Portland, Oregon: THE tour.

I don't know how I found it, or what I was looking for, but MONTHS prior to the trip I ran into this tour. For the price of a fancy dinner for two, it advertised a tour in the Pearl District of Portland, for nearly FOUR HOURS, with samples throughout.

I thought "Well, shoot - sign me up!" And then I did just that.

I was like a kid waiting to go to Disney for this tour. I couldn't fathom anything better that touring around the famed Pearl District sampling foods from the best establishments. That's, like, a foodie paradise.

At the beginning of the tour, our tour guide (Natalie) gave us two pieces of information. The tour was to center around the acronym "FLOSS." That would be fresh, local, organic, seasonable, sustainable. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that this satisfied me immensely. Secondly, Natalie asked us to take our time and enjoy the foods that we were about to try. Throughout the tour, she was great about asking us to pick out flavors and tastes. We sampled with purpose, which was wonderful.

The first stop really made me excited for the rest of the tour. We went here:
Then we had this:
Simple tomato soup, right? WRONG!

It's tomato soup with a strong thread of citrus. weird? NO. Delectable. Now, the cook at the deli assured me that the recipe was online. I cannot find it, but I'm assuming it's not that outlandish. I already have a pretty good tomato soup recipe, so I will just look around to see how I might alter it. Also at the deli was this great-looking mozzarella and tomato sandwich. We didn't have time to return and sample it.

The next set of pictures were taken at the Pearl Street Bakery. Which is, quite possibly, my new favorite place.
The sign here is really cool because "Pearl" is filled in with Mother-of-Pearl. A very pretty, simply done, sign. Inside the bakery is equally as simple. Very open and airy, and full of many things to try. We actually got to head into the back to see and sample what the bakery has to offer.
While everyone else was patiently listening to Natalie, I found myself really focused on the bakers. I enjoyed watching them pound and knead at light speed. What I found interesting was that all the men were pretty burly, stocky, and strong. I guess that's what bread making can do for you - who needs a workout regimine?

I can't tell you exactly what we tried - but it was all very good. The first bread was some sort of baguette, and then we sampled sourdough. The bread, was excellent, but French bread. The sourdough was notable as it wasn't the well-known San Francisco variety. It was more subtle and (in my opinion) edible. We sampled croissants, and I dare say that I now know what a true French croissant tastes like. Us Americans and our silly little grocery store bakers are totally missing the boat. It was very flaky, crispy on the outside, and light on the inside. The differences in textures made my mouth happy. Finally we sampled some sweet pastries, one being some sort of chocolate cake that crumbled and melted all at the same time. However the real find, the find that actually took us back to the bakery after the tour, was Le Gibassier. It's classified as a pastry - but not in the croissant or danish sense. It's sort of like a scone, but not as dry. It's sweet but not overly so. It really was it's own animal. The finishing touch was this dusting of sugar that left you licking your fingers at the end. It was heavenly. The saddest part is that it is 3000 miles away. I suppose that is a newfound challenge!

The other notable thing that I learned at the Pearl was about olive oil. The shade of the oil was quite green, and as I learned, that meant the olives were very fresh upon pressing. This was wonderful oil - slightly sweet and very flavorful. I now truly understand why all olive oils are not created equal.
We also stopped at a tea place called the Tea Zone. Neat little place with great ambiance. From what I understand, there is a happening nightlife there with live music. I learned a lot here - mostly about the importance of buying high quality tea. I like tea, and I always thought I was British in the approach - adding sweetener and cream. I recently read that the health benefits are greatly diminished when adding cream. Feeling dejected, I stopped adding cream, but continued with the honey. When I came to the Tea Zone, I drank high quality tea and found something amazing - you do not need sweetener, nor is cream required. In fact, those would mask the deep flavors in the tea, and therefore are undesirable. I highly recommend the Dragon Pearl Jasmine and Organic Wuyi Oolong. Along with the Pearl Bakery, this was the other after-tour revisit. I'll be keeping these teas in-stock as we run out.
The last thing that I have pictures of was from Hot Lips Pizza. The pizza was good, although to be honest I like "my" crust better. BUT, they do have interesting combinations easily re-created at home. Look at their online menu for ideas. I love how they use local ingredients, have a seasonable menu, use an electric car for deliveries, and make their own sodas. Very cool, and worth a visit when in town.

