Pizza Luce

One of the first and more unfortunate pieces of knowledge you acquire as a first year corporate lawyer is which pizza places deliver late night to your office.  One of the accompanying unfortunate pieces of knowledge you acquire is that eating delivery pizza late every night is really bad for you.  This is precisely why as you gain seniority in any corporate setting it is important to learn to delegate your work to junior people so that you can leave and go out to pizza late at night with your friends.  Although this is still wildly unhealthy, it is much more fun.

During my time working in downtown Minneapolis, Pizza Luce and I got to know each other well.  I still think they have some of the best toppings in the world. My favorite (pictured below) is the Ruby Rae, which has the toppings on upside down (which means more tomato sauce – yay) including sausage, cheese, garlic, spinach and tomato.  I’m also a fan of the baked potato pizza (classic carb on carb action) and the Pizza Lupe, which has ground beef, black beans, green onions, cheese and lots of other stuff. I especially appreciate the Pizza Lupe for those difficult evenings when you can’t choose between a pizza and a burrito.  The crust is, for me, unremarkable, but it stays out of the way and holds up the toppings like a champ.

Pizza Luce

Minneapolis, MN USA

Crust: 4

Toppings: 10

Sauce: 9

VFM: 5

Ambiance: 8

Overall: 8

Yosemite Pizza

There are a few things my annual trip to Yosemite for the birth of the great nation of the United States of America is known for, however pizza is not exactly one of them.  Ever since the great pizza grilling fiasco of 2006 (?), when we cluelessly tried to cook individually-topped personal pizzas for 20 people over a small, medium heat wood fire (somewhat shockingly, with limited success), it has been off the menu.  This year heralded in a new era of Yosemite pizza for two reasons.  One, Pizza Factory opened in Groveland to supplement the Mariposa location, bringing we toss ‘em they’re awesome that much more accessible for those driving to the cabin from the SF area instead of LA.  If you’re wondering about the Pizza Factory, you might want to check out Deets’ Pizza Factory ratings map, which can tell you which Pizza Factories to drive hundreds of miles out of the way (even ITE* even WTGP^) for and which ones are worth a miss.  Second, we had a small enough group that it was practical to cook pizza in the oven.

Although these turned out slightly burnt, they were tasty, had the advantage of being cooked inside away from the world’s hungriest mosquitoes and were fuel for some of the best views in the world the next day.  Never underestimate the importance of pre-hike carboloading.

I mean with these views, seriously, who gives a sh!t about the pizza?

*In THIS economy

^With THESE gas prices

Ziti's

If you haven’t been to Tin Hau lately, there’s a cute little strip of shops on Tung Lo Wan Road that includes local pizza joint Ziti's.  If you had never eaten out at a restaurant in Hong Kong, you might be surprised at its tiny size, limited wine list (one bottle of red and one bottle of white on offer) and bright lighting.  If you frequently dine out here, then I think you know the drill. 

My favorite pizza of our order was the Mediterranean, which included a healthy dose of feta cheese, artichokes, olives, grilled eggplant, zucchini and bell pepper.  The toppings were delicious. The margharita was uninteresting and disappointing.  It didn’t taste much different from a cheese pizza from any major pizza chain.

The crust at Ziti’s is thin and crispy and tastes fresh, however I prefer a chewier crust or something with at least a stronger flavor. 

Although I would go back to Ziti's for the Mediterranean, I think I might be better off trying to recreate it at home with better crust/sauce.

Crust: 6

Toppings: 4

Sauce: 4

VFM: 5

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 5

Ziti's
G/F, 110 Tung Lo Wan Road
Tin Hau, Hong Kong

2576 7700

Additional location on Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay