I often saw Zpizza on my many trips to Marble Slab Creamery on the corner of Cedar and Champlain and always wondered if the food lived up to the hype.
One late Sunday afternoon my friend and I were on a bike ride, hungry and tired from. We decided to try this “amazing” pizza.
Zpizza is designed with simple decor and cream colors. The fluorescent lighting shined down on the tan tables and black chairs lined against the walls. The decor reminded me of the simplicity of a cafeteria: plain atmosphere with the main focus on the food itself.
The man behind the idea of Zpizza visited Italy and met a native woman and, after friendship, began a tradition of making piazzas together. However, the woman could not pronounce “pizza,” instead adding a ‘z’ consonant at the beginning. When the owner came back to open the franchise, he thought of her unique accent when naming the restaurant.
Zpizza began in southern California and is now international, for the store just opened in one location each in Saudi Arabia and Mexico. The history of Zpizza is written on the back of the menu to inform their customers where this fabulous pizza place originated.
According to the waitress, Zpizza uses organic sauce, award-winning Wisconsin low-fat mozzarella cheese and no MSG in their pepperoni. Zpizza not only offers fabulous taste but also a healthy alternative to the normal greasy pizza.
The waitress was exceptionally friendly and informative about the restaurant. We wanted to sample most of the pizzas they offered so the server gave us two slices of each kind of pizza. That came out to two and a half pizzas!
The mutual favorite was a tie between the cheese and the province pizza, which had cheese, sliced tomatoes, and basil. We enjoyed how easy it was to eat. The mushroom/garlic pizza reminded me of a gourmet pizza. The chefs replaced the expected marinara sauce with a garlic sauce which had a stronger bite to its taste. We also ordered a Greek salad ($6) as an addition to our pizza.
The salad was simple but tasty. The lettuce, tomato and tart feta cheese was extremely fresh.
The menu at Zpizza includes a wide variety of food and prices, from $5.25 to $20. Our bill came out to $33.98, a fair price for a meal that could feed over five people.
Zpizza also offers a build-your-own-pizza/calzone section to the menu. Customers can choose between different cheeses, meats, veggies, crust (white or wheat) and sauce. There is also a choice between small ($7), medium ($13) or large ($16). Sandwiches, salads, pastas and desserts are offered at Zpizza as well.
For more information from Zpizza, call (559) 433-9995. For more reviews, visit Madison Dooley’s Dec. 21 article, Classic candies awaken childhood memories.
