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Posts Tagged ‘Pizza Grand Prix’

Pizza Grand Prix Six: The Final Cut?

Posted by CMH Gourmand on October 10, 2010


Pizza Grand Prix 6
Saturday November 6th
6 pm to 8 pm
Wild Goose Creative
2491 Summit Street
SoHud/Old(e) North Columbus


Updated details and developments will be posted on – Columbus Underground and/or look for updates on Twitter @CMHGourmand.

Wild Goose Creative, Columbus Underground and CMH Gourmand join forces again for round six of Pizza Grand Prix. This edition will offer the usual assortment of the best pizzas from Columbus. We will also see a repeat of the judged homemade pizza competition. The baker of the best homemade pizza pie wins an apron from Made by Amy D. There will also be prizes from Red Gold Tomatoes for all entries. Homemade pizzas will be judged on Taste, Appearance, Crust and Creativity.

Our esteemed judges for the Homemade Pizza Competition are:

Mike Hinze – Pizza Slayer /14 Inches of Love Pizza blog
Dave Treneff – Pizza Slayer /14 Inches of Love Pizza blog
Dave Scarpetti – from Webercam and the Grand Champion of the PGP V homemade pizza contest
Jeff Aufdencamp – from Mama Mimi’s Take and Bake Pizza

Contestants for the homemade pizza competition should contact me at: CMHGourmand@earthlink.net by November 5th for additional details and should to plan to show up at Wild Goose Creative by 5:45 pm on Pizza Day.

For those that would rather take instead of bake a pizza…

Pizza Grand Prix is a giant pizza potluck. The price of admission (for two) is a medium or large pizza from your favorite pizza shop. Bring a pizza to share then spend the rest of the night trying pizzas from all over town. For those that missed PGP I – V, see the links below for history and background.

Pizza Grand Prix V

Pizza Grand Prix IV

The Story of Webercam Pizza on the Grill

The day after Pizza Grand Prix III

Pizza Grand Prix III on Columbus Underground

If you are looking for suggestions on a pizza pie to port to this party – I have some options for you: CMH Gourmand Pizza Picks. We can expect a variety of toppings and styles. There is a section reserved for vegetarian pizzas. No one goes home hungry. People are encouraged to take leftovers home at the end (bring your own tupperware for when last call is made at 7:59 PM) because we don’t want any precious pizza going to the dumpster.

I think this is among the best low cost events in town and others agree – PIzza Grand Prix was voted best Columbus Underground event in 2009. I hope you have an opportunity to go. Wild Goose Creative is a great partner and the perfect venue for this pizzapalooza. The diversity of pizza selections can not be beat, you can expect some phenomenal pies. If time and circumstances allow pizza judge Dave may whip out a few pizzas from his modified Weber grill – no promises yet – but if it happens – you do want to be there.

This event is:
BYOB – Bring Your Own Beer
BYOW – Bring Your Own Wine or Water
BYOP – Bring Your Own Pop
and is open to all ages.

So the subtitle of this post is “Final Cut”. Pizza Grand Prix has always exceeded my expectations. But like any franchise or series of sequels, I wonder how long a good thing can sustain itself. I worry that this could become the next Police Academy 7 or Halloween 17 so we may pull the plug on PGP while on top instead of melting down over time. We will see what happens.

Posted in Columbus style pizza, events, pizza | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Pizza Grand Prix V: March 14th, 6:00 PM

Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 28, 2010


Pizza Grand Prix V
March 14th
6 pm to 8 pm
Wild Goose Creative
2491 Summit Street
SoHud/Old(e) North Columbus

The details and developments can be found here – Pizza Grand Prix V on Columbus Underground

Wild Goose Creative teams up with Columbus Underground for round five of Pizza Grand Prix. While some events stagnate over time, Pizza Grand Prix continues to refine like a fine wine or aged cheese. Usually sequels are not as good as the original, in this case, I think each new Grand Prix is a little better than the predecessor. This edition will offer the usual assortment of the best pizzas from Columbus and beyond as well as a judged homemade pizza competition with prizes.

