Mexican Pizza - Everything Done Right

After the last post about pasta, and my disfavor towards putting it in soup (as Mexicans like to do) I'll balance it with another kind of non-Mexican food that I think Mexicans do particularly well; Pizza.

There are three main kinds of pizza that deserve honourable mention; American fast-food style pizza, the Mexican variations of this, and Italian style pizza.

American Fast-Food Style Pizza.  If you love having good, hot pizza delivered right to your door, you would be happy in Mexico.  Besides the American chains, (Dominos, primarily) which I believe are the same here as there, there are many local pizza chains and independent pizza shops that serve great pizza with a variety of toppings. Even the supermarkets have excellent pizza (prepared on order, and served hot.)  Cost is about $10 for two medium pizzas (I can't remember if that's good or bad compared to Canada.)

As for delivery, like the rotisserie chicken shops, Mexican pizza shops use small scooter-style motorcycles to deliver, which can weave between traffic and get to your house quickly.  Of course, this is dangerous, but it's the way people drive here...

Slices can also be found easily enough, for about $1 - $2/slice.

The Mexican Variations.  Besides the jalepeños which you can also get in Canada, you can get a range of other Mexican toppings on your pizzas, including different kinds of Mexican sausages; I think I've seen "al pastor" which is one of the favorite taco meats, shaved off of a large spit of meat that rotates in front of a fire - like the mid-eastern doner kebabs, but with Mexican seasoning.  There's even one style that's called "a la Mexicana," but I can't remember the toppings.  Mexican flavors work well on pizza.  (Health may be an issue, but generally people who eat pizzas or Mexican food aren't worried about health; so if you like both of these, I suggest trying them combined.)

Italian Pizza.  I'm definitely not an expert on original or Italian pizza, but here I'm taking the word from someone whose taste I trust more than my own.  During the year I lived in Mexico City, one friend introduced a group of us to a bar/restaurant La Condesa - a beautiful, and trendy, neighborhood just a bit southwest of the Historic Downtown.  I can't remember the bar's name, but I think it had lots of black, and the name was somehow connected to being bad or tough or something like that; not the place I would suspect for authentic Italian pizza.  My friend assured us, however, that this pizza was the closest to thing to authentic Italian pizza in Mexico or the U.S.  I believe he's a trained chef, so I took his word for it.

Two things I noticed about the pizza. One, it was different; the crust texture, the style of toppings, the type of cheese, were all noticeably different (unfortunately, I'm not very good a describing food.)  The other is that it was delicious.  If I get a chance, and I can remember the name/exact location, I'll definitely go back.  On top of everything, the large, square slices were only about $2 a piece (25 pesos.)

I could write a lot more about food in Mexico, and I will include a post now and then as time goes on.  I love Mexican food, and food in Mexico!

By the way, my wife, who loves all kinds of pizza, says that her favorite is the pizza my dad makes.  It is delicious!