Also on the tour (but alas, no pictures):

Bridgeport Brewery: The highlight was when they explained all their operations, and then showed the single, small dumpster that they empty just twice a week. This brewery recycles and reuses EVERYTHING.

Via Delizia: Gelato. We sampled rum, something tropical, and smores, I think. Good, but it was just gelato. I'm not a huge ice cream or gelato fan, really. If you are one, the flavors here were pretty intense, and the ambiance is very cool.

In Good Taste: Sampled wine, mustards, and cooking utensils (will discuss more of this later). Awesome cooking classes available.

Paley Bar: We sampled these along the way somewhere, and they were very good. I'm getting some for my husband to keep in his desk. My son loved the Peanut Butter flavor!

I feel like I'm missing a place or two, I should have written the places down as we went. Whatever the case, this tour was well worth the money and very enjoyable. The best part is that they just started an afternoon tour that is (nearly) completely different. This means that on our next trip out to Portland, we will be trying the afternoon version. See, we liked it so well that we are doing it again.

As far as I am concerned, even if I didn't have roots in Portland, this tour, Mother's, and the entire Pearl District are reasons enough to visit the area.

Portland, Oregon: Restaurant Review

First of all - you must appreciate that I had two little kids in tow most of our time in Portland. So, the whole restaurant thing was a bit difficult (to say the least). Consequently, we only made it to three places where I actually had the forethought to photograph and think about the food I was eating. We stopped at many, MANY more...and I'll briefly touch on them at the end. I just wanted to give you the three "biggies" first.

Secondly, unless you are a food blogger yourself, or one of those people who takes pictures of all your meals, you would be surprised at the discussion a camera creates. None of it bad - and I got to plug the blog a couple of times (hello to the people I met in Mother's and the Heathman!) Still, it was a discussion, and it completely amused me. I think the crazy girl taking amateur photos on my Kodak probably created more amusement. It did make me a little gun shy later in the trip. Bloggers don't like undue amounts of non-Internet attention.

Months ago, I booked a Portland walking tour (the details of which will come in the next post) for Friday July 18th. I was ridiculously excited for this tour - and much of the rest of our trip centered around it. We decided to spend Thursday night with friends in East Portland to be closer to the tour, and took the MAX train from the suburbs to their house. We stopped in downtown to grab breakfast at this absolutely FABULOUS restaurant called Mother's Bar and Bistro. I actually found this on a website called foodbuzz.com, which is linked on the side (more to come on them later). After I had decided that we needed to try this place, I found out it was voted one of the best breakfast places in Portland. I was almost as excited about this restaurant as I was the tour.

Now, I'm not sure if anybody else does this - but when I go to a restaurant I try to get dishes that I would have difficulty re-creating at home. Either I don't have an experience with the technique or the ingredients - but it's not something near my repertoire. When we got to Mother's I found two: French toast with a cornflake crust and Wild Salmon hash. I should say that I found many more, but we settled on two.

I will be frank, I am difficult to impress. I am a good cook and can make many different types of foods. We don't eat out often because I don't need to - I can make most things at home.

I was impressed. Very impressed. So impressed, that we tried to make plans to return before the end of our trip. The one disappointment was that we could not.

Without a doubt, this was the best French Toast I have ever had. The crust was sweetly crunchy. It wasn't just corn flakes, it was cornflake batter that was lightly sweetened and cooked in (I don't even want to know how much) butter. I cut and dipped it into the syrup, as pouring would have ruined the balance. I could more accurately apply just the right amount of syrup to each bite to really make everything "pop." Heaven. Pure Heaven. The Wild Salmon Hash was simple, wholesome, and also amazing. It basically consisted of leeks, potatoes, and salmon all cooked in some very basic light cream sauce. The spices were predominantly salt and pepper, adding to the simple nature. However, there was "something" that I couldn't put my finger on. The dish was served with poached eggs and toast.

Now, you should notice that the portions are small. Rest assured, both plates were mine. You see, the waitress picked up on me looking at my husband and asking what "we" were going to get. She offered to split the portions for us. We each got our own wonderfully presented half breakfasts. All this, with a French Press of fresh coffee, preserves, and service (the chef was ACTUALLY seating people), and ambiance..for around $30.

