But, necessity is the mother of invention (and pizza is a necessity!).  In the past few months I’ve started noticing Naan bread in supermarkets – with the bread or fresh bakery items.  Naan bread, if you haven’t tried it, is a type of soft flatbread eaten in India and other countries – it’s available at most Indian restaurants and it’s delicious.  My husband and I started snatching it up and eating it as, well, bread.  As we continued to buy it, it occurred to me to vary its usage.

I started making Naan bread pizzas and my pizza-making dilemmas were solved.  Naan bread works perfectly as a pizza crust, albeit a non-traditional one!  The size we buy is perfect for a personal pizza, and there are usually 2-4 per package.  I’ve since made several with all manner of ingredients.  I started with the traditional red-sauce, cheese, and veggie combos but soon began to experiment.  One of our favorites included an egg on the top of the pizza (this may sound strange, but it’s fairly common in Italy) – the egg bakes to a lovely consistency in the oven, and the soft yolk is wonderful with the crust.  I used a whole wheat Naan bread, drizzled on olive oil,  a little chopped garlic and my other toppings.  Then, you crack the egg right onto the pizza and bake it at 375 degrees until the egg whites are just cooked through (roughly 10 minutes).

Another favorite non-traditional pizza topping is potatoes, also more common in Italy.  Add slices or chunks of roasted, baked, or boiled potatoes on top of your pizza (a great use of leftover potatoes).  I added mine to an olive oil and ricotta base and threw some leftover peas on top for color and extra veggies (I figured if I was going to be non-traditional – I might as well go all out!)  I seasoned with kosher salt, parsley, and oregano.  It was unusual, but delicious.  Next time you’re craving home-made pizza, give the naan-traditional kind a try!

Then, there were many sad, lonely years where Papa was not within a reasonable distance from home.  My husband grew weary of hearing about the Legend of Papa’s.  He claimed to have tried them and not liked them, but I told him that this was impossible (I’m stubborn like that).  Finally, a local branch opened, and we ordered take-out.  It was like introducing him to a long-lost friend, and it was really important to me that they get along.  To my relief, they did – we all did.  Now Papa is a regular guest in our house.  My husband particularly loves the breadsticks, which are great – they are nothing like the limp, fatty breadsticks of rival chain pizza places.  Papa’s isn’t lazy…they don’t take a bare pizza crust, butter it, and bake it.  This dough was born to be in breadsticks – they are thick and they actually taste like good bread, with no butter or fakey herb toppings.  Even better, there are myriad dipping sauces to choose from – ranging from the healthy (pizza tomato sauce) to the artery-clogging (cheese or garlic) - though dipping sauces beyond one token pizza sauce come at an additional cost.  I should mention that Papa John’s also offers flavored breadsticks, but I’m a purist – I like good, basic, doughy bread.

The pizza is nothing to sneeze at, either.  I am shocked and dismayed when people claim that other pizza chains like Domino’s, Pizza Hut, or Papa Gino’s (wrong Papa!) are better – I don’t think that they come close.  Papa’s is generous with the toppings, they taste relatively fresh for having come from a chain/delivery place, the toppings are proportionate to each other (i.e. it’s not all sauce, no cheese) and the crust is almost as delicous as the breadsticks – and equally great with the dipping sauces.  More importantly, Papa’s is consistent – I don’t worry when we order that it will be an “off night” like I do with other pizza places.

At about $18 for an order of breadsticks and a large pizza (together, enough to feed about 4 people) the price is reasonable.

On the down side – I guess there’s always a down side – but it’s relatively minor…there are no gourmet toppings to choose from – no eggplant, no fancy cheeses, just the basics – though Papa’s does have some specialty pizzas available.  Also, my husband seems to run into at least one snafu every time he places a take-out order by phone (we have yet to try their online ordering) and every time he goes to pick up the order…but it doesn’t stop him from craving and retrieving the pizza and breadsticks.  He is now a fellow convert (or addict).  So, call Papa, and enjoy!

So, tonight, I rectified the situation.  After a simple online order, Domino’s was at my door in less than 30 minutes with their trademark boxes.  We took advantage of a special that included three small pizzas with one topping each, for four dollars each.  We also took advanatage of ordering breadsticks, just because.  For just over $20 including tip, we have dinner for two nights.

The breadsticks weren’t actually breadsticks, although my husband tells me they used to look like true breadsticks years ago.  The breadsticks were actually a half a pizza dough, a semi-circle of baked dough that was an unappetizing yellow color.  One bite explained the yellow hue; the breadsticks were buttersticks.  They tasted like cheap pastry with a smattering of herbs on top.  The marinara dipping sauce wasn’t much better.  It was far too acidic and didn’t have a nice flavor.

The pizzas were a big improvement over the breadsticks.  We ordered a pepperoni, a mushroom, and a feta.  None of them were well endowed with toppings or cheese, and the texture was a bit oily/greasy, but overall, I enjoyed the pizzas.  The crust was thick and bready, the pepperoni was just crispy and spicy enough, and the mushrooms added a fresh flavor.  Unfortunately, I could barely discern the feta, although I could see small crumbles of it here and there on the pizza.  I haven’t tried the pizza in its day-old state yet, but I worry about the oiliness after reheating.

Domino’s satisfied my pizza craving, but there are better pizza options out there.  I can’t say Domino’s won’t be at my door again, though.