not look at their menu and make an opinion from that.

[nonlinear]

When someone offers double cheeseburgers for $1.39, I can only assume they are similar in quality to McDonald's McDouble.

[piano boy]

I grew up with the mom and pop 2 for 1 and I still have a fondness for it but it's not a quality product. You can get the exact same thing on every city block. It's cheap and it's decent. It exists for the same reason that most other restaurants do, it's consistent and affordable.

I think parts of this discussion haven't been clear on discerning what the "best" means. If we're talking best pizza in regards to quality of toppings and skilled craft then your corner pizza place is not it. If "best" to you means good price (bang for your buck), family run and consistent, then your corner pizza place might very well be the best in the city.

[The Winger]

My favorite pizza in town is Ogden pizza - Billys special, oh ya! 2nd place is Jon's pizza in Douglasdale. Both are outstanding.

[KcM]

We just discovered Jon's Pizza last night and are very happy to have it in the area.

Ducked into the tiny storefront and chatted with who I assumed was 'Ms. Jon's' at the desk, supper friendly. I told her I read about them online and she noted that they were 5th place on Urban Spoons, but she hadn't heard of Yelp before (where I found them, 4 1/2 stars over 3 reviews). Ordered a large deluxe with spinach added. Pie was ready in about 35 minutes (on a Friday at 6:00 pm!) and then whisked home (along with an order of salt and pepper wings from Saigon Royal next door!).

Pizza was very, very good. This isn't traditional or artisan style pizza, but a well done Western or Vern's style (pub style or Greek style?) with a better balance of toppings than Vern's. Meat was pretty standard ham and pepperoni, but the veggies (fresh spinach, mushrooms, onion, peppers and tomato) elevated the pie, and the cheese was top notch. And, as good as the pizza was last night, this morning it was DYNAMITE. Brought up to heat cheese side down in a skillet, then as the cheese softened and crisped flipped over to crisp up the bottom! It was like a stew or soup that just gets better the next day.

*Also, bit of a derail, but I'm loving this little strip mall with Jon's, Saigon Royal (killer Thai pho, spotless dining room, and phenomenally friendly service), and what I am assuming is the only fresh bakery/esso gas station in the city. A hidden gem.

[Doc1200]

I have to stand up for A Pizza plus (on Bow Trail) as they are certainly not to be lumped into the conversation of crappy chains like CPU. The same family has run the shop since 1990 and I have been ordering from them since I was in grade school. They use fresh dough made every day and their sauce is fantastic. They use probably the highest quality cheese of any shop in this city and are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The prices are insanely cheap (22,00 for 2 12" pies) and the pizza is awesome.

[Sidekickeh]

nonlinear, i didnt see what you wrote back, but whatever it was, that is fine. I have tried the i think every suggestion on this site post so I know how they stack up. Out of the ones discussed Vogglios and Michaels are both quite good IMO, but my personal favouties (on top of all those i have tried on this thread) still remain the 3 above. I am ordering A Pizza Plus this weekend for a poker game, as its always a hit with our group. The best way to describe it is - HEARTY! Its big on everything. Cheese dough, toppings, and sauce. I can see how some people may find it to cheesy though. Those who dont like such a hearty pizza will probably prefer flavourmepizza or pizza delight more. Which FYI, pizza delight is considered a chain pizza place. Just not really here in Calgary.

I might also add this. I do not normally like vegetarian pizza either. But A Pizza Plus's vegetarian is really really delicious imo. Maybe its becuase its still big on everything else (cheese, sauce and dough) so its still really good. If you like lighter pizza though, again, go for flavour me pizza.

I tried Sophies pizza last weekend after driving by it many times and reading some reviews on this post. I picked it up for take home. The grease actually leaked through the corner of the pizza box, and leaked all over my truck seat. Talk about slop! I still have the stain on it.

Again, it really depends on your tastes. I have tried i think them all. Still havent tried Sammys though or matador, but they will be next. I would say if you are up for it, make your next 3 pies one of those 3 i mention. And YOU see how they stack up (since i have already tried most). Those 3 are all very different from one another. But all equally delicious in their own unique ways. I really think that you will find one of them to be your favourite. So try.

1. A Pizza Plus - take out is great. Veggie and Greek pizzas are good here, but so are they all. Thick hearty, cheesy heavy pizza.

2. Flavourmepizza - excellent artisan style pizza. Much better than coop, and others similar in style. Take out much better than "by the slice".

3. Pizza Delight - go in and dine in, if at all possible. Always seems to get the best. Get a pizza and some garlic fingers, but MAKE SURE you get some donair sauce to dunk the pizza and donair fingers in. ALways seems so much better when you dine in, not sure why. But try it .... really good.

Just my top 3 favs, and i die for pizza. I am sure 1 of those 3 is bound to hit the palate for many of you.

[nonlinear]

you must like eating plastic.

i have been to pizza delight and would never go back again. their pizza is comparable to Pizza 73, if you know what i mean.

I looked at the menus of the other two, and would never try them. this city is plagued by literally hundreds and hundreds of 2-for-1 fly-by-night "pizza" shops serving frozen SYSCO dough balls, canned pizza sauce, and processes cheese food. they all suck, why would i make a special trip to try one of these fakey pizzas? Also, you mentioned that one is owned by Italian people. Not that it makes a difference, but looking at the menu as well as pics of the pie and people serving it, it's pretty clear they are NOT from Italy.

[nonlinear]

and the reason i'm so adamant and snarky about this is that aside from a handful of really good pie shops in Calgary, the market is absolutely saturated with these 2-for-1 shops selling fake pizza (i.e. the pizza is made using processed ingredients from the freezer and cans, and assembled on site by people who don't know the first thing about pizza). the reason for this is that Calgary is a relatively young city, and just grew to its current size within the last 20 years, and thus doesn't have the history on which to found a decent pizza cuisine.

the problem is that these create a false impression of what good pizza is, and this is why people run around saying you can get good pizza at COP, Awesome Kitchen, A++++ Pizza, Chicago Deep Deep Deep Dish, etc. etc. etc. I feel it's important to speak out against this crap!

[Scary Bill]

Soooo, if I read between the lines you seem to be disagreeing with SK, right?

[John Manzo]

I was gonna say this same thing about Flavour Me- kudos to them for being creative, but there's nothing really "Italian" about what they're selling. It looks like a sort of less expensive spin on CPK.

[josey124]

CPK's thin crust pizzas are very Italian! I wish they would open one here.

[piano boy]

Hmm... some good suggestions overall. Was worried about saying I liked the thin crust at Gondola as it is a 2-1 sort of thing. The almost cracker texture is really unique (for calgary).

Matador's has switched ingredients, their feta and some of their meats aren't what they used to be. Overall for that style I go to Nick's on Crowchild now.

For a party, haha... hate me all you want. Vern's is awesome. Square cut, 2 inches of nitrites... I mean meat.

Chain, I love Panago, with all their ingredients you can get some fun personal favs going.

[nonlinear]

i agree that Panago is great for chain pizza.

[kritafo]

Just a heads up Verns on 17th SW closed officially Nov 27th. My husband loves Verns and stopped by for a slice and the door was locked. The owner came to the door, they were only doing delivery for the rest of the evening. Said they were finished and gave him some slices they had leftover from the afternoon. Said Corp Saskatchewan Verns hadn't once been to Calgary to check up on things and that the SE store is doing their own thing changed up the recipe making the crust thinner and changing ingredients....

[The Gut]

I didn't even know there was a second location. The one in Raddison has been kind of iffy for quite some time. My brother had some T-Rex for a function at work and said it was good maybe 3 or 4 months ago.

[nonlinear]

man, it's too bad to hear this - i was always intending to try Vern's, but i don't live in the area so haven't made it yet. :(

[Sidekickeh]

Well.. i just read through most of this thread (its long so not all of it). Being a huge pizza connoisseur and trying the majority of the places listed here, i will give my all time favs, strangely enough none which have been mentioned much on here.

