Eat This

My visit to Bitondo's Pizza was disappointing but it gave me an obvious-in-retrospect idea: pile on the toppings. At less than $2 per addition, this would still be cheaper than the gourmet spots. But you need a cheap joint with good dough. If not Bitondo's then where else? I thought Fresca did a good job with the calzone, so I gave them a try on Saturday.

A 4-topping medium pizza here runs about $16. But I was only charged $11. When I tried to pay the difference, the owner gruffly said "pizza special". Perhaps he misunderstood my consternation; I wasn't thinking that I was being overcharged. In any case, the original order would still be worth the money. Ironically, the internet has been abuzz lately with the case of Harvard professor Benjamin Edelman threatening a chinese take-out joint over a difference of $4.

This was rich, gooey pizza, almost Pizza Hut-oily but nowhere near as unappetizing. I suspect this was not just from the abundant cheese but also the special green-onions oil mix they put on everything here. So so delicious. More importantly, the dough was soft and chewy, with a good give when you bite into it. The other ingredients were also tasty. No, I wasn't under any delusion that this was high-end, locally sourced toppings. But the salty whole black olives, crunchy onions, and pepperoni and sausage with strong flavour made the pizza. I think I've found my go-to cheap pizza joint.