Burb’s Eye View: Looking for that perfect pizza

Two years ago I scoured Burbank’s sub shops for the perfect sandwich. Last year, I tested my arteries’ strength and loaded up on burgers, trying 24 different varieties throughout the city.

You might say I’m a glutton for punishment.

Since moving here in 2010 I’ve gotten into the same rut that many of us do when it comes to food: I pick from a handful of trusted restaurants and rarely deviate from the plan. Nowhere does that maxim hold more true than in the selection of a sauce-smothered, piping hot pizza pie.

Pizza holds a strange spot in the hierarchy of meal selection. It’s often a last resort (“Want to just order a pizza?”) or the central feature of a momentous event (“Come join us for a pizza party to celebrate Jimmy’s 5th birthday!”).

In my quest for the perfect burger last year, I discovered that everyone in Burbank has a very strong opinion about where to find the best selection within the city limits. I wonder if the same holds true for pizza.

In the coming weeks, I will test every pizza in Burbank that isn’t sold by a national chain restaurant. I may break that rule just once to enjoy the skee-ball at Chuck E. Cheese.

As I learned in my previous food journeys through the city, what starts as a deceptively simple proposition takes some sharp turns rather quickly. The definition of pizza holds loosely to the tenets of dough, sauce and cheese in 2014.

Sometimes I just want a rebellious white pizza, which teeters dangerously close to the line between pizza and garlic bread.

Is there a more perfect food than pizza? You’ve got your carbs for energy, your Vitamin C-laden sauce (which also fights scurvy) and your calcium-rich mozzarella, which helps build strong bones and teeth.

I don’t remember the first time I was introduced to one of the world’s most perfect foods, but I recall having pizza often on Friday nights paired with wings and bleu cheese. This was Buffalo, after all, where wings are required eating.

We’d huddle around the wheel of pepperoni and spicy sauce, two working parents and two kids who couldn’t wait to pick off the charred pepperoni slices before the first slice was scooped out of the cardboard box. Any cheese left behind was fair game, often leading to a slap fight between me and my sister.

In college, the pizza order became a biweekly ritual, settling itself into dorm life as a habit like brushing one’s teeth or combing one’s hair.

In Burbank, there is no shortage of selection. I, so far, count at least 12 separate places that I’ve been told to try. I want to hear your suggestions also — your favorite pizza joints, your reasons why and your tips on what toppings to try. Email me at 818newguy@gmail.com or call (818) 358-2941 and give me some direction on where to go.

I’ve learned Burbank has something for everyone’s tastes. If you’re into the dough-rich signature pie of Chicago, there’s Taste Chicago at Verdugo Avenue and Hollywood Way. The North End Pizzeria on Orange Grove Avenue in downtown Burbank offers a little taste of Boston. And Central Park Pizza in the Batcade on Victory Boulevard offers a New York-style thin crust that must be folded lengthwise before stuffing into your mouth.

Did I say glutton for punishment before? Maybe I’m just a glutton for melted cheese, crispy dough and slightly greasy sausage. It’s time to find the best.
--

BRYAN MAHONEY is a recent transplant from the East Coast. He can be reached at 818NewGuy@gmail.com and on Twitter: @818NewGuy.