Tag Archives: cheeseburger

A Truly Amazing Club…

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CheddarBurgerDeepDishPizza2

A group of kind souls got together and signed me up for a Pizza of the Month Club.

For more on this and other Amazing Clubs, click here.

It was unexpected, an incredible gesture, and something I will always remember.  It’s something that makes me warm inside, and makes me feel so much gratitude.  It’s a validation that not only what I do means something to someone.  But I also have people that care for me in general.

It’s a hard thing to grasp.  I’m not good with compliments, I’m not good with people doing kind things for me, or to me.  I’m not good with anyone doing anything for me with no expectations in return.   I don’t want anything in return either.  Well maybe kindness, because I don’t think that’s asking too much.  So maybe in a way, how I’ve been to people has been reciprocated.

And a lot of the best parts of our life are based on reciprocity, doing good things for one another, with nothing expected in return.  Anything that’s attracted to us is a bonus, but it’s to be cherished, embraced, and loved.

That’s that attitude of gratitude you might have head about.

So when this package arrived at my doorstep I was blown away.  I mean I was literally blown away.  This was beautiful.

This is so beautiful.

I opened up the package to see not one, but THREE Chicago-style pizzas in the most charming and welcoming of sizes.

I wish I had people to share this with, but maybe for this installment, I was meant to share these over time, and alone.

The three for this month are the Artichoke & Plum Tomato, the Cheddarburger, and the BBQ Chicken!  The themes may have to do with the season, the summer, and the upcoming holiday.  Whatever the reason I’m just so thankful for this, and it’s a change of pace for this blog as well.

As a friend who spearheaded said that they hope this inspires a few blog posts.  Well you know at least two more are coming.  But first things first…

I loved each pie so much, and for various reasons.

ArtichokeTomato

The Artichoke & Plum Tomato might have been my favorite.  Maybe because it’s the most season and light to me.   I’ve also grown to prefer vegetables and different types of veggies over your standard toppings.   That’s what makes pizza so great.  You can add just about anything to it, within reason, and even for no reason, and it could turn out to be YOUR masterpiece.

Tomato&ArtichokeDeepDishPizza

I love the quality of the ingredients, and the golden brown crust just works fabulously here.  This is a unique taste on a white pizza, is one way to look at it.  Yet I can also just say it’s awesome.  Awesome!

Just so you know, the cheese complements the pizzas on all of these in first-class fashion.  I don’t need to go over every ingredient, there prominently displayed in the one picture earlier on in this story.

Now the Cheddarburger would go great for the nearing holiday, or whenever you want.  This is simple yet creative.  Ground beef and cheddar cheese in that deep-dish crust, well… you might know the rest.

BBQChicken

In the past I’ve said how I feel BBQ Chicken is one of the harder pizzas to master.  This was well done though.  And if you notice, I have goofed heating this one in the oven. There’s the burnt marks on the pie and on the crust, but it turns out it worked in my favor.  I heated these all just a few minutes under the suggested amount, and they all turned out differently, yet so well.  Lesson learned.

The quality of chicken and sauce on this is quite high end.  You just know.  And you just know there’s a soul and feeling behind this and the previously mentioned pies, that you’re a part of something special.

I’m grateful to be a part of something special. I’m grateful to my friends for being there in a rough patch of my life, maybe the roughest.  This means so much to me.  For future installments of this, I hope to share these pizzas with the folks directly involved in having them attracted into my life.

What an Amazing Club…

Peace Be With You…

Ideen

 

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The Original

Posted in cheese, Maryland, pizza by

Doms

I’ve only been to Dominick’s of Parkville a handful of times.  But, each time keeps feeling like the first.   It’s that good, novel, and wonderful.

The first time, only a few months ago, I ordered the Buffalo Chicken and White Vegetable, and they were both out of this world.  Especially the latter.  I can say that it’s one of the best veggie pies/slices I’ve ever had the privilege of eating.

And the smells.  There’s a smell that comes from their store and from the carry out boxes that’s to die for.  To me, it’s a combination of basil, cheese, sauce, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on.  Maybe I’m not meant to know?

