Week 16: Mellow Mushroom

This week we had our biggest entourage year-to-date. The pizza bus was stuffed to the gills, and our party of 8 headed to Fort Worth to enjoy the eclectic pizza stylings of Mellow Mushroom. Located right down the street from TCU, Mellow Mushroom has a prime location for a great business.  As the bus pulled up after a long 40 miles, the troops were getting restless and hungry for some pizza!  As we've said all year long, if you can plan to go out on a Sunday night you will enjoy the zero minute wait as you are taken immediately to your table.

Mellow Mushroom, as one could probably assume by the name, is a hippy inspired pizza restaurant that offers more than some "munchies."  The menu is loaded with sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and a beer selection not suited for the amateur beer drinker.  After we situated our huge party of 8, the afro-sporting server arrived to take our drink order and get in our appetizer order.  We opted for a full order of soft pretzels (parmesan and salted), and some hummus dip.  There is no shortage of pizza toppings and specialty pizzas at Mellow Mushroom.  One thing was for certain, we had a lot of stomachs to fill, which gave us an opportunity to get several pizza options.  It was quickly decided that 3 medium specialty pizzas and a small plain would be sufficient to feed us all, but which selections should we make?  Each couple picked a favorite, and we ended up with a House Special, Kosmic Karma, and Funky Q. Chicken.  Not to mention a couple delicious beers to wash it all down.  For the first time this year, my wife and I had such vastly different opinions of the pizza that we had to each write our review of the pizza separately:




Mine: Was the pizza at Mellow Mushroom the best I've ever had? No.  But you could blindfold me and I would be able to pick it out of a lineup of 50 different pizzas.  The crust was different than your standard pizza shop - it was pretty thick, chewy, and airy.  It was also lightly dusted with parmesan cheese and garlic butter, and had a slight sweetness that is quintessential Mellow Mushroom. The three pizzas all had different base sauces (pesto, bbq, and regular pizza sauce) which made them hard to compare.  Sure the pies coming out of the oven weren't gourmet Neapolitan pizzas, but for your basic pizza joint they were extremely satisfying.  One word of caution: the price of a medium (14") pizza was about $20, so plan on cleaning out the piggy bank when you leave the house.  When all was said and done, I really enjoyed the unconventional atmosphere, tasty beers on tap, savory pizza, and great company.  Now what else could I have asked for?



My Final Report: 7 out of 10

House Special

Cheese

Hers:  With it's "colorful" interior design and a staff that just walked off the streets of Berkley,  I expected the Mellow Mushroom to serve unique pizza. I was looking for strange toppings, possibly healthy alternatives, and all-in-all just something different. Besides the option of a gluten-free crust, my expectations were completely wrong. While we waited and waited (and waited) for our pizza, I stared at the colorful paintings of mushrooms anticipating great things.  I can wait a long time for great pizza - but when it looks and tastes like DiGiorno, I shouldn't have to wait longer than it would take me to go to the store, bring it home, and bake it myself. The crust was dense and far too chewy. The cheese, to me, just didn't taste right. And the toppings were ok. But just ok. The service from the Berkley transplants was pretty lacking as well.  I might have been having a rough day or something, but my final thought on the Mellow Mushroom - disappointment.

My Final Report: 5.5 out of 10 (an extra .5 for the pretzels - they were pretty tasty) 

Kosmic Karma

Funky Q. Chicken

When all was said and done regardless of what we thought about the pizza, nobody left Mellow Mushroom hungry.  We had plenty of leftovers, and 4 days later I'm still eating pizza for lunch!

Week 15: zpizza

This week's pizza restaurant happens to be a stones throw from the house, and with a busy weekend trip planned, we decided to stay close to home.  With the help of a pizza coupon in the mail for $5 off, we picked up the phone and ordered 2 pizzas for carryout from zpizza (www.zpizza.com) in Flower Mound, TX.  Most of you reading this probably have no idea about this place, and if it wasn't a mile from the house, we probably wouldn't either.  Originally from Laguna Beach, CA, zpizza is trying to carve out it's niche as a healthy, environmentally conscious pizza franchise.  All of the ingredients are either organic, additive free, or MSG free.  The website covers, in detail, their environmental responsibilities, etc...  But when it comes down to it - the pizza has to be good.

Our review of zpizza was practically written before we even took our first bite, and this unfortunately was not a good thing.   Without going into considerable detail, let me just say the process up to actually bringing the pizza home was a MESS. The nice lady over the phone told us the pizza would be ready for pick up in 10-15 minutes...  30 minutes later our pizza hadn't been cooked, let alone assembled.  You practically need a GPS to navigate the parking lot... To get in you need to drive completely around the Sonic Drive Thru, and when you leave you must drive all the way around LifeTime Fitness.  Alright, alright.  I'll stop there.  It's not the fault of the 3 pizza workers, but things didn't start off on the right foot.  

