Tag Archives: Pizza

What Should Tallahassee Eat? – Marco’s Pizza

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By William Kristoph

Marco’s Pizza (N. Magnolia Street, Tallahassee, FL) Review

If you follow me here or on Twitter, you know that I’m always looking for good pizza. Marco’s Pizza fits the bill, as long as you keep it in the context of cheap, chain pizza. If you expect veggies from a can and plenty of melted, gooey cheese you’ll be happy with Marco’s Pizza on North Magnolia. Surprisingly, Marco’s Pizza has a better than average salad option and their boneless chicken dippers are well paired with a couple of slices of pizza. Marco’s Pizza is also super speedy. On an average night, I can place my order online and have it ready for pickup within 15 minutes.

Salad

Salad at Marco's Pizza

Salad from Marco’s Pizza
Photo by William Kristoph using iPhone 4

For a salad that’s a mixed assortment of canned items and fresh, I’m impressed with the salad at Marco’s Pizza. First, toppings are customized. Second, it’s always ice-cold. Finally, they include a branded dressing on the side, so if you take the salad home you can use your own dressing. It’s easy to assemble a crispy and cold salad at home, instead of dealing with soggy lettuce.

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What Should Tallahassee Eat? – Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza

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***Disclaimer: The Tallahassee Food Blogger’s Association was invited to tour and taste test Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza. As part of it, I personally sampled pizza and salad for free. In no way did anyone at Joe Mama’s ask or imply that it should influence this review.***

By William Kristoph

TFBA Meetup

As part of the first ever #TFBA meetup, we were able to tour Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza, check out the kitchen and talk with Devon, one of the owner-managers in Tallahassee (along with her brother) and Jim, her dad, the creator and owner of the original Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza in Port St. Joe, FL. Devon greeted and seated us with a smile and a ton of info about Joe Mama’s Pizza. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, featuring a modern feel with black and white photography of local areas. The wood fired oven is visible from the dining area, as is the bar area. I’m normally not one to comment on atmosphere, but Joe Mama’s is the only pizzeria that I feel would make for a romantic date night. It fits the Mid Town area and target audience perfectly.

Devon and Jim

Devon and her father Jim in the kitchen of Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza, explaining their fresh and local approach to food.
Photo by William Kristoph using iPhone 4 and iPhoto

Devon introduced her father, Jim, who laid out the Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza way and gave us a background of the original Port Saint Joe location and this new Tallahassee location. Fresh, local and quality is the best I can sum it up. Top it off by cooking it in a wood fired pizza oven imported from Italy and the owners’ passion for food really shines. Jim and Devon filled us in about anything and everything and had us tour both the oven area and the kitchen. I personally thought they way they roll and stretch their dough was interesting. There is no tossing at Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Pizza, unless it’s the salad made at your table!

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What Should Tallahassee Eat? – Mike’s Stone Baked Pizza Update

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Mike’s Stone Baked Pizza – Tallahassee, FL

My original review of Mike’s Stone Baked Pizza still stands. Mike’s Stone Baked Pizza is the best in Tallahassee, bar none. Whatever business issues caused Mike’s to close for a bit didn’t affect the quality or the taste of the food. Everything is fresh and everything is good. The pizza is the best New York style pizza I’ve had since leaving the New York / Connecticut area years ago. It’s thin and chewy and flavorful, not the cracker crust some pizza parlors pass off as “NY Style.”

Check out what I tried yesterday:

“Small” Garden Salad with Italian Dressing

Small Garden Salad with Italian Dressing

This is the “small” Garden Salad at Mike’s. It’s huge, it’s fresh and it made me feel better about eating some greens before scarfing down pizza.

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Recipe Time – How To Make A Great Taco Pizza

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My wife loves Taco Pizza. I mean she seriously loves it, but neither one of us knows of a Tallahassee area pizza place that makes one. Generally, I can take it or leave it, but we made a homemade version of it that I actually enjoyed the other night. Check out the photos and the recipe. Also, I’m not responsible for any messes, burns, food induced comas, etc. Cook food at your own risk. :)

What You Need To Make A Great Taco Pizza

  • Cookie Sheet
  • Pillsbury Pizza Crust
  • Preheated 400 degree oven
  • Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
  • Ground Round (I prefer 85/15)
  • 2 cans of Black or Pinto Beans
  • 1 Tbsp Lime juice
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder (or more to taste)
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder (or more to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp Cayenne Powder
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • 1 Tomato
  • Half of a large red onion
  • Plenty of shredded cheddar cheese

I cheat on the crust, sorry! Prebake the crust according to the instructions on the can. Yes, I said can. Yes, I’m sorry that this isn’t homemade, but the Pillsbury Pizza Crust is really pretty solid when baked properly.

Pillsbury Pizza Crust

Canned Pillsbury Pizza Crust rolled out on a cookie sheet.

Once the prebaking completes it’s time to start building the first part of the pizza. We used Black Beans instead Pinto Beans for the “sauce”. Either kind will work and either kind will be really tasty. Blend two cans of the black beans in a food processor with 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1Tbsp lime juice and water as needed.

Pureed Black Beans with spices and lime juice

Puree the Black Beans with Garlic Powder, Onion Power, Cayenne, Lime Juice and Water

Brown the ground beef well (and drain it if you’d like) then add Old El Paso Taco Seasoning WITHOUT the water. Mix it well and set it aside for assembly.

Browning Ground Round

Brown the Ground Round (85/15) and then add Old El Paso Taco Seasoning. 

Layer the bean mixture as the “sauce”, top it with the browned ground beef and add a layer of Cheddar Cheese to it. Then bake it at 400 for 7-10 minutes. Just keep an eye on the crust and don’t bake it too much or the crust will burn. You’re looking for gooey melted cheese and a golden crust.

Once it’s out of the oven, top it with lettuce shreds, diced tomato, diced red onion and more cheddar cheese.

Finally, eat!

Homemade Taco Pizza

Check out the final product! Our Homemade Taco Pizza was awesome. 

 

What Should Tallahassee Eat? Your Pie Is Passable

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The Lineage pizza from Your Pie

The Lineage pizza from Your Pie in Tallahassee, FL. Photo by William Kristoph.

In the never-ending search for good pizza in Tallahassee, I decided to try out Your Pie. They have an interesting concept where each order is personalized. In other words, a 10″ pizza pie is the only size they have. They also offer sandwiches, calzones and bread bowl salads. Oh and don’t forget the Gelato and Coke Freestyle Machine.

I decided to go with The Lineage Pizza so that I could try a bunch of toppings. The pizza was well cooked, with a thin chewy crust. It wasn’t particularly flavorful, but it wasn’t bad either. The toppings and cheese were fresh and tasty. The combo of sweet onions, sausage, pepperoni, olives, bell pepper, mushrooms and mozzarella was the highlight of the pizza. Toppings are great, but it’s not what makes a great pizza for me.

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