So, it turns out that Wednesday, May 6, 2015 is International No Diet Day. Forking A! How can you beat that for timing, because I am jonesing for some pizza. And these days here in River City, pizza is the newest trend in fast casual dining. What's fast casual? Been to Qdoba, ahem Chipotle, or Panera lately? That's fast casual.
In terms of pizza, Red Rossa has been doing this concept justice for years. And I love Red Rossa. It's a great Neapolitan style pie. Today, however, we are going to concentrate on the newest players on the scene: Pizza Rev and Fiero Pizza. (Footnote: I hope to write about Breadico's pizza in the near future. If it is half as good as the bread, it's going to be awesome. Unfortunately, Breadico's pizza times don't easily coincide with the Fork's hectic social calendar.)
At any rate, Pizza Rev and Fiero Pizza are what I refer to as hipster pie. It's the newest thing. And, the target audience is a 20-30 something that likes to customize his or her food choices from among an array of fresh, hopefully organic, ingredients. I didn't make that up. I read it in the Argus, so it has to be accurate.
Both of these places specialize in pizzas that are more or less a single serving. You process through a line, not unlike you would at a Pita Pit, Subway, or Qdoba to customize your pie. In both places, you start with a crust choice, then a sauce (tomato-based, olive oil, or a creamy alfredo sort of thing), then cheeses, then proteins (grilled chicken, various sausages, bacon), then vegetables and such (need I explain), followed by any last minute sprinkles of fresh herbs or dried spices. You pizza is then cooked while you pay and make a drink selection. You then go sit down, or play with your smart phone, and wait for a friendly staff member to hunt you down and deliver your tasty creation. I want to be very clear that both Pizza Rev and Fiero execute this formula very well. Good service experiences at both places. Fresh ingredients. Quality product.
But, they are also both very different and which you prefer probably depends on your own personal preferences. Here's my take on both.
Fiero Pizza is located downtown in the heart of Phillips Avenue. Food & Fermentation was once located in the same spot- right across from Stogies. Great location if you are downtown strolling about. Fiero is also totally locally owned. It's not part of a chain, so the owners are probably there when you are. The Fiero pie is oblong. The crust is most definitely hand-crafted and is cooked on a little conveyor oven that allows it to puff up and create bubbles and pockets. At Fiero, your choice of cheese is applied to the crust in slice form after exactly one ladle of sauce is applied to the crust. Each one of those slices is so thin, you could read 605 Magazine through it. If you want more cheese, prepare to flip out some more coin. The end product, absent extra cheese, is very tasty. It's warm and soft. If the ingredients don't go well together, that's on you because it was your idea to put whatever on there. Fiero must be doing something right because they managed a rookie win in Cory Myers' Food Falls annual bracket challenge.
Pizza Rev is a chain located on West 49th Street and is somewhat disguised in a bank building. Go google the address if you can't find the place across the street from Hy Vee and next to Pier One Imports. It's a chain. It's owned by Todd Porter, the guy behind the local Applebees, Carino's and Chevy's. (Todd probably isn't the guy making your pizza, by the way.) The Rev crust is round and it's undoubtedly a franchise formula. Each crust is pressed using a big machine that flattens a ball of dough into a nice round crust. I rather suspect the machine also applies some heat and slightly parbakes it. The cheese is grated and I've never seen a person be told they have reached their pre-designated allotment of cheese. The pie is then baked in a pizza oven on a stone floor. The end result is a round, crispy-crust pizza.
Warning. At either place if you decide to be that guy that sees how many toppings you can cram onto your pie so you feel like you have personally tipped the economic scales in your favor, you are going to have a major mess on your hands. Literally. As much as it pains me to say it, moderation and balance are key.
Personally, for me, Rev offers the correct coefficient of crust, sauce, and cheese, albeit in a more suburbany, chain-type of place. For me, these components are the soul of a pizza, and Rev is hitting them spot on. If you want downtown and locally home grown, and are willing to pay more for cheese, then Fiero is your place. Either way, the food life is good here in Sioux Falls and I can pretty much guarantee, come May 6, I'm at one of these places to celebrate International No Diet Day.
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