1. A Pizza Plus - 4623 Bow Trail SW. Hands down the best pizza in the city IMO. Its not for the faint of heart, or for light or thin crust lovers. Its thick, loaded with cheese and topings and always delicious. The cheese is crusted very nicely on the top. The best part is their sauce! Must be some special homeade sauce but i always order extra sauce even now, as it is that good. It makes for a suacy pizza though ;-). I don't normally like Greek pizza, but i LOVE their greek pizza there. I have been getting this pizza since i was about 12 years old when my parents used to get it for me and the babysitters. Have been a loyal lover of their pizza ever since, and now get it for my own kids! Best in the city, from real friendly pizza cooks!

2. Flavour me Pizza: http://www.flavourmepizza.com/ - excellent artisan style pizza. Really unique flavourful crusts with lots of herbs and spices. Owners are italian and very nice. They serve pizza by the slice, but it is never as good as if you order your own full pizza for some reason.

3. Pizza Delight - 2250 162 Ave SW Calgary, AB - [phone] . http://www.pizzadelight.com/en My friend from the east coast turned me on to these guys. Apparently they are very popular in the maritimes. I find the pizzas are delicious. Sometimes hit or miss. For instance, when we go in and sit down to order their pizzas (great place and great family place too), they seem to be WAAAAAY better, than when we order them out to take home. They also have awesome garlic fingers (bread sticks with bacon and cheese and garlic). But the best thing about them, is their donair sauce, that they serve for dipping the pizza and garlic fingers in. Its to die for. Better than any type of dipping suace you will fidn anywhere else. I wish i could get this at any pizza place as i would get it all the time. I aksed them fro the recipe and they said people would cut off their legs for the recipe so they couldnt give it to us. But dont order a pizza or garlic fingers from here without the donair sauce! Very very very good.

I would urge you all to try those 3 pizzas in that order. If one of those 3 isnt your new favourite, then it must have been a bad day at one of them.

[nonlinear]

you should try some of the other recommendations in this thread, and see how they stack up against your favorites!

[howlin]

take it easy man this is about good pizza ,not authentic ,who cares if they're italian ,greek ,regina whats important is the flavor bro .ive not tried any of sidekicksh suggestions and based on your post neither have you (except for pizza delight)but your post sounds harsh.maybe try those others and report back,who knows they could be the hidden gem.

[nonlinear]

sorry, i got carried away there. i also noticed that this is a first-time poster, and i don't want to scare anyone away, so i edited my post.

(but I can tell from the menus, prices, and pictures posted on the web, that they are not "hidden gems" hahahah.)

[dnice444]

Tandori chicken pizza or donair pizza from Awesome Kitchen on 11th .. period!!!!!

[nonlinear]

Awesome Kitchen is a perfect example of why Calgary's pizza scene sucks so bad. The city is saturated with crapholes like that which serve canned sub-SYSCO quality sauce, processed cheese food, and bad, bad powdered dough mix. How do you tihnk they can afford to sling a large pizza with unlimited toppings for like $8? blech!

[Scary Bill]

So, are you saying that you don't like their pizza?

[John Manzo]

There are too many pizza places in Calgary- you have to avoid the detritus and focus on the good places among which there are many. You can't seriously expect, with a pizza place almost literally on every corner, that they'll all be stellar? I mean where I grew up the pizza was almost alway superb (as long as you avoided the chains) but you could drive for blocks and not find a pizza place. Here, they're EVERYWHERE. Separate wheat from chaff and you end up with a scene that's just as good-- differerent, but good- as you had in Minneapolis. You're choosing to focus on the negative- why is that? I really don't get you.

[Shazam]

Yup, there's TONS of fantastic pizza in Calgary.

Calgary's just getting better and better on the food scene.

[guapo11]

Recently Moved to Wentworth with My Family.. My Wife is Italian and a die hard Pizza Fan..A friend of mine Told me about a small Place in Cougar Ridge Called Andaros Pizza.
We ordered Their Island Twist and Mighty Zeus(Greek Veggie).OMG!!!!! The Best Pizza in Town...Excellent Crust,Lots of Toppings..Very reasonably Priced..Small Store but Big on Delicacy.Good variety of pizzas.Try that out.

[nonlinear]

What style of pizza is this? They have many, many pics on their site, but they are of vastly different styles and look like stock photos. (e.g. they have one very-authentic-looking deep dish pie pic, but that style isn't anywhere on their menu.) Also, I would hardly say it's "very reasonably priced" - in fact, their prices are quite high for pizza in Calgary. The only other pizza restaurants in the city who charge that much for their pizzas are the "premium" pizza joints, like Tom's, Gondola, Matador, D'Vogglio's, etc. So, for that price, I would expect the quality and creativity to rank among those. And if that's the case, they should really do a webstie overhaul and feature their own pies, instead of stock photos of unappetizing pizza.

[guapo11]

The management has changed hands,Now They have buy one and get the Second half price.So two 14' pizzzas are only for $38.Their Quality is very good and I will rec ommend them to everyone.

[nonlinear]

Ahh, it's one of those 2-for-1 fly-by-night shops that saturate the market here. Unfortunate.

[John Manzo]

Nonlin- have you tried Rio? They took over Famous Pizza by me (14 St SW, just a few steps from Vogglio actually)- they do a really good thin crust (dare I say Chicago style?); it's nice and crispy with very carefully done toppings, real care taken there. I'd prefer a more assertive sauce (I loooove Nick's as an example) but they're generous. The whole operation is incredibly professional and they are as clean as a hospital in there. They don't do 2 for 1 per se but do offer an extra pie for a DOLLAR and the second pie seems just as well put together as the first. I'm really digging these guys. They have two other locations, both in the north.

[nonlinear]

John -

No, I haven't tried it, but they also have a location in the NE and it has been recommended before. I'll definitely keep it on my list!

[nutellaluvr]

Thx for the suggestion, having taken a look at their menu they seem to have taken some effort in mixing up typical offerings. When we're in that neck of the woods we usually stop at Sophies, but we'll give this a try, and I agree about the reasonable prices. We picked up a ho-hum Boston Pizza and it was $29.95 for effectively a lot of bread...

[crazy_eoj]

I used to live on the west side of town and Andaros was very inconsistent. Although that was about 4 years ago so the management could have changed.

Poco Loco used to have fairly good pizza in that area, although again it's been quite awhile since I had anything from there as well.

[guapo11]

Check it out now.New management for Sure

[hsk]

I think the real problem, as evidenced by these discussions, is that everyone has their own idea of what a "best" pizza is. I hated the pizza at Pucinella, misshapen, burnt in some locations, lots of crust, not much toppings. It's extolled as a great pizza. I like pizza with a relatively thin crust, lots of toppings, cheese on top lightly browned, not too salty. I really like the pizza from Vogglio's. I had an Italian friend in high school who said true pizza was thick with just a little tomato sauce on top. Yuk.

To get a meaningful response to "where can you get the best pizza?" you really do have to say what you consider makes something "best" (not OP, it was stated, I'd say Vogglio based on those parameters)

[sweedon]

I have no real strong pizza opinion. Actually I kind of do. Personally have had good experience with Fat Tony's in Connaught. Pretty slow service but that's Calgary. Honestly had the best slice in New York. That being said, I think the local water has something to do with the taste of the dough. I have to agree with the midtown co-op posts. They do crank out a pretty good pizza.

[fotze]

Where do you get it at COOP? At that deli area on the south end of the store, they just cook it to order? How much is it?

[theauditor]

hi fotze

yes it's at the deli area on the south end of the store and it's cooked to order (although they do appear to sell pre-made by the slice). you order right where the wood oven is located. there's a piece of paper that they hand you for you to specify what toppings you want. i think it was $10.99 for 2 toppings $11.99 for 3 toppings and an additional $1 for any additional toppings. we had to wait 15 minutes for the pizza to be finished.

