Pieology! Why Go There?
It isn’t the best, but it is the best at the right time.
We've been here before. I've reviewed Pieology in the past and have good and bad to say about it.
This time it's all about timing. While I don't consider Pieology the best pizza in Fresno or Clovis, I believe it to be the best pizza around at the best time.
Here's what I mean by that.
Timing
The other night Patti and I were driving home, it was late, and we were trying to think of a place to eat besides Friday's or Lazy Dog. We had just had a great evening two nights ago at Fridays, which I'll be writing about soon, but had had a bad 4th try at Lazy Dog after a good dining experience the time before. That's for another review coming.
So on a quick pick, we went with Pieology. At 10 pm in the evening, there isn't much to choose from unless you want to do the Mcdonald's or Jack-in-the-Box routine, which we didn't want this night.
So Pieology it was, and we went to the one we prefer in Clovis on Herndon Avenue across from Walmart. This one has been the most consistent of the ones we tried in the past, so we stick with it.
The Pizza
Patti ordered a thin crust original with very little tomato sauce and Daiya cheese. She enjoys that cheese, even though I give her a hard time picking it. Then again, I also give her a hard time when she puts pineapple on a pizza. That's the Sicilian in me.
I give her credit, though, because she sticks to a healthy concoction of veggies and everything else on her pizza and loves it while I stand there and cringe.
Once in a while, she'll order the cauliflower crust, but lately, she's been sticking to the thin crust original.
On the other hand, I have been going with the thicker pie crust. I don't know why since even though I ask them to cook it well done, it still doesn't have that crispy crust I like.
Instead, they made Patti's more well done than she likes, so I need to get these chefs aware of whose pizza is whose when cooking it well done. Sheesh!
For my pizza, I had mozzarella cheese and shaved parmesan. If you go to Pieology, get the shaved parmesan, not the grated kind. The shaved has more flavor; tell them not to skimp on the amount.
I add more than a little tomato sauce and go with just the olive oil without the garlic. I would love it if the oil were garlic-infused olive oil, but the garlic concoction is made of olive oil and butter. That doesn't make for a good-tasting pizza. You can trust me on this one.
I then go with the maximum pepperoni they can fit on the pizza. I make it clear from the outset that I want a lot of pepperoni, but I don't think they understand the term a lot! I usually have to coax them into adding more for some insane reason.
In the past, I've tried to create a New York Style of pizza at Pieology by going with the thin crust with light tomato sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese, and that's it, cooked well done.
Once or twice they've done it right, and it's pretty close except for the slices. Although one time, I got the chef to slice the pieces as big as a New York slice. That was about half the pie.
Hey, one out of four or five times isn't bad. We'll keep trying.
Why Go There?
We go there for convenience. As I said, it isn't the best pizza, but it is there at the right time. It's open when you need it, can fill your stomach up quickly, and isn't bad.
It may not be the best, but it's the right pizza compared to many other shops around town when you need it fast. I mean, it is fast food pizza open late.
I know there are some other fast-baked pizza shops around that are better than Pieology, but their hours don't work with our schedule some nights.
If we have the time, we prefer some of the better pizza shops in town, although I will admit so far, the closest I've had to a New York style pizza has been from Pieology, which I designed.
If you haven't tried my style of New York pizza as described and like that type of crispy crust, give them a try and tell them well-done.