Pizza

From about the age of 5/6 I’ve been eating pizza, and it’s one of my favorite foods. It’s kind of one of those “balanced” foods – dairy, carb, meat, and even veggies. One meal with the entire pyramid (or a blend of it) … perfection!

But …

I’m VERY picky. I don’t like thick crust, I don’t like “burnt” crust, I don’t like undercooked, and only very seldom do I like “thin” …

Not to mention the “re-heat” factor. I don’t want to throw pizza out, but I’m not going to stuff myself silly, or make myself sick.

I’ve tried the ones you bake at home (Red Baron, DiGiorno, Freschetta, Jack, Tony’s), and I’ve had the major brands – Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s. Nothing has re-heated that well that I want to keep ordering it.

Last year a friend of mine came to Las Vegas to not only see her daughter, but to visit me. As a result of her visit, I was introduced to another pizza – Grimaldi’s. 

Now that pizza had possibilities.

It is on the pricey side, but it tastes wonderful and re-heats quite well, even in the microwave.

Then … along comes NASCAR.

Saturday during the Sprint Cup practice, a guy was selling Marco’s Pizza for $5 per slice. So … I got a slice of Pepperoni.

 (Watching practice while eating pizza. Not a bad race day)

Wow!!

It really was amazing. And, before I get any further, I’m not being paid for this blog. Nor was I paid.

Getting back to the pizza …

It was their “classic” crust, but it was thinner than most. It had a crisp, but not crunchy bottom. The cheese was gooey, but not to the gag point. The sauce was spicy-sweet, the perfect blend. It even wowed my mom who had a cold and some wonky taste-buds.

I wanted another slice, but $10 in one day seemed extreme.

However, I promised myself that I would get a piece on Sunday if they showed up … and they did. It was just after the driver introduction/national anthem/flyover routine, but just before the cars rolled off pit road.

Again, like the day before … perfection. Even my mother had a few bites. It was a great way to start the day.

(Great way to start the Kobalt Tools 400)

So, come Tuesday … I was looking for a small lunch, and since there is a location just down the road from me … I decided to pop in and get a small pepperoni/extra cheese/light sauce pie – total with tax was $10.26.

Again … the same perfection I experienced at the race. But, this was now a chance to see if it could be re-heated to “near-perfection”.

I followed the instructions on the box. I heated the oven to 340° (F) and baked it for only 8 minutes. 

(They even offer re-heating suggestions)

(I chose 340° for the temp, which was perfect)

(I chose 8 minutes for two slices. It worked out pretty good)

It was “near-perfection”. The only reason it wasn’t as good as it was … is that when I first got it, it was fresh and perfect. But, for “re-heated pizza”, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, it has been the best so far … and that is out of five “bake-at-home” pizzas and three chain pizzas.

Again, it wowed my mom who said “wow, that actually is good”.

For $10.26, I got lunch for 2 people and a “dinner for one” – so, roughly, three meals. That comes to exactly $3.42 per meal. Not bad at all.

Am I going to continue to buy the “bake-at-home” pizzas? Not likely. While cheap, they’re not a good value for our household. Am I going to continue to order Pizza Hut and Papa John’s? Not likely. I haven’t had a PJ pizza in about a year.

The last time I had Pizza Hut was a few weeks ago with their “sliders”. While 9 mini pizzas with three different toppings is a great value … again, it’s not so great if you toss it out or don’t eat it all.

As far as Domino’s … I do LOVE their handmade pan, but it’s too much pizza and crust for us. The Spinach-Feta artisan is perfect (just leave off the onions) – it feeds us both and there are no leftovers.

But … when it comes to a pepperoni, extra-cheese pizza for now and later … I think I’ll be visiting Marco’s more than I did. 

McDonald’s Fish McBites

Let me start off by saying “I Y LOVE FISH”!!!

I’ve been eating fish from a young age (I don’t even remember when I started), so it’s well OVER 32-34 years, and I’m not that old.

My mother insists it’s because every Friday she’d eat fish while she was pregnant with me. So, naturally I developed a taste for it in utero. Since I was born on a Thursday, I missed my fish intake (and would for quite a while).  So, I was extremely fussy after I was born.

Once I was old enough to hold a fish stick … fish was a regular habit again.

I’m a picky fish eater. I don’t like “minced” fish. I do like white, flaky, fluffy cod. I’m ok with salmon, and tuna (from the cans/pouches). I have had halibut, which is good, but I’m still more of a cod person.

That cod can be in the form of “filets” (such as Long John Silver’s), sticks, or even a sandwich.

Now …

Imagine how excited I was about McDonald’s introducing “Fish McBites”. I already liked their fish sandwich, so … I thought it would be portable, bit-sized portions of the same.

Having been a delivery driver for a major pizza chain, the ease of something to eat in the car … is a necessity. Even better is small foods you can eat at your desk when you have limited room, you’re packing or snacking. Either way, sometimes smaller is better.

On a whim, I decided to get the “regular” size.

I have to admit, the packaging is smart. One part of the container acts as a “cup” to hold the tartar dipping sauce, so it’s a real plus on the container/space saver.

I got two tartar sauce cups, and after one bite … was glad I did. I didn’t use anymore dip for the rest of the bites. I don't know if it was different from what was used on the sandwiches, the packaging it was in ... or perhaps the sauce was bad. Either way, I erred on the safe side and didn't eat any more. 

The fish was tasty, but the coating was a bit spicy. It (or rather my pieces) had visible pepper, so it wasn’t like the fish filet I was used to eating.

I don’t know if it was the coating, sauce and fish or the fish and the coating … I just couldn’t get into the Fish McBites L 

They were not what I expected them to be. They weren’t the worst thing I've eaten, as I managed to eat them all. But, I am not eager to buy them again. Actually, I'd rather not hear them or see them advertised. And, that is saying a lot. 

That was a few weeks ago (2/16). And, my opinion has not changed. In fact, anytime I'm in the McD’s drive-thru and they ask “do you want to try our new Fish McBites?” … I want to cringe. And the sad part? I feel REALLY bad about cringing too L 

I know I won’t like every new McD’s item; I don’t even like some of the existing ones.  I just know that as much as I wanted to like these … I just couldn’t do it. I doubt a second tasting will be much better.

My mother raised me with the "just try it once" philosophy. After all, if you're not allergic to it, it isn't against a cultural or religious practice – you should always try something just once … even just one bite. I think a regular size Fish McBites qualified as “one bite”.

I challenged myself to try something new, and stayed with it past one bite. That was the good thing ... 

Now, to get over my guilty feeling before going through the drive-thru again L

Introduction

Welcome to another one of my "themed" blogs.

This one is about food, drinks, and anything associated with cooking/food prep. I called it "The Kitchen Table" since (in my home), we eat a lot of meals at the table, we plan meals at the table and we even write out our grocery lists at the table.

We also discuss the great bargains we get too (usually in the form of deeply discounted food, or free food).

As someone with a LOT of interests, I felt I had to start separating my blogs, and putting them in a more controlled chaos. This is one of them.