[slingshotz]

I'd have to concur with Vogglio's, it's pretty good pizza. One of the other problems we are faced with in Calgary is the type of water we have to work with. It's extremely hard and as any baker knows the water makes a huge difference in it's interaction with the flour.

They done tests in US (can't remember which show it was) but they proved that you can't make NY pizza in Chicago and vice versa with the exact same recipe and ingredients but using the local water. It's the same reason why places in Europe that use Canadian flour (much of the world does) can make much tastier breads.

[graemejw]

"It's the same reason why places in Europe that use Canadian flour (much of the world does) can make much tastier breads."

I'm not sure they are using Canadian flour for taste at all- Canadian flours have a higher protein content - meaning better & stronger dough development, more baking volume, better processing tolerance, better water absorbtion & better texture than softer (lower protein) wheats - this makes it the flour of choice for industrial, high speed mixing oriented bakeries. I would argue that taste is predominantly a result of the fermentation that has taken place, other ingredients added & salt. Have you ever tasted bread made without salt - no flavor whatsover.

[slingshotz]

What I was meaning is that the bread made with Canadian flour generally tastes better in places like Quebec, Eastern States and Europe than in places like Calgary due to the water. You are right about why places use our flour though for their breads.

[nonlinear]

hahah, i think there are more pressing issues with the pie scene in calgary than the water or flour used in the dough :)

(i can see arguing about that in NYC or Chicago, but this is calgary for cripes sakes! most of the pizza here isn't even made using real cheese!)

[Scary Bill]

Actually the type of flour does matter to the quality of the crust. Italian 00 milled is considered the best, and is of course made from 100% Durham semolina.
In fact it is also the best for pasta, and is used by Martelli -best dry pasta on the planet-to make their 4 types of dry pasta. If you are a Canadian wheat farmer, well pat yourself on the back because that's all Martelli will use.
Oh, and just curious-what type of non-cheese substitute is used in these here parts?

[nonlinear]

hey bill,

I am an amateur pizza cook (hehe) and completely agree with you, however I was just trying to point out that there are more pressing issues than flour/water in crust... i mean, in order for that to even be a concern, pizza shops need to be mixing their own dough, not using dough mix, frozen dough balls, or pre-made crusts. the flour and water issues are IMO something to consider when 'fine tuning' a pie.

[fownzy]

I have to agree with the posters here who say that the pizza in Calgary sucks, they are correct by and large. When you see people posting that "Co-op" and "Domino's" etc. are the best you know we are in trouble as a city. I've lived here 12 years and am always shocked by the lack of good pies here. The best I've had are Sophie's on Richmond Rd. (Greek style, fresh, tasty, crisp crust) however they are on the expensive end for pizza. The other place is Spiro's on 17th ave just west of downtown, but they are hit and miss. I can't explain why the pizza here is so poor but it is. Just ask your friends where the best pizza is in Calgary is and let their blank stares tell you all you need to know lol....

Come on Calgary, wood fired pizza ovens! Tasty, well seasoned sauces, fresh ingredients, downtown location!?? Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax all have great pies, why not here??

A better topic might be the worst pizza in Calgary.......much easier......I vote Wicked Wedge (if good pizza was measured by weight they would win though......heavy stuff)

[23skidoo]

I bet you haven't even tried the pizza from the Co-Op on 11th. (Not frozen pizza, but the pizza they make right in the store).

I was at the Belfry gastropub on 8th the other day, and their menu proudly proclaims that the pizza is the same recipe you used to be able to find at Baby Blue's (used to be on 7th ave). I guess that's what people here want: rigid pizza with an oily underside, "spiced" sauce, and a good half inch of toppings and cheese. Every 70s "bar and grill", or pizzeria-with-a-greek-name serves this pizza. I don't get it.

[fownzy]

You are correct, I missed that it wasn't frozen so my bad on that one and I'll give it a try for sure. I agree with you on what seems to pass here for pizza...not good. For me it needs a tasty tomato sauce with fresh herbs, fresh toppings (not an inch of crap) and a thin, or thinner crust that is crisp and chewy. I'll try the Co-op and post back on here what I think.

[John Manzo]

Haven't you been to Pulcinella?

What you describe here is precisely what you DON'T get at Sophies. Don't get me wrong, I love Sophie's, but if that's your yardstick and that's the sort of place you're going and you prefer a "thin or thinner crust" then why are you not trying other places?

You get blank stares because you're asking the wrong people.

[Scary Bill]

Two others to try:

1. The margherita pizza at Earls on Macleod near Southland.

2. The Italian Supermarket on 20th Ave NE. They only make pizza on Saturdays.

These pizzas will stand up against any pizza, anywhere. There is very good pizza in Calgary, just not on every street corner.

[nonlinear]

i believe the Italian market bill refers to is Lina's

[Scary Bill]

Close (geographically) but no cigar. :-)

http://www.italiansupermarket.com/

In comparison, Lina's is "designer" Italian, Italian Supermarket is "Mama's" Italian.

Discovered it doing a Google Maps search before moving here, trying to line up Calgary's sources for all the best Italian food shopping experiences.

[Jetgirly]

I used to live in Italy and the Italian Supermarket takes me right back to shopping for groceries in Torino... basically being totally, completely ignored while the employees talk in Italian to elderly Italian women about their children and grandchildren. :)

[maplesugar]

Lina's does some nice pizza but I don't know about "designer" I find Lina's cheaper for some things than Sobeys - I'd say Lina's is probably more mid-level department store, whereas Mercato is Holt Renfrew :)

[aktivistin]

Wood-fired pizza oven + downtown location: try Giuseppe's on 1st St and 13th Ave SW. Ask them to go easy on the cheese and you'll get a very, very good pie.

[John Manzo]

I think Calgary is actually quite well-served for wood oven pizza. The issue here is that you do have to cut through a lot of dross to get good pizza. The pizza in my hometown is exactly the sort that nonlinear extols, but the fact is that there is not a hell of a lot of pizza otherwise- there are the obvious chains, and then a sprinkling of mama and papa places that are almost always excellent. In Calgary (and other Canadian cities) you have the chains and then you also have the littered-on-every-corner 2 and even 3 for 1 crap factories. I never saw those (aside from Little Caesars) in most places I lived in the US but here cheap and bad pizza is everywhere. The places I consider quality are, just as at home, pretty few and far between.

I will repeat that I've had more excellent pizza than I can shake a stick at here.

I'll also say that almost none of the pizza ovens I grew up around were wood fired. That's PRICEY and pretentious. We had the same sort of ovens they use at Vogglio.

[nonlinear]

a major problem is that calgary lacks strong regional chains. sure, we have tom's and gondola, but those are the only two and they are both very small. unfortunately, a large proportion of the market is occupied by the 2 for 1 crap factories and this prevents growth of the more deserving shops. take home message is that calgary doesn't have a developed pizza culture and thus a refined pizza palate, so people buy crap pizza which prevents the scene from moving forward. it's a positive feedback mechanism! ARGH!!!!!

[23skidoo]

IMO the 2 for 1 crap factories are just as bad as "insert greek name here" and 70s steak + pizza establishments.

[John Manzo]

then just buy decent pizza!

Lemme add that this is a canada-wide phenomenon. Toronto inflicted Pizza Nova and Pizza Pizza on a world that did nothing to deserve those insults. Pizza in Vancouver is pathetic, especially in light of how much that scene has improved in relatively close by Portland in the last couple of decades. Ottawa is perhaps worse than mainstream Toronto. Montreal is an absolute joke.

[John Manzo]

okay here are two pics to make nonlinear's mouth water- these are from Barton's in Hammond Ind (my hometown just south of chicago):

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JC7k91RICx8/SwF4qkDOVnI/AAAAAAAAFVE/EBnbcMlI-nI/s1024/IMG_1282.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JC7k91RICx8/SwF...

