Great Pizza

[cmsoulbrother]

Finally Chiang Mai has decent pizza. While Thin crust Italian style pizzas are everywhere, and usually pretty good, real American style pizza has been non-existant in this town .I just had a great slice at Paradise Pizza. It's near Yupparath school and the new beer garden. Well worth checking out!

[sabaijai]

Finally Chiang Mai has decent pizza. While Thin crust Italian style pizzas are everywhere, and usually pretty good, real American style pizza has been non-existant in this town .I just had a great slice at Paradise Pizza. It's near Yupparath school and the new beer garden. Well worth checking out!

I bought a piece from Paradise Pizza a couple of nights ago but didn't care for it all that much. I though the bottom crust was a bit leathery and the sauce tasted like it came from a bottle rather than freshly made.

I ate there pretty late in the evening - about 10.30pm so perhaps I should try again at an earlier hour? I'll definitely give it another chance in the near future.

Still haven't had anything in either Chiang Mai or Bangkok to compare with the pizza at Amido's Pizza Garden in Pai.

[chanchao]

> While Thin crust Italian style pizzas are everywhere, and usually

> pretty good, real American style pizza has been non-existant in

> this town.

[Ajarn]

And Pizza Hut? American ru' plaaw?

[astral]

real American style pizza

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pizza is Italian.

Why do Americans always think there was is better???????????????????????

[Ajarn]

real American style pizza

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pizza is Italian.

Why do Americans always think there was is better???????????????????????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Originally Italian, but now they're American, too, just as much as the French Fry. Just ask any Italian if an American Pizza is Italian

Why do Americans always...

Yawn...

[sabaijai]

Pizza as the world knows it today was created (or revived) in New York by Italian immigrants in the 19th and early 20th century. An Italian named Gennaro Lombardi opened the first U.S. pizzeria in 1895 in New York City. Apparently it existed in Italy in a much simpler version (for the most part, in Naples only) but had almost disappeared there by the time Italian immigration to NYC took off. Or so I've read.

The fact that pizza can now be found everywhere in Italy illustrates the famous "Pizza Effect," often cited when talking about how culture may be carried by immigrants to foreign countries, expand there, then be re-introduced to the home country by returning immigrants or by foreign cultures who have adopted the extinct customs, cuisines, etc.

One could also argue that the basics for pizza (flatbread topped with veg-based sauces) were known in Greece and Egypt long before the Italians had it.

I'm going back to Paradise Pizza tonight for another shot at a pizza review ...

[Sojourner]

The wife and I went to Paradise Pizza last night and didn't think too much of their fare. We sampled three different offerings and found two of the three had crust that came close to cardboard. The tomato sauce tasted too sweet and may have had some sugar added to kill the canned taste. I would guess that they are working the pizza dough too long which will make it tough. Heineken at the beer garden was 45 baht for a small bottle which is quite cheap. I suppose we'll try it again some day but no hurry.

[Ajarn]

Still sounds like Pizza Hut is the Gourmand's Choice for American pizza in Chiang Mai

Think I'll take a drive to Pai on Friday to check out SabaiJai's suggestion of Amido's Pizza Garden ...

Anyone want to ride along?

[sabaijai]

The wife and I went to Paradise Pizza last night and didn't think too much of their fare.  We sampled three different offerings and found two of the three had crust that came close to cardboard.  The tomato sauce tasted too sweet and may have had some sugar added to kill the canned taste.  I would guess that they are working the pizza dough too long which will make it tough.  Heineken at the beer garden was 45 baht for a small bottle which is quite cheap.  I suppose we'll try it again some day but no hurry.

Tried PP again last night myself. That would pretty much be my evaluation of the pizza there, too. Lousy crust, lousy sauce. It looks good sitting there, very New York-like. But they're going to have to put a lot more thought into their pizza if they want a decent reputation.

Amido's excels where most pizzerias in Chiang Mai fail - delicious fresh crust and delicious fresh sauce. His pastas are also good. Do check the daily specials menu - the boeuf bourgignon is excellent.

