SATURDAY, MARCH 19: EAST REGIONAL, FIRST ROUND >>>
Sixty-four South Sound pizza joints were selected and seeded by readers throughout February for the Tournament of Pizza, which is now three days into the competition. Brackets don refrigerators, break rooms, restaurant hallways and birdcages. Birthday parties have been moved to pizza restaurants. Everyone is discussing pepperoni and crust thickness. It's crazy fun.
If there's one thing we've learned over the years, it's don't mess with Yelm. The eastern Thurston County community huddles around their own - more often than not with sleeves rolled up and a chew in place. Yelm's brand spanking new Italian joint Pizzeria La Gitana grabbed a respectable 43 percent of the votes yesterday against the powerhouse that is Vic's Pizzeria of Olympia. That's impressive. That's Yelm. But Vic's is awesome. They offer a vegetarian pizza by the slice for cryin' out loud. Congrats to Vic's as they advance to the Second Round.
Jump on Casa Mia's website, then click "Awards." One, two, three ... they list some 13 honors bestowed on their pizzas. How do you compete against that? You don't, if you are Figaro's Pizza on Olympia's Martin Way. Casa Mia grabbed 79.4 percent of the votes over Figaro's yesterday and will advance to the Second Round where it will meet Vic's Pizzeria March 25 - a battle that could test Olympia's Emergency Network.
The DuPont Farrelli's Pizza beat Ramblin Jacks in downtown Olympia by 43 votes. That's a mind blower.
Finally, in yesterday's closest battle, Ricardo's restaurant edged out neighboring Lacey restaurant Smitty's Authentic Chicago Style Food with 52.4 percent of the vote. This one is surprising. Smitty's serves an excellent Chicago-style pizza. Certainly, Ricardo's ultra-friendly ownership came into play. Ricardo's will head into the Second Round to take on Farrelli's in Dupont March 25.
No matter how you slice it, yesterday's winners are:
OK, time to move on to today's pizza battles. Vote for one pizza joint per battle.
CONTEST CLOSED: Check Sunday's Spew for results.
Spud's Pizza Parlor on Tacoma's Pacific Avenue posts pictures of its food on their walls. You can see their cannelloni and the shrimp salad in all its colorful glory. If you think all that cheese heaped and melted on the food in the pictures is probably false advertising, you're dead wrong. Spud's may sound like a potato joint, but really, it's all about the cheese. Everything ordered, from the pizza to the salad to the pasta, is buried under a mound of mozzarella. That will no doubt come into play when they take on the "take home and bake" pizza giant that is Papa Murphy's.
Louie G has staked his claim in the handmade pizza pie world by honoring his own old-school family dough recipe, and providing fun combinations on more than 14 different specialty pizzas at his Fife location. Don't let Louie G's weekday $6 pizza and salad bar buffet fool you: Every pizza is hand-tossed and baked in a New York brick oven. And they now rock it - all-ages style - with live music. Browns Point Pizzeria also makes its own dough and sauce daily, and are huge on local community. This is the spotlight battle of the day.
Neo hand-shape and stretch their dough daily to form Neapolitan pizzas that are placed into 500-degree wood-fired ovens to quick-bake, which forms the essential black blisters (not burns) on their bubbly, delicious pizzas. Milton Tavern's turnaround is legendary. In the not-so-distant past, this establishment was home to scuffles, surly bikers and a cloud of thick smoke (they went smokeless before the ban). Today, you'll find the place full of lighthearted regulars, 20-somethings on up, enjoying the Milton's casual and comfortable ambiance, shiny, happy servers, and impeccable pizza.
Trackside Pizza opened in the spring of 2006 offering both classic and foo-foo toppings. Have you tried their tasty Chihuahua al Pacifico? Italian sausage, pepperoni, jalapeno and loads of garlic - and it and all their pizzas can be ordered online. The Round Table Pizza franchise has been kicking it since 1951, with several locations in the South Sound. They claim it's the "Last Honest Pizza." Honestly, they'll have their hands full today with the popular Trackside.
Game 1: Primo Grill (601 S. Pine) vs. The New Frontier Lounge (301 E. 25th St.)
Game 2: Upper Crust Bistro (2714 N. 21st St.)vs. Adriatic Grill (4201 S. Steele St.)
Game 3: Harmon Tap Room (208 St. Helens Ave.) vs. Ravenous (785 Broadway)
Game 4: The Rock Wood Fired Pizza (1920 S. Jefferson Ave.) vs. Meconi's Pub & Eatery (709 Pacific Ave.)
LINK: What the hell does all this mean?
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