No, it's not a Sonic Youth album, it's one of our favorite brands- again! Evol Foods just keeps coming out with new products. And who are we to blame them? With the recent success of their flatbreads, it's clear that this is a company that can deviate from one type of food, in this case, their burritos, and still come out on top. Now, we're chomping through their pizza line, one pie at a time.
Despite the fact that we have to travel to our local Whole Foods to snare one of these, we love them so much that we don't mind. Evol's pizzas and flatbreads are the anacondas in a pet store world of easy-to-care for goldfish and hamsters. Yes, we're talking to you, CPK. And no, we're not calling you back. Make no mistake about it, though, the pizzas are not simply larger versions of the flatbreads. For one, the prices are a little higher for the pizzas, $1.50 higher, but they are only two ounces heavier than the flatbreads. This lessens their value compared to the flatbreads, but when placed against other one-topping pizzas, like Domino's, ($10.15 for a medium thin-crusted pizza with sausage, they don't have meatball or small) and Pizza Hut, ($8.56 for a medium thin-crusted pizza with sausage- is meatball being phased out?), it's not a bad deal.
Out of the package, the first obvious flaw in the meatballs and mozzarella is the case of small balls it has going on. The photo on the box shows 24 adorable, miniature meatballs dotting the top of the pie like a lady bug. We got 13 1/2, and they are tiny. It's a shame, because they're really tasty, with a moist texture and a bold, herbed texture that stands up to the rest of the toppings. And honestly, for flaws, that's about it. This is also a cheese-heavy pizza. There is an ass-ton of cheese, even though it might not look like a lot when shredded. This is the first pizza I've ever had where there was a drippy cheese overhang during the cooking process. It was intense and awesome.
The mozzarella is very present and doesn't give off that bland mix-of-cheeses flavor that other frozen pizzas do. It's chewy and buttery, with a nice hint of salt from the meatballs, and strings off substantially even after solidifying in a mass on the pizza. The cheese bubbles and crisps on top and all is well with the world. With this in mind, I'm now more inclined to try the four cheese and basil pizza. Even the prosaic gets a makeover here.
One thing to pay attention to is the thinness of the crust. Honestly, I was worried that with the brittle texture, the pizza would seize up and get crackery during the cooking process. The instructions will tell you that 10-15 minutes in the oven is a good idea. I was paranoid and monitored this more than any baby I've ever sat for, and after 8 minutes found that it was getting crispy and that was enough for me. The crust is substantial to hold up to the lavish amount of tomato sauce and cheese, and doesn't get soggy or crunchy at all. The crust, with its varying degrees of charred edges, reminded me of a commercialized Pepe's pizza. While I doubt this pizza will replace your favorite neighborhood joint, it's a hell of a lot better than the pizzas we have up here and definitely bumps out its chain and frozen competition.
Despite the fact that we have to travel to our local Whole Foods to snare one of these, we love them so much that we don't mind. Evol's pizzas and flatbreads are the anacondas in a pet store world of easy-to-care for goldfish and hamsters. Yes, we're talking to you, CPK. And no, we're not calling you back. Make no mistake about it, though, the pizzas are not simply larger versions of the flatbreads. For one, the prices are a little higher for the pizzas, $1.50 higher, but they are only two ounces heavier than the flatbreads. This lessens their value compared to the flatbreads, but when placed against other one-topping pizzas, like Domino's, ($10.15 for a medium thin-crusted pizza with sausage, they don't have meatball or small) and Pizza Hut, ($8.56 for a medium thin-crusted pizza with sausage- is meatball being phased out?), it's not a bad deal.
Out of the package, the first obvious flaw in the meatballs and mozzarella is the case of small balls it has going on. The photo on the box shows 24 adorable, miniature meatballs dotting the top of the pie like a lady bug. We got 13 1/2, and they are tiny. It's a shame, because they're really tasty, with a moist texture and a bold, herbed texture that stands up to the rest of the toppings. And honestly, for flaws, that's about it. This is also a cheese-heavy pizza. There is an ass-ton of cheese, even though it might not look like a lot when shredded. This is the first pizza I've ever had where there was a drippy cheese overhang during the cooking process. It was intense and awesome.
The mozzarella is very present and doesn't give off that bland mix-of-cheeses flavor that other frozen pizzas do. It's chewy and buttery, with a nice hint of salt from the meatballs, and strings off substantially even after solidifying in a mass on the pizza. The cheese bubbles and crisps on top and all is well with the world. With this in mind, I'm now more inclined to try the four cheese and basil pizza. Even the prosaic gets a makeover here.
One thing to pay attention to is the thinness of the crust. Honestly, I was worried that with the brittle texture, the pizza would seize up and get crackery during the cooking process. The instructions will tell you that 10-15 minutes in the oven is a good idea. I was paranoid and monitored this more than any baby I've ever sat for, and after 8 minutes found that it was getting crispy and that was enough for me. The crust is substantial to hold up to the lavish amount of tomato sauce and cheese, and doesn't get soggy or crunchy at all. The crust, with its varying degrees of charred edges, reminded me of a commercialized Pepe's pizza. While I doubt this pizza will replace your favorite neighborhood joint, it's a hell of a lot better than the pizzas we have up here and definitely bumps out its chain and frozen competition.
Check your whole foods for American Flatbread - it will make you want to adjust your Evol scores.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should recommend American Flatbread- we tried them back in October and weren't too impressed! I'd be willing to give them another go, though.
ReplyDeletehttp://foodette-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-flatbread-three-cheese-and.html
Could you please, please, please explain the Pioneer Woman hate? My curiosity has been all sorts of piqued since Avocado Week.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, good question. For starters, like most non-secular infallible beings, I don't believe in her much as I don't believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. I see her website as less of an homage to the tribulations and triumphs of country life so as much as a photoshopped advertisement for Kitchenaid, Ford, Fiesta, Canon, Starbucks, The National Dairy Council, Bush's Baked Beans, Le Creuset, and The Beef Council. You get my point. And I don't see why people are paying her to the tune of around $3,000 to $9,000 A DAY to churn out goofy, scripted non sequiturs and photos of her children. I think the wholesome image she projects is disingenuous and is more of a role. Of course, this could also be a little resentment because my sweartastic, entirely genuine site isn't vagina deep in dolla dolla bills, but honestly, I do dislike the woman.
ReplyDeleteThank you. That was an excellent answer. Honestly, I had no idea. $3,000 to $9,000 a day!?!? Dayum! I used to visit that site because I'm a terrible cook and I appreciated the incredibly simplistic step-by-step recipes. All the other extraneous b.s. certainly did get on my nerves, though.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! Yeah, it's been reported that she makes around 1-3 million a year on a few different news outlets and forums, and that $1,000 a day pretty much buys you slapped together alliterations, old photos of fucking Charlie, and random, stoned thoughts. It's a shame. Sometimes I actually like her recipes. I've made her pasta carbonara many times and also appreciated the step-by-step photos.
ReplyDeleteBut when I read that one of her recipes for "homemade chocolate milk", since taken down, was commissioned by the National Dairy Council to include keywords from their advertising to reach their demographic and push their products without implying that it was an advertisement, I was completely outraged. Subliminal advertising on my internets? Smart companies know they can get her to sell anything because she's reaching the coveted 20-60 midwestern housewife/mommy blogger demographic. She's a corporate sell-out and I've lost all respect for her.
Damn, that carbonara is good, though.