He will also barbecue a goat and prepare goat couscous with advance notice. I did this myself last year and it was the best goat I'd ever eaten, and I've eaten a lot of cabrito in Mexico.

There's a newer Italian place in Pai, owned by two Italians. They came to Amido's several times trying to learn his pizza techniques. After they opened I tried their pizza and it didn't even come close! I went in the company of a Thai food critic from Bangkok and she wasn't impressed either. Plus we waited nearly an hour for our pizza and there was only one other occupied table in the restaurant. Very forgettable.

I've now raised Ajarn's expectations much too highly I fear. Just a caveat, not every single pizza I've eaten at Amido's has been great. Stay simple for best results (the fewer the toppings, the better), and go early in the evening when he's not busy.

Also prepare yourself for a very rustic atmosphere, nothing more than a thatched roof over wooden tables with a dirt floor and lots of Xmas lights.

As always, "your mileage may vary."

[Ajarn]

I wouldn't hold it against you.

My pleasure comes from any Journey of Discovery...

[meowchawpnom]

How are the prices at these places you mention? Is this new Pizza place the one on Rajvithi? Where is this new Beer Garden you speak of? Is this patterned after the Beer Garden in the Nana area in Bkk?

I remember a few years ago, there was a great, cheap pizza place up on Suthep Road near the university. It was 60 baht for a large sized pizza for one. Very popular, no-frills place, with free water, constantly refilled.

Then the owners apparently got the idea to go "upscale." They moved to new elegant quarters, and now their pizzas are 120 baht for the same size. And you have to pay for water.

When that happened, I knew CM was going downhill, and it's continued to do so. Prices up, everything else down.

[Sojourner]

Meow, get your map out and look inside the mote for the intersection of Ratchadamnoen Rd. and Ratchaphakhinai Rd. The "beer garden" is on the Northeast corner and the pizza shop is tucked inside. The pizza slices range from 50-60 baht as I recall. The beer is sold by another concessionaire.

[Ajarn]

Still sounds like Pizza Hut is the Gourmand's Choice for American pizza in Chiang Mai 

Think I'll take a drive to Pai on Friday to check out SabaiJai's suggestion of Amido's Pizza Garden ...   

Anyone want to ride along? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amido's didn't open 'till 6 pm, and this was only a day trip, so no pizza on this trip. I didn't want too much 'dark time' on that dangerous mountain road back to Chiang Mai...

But, it was a great drive up and back. First trip back to Pai in 10 years, at least. That road is great on a bike, but less enjoyable for me in a car...

As I came into the last couple of k's before hitting town, I was pleased that not much had seemed to have changed along the road. The old wood bridge is blocked from use (last time, the new bridge was open, but you could still use the wood bridge, too.) and only a noticeable increase in billboards for tourist places... I sensed the toursist scene had expanded and started to influence life more for locals when I saw this..

I took the main road into the market area and immediately noticed the increase in restaurants around Chez..whatever that is... Then, a Red Light... Wow! At an intersection that could barely be called that 10 years ago. To the right to the bridge were wall-to-wall tourist joints all the way to the bridge....

Straight ahead from the Red Lights was exactly the same... The little soi that has Duang GH and the bus stop is now just like Khao San road, with approximately the same numbers of people, mostly young folks. This scene stretched right down to the river, and off on another soi to the right...

After I left Adidos empty-stomached, I cruised more on that side of the bridge. Nice area still. In a small traditional village about 2 kilometers over the bridge on the way to the hot springs, I ran across a couple of interesting spots....

Funky gh, but restfull and quiet spot..

reminded me of a Haight-Ashbury teahouse

And the next time I hear 'Stairway to Heaven', I'll be thinking of this place..

I'll plan more for the pizza next time

[Judge]

Paradise Pizza is not very good if you are searching for good American pizza.

As someone mentioned before, the crust is terrible, and I noticed the sugar in the tomato sauce also. This is the kind of pizza that would have been acceptable in Chiang Mai about 15 years ago - when there weren't any good farang restaurants other than the America Restaurant and Grill on Thapae Road - but people are a lot more picky now.

