A Little More Lighthearted

VegetablePizza

And a little easier.  A little more simple is what I was seeking this week.  Nah, that actually isn’t true.  I wasn’t seeking or searching for anything.

I’m fortunate enough to have friends who embrace me, embrace what I’m doing, and share the love of food, wine, and good company as much as me.  It’s something I hold near and dear to me.

I’m overly sentimental.  I’m big on good memories, I’m big on the little things, and the simplicity of the important things are life.  For those little things are often the most important.  How many times have you heard that before?  It rings true.

What I’ve always found fun about dinner gatherings is not knowing what’s going to be prepared until the day of, or with as little notice as possible.  It’s the anticipation of not knowing.   There’s good anticipatory anxiety and then there’s just the excitement of it all.

For me, I would like to have some idea, as to know what wine to buy.  Sometimes being the in the dark can lead to peculiar pairings, which makes it more fun.

If you’re reading this, then you figured out by now what pizza was served.

PepperoniPizzaSliceWine

At first thought, I initially was going to ask where the pizza would come from, and what kind of sauce, toppings, etc.  That would dictate the kind of wine I may consider, which you can read about here.

But as I write about this, I don’t need to drive myself crazy.

Dinner yesterday was tremendous.  That’s the short story.

I could leave it at that, but I will say that it was a tale of two pizzas, and two wines (well sort of), and two or more conversations.  Actually the conversations went all of the place, but that’s what makes this so awesome, and therefore enlightening.

PepperoniPizza

The first pizza was a pepperoni, and it was unanimously declared, just a pizza.

PepperoniSlices

It wasn’t good nor bad.  It was as some people like to say, just kind of there.  But I may like it just a little more in hindsight.  The dough, the pepperoni, the sauce, and cheese all melded together, and came together quite nicely.

PepperoniSlice

A discussion about how to see how well made a pizza is came up.  And quite simply, turn over the slice and see what stays on and see what ends up strewn all over the place.  In this case, everything remained intact.   That’s the sign of a lot of care and spirit behind the operation.  And considering who was hosting, I would 1000% agree.

But the feeling is maybe a little more sauce and cheese, and this would have been a better pie.  But we save the best for…

VegetablePizzaTwo

You can just tell the vegetable pizza just glows and illuminates beyond words.  It just looks brighter doesn’t it?  I’m one that loves a simple cheese pizza, but also can appreciate and adore fresh vegetables.  It’s a matter of preference and that’s what I’m preferring right now.

I also think we tend to get the kink out during a trial run, or the first try of anything.  When we get to round two, quarter two, the second period, or whatever analogy you want to use, we tend to find our stride.   It’s happened to me when I cook, and maybe you can relate.

But this was truly art.  And knowing the brains and heart behind the operation, these are as fresh as veggies as you’re going to find.

The one thought was maybe adding basil.  I think less is more but I think basil would definitely have made this even better.  Every topping served its purpose.

VeggieSlice

Just look at the kale, the peppers, the onions the spinach, and all the other goodness that nature has provided us.  I’m grateful to my friends for providing such a magnificent pizza.  Twas truly a blessing to be a part of, to be thought of, and to be shared with.

And yes, pretty much everything stayed in place…

This is what life is all about ladies and gentleman.   We don’t need much.  Good friends, good food, a little vino maybe, and a spiritual experience that will help us grow as individuals and as spirits.

I can’t wait for the next one.   I’ll be waiting anticipation…

What did I say about being a little more lighthearted?  Oops!

Peace Be With You.

Ideen

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Johnny’s On The Spot

After last week I may just do beach related pizza posts into September.  I shall see where the wind takes me.

Johnny's

Johnny’s is a pizzeria that is one of the newer pizza parlors to surface. When one pizza place opened up, it seems so many followed.  If it wasn’t for the to go box pictured below, I wouldn’t have known they set up shop in 2010.  But 5-10 years would have been my hypothesis.  Now I’m willing to bet the amount of places in OC to get a slice or a pie are in at least in the 100+ range.

Like many of these other comfort food locations, they’re open into the wee hours of the morning.  So if a quick slice or two to go is what you’re looking for, they will oblige and with pleasure.

I’ve had slices from here in the past and did not care for them.   They were adequate.  For after a night of going out they were purposeful but I didn’t like the feeling in the morning.  I guess that’s the point.

They have quite the expansive menu and many specialty pies to choose from.  For purposes of this visit, I ordered a pie for friends and I to try.   I got really adventurous here.

Johnny'sThaiChicken

The Thai Chicken Pizza was something else.  I had no expectations.  It turned out better than I thought.   If it seems like it’s just a bunch of items thrown together, then you would be correct.  That doesn’t mean it can’t be good.  The peanut and ginger sauce was a bit aggressive that it was a bit hard to eat in spots.  It was spread randomly all over.

Aside from that I was pleasantly surprised.  The mix of mozzarella and cheddar really came together well. And I love onions.  They threw a lot of whole pieces on there as you can see.    But not only white onions (which are not listed as part of the pie but were included anyways) but the green ones as well.  Which are always great.  If there were carrots I barely noticed them.  Maybe the white onions were the substitute. The peanuts were a nice touch too.  It really tasted like a Thai dish or salad.

Johnny'sThaiChicken2

What really makes this pie however, is the chicken. It tasted a lot fresher than I thought it would.   Kudos to that.  The crust was a nice mix of crispy and soft that it didn’t detract in any way from the pie.

So in hindsight this was a better pie than I realized. It wasn’t the greatest.  But this was a solid indluging that will make me want to come back and try something else.

Johnny'sToGoB

The bar and restaurant, along with the carry out area, is usually always packed in the peak months.  This means getting there at the right time can be a challenge.

Till the next visit to the beach.

Best,

Ideen