[nonlinear]

THANK YOU JOHN!!!!! that looks awesome, and it's even IN A BAG! I only know of one place in MPLS that serves pizza in a bag, i can't say it makes sense for stacking but it sure is kinda fun! are you in the states right now?

[John Manzo]

returned home yesterday- had some godawful Mexican too- in the midwest they have lots of places that are Mexican run and staffed but their food is garbage because they dumb everything down to suit midwestern white folks taste- this is very much Ron Paul country if you get my drift. So everything is covered in iceberg lettuce and cheese and the tacos only come with corn tortillas is you specifically ask for it. And you ONLY get chicken or beef for tacos.

I know, I was amazed too but this explains why even though I grew up in heavily hispanic NW Indiana I never had really good Mex until I had it in California.

[Mawson Plan]

I agree with this fownzy- please let us know what you think of Co-Op pizza. Pulcinella makes an effort but the crust is usually a little soggy for all the boasting about authentic Italian thin crust. Chowhound has a great video in obsessives with a pretty informed guy talking about pizza. Ah-Beetz in Abbotsford is an amazing pizza. Nothing in Calgary that I've had is close. I think if you've only ever eaten pizza in Calgary you might think that Earls has good pizza- but there is a whole other universe of pizza out there. Thin crust, a little burnt, minimal toppings, made by people who think pizza is one of the most important things on earth.

[Scary Bill]

The best pizza in Calgary is FREE!!!!!!

I ordered several pizza's from the nearest pizza place, a Papa John's, for an impromptu family gathering, and I walked into a promotion where the first 100 customers "won" free pizzza (large 2 topping) every week for a year (yup 52 free pizzas!!!).

It turns out that for a chain, their pizza's aren't bad, better than other Calgary pizza chains I've tried.

[John Manzo]

Used to get PJ's all the time and have always found the sauce too sweet and the crust oddly sweet as well. It's okay but really, "best in Calgary"?

btw I got it "all the time" b/c on Mobile Alabama there are no other options.

[Scary Bill]

I have only been in Calgary for a year, so I haven't tried a heck of a lot of pizza places. It is not among the best I've had in Calgary, those have come from independents-and surprisingly, a terriffic Margherita at Earls on Macleod, but it is about the best chain pizza I've had here.

I've also had to adapt to the Calgary style pizza which seems to me to be putting all the toppings on the sauce and smothering them with cheese. I still prefer the Toronto Italian approach which uses about half as much cheese as here, with the toppings on top of the cheese.

I'm alweays open to suggestion though JM!

[John Manzo]

I grew up with toppings below cheese, so this style suits me :)

Lately I've been having good luck (again, after some bad luck) with Vogglio- also, they have really nice thin-crust pizzas at 1410 Bierhaus, and good, better-quaiity pub food in general in a fun, convivial space.

But the real pizza revelation is the pizza at co-op- they have a wood-burning pizza oven at Midtown Market and I think at a couple of suburban ones as well. They don't deliver but you can call ahead. They make their own sauce from tomatoes they roast in those ovens! I had been getting it with sausage and mushrooms (they use real crumbled sausage,as does 1410 incidentally) but tried had and shrooms a week or so ago instead and it was the best pizza I've had in a long time. The ham adds just the right amount of salt to a pie that, despite its quality, cries for salt.

[nonlinear]

quick list of my favorite spots in calgary: matador (NW), kinsington bob's (NW), Tom's (several locatoins), Gondola (my fav for nostalgic reasons - several locations), Sandro's (NE). used to recommend Il Centro but we were really underimpressed last time we had their pie.

[makan2]

My favourite pizza places:
-Michael's (the best pizza around!)
-Spiro's on17th (love the House Special) - has whole wheat pizza crust only in 12"

[theauditor]

thanks for the suggestion john! i tried their pizza on sunday and it was quite tasty. we had 4 toppings and it came out to $13 or $14... the pizza fed two adults and two kids so decent value. the ingredients were fresh and they didn't skimp. it takes 15 minutes from order to finish.

[Scary Bill]

Noticed a place called Nick-N-Willy's Pizza at Woodbine Square. Took a menu and noted more toppings, sauces, crusts and combinations than any other pizza joint I have yet discovered in Calgary. Not cheap but a money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

Discovered it is a US chain just making its way up here, took a look at the website and discovered a few things that make them worth a try, like small batch dough from scratch and no freezers on premises.

Anyone been?

[DeeDub]

When Nick-N-Willy's opened up on 12th Ave SW (across from the Safeway) I was really excited as I grew up on "take-n-bake" pizza in the States (Papa Murphy's). It has been close to two years since I was last there, but for a take-and-bake, I thought Nick-N-Willy's crust was outstanding. I don't think they are at that location anymore but I would certainly give them another try. I recall they gave really clear instructions on how to properly bake it in your own oven.

I am a big fan of Tom's House of Pizza. They make their own sausage and lucky for me they do not put any fennel seeds into their mix.

[Scary Bill]

I tried Tom's once and that was enough.

I ordered for delivery. The pizza arrived about 45 minutes after it was promised-they are 5 minutes from my home. The delivery person handed over the pizza, took the money and practically ran back to his car.

I took the pizza to the kitchen, opened the box and it was clear that the poor delivery guy had an accident on his way to my place since his car must have rolled over about twenty times to cause such a mess in a box.

The slag in the box was about room temperature, and it was very clear to me that the crust had been prepared by dropping a bunch of dough scraps on a surface and rolling them into submission.

Tasted it, tossed it in the trash, and opened a beer.

[DeeDub]

I have only had Tom's pizza in their restaurant. I often go to their lounge and partake in their "all you can eat" lunch special. Crust is thin but chewy. Based on your delivery experience Scary Bill, I totally understand why you have only tried it once!

[John Manzo]

N&W closed for years in the beltline- this is the sort of place that needs parking and is fitting for a suburban location but this one was pure death from day 1. It is now a little filipino market that has great prices on coconut milk..

Ital sausage should have fennel- at least what I grew up with...

[ricecake]

Coco brooks gets my vote everytime

[23skidoo]

Just had some pizza from Gondola Incomporable Pizza on 26th Ave SW. It's interesting. Probably the flattest pizza I've ever seen. The thin crust is hard to describe- it's not crispy, but soft, buttery, slightly flaky, and about 0.5mm thick.
It's underwhelming looking, but pretty good. We had a medium cheese, and a medium olive and mushroom. I wouldn't recommend the plain cheese as it was a little too bland and congealed a little quick for my liking.
The price was fair - $23 for pickup. I was considering Pizza Bob's but there's no way I was going to spend $22 on one 12" pizza.

[Jetgirly]

Half a millimetre? How did it hold any toppings? Was it like, phyllo pastry?

[23skidoo]

It wasn't like phyllo pastry; it was soft. The crust was as thick as a tortilla.
I know this doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, because I'm not sure I would get it again. Still, it was pretty good.

[hsk]

Thick as a tortilla is not 0.5mm, I think that's what Jetgirly was asking.

[nonlinear]

gondola is one of my favorites in the city. it's midwestern/chicago-style thin crust. chicago is 'famous' for their deep dish, but if you've ever lived there (or anywhere in the midwest for that matter), you'll know that most of the pizza (i would say 99% of take out pies) is of this midwestern-style thin crust. more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-...

Gondola is a Winnipeg chain, so it's pretty obvious that they would serve this midwestern-style thin crust. there are far superior local chains in the larger midwest US cities, but gondola is the only place serving this style in calgary so that means somthing i suppose.

[John Manzo]

And if you get a large, they cut in into squares! Also- good crumbled Italian sausage, none of this sliced nonsense they call "Italian sausage" other places.

[nonlinear]

mmmm, yea i love it cut into squares. the middle pieces are the best!

[23skidoo]

That looks pretty much exactly like the pizza at Gondola.

[feuerzeug]

If you haven't tried Atlas Pizza, you are really missing out. Seriously.

