There’s no limits!” the staffer at Project Pie barked out to me, like he was cheering a sports team. “That’s what sets us apart.”
His enthusiasm was surprising for a wage-earner in a chain pizza joint in a college district like the Hill, but it was understandable from the other side of the register. The thing that wasn’t limited was the amount of toppings that could be piled onto the $7.85 “build-your-own” pizza I’d just ordered. If I wanted a suicide buffet of all 30-odd toppings laid out on the assembly line, then by Jove, I could have it. No. Limits.
But I didn’t. Because that would be icky.
However, rolling down the line, making it up as you go like a Subway sandwich without getting nickel and dimed for every dash of basil or sea salt, is pizza assembly worth believing in.
My pizza artist rolled and brushed the dough, slapped my dream team on top and threw it in the oven to bake. The final product ended up with roasted Brussels sprouts, prosciutto, mushrooms, caramelized onions, peppers and red sauce on top of the fresh-baked and tasty thin-style crust.
My pizza, like all on the menu, was personalsized; small enough for one, but big enough to be satisfying at the same time. And thanks to the thin crust, it wasn’t all dough and no toppings.
For the non-pizza innovators out there, the menu has a selection of pre-curated pizzas to choose from. Most stuck to tried and true themes like meat-lovers or veggie, or the white-style pizza with chicken, gorgonzola and red onion. But a few let their freak flag fly, working in the Brussels sprouts and barbecue sauce. But with the no-limits pick-your-own sitting there, looking scrumptious, going straight menu seemed silly.
My dining companion and I took a seat and scrolled through the large list of quotations tagged on one wall, which as far as wall-based reading material goes, was top-notch. Between the high ceilings and large windows, it was a generally pleasant atmosphere to wait in, though definitely low-key in its vibe, something that is a nice split from the modern pizza movement, which involves classing up both the pie and the digs, jacking up the price and dress code.
The pizza only took a few minutes, making Project Pie a nice combination of fresh- and rapid-made.
On the side I had chopped kale salad. Unlike the pizza, it didn’t specifically have limits, but it was pre-made according to the house recipe, and one that paired well with the pizza.
The sugar-water to drink came courtesy of Boylan’s, whose cane sugar soda is better than the corn syrup sludge of other pizza chains, but is still soda.
Pizza ain’t for everyone. Especially not in Boulder, where carbs are viewed like Nazi collaborators. Similarly, the Hill in all its “woo-hoooery” isn’t for everyone. But Project Pie is fast, affordable, fresh and custom-made. It don’t get much better than that.
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