Mother's is worth your own trip to Portland. Seriously. Get a hotel nearby, and just plan on eating meals there at least once a day.

"Impressed" really doesn't cover it.

The next day, we went into Portland for the tour and decided we needed to grab a light breakfast. We found our way to the Heathman, where the tour began. It was alright, but nothing spectacular. I got the lox plate, which is about what you would expect. My husband got French toast again....and...about what you would expect. There's better in Portland.
And finally, a restaurant review of the Portland area wouldn't be complete without a visit to McMenamins. We stopped in at the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove and visited their Yardhouse Pub. There is a restaurant on the inside, but we opted for someplace the kids could run.

The vegetarian options were limited. They do have a garden burger in house, and I'm sure you could substitute it for any number of meat burgers on the menu. They have lots of pizzas and calzones, as well as salads and pastas. We settled on the Smoked Veggie Wrap and Mediterranean Vegetable Calzone.
The wrap was okay. Nothing to write home about, and nothing to visit specifically for. The sauce was very watery and the wrap fell apart. I would have preferred the vegetables to be served over rice or couscous. The sauce was an average salty/garlic/watery sauce. Something I could have whipped up pretty easily at home.
The calzone was pretty good. The highlight was likely the "pesto" sauce. It sort of reminded me of Gazpacho. It was like a heavily pureed salsa with Italian flavors. Served cold - I probably would have preferred a marinara with the calzone, but I liked the sauce for other uses. I'm thinking served with fresh bread on a hot summer day, or even the tortilla chips I made, but with Italian seasoning. The crust was also a bit thin, and I would have preferred a bit more dough protecting the calzone. Inside, the ingredients were good - Greek flavors like feta and kalamata olives are easy to overdo and these were well balanced.

A few other (non pictured) notes:

There is a coffee chain called BJ's that makes the BEST coffee. Don't let the website fool you - it's great coffee with bad web design. If you look down on the bottom of the screen, you can opt for the Hillsboro Promenade, Mollala, Sunset Esplanade, or Forest Grove stores. Definitely try their Mochas - as they use slightly different ingredients from Starbucks. I've been a long time customer.

If you only have a moment to grab a bite - skip the McDonald's and try Burgerville. Great burgers, shakes, and smoothies. Vegetarian options.

Costa Vida is a good "chain" Mexican restaurant for another quick bite option. I prefer Chipotle or Moe's. Baja Fresh is comparable, but this is trendier. If you have a few minutes, do yourself a favor and check out one of the multiple authentic Mexican restaurants.

We also ate at this sushi place in South East Portland. It was a TOTAL hole-in-the wall but had great sushi. I wish I could remember the name of this place - but the lesson was clear: Never judge a book by it's cover.

Portland, Oregon: Authentic Mexican Food and Farmer's Markets.

One of the best parts of being out in the Northwest is the food. I had forgotten how lucious and fresh everything in the Willamette Valley is. Cherries right off the tree, berries being sold on one roadside stand after the next. The Portland area truly is a celebration of freshness and taste.

Since not everyone can successfully run a garden, farmer's markets are an excellent resource to get fresh fruits and veggies. I read somewhere that the Portland area bosts 31 different farmers markets that run from the spring through the fall. These markets don't just have the fruits and vegetables, but breads, jams, crafts, meats, goodies, and more! Really, go hungry, sample whatever is available, and grab some lunch from a vendor. I promise you, there will be something delectable to try.

We attended two farmers markets while on our extended trip: Hillsboro and Forest Grove. I hear the Portland ones are fairly large, but these were close and easily accessible with two children. The Hillsboro market is in the morning - so we rousted the kids out of bed and took them into town. My main interest is in berries. I had forggotten how wonderful farm fresh berries truly are. Especially Marionberries, a hybrid local to the area. They're a wonderfully, sweet, juicy, large blackberry. Strawberries were on their way out, but I was able to find a pint of the last ones. We also found some raspberries, gooseberries, and currants.
Also notable at the Hillsboro market: the popcorn cart (wonderful, not too sweet, kettle corn), a local soap maker whose soaps looked so good that my daughter tried to take a bite, and a Mexican family whipping up breakfast burritos (more on that in a bit).