I also saw the questions about real Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. Lou Malnati's ships frozen Deep Dish across the U.S. I've had it, and it's actually really good. Not like going to Chicago, but a good fix. Maybe they will ship to Canada. If not, have an American friend order it, and then ship it to you in dry ice!

[slingshotz]

Anyone been able to find anything close to a Chicago deep dish pizza like Uno's or Lou Malnati's?

[John Manzo]

No. NO. Nowhere in Canada.

Uno's is crap btw, Lou Malnati's is the real thing as is Gino's East, Nancy's, Edwardo's. Giapo's, and if you hit the original location, Giordano's. Problem is you have to go to Chicago to get Chicago-style deep dish or stuffed pizza.

[kritafo]

haha! isnt that the truth. It just stinks that when we talk about Chicago deep dish pizza we actually have to go to Chicago.

[maclock]

Could one of you explain why anyone would want a genuine Chicago-style deep dish pizza? Perhaps it's just an acquired taste, and if I had grown up with people telling me how great it is, I might believe that it's the "bee's knees", but the one time I had it in Chicago at Gino's East, it was an extraordinarily dense, heavy mess.

And what's up with the sauce on top? Not my cup o' tea.

[slingshotz]

After sampling some of the pies in Chicago, I find it so hard to go back to regular pizza in Calgary, especially Chicago's "deep dish" pizza. Agreed Uno's isn't as good as Malnati's but compared to the stuff here in Calgary, but it's miles above anything similar here.

The main thing that I think differentiates the pizza is the crust, the Chicago crusts were buttery and almost flaky. There's numerous posts on other boards for people trying to duplicate it so I don't think it's that much of an acquired taste.

[maclock]

Yeah, I'm not contrasting Calgary's versions of Chicago-style deep dish pizza with the real deal. Rather, I think that the supposedly better original Chicago versions are not much to my liking. I just found the pizza I had at Gino's East kind of gross.

Give me Demetris Pizza anyday over that stuff.

[John Manzo]

Well, it's a heavy feed for sure- I'd like to go back to Edwardo's for a broccoli-spinach "souffle" pizza and see if I still like it.

Now, as is discussed various places on Chowhound, REAL Chicago-style pizza- the sort that's eaten by most folks in Chicagoland- isn't thick crust or stuffed at all; its a thin yeasty crust, sometimes done cracker-crisp, with toppings UNDER the cheese, and -- this might be the most important part -- it's cut into squares, despite the pizza being round. And the best approximation for this, right down to CRUMBLED Italian sausage, is Dominos' thin and crispy. I hate to admit this, but there it is. Second best: Gondola.

[sarah galvin]

I just had pizza for lunch today at Manies Pizzaria on 17 Av across from Mt. Royal Village. I thought it was terrific. I ordered the Greek Pizza. $20! But for a medium pizza, it was enough for 3 people. The crust was thin on the bottom, the edges were thicker and nice and crispy. Tons of filling, all under the cheese - spinach, feta, fresh tomatoes, black olives, green peppers - just what you would expect - but the flavour was amazing. They deliver until 3am Sun - Thurs and 5am Fri & Sat!

[nonlinear]

i also grew up in the midwest us and totally agree with you about the chicago-style thin crust john. have you tried Gondola pizza? in my opinion, they serve up the closest to chicago-style thin crust that you will find in calgary. not surprising since they are only 6 hours north of minneapolis

although they don't have as much cheese or sauce as you typically find in midwest USA, it is thin and cut into squares

[sarah galvin]

Matrioshka, at 14 St and 17 Av, has very good pizza. For years they were called Kensington Pizza but now have a selection of Russian foods on the menu as well.

[charliel]

Tom's house of pizza fits your requirements!

Not that Wicked Wedge is thin crust, but I just wanted to say don't go there. Eating their pizza is a jaw workout. The whole wheat crust is like having a dense slab of whole wheat bread with some pizza stuff on top. The sauce was also minimal so the whole thing was fairly dry. I've never had such a bad pizza texture. Maybe they do this on purpose so the high school kids from across the street are forced to buy a drink to wash it down. But it was not good at all.

[kritafo]

really you like toms? Michael's is place up by the mustard seed that is suppose to be pretty tasty.

I haven't enjoyed Wicked Wedge since the early 90's

[fmanning]

Not a big fan of thin crust myself, but my fav pizza in the city is the Mr. Universe from Chicago Deep Dish. Mmmmm, deelish!

[greenboy]

I'd second the Pulcinella recommendations. Can't get enough of the pizza there - really authentic and just delicious.

[kritafo]

so what are we recommending for a thicker crust pizza. I am not a huge fan of thin crust.

Nor the spiced bologna they put on instead of pepperoni. I like very basic pizza, good cheese, pepperoni, fresh mushroom and fresh tomato slice. Not heavy on the pizza sauce. I haven't found a good one in Calgary. I do enjoy pizza from Luis at Vogglio, but I do like to go to more than one location for pizza.

[whackamole]

For a thicker crust pizza, you should try Matador Pizza in Varsity.
They don't do delivery though.

[laracee]

I'm a big fan of the pizza at Nicastro's (2418 Edmonton Trail NE). That said, I still haven't tried the pizza yet at Pulcinella or Il Centro..

[yen]

Never been - what style is it? Thin, thick? What kind of toppings? Creative and funky, or more classical pies?

More info please! I know they have competitive foosball there, so i've been meaning to actually stop by for that. But if the pizza is good too, it's like two reasons to go!

[Merry113]

Okay, this is OT but Nicastro's has great wings too if you like wings. The "house" flavor which is basically a blend of all the other flavors (I think) is really good.

[laracee]

Thin crust, very tasty and the price is right! They have 5 or 6 pies on their menu, I think, and all are fairly classic.

Just going to have to check it out, Yen. Last time I was there I had a peppercorn burger that was also delish!! Maybe next time I'll try one of their Italian subs...

[Jigga]

Since I haven't been able to find a restaurant pizza (or a delivery pizza) that completely meets my requirements (thin, crispy, and chewy with non-run-of-the-mill fresh toppings) I tried making my own with ingredients from Mercato - and, to my surprise, my attempt was met with great success. Mercato sells balls of fresh pizza dough for a mere $5 - which is enough for about 4 people for a snack and 2 people for a meal. I got some truffle oil, mushrooms, brie, prosciutto, and rosemary, put it altogether, and in a mere 30 minutes I had my own gourmet pizza.

The crust was really the best part - light, fluffy, airy, and crisp. And all I did was spread it on a regular baking sheet and toss the ingredients on. It looks like Mercato dough and toppings will now replace delivery for me ...

[bohunk]

The $5 price kills me - I can't do it. Bagels and Buns used to sell frozen pizza dough for $0.99. It's flour and water (there's not even any egg in pizza dough) for crying out loud!

That said, does anyone know the secret of freezing pizza dough. When I make dough at home it's great, but when I freeze it the resulting crust doesn't perform well. Anyone?

[John Manzo]

Mercato uses very expensive artisanal yeast. Don't forget about the yeast.

[pants]

I'm with you! I've started making my own too - I love the Mercato dough - I thought $5 was pretty good - we also bought the sundried tomato paste at Mercato, it's just a bit more flavour than plain.

[Gobstopper]

You can buy pizza dough at the Urban Baker for a dollar per. I do it once a week. It's a flat crust type dough with some whole wheatness. Very similar to the River Cafe dough. 18 minutes on silicon at 450 = as good as home flat crust can get (In my experience)

[Jigga]

Cool - I live right near the Urban Baker and really enjoy their pizza. But I didn't know that they sold their own dough - and for so cheap.

[bohunk]

Great tip. I didn't know that either, and it's in the hood.

[Major_9000]

I just wanted to add my voice and say that Pucinella in Calgary in fantastic Pizza. I just finished having lunch their today and it seriously tastes like I'm back in Italy.

