During one of my recent (increasingly infrequent) visits to the gym, I noticed that a new pizza place was rising from the ashes of a former Blockbuster video location: Greco Pizza. In this context, “new” is a relative term—I seem to recall that there used to be a Greco somewhere else in St. John’s, but there hasn’t been for a while. They do appear to be a fairly significant chain, however, with over 100 locations throughout Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
Anyway, I took advantage of a current special (a large with 3 toppings for $15) and got a pizza for dinner tonight, with cheese, pepperoni, bacon, and ground beef. Initial impressions were good: the toppings were abundant, I saw it come out of the oven so I knew it was fresh, and it was not overdone. asting it was just as encouraging—it was a good pizza.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it was the right kind of pizza. Greco pizzas are pan pizzas reminiscent of Pizza Delight or Pizza Hut. As such, it was a little greasier than I’d care for in my perfect pizza, with a soft crust where I tend to prefer a little bit crispy. Furthermore, they tout their “edge-to-edge” toppings, whereby the toppings are spread over the entire top of the pizza, and indeed this was the case. I, however, like a bit of firm crust accessible around the edge so I have something to hold on to.
The restaurant site itself was clean (not surprising, giving that it has been open for less than a week), with a lot of people in the kitchen efficiently producing pizzas. While I expect this would bode well for the consistency and reproducability of Greco’s pizza, it also homogenizes the experience a bit and makes it feel just a tad too generic.
Looking back, I realize this sounds rather negative, and that is certainly not my intent. The pizza was quite delicous, and I had six slices eaten before I realized that I should probably not eat six slices. It is good without being the type of pizza that is my ideal, but I can hardly fault it for that since it aspires to be something different. While the Pizza Quest will continue, I will still be happier now that there is a Greco nearby.