Later in the week, in the evening time, we headed over to the Forest Grove farmer's market. This market had a completely different vibe - celebratory and excited. More crafts, and more vegetables from "organic" vendors. There was not "certification" present, so the buyer beware, but in a small town like Forest Grove people would talk if you were spraying your "organic" garden.
Both markets were outstanding, and I am so glad we went. However, I think I liked the Forest Grove market better. Really, the Forest Grove market would have been perfect if that burrito making family had also been there. When we went to the Hillsboro market, there was a very long line in front of a food stand. If you are not local to an area, and want a good place to eat - watch the traffic around meal time. The sheer volume that this place was putting out really impressed my husband and I, and we just had to sample their menu. They made us the most wonderful egg, bean, and rice burrito. $4.00 for a meal that served both myself and my husband. The kids munched on popcorn and berries, while we all enjoyed a coffee treat. The kids had not-so-hot chocolate while I sipped on my latte.

I had forgotten what a significant part of the community is Mexican in descent. Immigration was sparked by local farms having work for interested families. Now, as those families are now in the second and third generations, they have become integrated into part of the Northwest culture. I never noticed it before, but Mexican food has become as "Oregon" as salmon and Tillamook ice cream.

After that burrito, the Mexican craving was still there. Nearing the end of our trip, we went to another local Mexican place and had lunch. This place wasn't nearly as good as the vendor stand - and MUCH more expensive (12 bucks for something 2/3 the size). It managed to fill our tummies, though. The guacamole was tangier than I am used to. They used a bit more lime juice than I would. It was tasty, but the lime totally overpowered the avocado.
This is a picture from the local restaurant, I didn't have my camera the day we went to the Hillsboro market.

Stay tuned...

Okay, I will admit. I am not taking my daily photos.

Bad foodie.

I am however, enjoying the culinary plethora that IS the Pacific Northwest. I've taken LOTS of pictures of much of my food time here. I forgot my camera for the Farmer's Market, but there is another one on Wednesday so we will try for that.

I have pictures of wild salmon, of which I've had cooked many different ways. There's been fresh berries, cherries picked straight from my parent's tree, a fabulous restaurant that I wish I could pack up and take home with me, an amazing tour that I can't wait to try in the evening, cooking classes that I am chomping at the bit to check out...I could go on and on....

What I don't have, is my USB cable to get the pictures onto the computer.

So.

You will have to wait.

What teachers do in the summer...

We go on vacation.

In a very short while, I will be headed to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. My home state of Oregon. I hail from the Portland area, and I'm so excited to be back.

I won't bore you with the details of my family, including extended that I haven't seen for some time. Or my beautiful niece, or my best friend of...gosh...12 years...and her beautiful family. Rest assured, those are some of the highlights of my trip.

What I will be sharing with you is the bounty available in the summer.

Picture it, Willamette Valley, Oregon, 1999 (whooo..Golden Girls flashback there):

It's a beautiful summer day. My Dad just whipped up a batch of sourdough pancakes, and we break out the bounty of fruit in the fridge. We slice peaches, top that with Marionberries, and some strawberries. Just a dash of sugar sprinkled on the top. That would be a typical Saturday morning breakfast in my home growing up. Of course, that was after a fantastic run at a local lake. For dinner, fresh, wild, Pacific Northwest salmon with a soy-ginger glaze. Probably some corn on the side.

Heaven for a foodie. Really, I never appreciated the freshness and quality of the food up there until I moved away. Don't even get me started on the plethora of outstanding restaurants, beautiful sites, and countless other Oregon specialties. Oh, and it is SO easy to be a vegetarian out there.

I could go on and on. But I won't.

What I will do is post a picture of the day. Now, I can't promise that there will be a new picture EVERY day...but, I will have an aggregate for the entire time that I am there. I'm so excited to share this beautiful country that so many miss out on.

I hope you're ready to see it.

Something new to do with mint.

Zucchini Mint Salad

(totally can't remember where I pulled this from).

1 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts
2 Ounces crumbly feta cheese
2 medium zucchini, sliced as thin as you can make it.
3 Tablespoons chopped mint leaves
Zest + juice from one lemon.

Mix together in a bowl.

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 side dishes or 2 light meals. 6 points in the whole thing. Divide accordingly.

WONDERFUL!