[JulieVR]

I haven't read through to see if anyone else mentioned this, but even so it's worth repeating - the Italian Supermarket makes pizzas in their wood-fired oven on Saturdays only, and it's well worth the pilgrimage. It's at Edmonton Trail and 20th NW (a few blocks from Lina's). It'll definitely deliver your thin and chewy crust cravings. Otherwise Sandros up north... I don't have the address on hand. Pulcinella's is great but the crust has been soggy in my experience, and I keep hearing it from others as well. Beautiful interior too.

[CookieGal]

Lina's makes a pretty good pie to.... WAY better than Pulcinella.

But.. my bet on the BEST pie in town is:
Atlas Pizza... deep in the darks of the NE on Memorial Dr + Madigan Dr.... best damn pizza ever, it's your traditional greek style crust.. loaded with topping and an inch of a gooooie 3 cheese blend. The top gets a thin layer of cheese crust to crunch through, followed by a tangy pizza sauce and a nice dough with a crisp bottom. My all time fav.
2nd place... IMO is Sandro's as already mentioned... i love everything they make, the family, the service, this place is my all time favorite restaurant for bang on food and service every time.. I've been there 20 times and never ever have they come u
short
Last but not least Volo's near Marda Loop.... great great great delivery pie! I'm so sad they they won't delivery to me now that I have moved out of the "loop"

None of these suggestions are thin crust style.. but I would strongly recommend any of these 3 to fit the PIZZA craving!

[sleepycat]

We tried Atlas Pizza and yes it was pretty good. DH loved the greek style crust and the inch thick topping. We ordered the Atlas Special and the Super Special. The Atlas seemed to missing the shrip while the Super seemed to be missing the beef. There wasn't a shortage of toppings so we didn't really notice. The pizza sauce was mild and bit tangy. I would have liked more sauce.

Does anyone know if Vogglio's is still having their timing issue?

[Bobatt]

I ordered from Vogglio's a few weeks ago, was quoted 20 minutes on the phone and because of the lags posted here, I gave him about an hour. When I got there my pizza had definitely been sitting around for a while, and it may very well taken only 20 minutes. It was a Monday night, so it wasn't very busy, but it looked like the timing problems were mostly gone. It was still good though.

[yen]

I ordered last week, told 40 minutes, showed up 5 minutes late, and they were still sitting there waiting for me. I'd say the timing issues are a thing of the past.

[PizzaPizzaLover]

ATLAS Indeed !! I lived in Marlborough Park as a teenager. Atlas is to pizza what Smugglers is to steak (if you know what I mean). I moved from there many years ago and to this day, I still travel across town to get some from time to time. Like smugglers steak, I've never come across pizza like Atlas - I'm 45 now and can honestly say that although these are mere opinions, I offer them with a great deal of pizza eating experience. ATLAS PIZZA RULES - Dean

[hungryincalgary]

I agree 100% with the pizza from the italian Supermarket..fresh and delicious and priced well.

[TSAW]

I decided to check out Italian Supermarket's wood fired pizzas today (they do them on Fridays now too). Sadly, I have to report it was probably the worst pizza I've ever had. We shared a margarita pizza. Instead of tomato sauce they used tomato bruchetta, then topped with mozza. Sounded really good when ordering. But it was soggy, doughy, totally white on the bottom, had alot of wood fired 'grit' on the bottom. You couldn't even pick it up. It just flopped and hung. I'm not sure if the bruchetta made it more wet than usual or not. I took mine and rolled it from the pointed end up to the crust, like a roll. There was no cheese anywhere near the crust, it was in the middle of the pizza. The crust edge was hard, like a crispy cracker. We ate three pizza and tossed the rest ($13 for large size). We were so disappointed. I hope this is a one-off bad review because I frequent this store alot for pantry items and generally like the store. But I won't buy a pizza again, I don't think.

[pizzap23]

...I had read ALL the reviews on Pulcinella, and was sadly disappointed at dinner last night. True, it was the first time there, but in all honesty, I don't think the time is worth going back.

We started with a fantastic bottle of sangiovese...and the appetizers were terrific...the pizza though. I've never had a crappier, blander "Napolitana" pizza. I lived in Italy, I've tasted the tried and true (the best of which is to be found in a town in Abruzzo...Lanciano to be exact. DaCarlino's is truly the home of the greatest pies...).

Pulcinella's classic Margherita was bland, incredibly watery, and overhyped. I only ate about a 1/4 of mine and decided to politely decline the rest.

Am I wrong? I'd like to be...but the tomato sauce had ZERO flavor and was FULL of water. The topping, not so much...and the dough was down right tasteless.

I hope it was an 'off' night, but maybe I've just simply had the best and there's no going back...

Any suggestions?

[formerlyfingers]

I don't get all the hype about Pulcinella either. Authentic or not, I think their pizza is a big disappoinment.

[hales123]

I would have to say that "Flavour Me" Pizza on the corner of 8th Street and 5th Ave SW is one of the best pizza's I have had.

[Hart50]

I think you are confusing a "good" pizza scene with a "different" pizza scene. I enjoy the prevelant Greek style pizza that I grew up eating here and I don't particularily care for so-called Chicago thin style. That doesn't mean the latter is bad it just confirms my particular taste.

[nonlinear]

has anyone tried Gondola Incomparable Pizza? I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard nothing but good reviews. Apparently they have "Winnpieg-style" pizza, which is thin crust and cut into squares. It sounds like the same stuff that is ubioquitous in the midwestern USA.

Has anyone tried this place?

[John Manzo]

I've heard this, but no, not yet. Thin crust in squares is indeed the OTHER Chicago-style pizza, and it's what I grew up with, just outside of Chicago.

[nonlinear]

yea, i grew up in minneapolis, and all the pizza was this 'chicago-thin" style. I've been looking for similar pizza in calgary but haven't been able to find anything so far (the pizza scene really is terrible here). anyhow, i may check this place out this weekend, i'll post my findings here ;)

[John Manzo]

The pizza scene is NOT terrible here. This isn't Vancouver. There is lots of good pizza in Calgary. Read the dozens of posts on chowhound on this matter.

[nonlinear]

hrm, well i am a pizza freak who was born and raised in the midwest USA, and who also lived in NYC for 3 years. I've lived in calgary since 2001 and have been searching for decent pizza ever since. I've tried all of them(trust me), and even calgary's best is just "OK" in my mind.

The problem is that 99% of the pizza places here are the ultra low quality "2 for 1 shops like "awesome kicthen" or "canadian pizza unlimited" (ick). They use frozen dough balls and canned sauce, fake cheese food, and bad toppings. There are a few places that seem more original, like toms or pizza bobs (and both of these are just "OK"), and then you have the italian places like pulchinela, il centro, and others. these are few and far between however, and like I said, even the best of these are just OK to me. But I can't beleive that a city of 1 million people has such a poor scene.

[yen]

I guess my question for you would be what do you consider to "good" pizza? What kind of dough? What kind of crust? Amount of toppings? How high end do you want the toppings to be - classic toppings, or nouveau Californian frou frou kind of toppings? What price range are you looking for? I find with pizza especially, individual taste plays a big factor. Where you grew up, and the type of pizza you were used to eating play a big part in this too (i grew up in NE Ontario, but the pizza parlor in town was Greek run. Thus my affinity for Greek-style pizza).

Personally, i like Il Centro, but more so because it reminds me of pizza i had in Tuscany, rather than a neapolitan pizza. I think Tom's and Bob's are just "ok"... my preferred thin crust pizza place is actually the Midtown Coop on 11th and 11th that JM put me onto last year. They use a real pizza oven, non-frozen dough, and a wide variety of great toppings, at a phenomenal price (3 toppings for 8.99). It isn't the best thin crust pizza i've ever had, but it may be the best value, and the pizza itself is really good.

My other favorites are Red Carpet Inn for Greek-style pizza... their crust isnt excessively greasy, their toppings are fresh, abundant cheese, and tasty sauce. More expensive, but i like it.