DomsPies

For this visit, I ordered a Cheese and a Bacon Cheeseburger.   That smell was back and better than ever.   How the cheese overpowered bacon and burger meat, I don’t know.  But that’s really saying something.  I was hoping the scents would stay in my car longer.

How beautiful do those pies look?

Even more importantly, how do they taste?

Well the cheese tastes exactly how a cheese pie should. It brings me back to the types of pizza I was eating when I was a kid.  It’s more than comfort food. It’s just comforting.  It makes me feel good.  And the crust is the perfect combination of soft, with a little crunch to it.   And the smell helps!

The Bacon Cheeseburger had a lot to live up to after the cheese, but it delivered.  The meats tasted fresh.  And they poured a lot on top of the mozzarella and cheddar cheese.   This was a wonderful combination all around.  I find cheddar to be an underrated topping on pizzas.

Besides the taste and smell, most important of all, is their customer service.  They knocked it out of the park again.  I’ve always had the inkling to order a large and a medium to go.  I keep forgetting that if I ordered two mediums, that I’m getting a savings of over $10. Now I don’t always remember this fact, but they do! And they’ve been quick to remind me of this detail.  Ladies and gentleman, that’s serving your customers at its finest.   They’re not obligated to remind me of this fact, but they choose to anyway.   That will make me keep coming back and supporting their amazing local business.  Thanks so much guys.   And it makes the pizza taste better too!  They’ve been doing this for over 50 years and that’s one of the reasons why. Class.

DomsLocations

Now, I haven’t been to their Perry Hall or Lutherville locations, and that will come in time.  I can only assume I’ll get the same world class treatment there.

Take good care and enjoy the weekend.

Best,

Ideen

Wegmans, A Place For Friends

Posted in cheese, friends, fun, pals, pepperoni, pizza, salad, sandwich, soup, sushi by

wegmans

Or maybe a place for pals, if that’s more to your liking.  I sure do love Wegmans.   I think I visited my first one, when it opened up in Hunt Valley, MD about 10 years ago.  Originating nearly 100 years ago from Rochester, New York, they are growing in popularity and locations.   If you’ve been inside, you know it’s like the Disney World of food stores.  But, It’s more than just that.  It’s a place of joy, inspiration, and happiness.  And of course it’s a place where plenty of wonderful things can be purchased.   Let me not get too carried away here.  The heck with it, let’s have fun. It’s time to evoke emotions.

Anything you want to go, is here; from sandwiches, sushi, salad, soup and of course the hot bar with international foods from all over this wonderful planet.  But this is a pizza blog.  Time to make moves.

I must say, I love their cheese, white, and pepperoni pizza.  Perhaps in the future I will review those.  I will just say they are great.   And there will be more posts regarding Wegmans pies soon.

The specific store I visited for this installment was at Boulevard At Box Hill in Abingdon, MD.

This post will be about the Chef’s Creations, and they are constantly changing :

Slice #1 : The Bacon Cheese Blue Cheeseburger (pictured at the top of this post, on the left) : Oh my goodness.  This was heavenly.   I find their pizza dough to be exquisite.  It’s cooked in their ovens to perfection.  It wasn’t too crunchy nor too soft either.  It tasted like I was eating a naan or pita bread.  And that’s how their dough has resonated with me.  And the mozzarella and blue cheese melted together, with the bacon and hamburger meat is an incredible combination.   Phenomenal stuff.

Slice #2 : The Spinach Ricotta (pictured on the right) : Well something went wrong here.   I could tell it was siting on the tray for a while, as it was starting to look a bit old.  The pizza tasted great, but the crust was too crunchy.  The ingredients were great but needn’t have been out this long. I won’t fault the store, but I will fault time.  It just felt like eating potato chips.

But this will not discourage me from coming back.  In my opinion, they have some underrated pizza.  Maybe because it’s a grocery store and not a specific place to get an amazing slice or pie.  I will be returning and hope to bring another inspirational take on the Wegmans experience.  And with more pictures.

Best,

Ideen