where is the healthiest/freshest pizza on 30a
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pizza bake-off? Now you are on to something. That could be a festival, like BBQ competitions. Fat Clemenza's even has a portable brick oven that they use for catering.
Someone asked why no one mentioned Angelina's. There are actually several pizza places which don't get much mention from locals. Angelina's tends to get very good reviews from tourists. Since we cannot eat pizza for 21 meals a week, we tend to frequent the places we like best. For me, that is narrowed down to about four places, even though there are at least twice as many places that serve pizza.
Somewhere on SoWal.com, there is a thread to vote for your favorite pizza. It may be time to do another, since restaurant reviews are time sensitive.
Going back to the original post, "healthy" and "pizza" (real pizza) are mutually exclusive. Sure, you can create something similar to pizza and make it more healthy, but it's not "real" pizza. From what I understand, it is the dough which probably the worst, health wise. Cheese probably comes a close second, followed by the fatty toppings like pepperoni and sausage.
For the crust, some places are offering whole wheat, but I'm not sure if it is 100% whole wheat, but you can ask. (I like to bake bread, and find that 100% whole wheat doesn't rise as well, and therefore isn't as good. To get a little healthier, I will mix 50/50 whole wheat and all purpose flour and that rises and bakes well.) Another thing you can do is look for thinner crusts on your pizza. Probably the thinnest crust around is found at Pickle Factory. Fat Clemenza's, Pizza Bar, and Amore also have fairly thin pizza crusts. Pizza by the Sea would be right behind them (I think Pizza by the Sea has the best tasting crust around.)
One good thing about pizza is that mozzarella cheese is made from skim milk, so it is less fat than most other cheeses, but that doesn't mean you should add more cheese. You can ask to go light on the cheese when ordering at most places. Sticking to the veggie pizzas will also keep it healthier. I love pepperoni pizza, but it is hard to beat a good margarita pizza -- just sauce, cheese, and fresh basil.
Greasy? I cannot speak for all the pizza places in South Walton, but the ones where I prefer to eat are not greasy. Avoid the greasy meats and you shouldn't have a problem at the favorite places here.
Regarding "fresh" pizza, most of the popular places serve freshly baked pizza. Some even use very fresh ingredients. Some of the places offering pizza by the slice for lunch will not be as fresh since they know you cannot wait for a pizza to cook on your lunch break. They will precook some pizza, then add toppings and reheat.
Someone asked why no one mentioned Angelina's. There are actually several pizza places which don't get much mention from locals. Angelina's tends to get very good reviews from tourists. Since we cannot eat pizza for 21 meals a week, we tend to frequent the places we like best. For me, that is narrowed down to about four places, even though there are at least twice as many places that serve pizza.
Somewhere on SoWal.com, there is a thread to vote for your favorite pizza. It may be time to do another, since restaurant reviews are time sensitive.
Going back to the original post, "healthy" and "pizza" (real pizza) are mutually exclusive. Sure, you can create something similar to pizza and make it more healthy, but it's not "real" pizza. From what I understand, it is the dough which probably the worst, health wise. Cheese probably comes a close second, followed by the fatty toppings like pepperoni and sausage.
For the crust, some places are offering whole wheat, but I'm not sure if it is 100% whole wheat, but you can ask. (I like to bake bread, and find that 100% whole wheat doesn't rise as well, and therefore isn't as good. To get a little healthier, I will mix 50/50 whole wheat and all purpose flour and that rises and bakes well.) Another thing you can do is look for thinner crusts on your pizza. Probably the thinnest crust around is found at Pickle Factory. Fat Clemenza's, Pizza Bar, and Amore also have fairly thin pizza crusts. Pizza by the Sea would be right behind them (I think Pizza by the Sea has the best tasting crust around.)
One good thing about pizza is that mozzarella cheese is made from skim milk, so it is less fat than most other cheeses, but that doesn't mean you should add more cheese. You can ask to go light on the cheese when ordering at most places. Sticking to the veggie pizzas will also keep it healthier. I love pepperoni pizza, but it is hard to beat a good margarita pizza -- just sauce, cheese, and fresh basil.
Greasy? I cannot speak for all the pizza places in South Walton, but the ones where I prefer to eat are not greasy. Avoid the greasy meats and you shouldn't have a problem at the favorite places here.
Regarding "fresh" pizza, most of the popular places serve freshly baked pizza. Some even use very fresh ingredients. Some of the places offering pizza by the slice for lunch will not be as fresh since they know you cannot wait for a pizza to cook on your lunch break. They will precook some pizza, then add toppings and reheat.
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OK, gotta add my two cents worth. If we are really craving a good pizza, we like to take a drive down old scenic hwy 98 - just past the Whales Tale about a half mile to Theos Pizza Pub. This is one of those places off the beaten path that you don't want to miss. The pizza is great, the service is good & they have live music on the weekends. The walls are lined with old LP Album Covers & the ambience is laid back. A good mix of locals and tourists alike. We order "The Thing" at Theo's (has everything on it). It is a beautiful pizza loaded with lots of zesty sauce, beef, pork, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, canadian bacon, mushrooms, onions, pineapple, tomatoe chunks, banana peppers, bell peppers, and jalapenos & cheese. Their crust is a very thin & crispy crust - just the way we like ours.
Ciao Bella (west Destin-Outlet Mall-Bluewater) does use full fat mozzarella if you find yourself there. When we order from them, we always ask for light cheese and extra sauce and that seems to work better for us than their standard ratios.
Real italian pizza is healthy. Very thin crust, little if any cheese, lots of veggies/greens, a small amount of sauce, and everything fresh and w/o chemicals.
The more the pizza varies from real italian pizza, the worse it is for you.
I haven't had it...but I hear the pizza at Wild Olive in Rosemary is killer! I had a delicious "slice" of pizza from Pizza by the Sea last week, it was the white veggie (or something like that) & it was to die for! Huge, too! Loved the Pickle Factory & Pizza Bar, too. Haven't been to Amore since they change owners..but it was always good before. I just love pizza!
Just had to chime in on the Pickle Factory....we really enjoyed a night there last week. Tried three different pizzas with our group---each delicious. Atmosphere, and people were incredible. One of the highlights of our trip....we will be back.
On another note...everyone else in the family wanted to hit angelinas again....reluctantly, i went as i did not enjoy other dinners there...this one was the worst. We were served two pizzas burned on the bottom and a calzone that was so burned on the bottom it was not edible on the bottom...(Angelinas trip was before the Pickle Factory) So, if we want pizza we will be headed back to Pickle Factory...
When there, ask about how they got their name...neat people.
On another note...everyone else in the family wanted to hit angelinas again....reluctantly, i went as i did not enjoy other dinners there...this one was the worst. We were served two pizzas burned on the bottom and a calzone that was so burned on the bottom it was not edible on the bottom...(Angelinas trip was before the Pickle Factory) So, if we want pizza we will be headed back to Pickle Factory...
When there, ask about how they got their name...neat people.
By fire if that helps....can't remember where, but that is where we were headed when they were closed so we walked across the parking lot to the pickle factory.
I'm there (Pickle Factory) right now. Yum. It's a few blocks north of 30a just west of 283 in Grayton. Next to Grayton Beach Fitness on the way to Fire. Address is 38 Clayton Lane.