Anyway, if you provide more details around your preferences, someone might be able to narrow down some better options for you. Like John, i don't believe Calgary is devoid of good places. I do agree with your comment though that they are often few and far between, sandwiched between 3 for 1 pizza, and the 5 dollar medium!

[Shazam]

In a former life I used to work at a Pizza 73. They used fresh dough, fresh sauce, real cheese and freshly chopped toppings. It still sucked :)

[yen]

Lol... touche.

[alex8alot]

too funny. sad but true. Whenever I foolishly attempt pizza at home, I assemble the fresh ingredients, and then choke down the inevitably crap results.

[seemac70]

Gotta go with nonlinear.

the fact that many people don't realize how bad the pizza is in Calgary is the biggest reason it's bad!

The devil is in the details with pizza and (mostly) it's all about the square footage and heaps-of-cheap-toppings here.

Places like Pulicinella's serve what would only pass for decent street pie in many cities, and for that they can sell over-priced plonk to the third date crowd...

Hey, I live in Calgary and I'm rooting for the whole thing, but I usually resort to Domino's. Sad but true.

It's consistent and I don't get skewered on the price.

[nonlinear]

I really hate to say this, but we ordered 2 pizzas from Gondola on Acadia tonight. Dropped close to $60, and one of the pies had a 5" strip of plastic on it. Hate to say that cause it's my one of favorite pizza places in the city.

[ChefBill]

I went for a pizza at Pucinella's this evening and it was nothing short of spectacular. Beautiful light airy crust, I found the sauce to be just right and had no need to ask for salt or pepper as others have, I had the Porcini pizza and to be fair mushrooms contain natural MSG so perhaps that helped the flavour out. Not a cheap pie, but a wonderful dining experience.

[yen]

Im glad you had a good experience with Pulcinellas - they're a good bunch of people.

I have found, however, in 10 or so excursions there, that the quality of the pie really depends on who's working on that given day. I've had some great experiences, and a few very average ones as well.

[John Manzo]

Not cheap, no, but for a really excellent dining experience I think Pulcinella is excellent value.

My partner asks them to cook the pies a few seconds longer and they always comply.

Their funghi fritti in the gorgonzola sauce- amazing. AMAZING.

[formerlyfingers]

For thin crust its Divino for me too....tomato and basil. For Greek style it's Spiros on 17th Ave. The best version I have had in Calgary.

[newJJD]

Just went to Sandro for the first time in a long time.

Forgot how amazing it is! Great crust thickness - somewher between thin and pan... delicious homemade sauce, great toppings. We had a meat combo pie that featured prosciutto, and the prosciutto was put on after the pie was out of the oven. I thought that was great. Crust started getting a bit soggy after 15 minutes so eat quick.

Oh, it is near Edmonton Trail and 41 ST NE for those who want to know

[rajbbhatt]

I went to Giovanni's today. Crap pizza. THe sauce was TASTELESS! No salt at all, no spices, nothing. I got the veg pizza and it hardly had any topics.

At the end, before we left, I found out from the owner that Aug 21 is their 25th Anniversay and last day in business. Dont know why they are quitting...losing money??? The service was nice though, very home style italian with the "mamma"s in the back cooking.

[misscheeks]

i like it to be pretty basic with basil and tomato... but not too much like a sauce that would go on a pasta. i guess its hard to describe, but i hate the sauce at wicked wedge, its too spicy, and i find other sauces use too much oregano.

i have started bbq'ing my own pizzas using Mercatos fresh pizza dough and its a pretty righteous thin-crust. They have premade Pomodoro sauce that is very good. The BBQ is way way better than when i use my pizza stone during the winter.

Question, Pulchinella's review in the Herald last week mentioned its the same owners as the old Strombolis? is it in the same location again? man,that family is back/forth with that location..its crazy! if it is thin crust, they must have departed from their old style of pizza from the resto, hey? i loved their house pizza when i was growing up.

[yen]

Can't agree more on the Oregano issue... it's tomato sauce, not oregano sauce!

Pulcinella's is owned by the same owners - their son Dom is working there as the head chef. Same location. And it is "authentic" neapolitan pizza, so very much thin crust. You think the food is different? You should go check out the decor if you want to talk about complete 180's!

[Miles]

Il Centro: best pizza in Calgary. Fidele is a genius.

On the corner of 60th ave and 3 ST SW, one block north of Home Depot. It's only open for lunch during the week, but in the evenings on Friday and Saturday. Thin crust, great toppings.

[yen]

Miles is right... great pizza - the problem with Il Centro is the worst hours ever.

[Miles]

I know: it drives me crazy. But ... we had "salt pizza" aka the Siciliana on Saturday, olives anchovies capers .... [insert sound of dry mouth]. Exactly what we needed.

[yen]

What about the sauce do you like? Is it Spicy? Tangy? Chunky? Puree'd? Meat Sauce?

[misscheeks]

4th street pizza is my go-to pizza joint. the sauce is very important to me and i LOVE theirs.

[misscheeks]

for real? you think Demitri's in thin crust? maybe you have to special order that? cus it seems pretty regular-crust style.

anyways, i agree. they have some amazing toppings. the NY Garbage pizza is a fave of mine...its sooo loaded. We always have to pay extra for the delivery to the SW tho.

[yen]

Last time i had Demitri's, it was definitely not thin crust (a typical Greek-style crust). However, i also didnt have a great experience with it - my notes say that the toppings are ok but not enough, pie is small, price was $$$, crust was average, a bit underdone.

If you live in the SW, have you had some of the other chow-recommended pizza places? Like Sophie's, Pizza Bob's, or my personal fave, Red Carpet Inn (if you're looking for loaded, that is the pie miss!). If so, can you hilight where Demitri's is better? Im gun shy on pizza these days - I don't eat it quite as often anymore, and i love it so much, i want a good experience each time i indulge.

If a place i tried didnt do well the first time (House of Tom's, for example), i won't go back. But i live close to there, so im hoping you can convince me to try again!

[beekeroc]

Yen, have you ever tried Bella Roma down in Lakeview, fantastic sauce, fresh dough and to me the best "Greek style pizza" in the southwest. Actually , the best I have had in Cal. since Three Boys Rest. closed 15 yrs. ago.

[eva82k]

You HAVE to try Demitri's in Kensington. They have amazing pizza there! Thin crust and some different toppings. We have been going there for 15 years and they have never slipped.

Cilantros also has a great pear and gorgonzola pizza but I don't believe they do take out!

[Gobstopper]

Though I was glad to have pulchinella's, I don't rate it super high - Pizza Bob's is indeed excellent and hopefully the dine in option will become viable once the smoking laws come into effect.
I quite like Divino flatbread/pizza as it is very very consistently excellent. I've also generally enjoyed the urban baker pizza but that's mostly because they are a block away from me.

[misscheeks]

Tom's House of Pizza had health violations only 3 years ago. I think this was good pizza back in the 80's but they've more than slipped. This may sound lame, but I think earl's has good crust, and so does Sandros up north.

[John Manzo]

Okay- I can top that for lame-

The pizza at the Co-op Midtown Market is KILLER. I had a slice of cheese and a slice of peppo/shroom the other day and they slayed me- the best NY style slices I have had in Calgary, no exceptions. Fantastic thin crispy chewy crust, tons of cheese, it was SO much better than the two most recent "NY" pizza slices I've had (at Pizza Schmizza in Portland and at Nate's in Vancouver). I am sooooo serious here- give them a try.

[newJJD]

Agree with you here Manzo... Just had a slice of Sausage/peppers/onions... It was amazing! Concur with "Best NY style slice in Calgary" Though still not quite as good as Tony D's in Kelowna BC.

Followed that slice up with another one of your recommendations... the Yam Tempura roll at Uptown Sushi... Killer!

[John Manzo]

Hey, thanks! I know some might be skeptical, but seriously, this is great thin-crust pizza. Co-op at 11 and 11 SW. You can buy whole pies there too.

[sleepycat]

John do you think that one could get kind of pizza at any co op or just at the the Co-op at 11 and 11?

[John Manzo]

I think other newer co-ops have those prepared food areas- anybody in the 'burbs wanna pipe in here?

[alex8alot]

yes, the rocky ridge location does have the pizza, but I haven't tried it myself

[yen]

I actually had a slice (pep mushroom for me) a few days ago after an Uptown Sushi run and forgot to report in on it. It was surprisingly really good, and cheap too! I was originally a bit skeptical John...sorry :)

[canucks1619]

Actually it's called Nat's not Nate's and if you realized that very few local's go to "Nat's" because of the average quality. If you want good pizza go to Amadeus Pizza or Lombardo's or Presto Cucina

[Hart50]

I am a native Calgarian and the following may be a Calgary urban legend but I was led to believe that a lot of the non-chain pizza joints in town are owned by Greeks and that what makes them "Greek" pizzas is that the cheese is put on top of the other toppings as opposed to the more traditional Italian pizzas(ie. dough, tomato sauce, cheese and then toppings).

[BLM]

In Montreal here, that's called Montreal-style pizza(with the cheese on top of the other toppings). And many Montreal pizzeria joints are owned by Greeks.

[John Manzo]

I've gotta add that I am not sure how Calgary's ver of Greek pizza makes it, well, Greek. In my hometown (Hammond, Indiana) most family-run pizza places are Greek and all serve what I think of as traditional South Chicago pie- thin-medium crust, tons of cheese, and most importantly, the pis is cut IN SQUARES. It's a round pie but cut in squares, which is why I-- I hate to admit this-- have a soft spot for Domino's thin and crispy w/ Ital sausage and mushrooms: It's the closest I can get to Aurelio's at home (and all over the south Chicago burbs).

Alex, if you're gonna try Sophies (Richmond and Sarcee), I strongly recommend the spanako, spinach and feta...

[alex8alot]

I will do that, thanks a lot. I swear the spanako in Canada beats any that I had in Greece. I was crushed.

[Cambot]

I know it's been a few years since you wrote this, but you wouldn't be talking about House of Pizza on Indianapolis Blvd, would you? (I'm from HIghland).

If you know of any greasy pizza equal to even that dive in Calgary, please let me know. I've given up on Chicago style deep-dish after getting my hopes up with "Chicago Deep Dish Pizza" in Calgary. I'll settle for House of Pizza level quality right about now.

Aurelio's? Domino's? Shame!!!

[nonlinear]

LOL, I went through the same exact thing when i moved here 10 years ago.

You're not going to find real deep dish anywhere in Alberta, unless you make it home. www.pizzamaking.com is your best friend.

As for midwestern-style thin crust, there is a Winnipeg-based chain with locations in Calgary that serves it. It's OK to fill that thin crust craving, but it really doesn't even come close to the options on every corner in the midwest (twin cities, at least). Again, you can always make it at home.

[Hart50]

I certainly agree with John on Pulchinella. Not really up on thin crust but I would enthusiatically recommend "Volos" in Richmond/Knob Hill for great Greek style.

[John Manzo]

I've lived in Bankview for 5 years and have still not had Volo's! I walk by there all the time!

OK, tonight I am ordering from there.

[Hart50]

What did you think of Volos? By the way, what is your favorite sushi place close to Richmond? Someone told me Sushi Ichuban(sp?)in Westbrook Mall wasn't bad.

[John Manzo]

I didn't end up at Volo's, I had to get something at canadian tyre so I ended up getting a pie at sophie's- do NOT eat one of those yourself in one evening!! I was paying all night w/ heartburn etc

There is a not-bad sushi place right next to canadian tire at richmond/sarcee called Sushi House Richmond, sush on trains, I have not been disappointed there except they use straight sriracha on spicy tuna rolls instead of spicy mayo- I find the straight sriracha to be too sharp

There is a new (to me) sushi place by the new safeway, at Richmond and 37th where glamorgan bakery is, but I know nothing about it

[alex8alot]

thanks very much for the info. Manzo's description of the toothsome buttery crust has me tempted to ditch the friend and go for the Greek style myself!

[yen]

If you haven't tried it before, you definitely should. It's more of a hearty, "Alberta" kind of pizza - i consider Neapolitan pizza to be more of a "Vancouver" kind of pizza - light, airy, and not very substantial :)

I guess for your friend though, Pulcinella's in Kensington (that John mentioned earlier) might be worth trying. I agree that the crust isnt quite right, but you can speak to the server and get them to customize the way the crust is made (i, for example, get mine crispy). The ingredients are first rate and quite tasty. Not an option via takeout though... has to be eaten quick and fresh.

[John Manzo]

Yen- can you tell us more about Fat Tony's?

I got a 10" ham and shroom at Tom's and it was really cheap- so I respectfully disagree w/ yr comment on its being overpriced. Bob's is close to $30 for a 12" pie with delivery tho!!

[yen]

I don't remember the specific details, but At Tom's, i ordered a large (12") and with delivery and tip, came out to 28 or so. Excessive in my opinion, as a 12" is really a personal sized pizza for me :)

As for Fat Tony's, i tried my classic tasting piece - pepperoni and mushroom, the pizza i start with at all new establishments to get a good base line - and for the price, found it to be disappointing. The crust was a bit soggy - still moist and floppy. This was even after putting a bit of char on the bottom. The ingredients were average at best.. the pepperoni was a bit too slick with grease, and the cheese being a bit too stringy and flavorless as well. There wasnt enough sauce, and whatever there was, didnt have much flavor to it.

Now to be fair, i didnt try one of their "Italian" pizza's, which is their speciality, but if they can't make a decent P/M pizza, am i really going to try Quattro Stagioni or Capricciosa? I havent written the place off yet, but it'll need to be a night where i don't want delivery, and don't want to travel far to get a pizza before i try again.

[yen]

Pizza Bob's was pretty good, though i hate smoke, and delivery leaves a bit to be desired with their pie. I find Tom's to be overpriced and not very good, and Fat Tony's was disappointing.

Try Il Centro down by Chinook, which, unfortunately, is bascially only open for lunch (i believe it's until 6pm, or when they feel like it). The pizza there is excellent.

I prefer Greek Style myself - Red Carpet Inn being my favorite, though Sophie's is darn good too.

[John Manzo]

Pizza Bob's (order out or pick it up, unless you like smokey dining rooms) or Tom's for your requirements- I've only been to Tom's once but I was, seriously, blown away. Amazing thin crust. Bob's is similarly impressive but as I say it's a smoking place and it takes forever for delivery, so I have not been able to enjoy it in its purest form.

Pizza is really quite decent in Calgary- with new places like Pulchinella (which is magnificent, only place in Canada accredited by the Naples pizza authority, but which does not have a chewy crust- you have to experience it to understand what I mean) and the not-as-yet-tried-by-me Fat Tony's (which like Pulch has trad italian toppings, like spek w/ fried egg), and though it's not your scene some very toothsome thick buttery style crust, Greek places (among which Sophie's and Nick's are both standouts, IMHO).

[canucks1619]

Actually I believe Il Fornello in Toronto is certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. So if thats what they told you about Calgary having the only certified pizza they are not being truthful. I also believe Vancouver has one but will get back to you on that one

[John Manzo]

You're absolutely correct, and for the record I stated that myself based on a misunderstanding, not false info from Pulchinela

[WINEBOY]

Sorry, I found Pulcinella very disappointing. Soggy and undercooked. I've spent a lot of time in and around Napoli and never tasted pizza similar to Pulcinella. In fact, there was a group of us standing outside on a Saturday and they wouldn't let us in until 5 minutes after they were supposed to open. Not a good start. Service was sporadic and the wine list was overly expensive. Not even a good quality cheap house wine. Pizza Bob's is very good and they are even to make my own favourite, Bianco e Nero (mozzarella e black olive with a splash of olive oil. Good pizza Bob!