Blaze Pizza

I met my friend @wibia the other day for a quick bite downtown. He had wanted to try this new Blaze Pizza place (what is it about men and pizza?) and I liked the idea of a quick-fired thin crust pizza (thin crust is usually my favorite).

So you walk in and this place is sort of a taqueria-style (or Subway-style I guess)—you wait in line and either order one of their specialty pizzas or you can build your own. They press the (handmade) dough in front of you constantly and then pass it down the assembly line. At the end they throw it in a hot oven for like 3 minutes, cut it and serve it. It only takes 4-5 minutes from ordering to getting your pie.

I went with one of their combinations—the “veg out.” This was mozzarella, Gorgonzola, zucchini, mushrooms, red onions and dollops on red sauce. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the zucchini knowing that sometimes pieces of zucchini can make a pizza soggy because they contain so much water. But they had this all figured out—the zucchini was diced and pre-seasoned and cooked so that it wouldn’t leach water and make a soggy crust. I enjoyed it—and I liked the smaller bites of the zucchini. I also like that since you are walking through the pizza assembly line, you can easily customize a little as you go if you see something you want. For instance, I saw olives and wanted some, so I had them do the zucchini on only half and black olives on the other half. No problem.

Overall, for the $7 pizza cost, I thought it was pretty good and a pretty good deal. The crust was pretty crisp (the way I like it) but still soft enough to fold in half. I really enjoyed the kick from the Gorgonzola on mine. They know just how many toppings to put on the pizza so as to not overwhelm the crust. One thing I would change next time is I would not get the dollops of sauce—those bites were just too saucy. I would just go with the even sauce on the pizza. They also offer a spicy marinara and a white sauce. I might try the spicy one just to maybe zip it up a little.

I didn’t try @wibia’s pizza—he designed his own with sausage, olives and pepperonicini. He seemed to genuinely enjoy it though and agreed it was a good deal.

In a strip mall that is full of chain restaurants (of which Blaze is one) near IU downtown, I can see how this might be a choice above some of the others (except maybe City BBQ, I love that place). They are offering a freshly made product and the ingredients seem pretty decent. It’s fast and it’s cheap for a fair amount of food.

What do you guys think? Have you been there?

Blaze Pizza

913 Indiana Avenue

Indy  46204

317/624-1500

www.blazepizza.com