Now I'm full :)

Well, the tortillas didn't knock my socks off.

But the chips sure as heck did!

Take 3-4 tortillas. Using a pizza cutter, cut into wedges. Arrange on a cookie sheet, as best as you can, so they aren't overlapping (a little bit is okay).

Drizzle the tops with extra virgin olive oil.

Sprinkle seasonings. I used salt, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. I can see using a LOT of different sorts of spices. Curry powder? Thyme and Sage? Or my next trick - cinnamon and sugar. It all depends on how much flavor you want. Adjust the spices to your desire. This is one instance that dried spices work best.

Bake at 450 for anywhere from 3 - 7 minutes. STAND WATCH! Else you will be calling your alarm company like I did, making sure they didn't send a fire truck out. Those spices will SMOKE...so really be careful.

This is how I know how good this is: When I fed it to my husband, he stopped, looked in the kitchen, and said "that's really good." He's a man of few words when it comes to food, so when his words are those - I know I hit the jackpot.

Yummy...homemade tortillas AND chips. Whee!

One tortilla, two tortilla, three tortilla...

At my son's last birthday, I realized that his cake was the last that I intended on buying. I could not believe that it cost me $26 for some flour and sugar - and I vowed to make my own from then on. I have a book that I plan on using for decorating help. I might also take a cake decorating class if the nearby Michaels offers them.

I felt similarly when I started making my own pancakes. I couldn't believe that I - and many others like me - had been suckered into buying mixes. It was so easy, and so much better, to make my own!

Well, I had heard the raves about homemade tortillas. Little Mexican Grandmas have been doing it for eons, so why couldn't I? Surely, women in Mexico in the early 1900's - without any of the conveniences of today - were able to make the tortilla work. With my fully stocked kitchen I shouldn't have a problem. My only concern was calories and fat, so I went ahead and looked up a recipe for those that are reduced fat.

What I discovered was that tortillas are absurdly simple. You have some sort of fat (in my case, light, organic, vegan margarine), flour, salt, and a leavening agent (in my case, baking powder - although some called for soda). Fat free tortillas actually call for fat free mayo instead of fat. You mix the dry, cut in the fat, and then stir in HOT water until a dough forms. Divide up the dough, let sit for 15 minutes, roll out, and cook. Simple.

Except not. Well, the mixing was simple, the cooking was not.

First, as I said, you toss in the dry and stir together.

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups unbleached flour

Next, you must "cut in" the fat. Enter, pastry cutter. 4 Tblsp margarine or butterYou're basically looking to press the butter into the flour, over and over, turning the bowl, in order to make the dry ingredients look sort of crumbly. The "official" baking term is course cornmeal.

Next, add in the water until the dough is together and sticky.

1 1/4 cups water. Plop the dough onto a WELL FLOURED surface and knead for just a couple of minutes, until it's velvety and soft. Then the instructions say to "tear" the dough into 12 pieces. Yeah, right. I'd end up with 13 tortillas of all different shapes and sizes. I made a mound and got a knife. I cut in half, and shaped each half into a mound. Then I cut each mound in half again (now I have four halves). I then cut each half into thirds. That makes my yield of 12.

How's THAT for a math lesson.

Roll each piece into little balls and sprinkle with flour.

I just think this little dough ball picture is cool. Now comes the part that is going to take practice. You need to let the dough "rest" for 10-15 minutes. This is something consistent across all recipes. Just like you have to let bread rise, you must let the dough rest.

Then, one by one, you need to roll it out. Now, the outside of the tortilla gets sort of crispy/crusty. So, you don't want to roll it so thick that it won't "roll." You also don't want to make it so thin that it gets crunchy (think tortilla chips) too quickly. You want to find Baby Bear's bed - just right.

You also want the temperature pretty high - between 375 and 400. I had mine too low, which dried out the tortillas before I got the pretty golden spots I was going for. I cooked mine on a griddle, I am thinking a pan would have worked better. They have these fancy tortilla cookers, but we just don't eat them enough for me to invest in such a thing. You cook them just like you would a pancake

I got a "thought it was pretty good, it's a tortilla, I don't know what you expect," from the husband. So, passable to say the least. I know the dough is fine, so getting the cooking down will take me a few tries. This is true for many of these kinds of things - pizza took me a few tries too.