All of this poor customer experience could have been forgotten if when we got back to the house we were blown away by this healthy, alternative pizza creation.  Let me say we have seen healthy pizza done before, and it can be fantastic.  We really enjoy the creation of unique pizzas, and the endless possibilities therein.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention, plan on transferring over cash from your savings account, the prices at zpizza are astronomical.  Without our $5 off coupon, it would have easily been the most expensive pizza this year!  And now the truth... We ordered a large cheese pizza and one extra large 1/2 Mexican and 1/2 Thai Chicken.  The results were underwhelming.  For all of the hoopla about healthy ingredients and environmentally conscious, I would suggest donation $30 to The Arbor Day Association, and get a $5 pizza from Domino's (You would still have cash left over).  The 100% certified organic wheat and tomatoes combined with Wisconsin skim milk cheese ended up being a mediocre, dry, cheese pizza.  There were over 15 different ingredients that covered our extra large “special,” and there was nothing special about it...

Was zpizza the worst pizza we had this year? - No. It probably wasn't even in the bottom 3, but all things considered, we were extremely disappointed.  It has all of the bells and whistles to lead you into believing you will get a delicious pizza, but the final output fell flat.

The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10

Taking a look at the calendar for next week, we'll be having visitors on our next adventure.  We are excited to check out somewhere new, and forget about this week's bump in the road.

Week 14: Fireside Pies

After several recommendations to go to Fireside Pies, we could wait no longer.  This week we were off to their location in Grapevine.  There are 4 restaurants in the DFW area (#5 opens in Ft. Worth in October 2011) and we have been to 3 of the locations over the years.  We prefer the Grapevine location because it is the closest to our house, and doesn’t typically have a BIG “Dallas” crowd.  Consistency, Consistency, Consistency.  We have probably been at least 10 times, and each visit you can expect the same results.  Certainly, there are nightly specials posted on the chalkboard, but in general the ambiance, service, and food remains the same... Thats why you will either love or hate Fireside Pies, and with the 2010 “Best of D Magazine” award, most folks seem to really like it!

Fist and foremost the restaurant is beautiful inside, the decor and layout of the place is the best we’ve seen this year.  Definitely a great “date spot,” but also appropriate to bring the kids along and not worry about a little noise.  The service is always friendly and helpful as they navigate first timers through the unique choices of pizza.  You won’t find the standards here, but I am sure you could create your own if you just wanted to pick your toppings.  However, that is what make Fireside Pies so great, is the incredible selection of one of a kind pies!  Unlike the traditional pizza joint, this place has fantastic appetizers, salads, and drinks.  You will never find my wife at Fireside Pies without a glass (or Pitcher) of their sangria.  My complaint with the pitcher of ice, I mean sangria, is that they fill the glass vessel to the TOP with ice.  For $32 a pitcher you will be lucky to get 4 glasses, before the ice melts.  Also, a family favorite is the Fireside Cheese salad.  With enough to share, this salad is a staple you won’t find my wife without when she shows up.

On to the pizza.  The menu includes their standard 12 pizzas, and typically they will have a “special” posted up on the board.  Like I mentioned before, there is nothing standard about the 12 listed on the menu.  This time we picked 3.  We got the “Straight Pie” which is just the four cheese blend, for the kids.  Second was the “Peta Pie” that includes goat cheese, balsamic mustard portobellas, arugula, roasted red peppers, roasted pine nuts, and charred Tomato Vinaigrette.  As you can see, they throw in everything but the kitchen sink.  For the final pie, I was going to select one called “Hot n’ Crumbled,” but instead was talked into the evening special.  It was called “Chicken Sausage Pie,” and it took the server about 2 minutes to describe all that it entailed.  Simply stated - it was delicious.  The pizzas all come in one size (about 12”) and they average about $13 a pie.  Considering the quality of ingredients and the final result, it is a fair price to pay.  The “Straight Pie” was one of the better cheese pizzas that we have had, but the flavor or the Fire Roasted Pie Sauce did not appeal to the kids.  The Peta Pie offers a fantastic blend of flavors and routinely ranks as one of our favorites.  We really enjoyed the evening special, but with all of the off-beat combinations a basic sausage pizza would have been a nice change of pace.  

Chicken Sausage Special

Straight Pie

Peta Pie

The Final Report: 7.5 out of 10

If you are looking for a change of pace from your standard pizza night out, you have to try Fireside Pies.  If your style of pizza is a big juicy slice of NY pizza that droops off the side of a paper plate, this is not your place.  Offering an extensive drink and appetizer selection on top of a creative list of pizzas - D Magazine wasn’t far off by naming Fireside Pies one of Dallas’ Best!