Pizza Pandemonium

I recently moved.  There was the usual stress of unpacking, changing my address on everything, ignoring the temptation to forget to change my address on anything that cost me money (bills don’t need to be paid and loans are actually gifts right?), switching utilities to my name, learning new roads, and doing all the other fun things that are involved with moving. 

Most of those were relatively easy.  Except the unpacking.  I still have two boxes sitting in my office that have no home.  And a bunch of pictures that need to be hung on the wall.  Anyone willing to lend me a hand?  I pay in pizza and beer.

That brings me to reason why you’re reading this.  Pizza.  Delicious, cheesy, tomato sauce-filled, perfect pie with your favorite toppings. 

My least favorite part of moving was needing to find a new pizza place. 

In Indiana my options are the same no matter where I live.  And if I go to Ohio I have pretty much those same options.  There’s no need to experiment with new places the second you move in.  The standby’s are always there:

1. Pizza Hut.  Delicious thin crust!
2. Papa John’s.  Garlic for the crust and a sweet sauce!
3. Dominoes.  Cheap.
4. Donatos.  100 pepperonis on every pizza!!!
5. Papa Murphy’s.  Take and bake.  Pretend it’s homemade!

There are the one or two local places, but you can test those out on a night where you don’t need comfort food and a well-known standby.

Rhode Island is a little more difficult.  The chains are few and far between, although they do exist.  None exist by me though.  To make it more difficult, I worked at a pizza place the first year I lived here, so I have very high pizza standards. 

First, I hate canned mushrooms, but I love mushrooms on my pizza.  If you serve canned mushrooms I will not order from you.  Second, the pizza has to be better than what I can buy frozen.  Third, the people have to be nice to me on the phone when I order.  I’m really tired of mean people answering the phone and being rude to me when I place my order.

My first order of business after the move was to check out all the local pizza places.  So far I’ve found two fantastic ones!  And a few not so great ones.

I love pizza.  As in, could eat it every single day.  As in, it’s one of the major food groups.  And I love that Rhode Island doesn’t have a lot of the national chains and instead has statewide chains like Ronzio’s or Papa Gino’s.  But mainly, I love that the majority of the pizza places in this state are independently owned and operated. 

The chains no longer hold the same appeal and they don’t have the same character as the local places.  You can’t walk in and hear heavy metal blasting from the kitchen, or see all the employees speaking to each other in a language I’ve never heard, or see pictures of the owner’s family. 

On a slightly different subject, what should I make for dinner tonight?  Maybe I’ll just order a pizza!!!