THE ART OF “TOPPING” AT
ONE SLICK SLICE:
PROJECT PIE by david vera
idewalk culture seems to be the key in order for a fledgling business to become successful in these trying times. That, and a refreshingly simple concept to tantalize
patrons’ appetites. Hillcrest’s newest thin-crust pizza shop takes command of both factors and presents us with a breezy, playfully open space where freshness is evident—and it tastes bet- ter than ever. The restaurant’s motto invites us to “design, build and eat.” We didn’t want to be rude, so we gladly accepted! Founder James Markham knows there’s no
reason for great-quality hunger-killing pizza to leave a great chasm in our checking accounts. With a location already booming at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Hillcrest location is this particular restaurant’s first bold foray into the lucrative California market. Plans are allegedly forming to open a Chula Vista store as well. But by no means is this Markham’s first time riding San Diego’s proverbial rodeo. His personal blog reveals that he helmed the New York-style pizza chain, Knockout Pizzeria, in our very town. Then, after opening a chain of shops called New York Style Pizza in Shanghai, Markham returned to the U.S. in 2008 and orig- inated his first “custom-built pizza restaurant concept” as MOD Pizza in Seattle—an acronym for “made on demand.” Continuing that same philosophy, Pieology opened in Fullerton in 2011. Finally, aiming to widen his vision’s scope to international status in early 2012, Markham
launched Project Pie. Brand new Project Pie locations are opening all over the country: Washington, D.C.; Boulder, CO; Manhattan, NY; Atlanta, GA; Indianapolis, IN. Even the Philippines will be enjoying Markham’s culi- nary concept this year. Markham’s blog also mentioned talks with Simon Malls, indicat- ing that we might soon see Project Pie shops popping up in upscale locations owned by Simon. Think Fashion Valley Mall. It’s quite apparent that this chain is well on
its way to becoming “the next Chipotle.” Our initial visits to Project Pie were exactly
what we were looking for on our rushed, much-needed lunch-break: fast, filling and easy on the wallet. Cute little messages printed on everything from the doors to the light fixtures immediately caught our eye, all pointing us in the proper direction to get our slice on. The road to crispy-crusted nirvana
is simple as pie: you can either build the dish of your epicurean dreams from multitude of fresh-cut ingredients in plain view, or you can entrust your satiation to the expertise of the menu’s speciality selections. Seven luscious crowd-pleasers range from obvious classics- done-right to eclectic, upscale celebrations of flavor. Don’t worry, gluten-phobes. A gluten- free crust is made readily available for you too! We couldn’t pass up the meat-loving #2:
petite pepperoni, fragrant Italian sausage and meatball crumbles with red sauce. It was beau- tiful. The purist in me was moved to tears. But seriously, the flavors matched the thin-crust textures perfectly. Stock up on napkins and let go of all social composure because if you order it, you’re going to finish it—and it’s going to get messy. Our second selection was the #6: grilled chicken, red onion slivers, chopped cilantro,
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RAGE monthly | MARCH 2013
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