Humble Pie – Review
- Posted by Pizza Locust on November 1st, 2009 filed in Arizona, Phoenix, Pizza, Reviews
- 3 Comments »
I currently have about 6 pizza places on my “A” list of places to review. It’s grouped by part of town and whether I think it would be appropriate to take the kids along with me for a meal. We decided to go out, sans the kids, on Sunday night, and we’d planned to stay close to home (central Phoenix.) The problem was, our first two choices were closed on Sundays. (Closed on Sundays? What is this, the middle ages?)
We ended up ranging farther afield until we got to Humble Pie near the Desert Ridge Marketplace and we got there at a brilliant time. There were about 9 customers (not counting the three women getting drunk at the bar) and they all had their food, or were just receiving it as we arrived.
We were given a great seat that allowed me to see all the activity in the food prep and cooking area and its centerpiece: a large, wood-fired brick oven.
The timing was brilliant because we got to watch our pizzas being made, end to end, without the pizzaiolo being interrupted by having to make any other pizzas, and our pizzas had exclusive use of the oven. I watched as they put our pizzas in within seconds and as they moved them around and swapped them in and out of various strategic points to cook them evenly, and I saw them pulled out within seconds of each other – in the same order they went in. In other words, not only was each pizza in the oven the same length of time, it seemed that care was taken to make sure each pizza spent the same amount of time in each spot in the oven. A recipe for consistency you might say? We’ll come back to that.
My wife had the shrimp pizza and I had a pepperoni pizza. They only serve one size, 11 to 12 inches, and they don’t do substitutions – although you can add toppings. I’ve always thought that rather odd, if you can add toppings, surely you can order a cheese (or margherita in the classier places) and build what you like. Not so at Humble Pie. The list of toppings doesn’t include some of the toppings found on their specialty pizzas, like shrimp or clams. Not that that is a problem for me, but my wife, being from Taiwan, likes seafood on her pizza, and that’s not so easy to get. I think she would have liked to have shrimp and clams on her pizza, but that wasn’t an option.
My pizza was loaded with pepperoni and looked well done. I was eagerly anticipating the first bite, but, it was a bit of a letdown. EHRTe’s really only one word to describe this pizza: mild. The flavors of the crust, the sauce, the cheese and the pepperoni were all mild. Not Bad, but quite mild.
My wife’s pizza was a white pizza, with an herb oil instead of sauce. Without prompting, she mentioned that the shrimp was very fresh tasting, that the herb oil was delicious, but that the cheese and the crust were mild.
I prefer my pizza bursting with flavor, but I can appreciate a more subtle pizza from time to time, so that wouldn’t stop me from recommending it.
There was, however, one noticeable thing. My crust was just a little too charred on the bottom, yet my wife’s crust was not at all charred. How was that possible? They seemed so careful when cooking them. It’s a mystery that has me wondering just how much of the so-called superiority of wood-fired oven has to do with the skill of the pizzaiolo alone.
I’d certainly return to Humble Pie on another day and so I shall recommend them, but I was hoping for a lot more flavor.
12″ Pepperoni pizza = 10.95 or $0.10 (0.096) / Sq. Inch
21050 N. Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85050
(480) 502-2121
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:08 am
I’ve noticed the same charring issues at both Humble Pie locations. One crust will be perfect and the other will be downright burnt in spots.
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:23 am
Interesting observation about kids. When Humble Pie first opened (Scottsdale location — never been to Desert Ridge), the restaurant took the “adult pizzeria” moniker seriously and did not stock high chairs or otherwise encourage family dining. That alienated me — not because I think that every restaurant needs to welcome kids, but because the “adults only” image seemed rather pretentious for a casual restaurant like Humble Pie.
I must not have been the only one who felt that way because a year later we gave Humble Pie a second chance and were pleased to find high chairs and a kid’s menu. Not only that, but the food was better the second time around. I’m now much more pleased with Humble Pie, although the far-flung (for me) locations keep me from being a regular. Humble Pie in Central Phoenix? I’d put that on heavy rotation.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:12 am
I did rather leave that thought dangling, didn’t I?
I don’t think it is unreasonable to look at a restaurant with the words “wine bar” in their name and make a certain amount of assumptions about the kid-friendliness of a place.
It smacks of a certain adult sophistication/pretentiousness that a place called “pizza and beer” might not.
After eating there, I wouldn’t avoid the place just because I had my kids with me, but I might think twice on a Friday or Saturday evening.
There was a family with two children, probably around age 6 or 7 and it wasn’t in any way awkward. Having two kids myself, I might be slightly inured to it.