Onward With The Top 10: Pi Pizza
Even Obama knows our St. Louis pizzas are the best!
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| Stlpizzaguy gives Pi his "P of Approval" |
In this heated and divisive election, go the bipartisan
route and cast your vote for pizza. Remember early in my pizza blogging days I cited that 93 percent of Americans have eaten pizza in the last month? Well even
the health-food loving President Barack Obama loves my next favorite on the top
10: Pi Pizza. For starters, I have visited Pi more than 30 times and
celebrated three birthdays here. I’m really unveiling a huge pizza secret by telling you about arguably the number one place on the St. Louis pizza
scene. But it’s election time and with
all the stress and bickering by our two political parties, it is a timely post
to find something that can bring us together: Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza.
I’m not going to lie. I may not like Chicago baseball teams,
but I prefer Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza almost any day over thin-crust St.
Louis-style. Of course, a time and a place exist for both. There’s just
something masculine and a male empowering satisfaction involved in eating a thick, saucy,
deep-dish piece of pizza that the cracker-thin crust just can’t give me.
Eating Chicago-style makes me feel like a man mainly because eating a piece of
Chicago-style is a challenging task that makes you feel full very quickly. However, going for a run the day after
eating deep-dish is like running with bricks in your stomach--so I don’t
recommend that.
Stlpizzaguy first discovered Pi in 2010 when a law professor
mentioned it before she began her lecture. It was mesmerizing the town at
the time because their food truck traveled around Barnes Jewish Hospital and the Forest Park creating a lot of buzz. Then they started getting big and expanding. Their first two Pi Locations
were in the University City Loop and
Kirkwood. Then Pi expanded to Central West End, Washington Ave., and then a
carry out location in the Ballwin area.
Pi is the only pizza place in St. Louis to my knowledge that
has been visited and celebrated by a sitting President. Barack Obama enjoyed Pi
so much that Pi even opened a location in Washington DC where they serve local
St. Louis beers like Schlafly.
It is important to note that Pi pizza is great with or
without the fanfare surrounding it. Some restaurants get their break from celebrity and television publicity, but their performance in the following years to sustain that
endorsement and keep their quality high is what counts.
When you walk in to Pi, the first thing you notice is that
they are a symbol and not a name. Their black and white logo shines proudly
before you as you walk in the restaurant. Most of their restaurants are pretty dimly
lit, and has a romantic ambiance, making this one of the few pizza places where
you can take your wife or girlfriend and actually have a romantic dinner. Of
course every trip to a pizza place is romantic for me because I love pizza. Stlpizzaguy also had his first date with my fiancee Dr. Adria Jerkovich at Pi Pizza. Overall, Pi is pizza tailored more for adults, but you will see some kids at
the Kirkwood location.
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| Dr. Adria Jerkovich, more affectionately known as the goddess of pizza, and cover girl for Stlpizzaguy fliers around town, smiles with a Southside Classico Pizza at the Pi Central West End location. |
The Pizza Details:
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| A slice of Pi |
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| Yukai Chen, friend of Stlpizzaguy and China native says that Pi is his favorite pizza in St. Louis. Chen gives Pi his "P of Approval." |
THE CRUST: CORNMEAL, CORNMEAL, CORNMEAL. Pi is unique
because they add a large amount of cornmeal to the dough. The cornmeal makes
the crust a little crunchy and more flavorful in a healthier way than adding
lots of butter. The crust is firm enough to hold the impressive amount of
cheese, toppings, and sauce. Unlike other types of deep-dish, you can pick up a
slice of Pi and eat it pretty easily with your hands. Other more traditional types of Chicago-style make eating a slice a task like eating a pizza casserole because the crust is more flimsy and overloaded with toppings.
THE CHEESE: Pi uses mozzarella cheese.
THE SAUCE: sweet, with a few chunky bits of tomato, with parmesan
and oregano sprinkled on top of the sauce. The sauce here is put on top, which
is good for me because I don’t usually eat mushrooms on my pizza, or olives,
but if I can’t see them I eat them.
Stlpizzaguy’s choice pizza at Pi is the Southside Classico deep-dish with mozzarella, Berkshire pork sausage, mushrooms, green bell peppers and
onions. One surprising thing about Pi is given their love for vegan, gluten-free and fresh ingredients, they do not have any nutrition facts available for their pizzas. Just remember to eat pizza for your pleasure, not your health.
The only drawback is the price (22.95 for a large deep-dish
Southside Classico.) However, you are probably making an investment
for two meals. Their deep-dish pizza is usually enough for two people with
normal eating habits to have for lunch the next day.
MORE ABOUT PI: Pi Pizza is named for the math equation and
for the 314 St. Louis area code. They are known for their locally-sourced fresh
ingredients, making their meatballs from scratch for their meatball pizza called the
Kirkwood. Pi started marketing their pizzas with a Pi food truck back in early 2010
and claims to have the first new generation food truck in the St. Louis area. President
Barack Obama ordered a delivery for Pi Pizza during a campaign stop in 2008.
One of Obama’s campaign assistants, Reggie Love put Obama on the telephone and
told the owner of Pi that it was the best pizza he had ever tasted. In 2009,
after Obama was elected, he invited Pi to make pizza for a lunch at the White
House. The fact that Obama had Pi a year after the election shows that he
genuinely liked the pizza here. Because of this publicity, and also for its
popularity in St. Louis, waiting times at Pi are sometimes more than an hour.
Stlpizzaguy admits he has waited an hour at Pi. In the spring of 2011,
Pi opened a Washington DC location called the District of Pi, just a few blocks
from the White House in the Penn Quarter.
