Pizza Co.the Worst.

[gennisis]

I brought back a pizza stone with me from the US. Paid $12.95 for it, I believe. With it, I can make a decent pizza in my home oven. I have to admit I buy the base at Villa, but it is pretty good, and my pizza comes out a bit on the crispy side, just as I like it.

I pile my pizza high with home-made Italian sausage, salami, ham, onions, green peppers, kalmata olives, artichoke hearts, pineapple (my friend insists on that), and lots of sauce. I also brush the base with olive oil to crisp it up a bit to get it how I like it.

All told, I find it better than any pizza I have had in Thailand, and it probably costs less than 200 baht all told.

I had a Pizza Company pizza once, and only that one time as my friend's niece just opened the place for business, and frankly, that is the last time I will ever have one of theirs. I have had a couple of good ones in a few independent places and one upscale Italian restaurant, but when I make one myself, I put exactly what I love in a pizza and nothing else.

Can anyone tell me why a baking stone or brick is any better than thick cast iron plate?

Both materials will get very hot and hold the heat.

I use a cast iron flat plate and am quite happy with the results.

[NanaFoods]

I brought back a pizza stone with me from the US. Paid $12.95 for it, I believe. With it, I can make a decent pizza in my home oven. I have to admit I buy the base at Villa, but it is pretty good, and my pizza comes out a bit on the crispy side, just as I like it.

I pile my pizza high with home-made Italian sausage, salami, ham, onions, green peppers, kalmata olives, artichoke hearts, pineapple (my friend insists on that), and lots of sauce. I also brush the base with olive oil to crisp it up a bit to get it how I like it.

All told, I find it better than any pizza I have had in Thailand, and it probably costs less than 200 baht all told.

I had a Pizza Company pizza once, and only that one time as my friend's niece just opened the place for business, and frankly, that is the last time I will ever have one of theirs. I have had a couple of good ones in a few independent places and one upscale Italian restaurant, but when I make one myself, I put exactly what I love in a pizza and nothing else.

Can anyone tell me why a baking stone or brick is any better than thick cast iron plate?

Both materials will get very hot and hold the heat.

I use a cast iron flat plate and am quite happy with the results.

Stone "breathes", cast iron doesnt.

It is important to allow steam to escape from the bottom while cooking.

If your cast iron has a textured surface, that might explain why it works for you, especially if you are doing thin crust.

[meatboy]

I brought back a pizza stone with me from the US. Paid $12.95 for it, I believe. With it, I can make a decent pizza in my home oven. I have to admit I buy the base at Villa, but it is pretty good, and my pizza comes out a bit on the crispy side, just as I like it.

I pile my pizza high with home-made Italian sausage, salami, ham, onions, green peppers, kalmata olives, artichoke hearts, pineapple (my friend insists on that), and lots of sauce. I also brush the base with olive oil to crisp it up a bit to get it how I like it.

All told, I find it better than any pizza I have had in Thailand, and it probably costs less than 200 baht all told.

I had a Pizza Company pizza once, and only that one time as my friend's niece just opened the place for business, and frankly, that is the last time I will ever have one of theirs. I have had a couple of good ones in a few independent places and one upscale Italian restaurant, but when I make one myself, I put exactly what I love in a pizza and nothing else.

Can anyone tell me why a baking stone or brick is any better than thick cast iron plate?

Both materials will get very hot and hold the heat.

I use a cast iron flat plate and am quite happy with the results.

i remember my mother having one of them cast iron plates we used to call them bake-stones she would put it on the open fire and make welsh cakes,had some over last month

[barefoot1988]

I brought back a pizza stone with me from the US. Paid $12.95 for it, I believe. With it, I can make a decent pizza in my home oven. I have to admit I buy the base at Villa, but it is pretty good, and my pizza comes out a bit on the crispy side, just as I like it.

I pile my pizza high with home-made Italian sausage, salami, ham, onions, green peppers, kalmata olives, artichoke hearts, pineapple (my friend insists on that), and lots of sauce. I also brush the base with olive oil to crisp it up a bit to get it how I like it.

All told, I find it better than any pizza I have had in Thailand, and it probably costs less than 200 baht all told.

I had a Pizza Company pizza once, and only that one time as my friend's niece just opened the place for business, and frankly, that is the last time I will ever have one of theirs. I have had a couple of good ones in a few independent places and one upscale Italian restaurant, but when I make one myself, I put exactly what I love in a pizza and nothing else.

Can anyone tell me why a baking stone or brick is any better than thick cast iron plate?

Both materials will get very hot and hold the heat.

I use a cast iron flat plate and am quite happy with the results.

like NanaFoods said, the baking stone is porous and allowed steam to escape and making a more crispy crust

downside of porous is that it would absorb anything. too much oil on it, its a smoke machine. if one ever wash it with soap, that is it

[ihunnieibee]

Has anyone else noticed the price of the fried chicken @ Pizza Co.? It seems kind of steep to pay that much for chicken especially considering it isn't any kind of imported good or fancy restaurant.