About 15 years ago, America Restaurant probably had the best American style pizza in Chiang Mai and many people think that it still is the best ever.

One of the old owners is opening a new place across the Narawat bridge in March called "The Tavern'. It is near Chiang Mai's premier bakery, Love at First Bite.

Dave has been running very some good restaurants in San Diego since he sold America, way back when, and ingredients have improved so much here, meanwhile, that we can look forward to something special.

[SBACM]

Which Restaurants in San Diego???

[DaMan]

I had a large vegie at mad dog a few nights ago. I would give it a B-/C+ (which is actually a really high grade for me, but then again I had 6 beers). I enjoyed it and will go back and try it again some time. I have seen the pizza under the heat lamp at paradise and it looked anything but appetizing.........

[Ajarn]

Paradise Pizza is not very good if you are searching for good American pizza.

As someone mentioned before, the crust is terrible, and I noticed the sugar in the tomato sauce also. This is the kind of pizza that would have been acceptable in Chiang Mai about 15 years ago - when there weren't any good farang restaurants other than the America Restaurant and Grill on Thapae Road - but people are a lot more picky now.

About 15 years ago, America Restaurant probably had the best American style pizza in Chiang Mai and many people think that it still is the best ever.

One of the old owners is opening a new place across the Narawat bridge in March called "The Tavern'. It is near Chiang Mai's premier bakery, Love at First Bite.

Dave has been running very some good restaurants in San Diego since he sold America, way back when, and ingredients have improved so much here, meanwhile, that we can look forward to something special. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was Dave the guy who sold America Restaurant to Greg and his partner (can't remember his name) around 1993? Dave did have good food, but Greg (from SoCal, too, as I recall) had excellent pizza and calzone, too. After Greg left to go back to the States, his partner ran it into the ground. The food became disgusting- couldn't even get a decently prepared order of fries, and I started to get the runs on a too-regular basis.. I peeked into their kitchen one day and was horrified at the swarms of flies and other insects in the kitchen. I never returned after that...

[sabaijai]

Ajarn, sorry I forgot to mention that Amido's is open evenings only. I assumed you wouldn't drive all the way there and back just as a day trip. Six hours of driving in one day, and on mountain roads, you must have a tough back-end.

It'd be nice if Amido would open a branch in Ch Mai. I asked him about it actually and he said he wasn't interested in making pizza anywhere except Pai.

[Ajarn]

Ajarn, sorry I forgot to mention that Amido's is open evenings only. I assumed you wouldn't drive all the way there and back just as a day trip. Six hours of driving in one day, and on mountain roads, you must have a tough back-end.

It'd be nice if Amido would open a branch in Ch Mai. I asked him about it actually and he said he wasn't interested in making pizza anywhere except Pai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sabajai, no sweat about the time, though I did time my hunger to coincide with my arrival

My backend isn't so tough as it is thickly padded, so driving lots of hours isn't a problem. I also explored a Christian Karen village and around the hot springs a bit, and got some good pictures. But, as mentioned, I don't care for the road much,- but I sure do enjoy the folks along it. One place I liked to visit a lot in past years is Pa Pae, about halfway between Mae Taeng and Pai. Nice small village, and a shop owner remembered me from years ago, so we had a nice chat. There's also an extremely cute seamtress there that I enjoyed chatting up and fantasizing about for a few minutes

The pleasure is in the journey, and I had a great day. Thanks so much for the pizza referral, and I'm sure I'll be back there at some point.

[Judge]

Paradise Pizza is not very good if you are searching for good American pizza.

As someone mentioned before, the crust is terrible, and I noticed the sugar in the tomato sauce also. This is the kind of pizza that would have been acceptable in Chiang Mai about 15 years ago - when there weren't any good farang restaurants other than the America Restaurant and Grill on Thapae Road - but people are a lot more picky now.

About 15 years ago, America Restaurant probably had the best American style pizza in Chiang Mai and many people think that it still is the best ever.

