Pieology is opening to rave reviews, and I recently visited a Pieology store in Irvine, CA.

The restaurant is small, about 24 seats inside, and full of amazing aromas.  The minute you walk into the place, you can see the large wood fired oven used to create these masterpieces of pizza.  Once you saddle up to the make line, they begin to create your pizza.  Choose from the “One of Ours” predesigned pizzas or the Create Your Own.  Most people I saw were creating their own pizza magic!  Set up as an assembly line, there are a lot of options.  Part of the theater of Pieology is that they make your individual pie while you watch.  All the ingredients are right in front of you, so you can pick and choose based on what looks good.

Pick your sauce:

Red sauce

Herb butter

Olive oil

Choose a cheese:

Mozzarella

Ricotta

Parmesan

Gorgonzola

Add a protein:

Pepperoni

Sausage

Meatball

Ham

Bacon

Chicken

And finally, the toppings:

Black Olives

Mushrooms

Red Onions

Green Peppers

Artichokes

Tomato

Garlic

Pineapple

Jalapenos

Fresh Basil

Cilantro

Into the oven the pie goes.  Now you wait.  But not long, as the super hot oven cooks the thin crust crispy and melts the cheese quickly.  After baking you can also get a few ingredients added like roasted red peppers, black pepper, olive oil, pesto, or dollops of red sauce.

Straight from their website (www.pieology.com) comes their philosophy:  “Pieology prides itself on providing the best tasting, healthiest custom pizza in the world. Using only the freshest ingredients, Pieology provides smoking hot pizzas in under 5 minutes. Our energy efficient restaurants are not only comfortable but also adhere to the philosophies of our corporate mission statement:  Making the world a better place one pizza at a time.

I did wait in the packed restaurant a little longer than 5 minutes but the entertainment of watching the “Pieologist” rotate the pizzas and tend the ovens was entertaining enough to keep me salivating for my pie.  The catchy name grabs your attention but the seriously delicious pies will keep you coming back.

Happy (Pizza) Eating,

Chef Allison