09 July 2010

Clear Lake Feedbag: Mano's Pizza

Man, nothing makes me feel like more of a snob than going out for pizza with non-foody friends. (Not that I'm all that comfortable applying the "foody" label to myself. Maybe I need to get over it, already.)

I'm not sure if Anthony Bourdain coined the term "utility pizza", but I first encountered it coming out his mouth, and I love it. Sometimes you don't need fancy, artisanal pizza from a wood-fired oven; there's something to be said for the pleasures of a greasy slab of cheap pizza. But seriously, I would much rather eat fancy, artisanal pizza from a wood-fired oven, topped with quality ingredients.

Mano's is pretty middle of the road, as far as utility pizza goes: medium-thick crust, nicely crisp, a little over-loaded with low-ish quality toppings. While my friends were making yummy noises, I was noting the canned mushrooms and bargain-basement-quality cured meats. I had a piece of ham and pineapple, and the pineapple was also canned, but I'm not crazy enough to expect fresh pineapple on utility pizza. Give me some credit.

I've said more than once that the difference between fresh pineapple and canned pineapple is so pronounced, they're practically different foods. And really, so is the difference between utility pizza and (forgive the snobbery) real pizza. It's impossible to not note the difference. Mano's delivers a decent slice of utility pizza, which is what it aspires to.

The Wasagming Mano's location is pickup/delivery only, but they do have a few picnic tables parked out front, which did the job nicely on a sunny afternoon.


Price tag: Around $30 for a large loaded pizza.

Website: Nope.

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