One might be excused for dreading the pizza menu.
Scoff if you will, but placing an order requires dozens of calculations under the nerve-wracking gaze of other waiting customers. Navigating the list of toppings, recalling the likes and dislikes of everyone in your party, racking through a mental archive of items that work together …
Well, it’s just difficult.
“People hem and haw,” observed John Melena of Brick Oven Pizza in Cobb. “It happens all the time.”
Pepperoni ranks as this country’s most popular topping. Anchovies are perhaps America’s least favorite. The trouble lurks in between: artichoke hearts, grilled chicken, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, bleu cheese, black olives, kalamata olives, pesto, red sauce, white sauce — the list goes on and on.
Perhaps that’s why Brick Oven’s “Combo Pizza” tops their menu. With four different meats, vegetables, olives and mushrooms, there’s something to satisfy almost any taste.
Pizza has been around in one form or another for centuries. The first modern pie, however, was a thin, sparsely dressed thing: red sauce, white mozzarella and green basil leaves presented (according to legend) to Italy’s Queen Margherita during a visit to Naples in 1889. The basic arrangement became a sensation.
Yet to Melena, the choice of toppings is hardly the key to a great pie. Rather, he looks to the crust, the flat round of baked bread supporting everything else.
“If the crust isn’t up to par, if it’s droopy and soft, the pizza doesn’t taste as good,” he said.
The crust at Brick Oven is a remarkable thing, capable of standing up to whatever one piles on top. The bottom is crispy, the inside airy with a mild nutty temperament. The kitchen pulls it from the oven before the heat can scorch bitter scars into the dough.
Kitchen staff at the Brick Oven mix the dough every evening and allow it to rise overnight. In the morning the punch it and roll. The rest is a matter of timing.
“Consistency — getting it the same every time — is the key,” Melena pointed out. “Once you learn, it’s not that hard.”
Yeah, it seems like a small thing. But the crust must handle everything from the combo to the simple margherita. It must be sturdy enough for those who crave a little of everything, nimble enough to showcase soft flavors like mozzarella — all while providing that satisfying crackle.
But you still have to figure out what goes on top.