[Konini]

I recently spoiled myself and bought a pizza oven from Groupon or Living Social in Bangkok. I've made several and they've all turned out great. I've also used it for making chapati and paratha, going to try it for other things too. It was an indulgence, but really was a good buy.

Can't find the link, but it looks a bit like this one but more basic. Really, it looks like a big round sandwich maker. Highly recommended.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Konini

[carlspencer]

Has anyone else noticed the price of the fried chicken @ Pizza Co.? It seems kind of steep to pay that much for chicken especially considering it isn't any kind of imported good or fancy restaurant.

Yeah, the increase in prices is more general, before if I just ordered a single Pizza it would cost me 389 bahts, now its 419 bahts.

[NanaFoods]

I recently spoiled myself and bought a pizza oven from Groupon or Living Social in Bangkok. I've made several and they've all turned out great. I've also used it for making chapati and paratha, going to try it for other things too. It was an indulgence, but really was a good buy.

Can't find the link, but it looks a bit like this one but more basic. Really, it looks like a big round sandwich maker. Highly recommended.

I have one of those too... a G3 Ferrari.

it was quite expensive for what it is.

Works ALMOST fine for a small 11" pizza (max size - if you go for 12", it can fit, but the outer crust doesn't brown enough) -- however, I have to fuss with the thermostat to get the bottom and top cooked properly, otherwise its too hot on top, or too hot on bottom. I wish it had individual heat controls for top and bottom.

The stone base does get blackened at drippings occur over time, despite trying my best to keep pizzas from dripping over -- and its near impossible to heat or brush the carbon off, and I believe it effects the outcome. however, if I keep an eye on it, and fuss with the heat control, it produce a nice crispy crust and takes only about 7 minutes to cook a small pizza. Thing is, I need to cook 2 pizzas to satisfy the fam.

The electricity consumption is huge, as well. So, my G3 Ferrai pizza cooker is currently gathering cobwebs on the shelf... I use my gas oven anyway, as I can make one big family-size pizza no prob. (I use a perforated baking tray, which yields a surprisingly nice crispy crust) -- one insertion and about the same cooking time as 2 smalls in the G3-Ferrari.

[Konini]

I have one of those too... a G3 Ferrari. it was quite expensive for what it is.

Works ALMOST fine for a small 11" pizza (max size - if you go for 12", it can fit, but the outer crust doesn't brown enough) -- however, I have to fuss with the thermostat to get the bottom and top cooked properly, otherwise its too hot on top, or too hot on bottom. I wish it had individual heat controls for top and bottom.

The electricity consumption is huge, as well. So, my G3 Ferrai pizza cooker is currently gathering cobwebs on the shelf...

SNIPPED FOR BREVITY

Found the link - I forgot I'd bought it from Verasu, so no wonder I couldn't find it in my mailbox. http://verasu.com/product_detail.php?pid=928

I did a search on your G3 Ferrari, and man, it really is a Ferrari compared to mine! For 1,500BT though, I have no complaints. No control over the heat, there are only two settings; On and Off. Takes 3 or 4 minutes to heat up and about 12-13 minutes for a 12' pizza, big enough for the two of us, or a couple of minutes each side for the Indian flat breads. It also just has a regular teflon base and top, as long as I'm careful getting things out and cleaning it, it should last a long time. It really is just like a round sandwich toaster.

I imagine the electricity would be sucked out of the mains fairly quickly, but probably no different from me putting the 'space-ship' oven on. If it's gathering cobwebs, put it on the classifieds - I used to have so many things sitting in the kitchen, used a couple of times and relegated to the back of a cupboard. I'm determined not to fall into that trap again, although buying things like a non-essential pizza oven isn't the way to go.

Once you've mastered home made pizza (and it really isn't hard, you can even buy the bases pre-rolled with a coat of tomato sauce if you're lazy, shop bought ones will never be quite as good as they once were. Especially the disgusting offerings from Pizza Co/Pizza Hutt/Domino's etc.

[ricku]

I've heard a couple of times a story along these lines.

The Thai owner of the Pizza Hut chain in Thailand asked HO if he could introduce Thai style pizzas to his menus. Thais often like overloaded toppings - great piles of pineapple, for example. One pizza has sweet mayonnaise instead of the tomato sauce mix. When my wife first made pizzas, she would give customers the full condiments tray. The sight of them pouring on ketchup, HP brown sauce, chilli sauce and everything else in the tray turned my stomach. Now they get only what they ask for. I hate to see a good pizza spoiled like that.

The Pizza Hut HO refused his request. The Thai franchisee dumped Pizza Hut and set up Pizza Company doing what he wanted. Now we see the result - a Thai style pizza chain.

Yes, I'd rather go hungry than eat a thai style pizza.

But if you think thai style pizzas are bad, wait until you see japanese style pizzas (and pasta).

Seriously, its like Asia has some kind of problem with italian food.

[cloghead]

I've heard a couple of times a story along these lines.

