You know that I love food and beer. It’s in the title. But let me break down that food part for you a little bit more. I’ve already established that I love Italian food in my coverage of pasta, but that love also extends to that layered brick-oven denizen: pizza.
I love pizza.
It’s hard not to love pizza; it’s the perfect bread and cheese delivery system. Wait, I get to eat bread, tomato sauce, cheese AND I get to add meat and veggies as toppings? Hell yeah. Bring it on.
My love of pizza began with the doughy wheels of canned ingredients delivered from the local HoP near my parent’s house, and slowly grew from there to envelop home-made and gourmet pies of all varieties. When I lived near Boston, my favorite was Upper Crust Pizzeria, which at the time, had not yet gone bankrupt, or been sued over labor issues, both of which – I assume – have effected the quality of their pizza.
But the moment of epiphany came a few years ago when I realized that I could combine my favorite food (pizza) with my favorite method of cooking (grilling). Holy crap. It was all over. Everything but gourmet pizza was ruined for me.
Don’t get me wrong, if I’m at a friend’s house with a few beers in me, and a hot circle of doughy garbage arrives at the front door, I’ll horf that thing like nobody’s business; the fat kid in me loves processed food. But if I have a choice between ordering out making my own, the latter wins every time.
This move was borne partially out of necessity. A few years ago I moved from the Boston area, which is home to many unique and authentic pizza joints, to the Seattle area, which is… not. I quickly learned that I could make better pizza than I could find (in most cases) and – through a process of trial and error – began working to perfect grilling a tasty pie. (Side note: I have since found the Ballard Pizza Company, which is easily the best that I’ve tried in the Seattle area.)
If you have not tried to grill pizza yet… try it… tonight. The ingredients will cost you less than 10 bucks, and the payoff can be well worth it!
P.S. A how-to post is forthcoming.
Love, Food & Beer 
That’s the stuff!