One of the old owners is opening a new place across the Narawat bridge in March called "The Tavern'. It is near Chiang Mai's premier bakery, Love at First Bite.

Dave has been running very some good restaurants in San Diego since he sold America, way back when, and ingredients have improved so much here, meanwhile, that we can look forward to something special. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was Dave the guy who sold America Restaurant to Greg and his partner (can't remember his name) around 1993? Dave did have good food, but Greg (from SoCal, too, as I recall) had excellent pizza and calzone, too. After Greg left to go back to the States, his partner ran it into the ground. The food became disgusting- couldn't even get a decently prepared order of fries, and I started to get the runs on a too-regular basis.. I peeked into their kitchen one day and was horrified at the swarms of flies and other insects in the kitchen. I never returned after that...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, Khun L.

David and Willy had America originally and sold it to Tony and Greg.

Greg had to return home to the US after a car accident, I believe.

Remember how good their apple pie was before Tony and Greg bought the place

(They didn't know how to pick cooking apples and the crunchy upper crust went down-hill)?

There isn't any apple pie like that in Chiang Mai now, but hopefully when Dave opens "The Tavern...!

He's also bringing back the sandwich with pastrami or corn beef and sour krout with 1,000 island dressing too. What is that called?

Edited January 30, 2005 by Judge

[Ajarn]

Paradise Pizza is not very good if you are searching for good American pizza.

As someone mentioned before, the crust is terrible, and I noticed the sugar in the tomato sauce also. This is the kind of pizza that would have been acceptable in Chiang Mai about 15 years ago - when there weren't any good farang restaurants other than the America Restaurant and Grill on Thapae Road - but people are a lot more picky now.

About 15 years ago, America Restaurant probably had the best American style pizza in Chiang Mai and many people think that it still is the best ever.

One of the old owners is opening a new place across the Narawat bridge in March called "The Tavern'. It is near Chiang Mai's premier bakery, Love at First Bite.

Dave has been running very some good restaurants in San Diego since he sold America, way back when, and ingredients have improved so much here, meanwhile, that we can look forward to something special. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was Dave the guy who sold America Restaurant to Greg and his partner (can't remember his name) around 1993? Dave did have good food, but Greg (from SoCal, too, as I recall) had excellent pizza and calzone, too. After Greg left to go back to the States, his partner ran it into the ground. The food became disgusting- couldn't even get a decently prepared order of fries, and I started to get the runs on a too-regular basis.. I peeked into their kitchen one day and was horrified at the swarms of flies and other insects in the kitchen. I never returned after that...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, Khun L.

David and Willy had America originally and sold it to Tony and Greg.

Greg had to return home to the US after a car accident, I believe.

Remember how good their apple pie was before Tony and Greg bought the place

(They didn't know how to pick cooking apples and the crunchy upper crust went down-hill)?

There isn't any apple pie like that in Chiang Mai now, but hopefully when Dave opens "The Tavern...!

He's also bringing back the sandwich with pastrami or corn beef and sour krout with 1,000 island dressing too. What is that called?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, Tony. Thanks. What a character... He kept wanting to remind everyone (me?) of his giant penis. ... Anyway, basically an okay guy, but Greg was the man who made it happen. When he left, it quickly dropped off. Hope he is doing well in the States, and fully recovered from his accident. I was actually interested in taking it over, but I didn't know it had closed until I saw a clothing store there one day. I really wanted their tortilla press .. Good foot traffic location, since it's less dangerous crossing coming from the gate area going down that side...

Ever had the Apple Pie from Charin Resort? The apples in their pies are delicious, but a bit too soft for my taste. Popular NY gifts, though

Anyone remember Nigel of The Croissant fame?

[sabaijai]

Ajarn, sorry I forgot to mention that Amido's is open evenings only. I assumed you wouldn't drive all the way there and back just as a day trip. Six hours of driving in one day, and on mountain roads, you must have a tough back-end.

It'd be nice if Amido would open a branch in Ch Mai. I asked him about it actually and he said he wasn't interested in making pizza anywhere except Pai.

