Tonight BoomBozz Taphouse had its first-ever Next Famous Creation Pizza Maker Bake-Off. Out of over 400 customer-submitted recipes, 10 were chosen by staff and customers and the final five presented to a panel consisting of Steve Coomes, Jo Self, Dana McMahan, me and Tony Palombino, BoomBozz himself.
We five judges assessed the selections based on visual appeal, taste, creativity and name.
The first pizza was the cutesy-named Chickie-Piggy Boom Boom. As you'd expect, it had chicken and bacon, along with prosciutto, banana peppers, artichoke hearts and pineapple. Unfortunately, the prosciutto blew away the other flavors. For a ham that isn't cooked, it sure took over the rest of the otherwise strong ingredients. Perhaps I would have liked it better had it been called Chickie-Piggy BoomBozz. Well, maybe not; I wasn't the only one cringing at the name.
The Stash Bash IV was my favorite. The sauce was a chipotle red, with two kinds of cheese, sausage, chicken, steak, bacon, Roma tomatoes and fresh basil. This was a meat lover's pizza without the heft and with all the zing. However, I couldn't help but wonder about Stash Bash I, II and III.
Hipsters, Highland or otherwise, don't like being called hipsters, as that term in 2010 calls to mind a sort of vapid, I-follow-the-herd-but-really-don't-want-to vibe. Unfortunately, although the otherwise creatively designed Highland Hipster brought the goods (garlic cream sauce, Asiago and Fontina cheeses, red onions, Roma tomatoes, artichokes, spinach, red peppers and that prosciutto again), the effect was, well, forgettable. Beyond the first bite the combined effort sort of fell flat (a sentiment echoed by at least one other judge). Still, had it been chosen, I'm sure it would have become quite popular to order because it's, you know, ironic.
Dinner took on a classical flavor with the Michelangelo, which was a rather pretty pizza with shades of black and green from five different cheeses, a tomato basil sauce, fresh basil, portobello mushrooms, peppers, Italian sausage and black olives. It was pretty straightforward but turned out to be a pretty safe crowd pleaser. Not all classics are boring; that's why people keep coming back to them.
The final selection, Hot & Sweet, was a pleasant surprise. The classic red sauce, mozzarella, Asiago, Romano, Italian sausage and fresh garlic got a curveball with the introduction of jalapenos and pineapple. I usually don't like pineapple on my pizza, but somehow it worked, and worked very well.
Manager Michael Beckmann said that there were 'a lot of incredible combinations,' but in the end Michelangelo won out. Creator Tabor Youngs enthusiastically accepted a trophy, a $100 gift card and the pleasure of having her concoction produced as the first-ever Pizza of the Month for the Taphouse location, starting in November. Caroline Knop, who handles p.r. for BoomBozz, said that this likely will be a yearly event, but nothing is set in stone right now.