The Thai owner of the Pizza Hut chain in Thailand asked HO if he could introduce Thai style pizzas to his menus. Thais often like overloaded toppings - great piles of pineapple, for example. One pizza has sweet mayonnaise instead of the tomato sauce mix. When my wife first made pizzas, she would give customers the full condiments tray. The sight of them pouring on ketchup, HP brown sauce, chilli sauce and everything else in the tray turned my stomach. Now they get only what they ask for. I hate to see a good pizza spoiled like that.

The Pizza Hut HO refused his request. The Thai franchisee dumped Pizza Hut and set up Pizza Company doing what he wanted. Now we see the result - a Thai style pizza chain.

You heard wrong (a little). The ex-Pizza Hut franchisee was/is not a Thai (he may have Thai citizenship now, I don't know). Bill Heineke is from the States and owns 'Minor' group (Pizza Co, Sizzler, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Swensens etc). Also top-end hotels, resorts, bla bla bla...

Edited May 1, 2013 by cloghead

[sabaijai]

I've heard a couple of times a story along these lines.

The Thai owner of the Pizza Hut chain in Thailand asked HO if he could introduce Thai style pizzas to his menus. Thais often like overloaded toppings - great piles of pineapple, for example. One pizza has sweet mayonnaise instead of the tomato sauce mix. When my wife first made pizzas, she would give customers the full condiments tray. The sight of them pouring on ketchup, HP brown sauce, chilli sauce and everything else in the tray turned my stomach. Now they get only what they ask for. I hate to see a good pizza spoiled like that.

The Pizza Hut HO refused his request. The Thai franchisee dumped Pizza Hut and set up Pizza Company doing what he wanted. Now we see the result - a Thai style pizza chain.

You heard wrong (a little). The ex-Pizza Hut franchisee was/is not a Thai (he may have Thai citizenship now, I don't know). Bill Heineke is from the States and owns 'Minor' group (Pizza Co, Sizzler, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Swensens etc). Also top-end hotels, resorts, bla bla bla...

Just to finish off the facts of the story, Mr Heinecke wanted to sell fried chicken at his Pizza Hut franchises, but Pizza Hut wouldn't agree. So he started his own.

[attrayant]

It looks like I'm late to the pizza party (again) but let me just say that the OP is a bit overboard. Perhaps this was a bad experience isolated to the franchise in question. I've ordered plenty from PC and been in perhaps a half dozen of their sit-down restaurants. The food is a reasonable facsimile of pizza. I'd rate it perhaps a 6.5 or 7 out of ten on my scale.

Pizza is assorted toppings baked on top of bread. That's all it is. There is no one definitive "correct" pizza. You may not care for the seasoning in the sauce or the chewiness of the crust, but those are entirely subjective opinions. My personal preference is NY style - thin crust and more crispy than chewy, with an olive oil based crust. Pizza Co misses the mark on several points but it's still a reasonably good pizza, and it hits my comfort food "spot". I also quite like the cesar salad. No, it's not a proper cesar salad, and therefore maybe by the OP's standards that makes it "the worst", but it's a decent salad and it helps me feel less guilty that I'm about to down an entire large double pepperoni pizza in one sitting.

Yes some of their items are expensive, especially the chicken considering you can get better from street vendors. I'm sure PC is hoping you'll add some chicken to the shopping cart since you're already considering an order.

[meatboy]

It looks like I'm late to the pizza party (again) but let me just say that the OP is a bit overboard. Perhaps this was a bad experience isolated to the franchise in question. I've ordered plenty from PC and been in perhaps a half dozen of their sit-down restaurants. The food is a reasonable facsimile of pizza. I'd rate it perhaps a 6.5 or 7 out of ten on my scale.

Pizza is assorted toppings baked on top of bread. That's all it is. There is no one definitive "correct" pizza. You may not care for the seasoning in the sauce or the chewiness of the crust, but those are entirely subjective opinions. My personal preference is NY style - thin crust and more crispy than chewy, with an olive oil based crust. Pizza Co misses the mark on several points but it's still a reasonably good pizza, and it hits my comfort food "spot". I also quite like the cesar salad. No, it's not a proper cesar salad, and therefore maybe by the OP's standards that makes it "the worst", but it's a decent salad and it helps me feel less guilty that I'm about to down an entire large double pepperoni pizza in one sitting.

Yes some of their items are expensive, especially the chicken considering you can get better from street vendors. I'm sure PC is hoping you'll add some chicken to the shopping cart since you're already considering an order.

i will give them another chance as it was a new opening,but they made it quite clear with their promortion buy 1 and get 1,the toppings were split between 2.

[attrayant]

They were offering the two-for-one on their web site last month as well (which is why all my pants are a bit tighter this month). But toppings were separate and identical to if I had ordered them separately. You should try a different location, or try ordering online.

[meatboy]

They were offering the two-for-one on their web site last month as well (which is why all my pants are a bit tighter this month). But toppings were separate and identical to if I had ordered them separately. You should try a different location, or try ordering online.

before this new one opened which is very near to where we live they always came from the mall[korat] but the call centre will trans.the call to the nearest so we will have to see if they have bucked up their ways.

[Dannyboy6]

2 for 1 Promotion is OVER...

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