Sabajai, no sweat about the time, though I did time my hunger to coincide with my arrival

My backend isn't so tough as it is thickly padded, so driving lots of hours isn't a problem. I also explored a Christian Karen village and around the hot springs a bit, and got some good pictures. But, as mentioned, I don't care for the road much,- but I sure do enjoy the folks along it. One place I liked to visit a lot in past years is Pa Pae, about halfway between Mae Taeng and Pai. Nice small village, and a shop owner remembered me from years ago, so we had a nice chat. There's also an extremely cute seamtress there that I enjoyed chatting up and fantasizing about for a few minutes

The pleasure is in the journey, and I had a great day. Thanks so much for the pizza referral, and I'm sure I'll be back there at some point.

What a positive outlook, good on you.

Speaking of stopovers en route to Pai, one of my favourite Thai restos in all of northern Thailand is a little mom n'pop place near near Km 9 (not far out of Mae Malai en route to Pai). They grow most of the herbs and vegetables used in their cooking, raise their own chickens, etc. It's called Chao Tai, small sign in Thai only. Very simple thatched-roof place with incredible home-cooked central and southern Thai dishes. Delicious kaeng som cha-om khai, naam phrik kung siap, plaa raat phrik are a few of their specialities. Other daily specials are scribbled onto a little board. Worth a special stop. Better than most Thai restos in Chiang Mai, in terms of full-flavoured, authentic rot chaat. Restos like these are getting pretty rare anywhere in Thailand, for that matter.

[Judge]

Today, I just happened to be near Paradise Pizza at lunch-time and didn't have time to go anywhere else, so I decided to give it another try.

It was pretty good!

I had two slices of pepperoni and I realized that if I was wandering around a big city in the US and found this pizza, I would be quite happy.

Maybe this guy is learning as he goes , or maybe today was just a fluke.

Try it and see.

[sabaijai]

Today, I just happened to be near Paradise Pizza at lunch-time and didn't have time to go anywhere else, so I decided to give it another try.

It was pretty good!

I had two slices of pepperoni and I realized that if I was wandering around a big city in the US and found this pizza, I would be quite happy.

Maybe this guy is learning as he goes  , or maybe today was just a fluke.

Try it and see.

That's hopeful news. Maybe late night is the worst time for this place. I want the guy to succeed, it would be nice to have on good place to buy pizza by the slice in Chiang Mai.

[Ramster]

I guess that they have no Thai Pizza Co. in C.M.? They are all over Bkk Phuket and Pattaya and I think they are pretty good for Thai pizza.

[chanchao]

Did anyone try the 'Pizza by the slice' in front of the old Saeng Tawan theatre on the corner of Chang Klan (Night Bazar) and Sridonchai roads?

Noticed this recently, obviously farang-run. Pricey though, I forgot how pricey. (69 or 79 baht for a slice or so IIRC)

[Ajarn]

I guess that they have no Thai Pizza Co. in C.M.? They are all over Bkk Phuket and Pattaya and I think they are pretty good for Thai pizza.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sure, they're here, too. Pretty much the same as Pizza Hut to my tastes, except Pizza Co. might be a bit less kii nio on the ingredients

[just_Elaine]

Just an update

We were in Pai last week and remembered this thread so we stopped for a pizza at Amido’s. Not only was it the better than any pizza in Chiang Mai, it’s the best we’ve had in Thailand. They served it with a bowl of fresh basil and chili olive oil. To go along with the good food, the friendly staff complemented the good food.

Anyone found good pizza in CM yet?

[chanchao]

Found even cheaper pizza though. At Mae Hia market on the Canal Road. Mini seafood pizza for 29 baht. Very fresh shrimp too I could add. The lady also sells french fries which are horrific, though. (You can't keep french fries crispy for any amount of time out in the open, obviously). But the pizza was a pleasant surprise. (American / Pizza Hut type variety of course, so nothing that would excite anyone who received even half a scoop of culinary common sense in his lifetime, but as far as that type of fast food goes: pretty decent!