The beautiful thing about tortillas is you don't have to fill them with Mexican food. I filled the husband's tortilla with chickpeas and couscous (leftover) seasoned with curry powder. Again, passable. I love the idea that if the mood for wraps, or fajitas, or burritos hits - I don't have to give up just because I don't have tortillas. I almost always have the ingredients around, so it's just a matter of making them.

As an aside, I made my French bread recipe into a loaf bread. It worked pretty well, and made the best PBJs. In my original recipe, I divided the dough in half to get two loaves. In the bread pan, the whole thing went into one (I've got jumbo sized pans for sandwiches). Nice big pieces, with spongy crevices where the peanut butter and honey soaked into. The slices were too thick for the kids - I need a better bread knife. Also, I think I need to half again the recipe and put half of THAT batch in each loaf pan (so, we're looking at 2/3 and 2/3 in each of the pans). I will try that after my knew bread knife shows up. And post with a simple conversion if that works out better. I have a couple of other bread recipes to try too.

Happy tortilla making!

Hey...it makes up 70% of the Earth.

And it makes your body work, so why not drink more of it?

Because it's BORING, that's why.

I like FLAVOR. TASTE. ZING. PASSION ON MY TASTEBUDS.

While nothing beats water when "glistening" and working hard, to drink it otherwise just doesn't pass the muster. The problem is that everything else (a) has calories and (b) isn't as good for you. I won't do the diet soda business. There's only so much caffeine a sane person can handle. So, what to do?

Flavor your water!

I had some mint left over, so I tore up a couple of leaves and tossed them into my Klean Kanteen. Then I added ice and water, as usual, and let it sit.

FLAVOR. TASTE. ZING. PASSION ON MY TASTEBUDS.

Not a mint fan, or don't have the herb? Cucumbers, lemon, lime, berries, and rosemary are all good options. Think a very light tea, and that's the intensity of the flavor. Not overpowering, but still tasty.

I'd been putting cucumbers and lemons in my water for a while. I'd never thought of mint. For the life of me, I cannot remember where I got that idea - but it WORKS.

In other kitchen news, I finally got my LARGE LOAF PANS. YAY! I'm going to try that 15 minute bread recipe in those to see if I can get some sandwich bread. That is a completely sustainable bread recipe that I can use even when I am working. I'm sort of focused on the bread as a new blog I've picked up recently wrote an article about it. I have a renewed interest in my bread quest of old.

I also have some low fat tortillas on the horizon. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not. It'll be a surprise. Heh.

A little vacation...

June 30th. Have I really been away so long? I apologize!

In celebration of the holiday, I took a little break. I was feeling sort of "blah" - uninspired if you will. The joy of cooking is so much less when mixed with the joy of weight loss. I have to re-focus my efforts into low calorie, low fat, high flavor, foods. It's taking me a moment to re-center myself, but I do think I'm onto something.

I am enjoying the process of creating homemade salad dressings. My most recent attempt was a ginger-citrus that was "eh." However, I like the intensity of flavor in homemade dressings. I think I will start experimenting with ingredients in this arena.

The most recent healthy endeavor was re-creating my pizza recipe. I made a pizza that was roughly 7 points, or around 350 calories. It was filling, tasty, and wonderful! Made with wholesome bread flour, vegetables, and fresh mozzarella. When I say roughly - that means it ACTUALLY adds up to 6 (4 for the crust, 2 for the cheese, 0 for the veggies and sauce). However, for the small variances I added a point - just to be safe!

All I did was omit the oil (completely) in the crust. After I kneaded as directed, I placed the dough in the bowl and sprayed oil over the top . I let it rest, and then divided the pizzas into 8 servings (instead of 4). I carefully spread out each ball into a disk, and then I let it rise for around another 30 minutes before I put them on the grill. Confident of my pizza skills, I cooked four at a time. For my pizza, I sprinkled some diced tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and exactly one ounce of FRESH mozzarella cheese. I sliced this very thin so I could disperse it around the pizza quite carefully and evenly.

If you are wondering about how it turned out - my husband reported that it was the best pizza ever. Better than any I had ever made before. Apparently the oil and extra fats were not as necessary as I had thought.

SO, if you're watching your caloric intake - and want to try some excellent pizza, this is a good option.