Our esteemed judges for the Homemade Pizza Competition are:

Jeff Aufdencamp – Mama Mimi’s Take ‘N Bake Pizza
Roland Kopecky – Columbus Pierogi King
Bethia Woolf – Hungry Woolf
Bill Yerkes – Pizza artisan from Bono Pizza

The Grand Prize winner in the homemade competition will receive a large gift tin full of goodies from Red Gold Tomatoes.

Contestants for the homemade pizza competition should contact info@wildgoosecreative.com by March 11th for additional details.

For those that would rather take instead of bake a pizza…

Think of Pizza Grand Prix as a giant pizza potluck. The price of admission is a medium pizza from your favorite pizza shop. Bring a pizza to share then spend the rest of the night trying pizzas from all over town. As a bonus, attendees can watch Dave from WeberCam (he preps for Pizza Grand Prix V here) craft pizzas from scratch with his modified Weber kettle grill. For those that missed PGP I – IV, see the links below for history and background.

Pizza Grand Prix IV

The Story of Webercam Pizza on the Grill

The day after Pizza Grand Prix III

Pizza Grand Prix III on Columbus Underground

I think this is among the best low cost events in town and others agree – Best Columbus Underground Event of 2009 – Pizza Grand Prix IV. I hope you have a opportunity to go. Wild Goose Creative is a great venue so this a good way to see their space and get a sense of what they do. The diversity of pizza selections can not be beat. We have had homemade pizzas at each past Pizza Grand Prix and since prizes are involved this time you can expect some phenomenal pies.

I will not be present at my own party so please post a comment if your go so I can know what I missed. I’ll be in phone contact with the Wild Goose Creative Collective and Hungry Woolf so I can hear what I am missing.

Posted in events, pizza | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Pizza Grand Prix Post Script

Posted by CMH Gourmand on March 8, 2009

The Pizza Grand Prix III had a great turnout. During a Saturday of way too many choices (good weather, Gallery Hop, The Fitness Expo and etc), 60 plus people came to dine on a plethora of pizza pies.

This is what we ate or tried to (pizza place and topping) in order of appearance:

Zach and Mary’s Venison is for Lovers Pizza x2
Hounddogs – Meat Lovers
Hounddogs – Veggie Pizza
Portofinos II – Pepperoni
Mellow Mushroom – Bacon
Dewey’s – Southwest BBQ Chicken
Dewey’s – Wild Mushroom
Dewey’s – ?
Dewey’s – ?
Dewey’s – ?
Cafe Daniella – Bianca
Cafe Daniella – Mahgerita
Bono to Gone – San Rolando
Bono to Gone – Pesto, Tomato, Basil
Catfish Biff’s
Gatto’s – Sausage and Onion
Mellow Mushroom – ?
Adriatico’s – Cheese
Yosick’s (yes the German Village Chocolatier) – Vegetarian
Yosicks’s – ?
Rockmaster Mike’s Bacon Baccahanalia 1.0 (Homemade)
Rockmaster Mike’s Bacon Baccahanalia 2.0
Rotolo’s – Tomato and Garlic
Cowtown – Mediterranean
Rotolo’s – Sausage
Massey’s – Pepperoni
Pizza Primo – Supreme
Rubino’s – Pepperoni
Stoned Pizza – Cheese
Stoned Pizza – Pepperoni
Stoned Pizza – Pickles and Pepperoni
Surly Girl Saloon – Surly Girl Pizza x2
Surly Girl Saloon – Chuckwagon (a breakfast pizza) x3
(Delivered by Amy from SGS)
Panzera’s Pizza – Pepperoni, Mushroom, Onions, Sausage, Banana Peppers x2
High Beck Tavern – Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket, BBQ sauce x2
Northstar Cafe – High Street Veggie x2
Hounddogs – Olives and Feta, Smokin Joe’s Style (Spicy)
Fabian’s – Chicken Rustica
Mama Mimi’s – BBQ Sauce, Pepperoni, Bacon
Belleria – Sausage, Pepperoni, Green Peppers, Onion
DiCarlos – Pepperoni
Enrico’s – Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushroom, Peppers
Angie’s Pizza – Pepperoni

A few pizzas may have have been missed coming through the door at the beginning. I am not sure how many Bono Pizzas arrived. Few pizzas lingered around for long. My official count was 50 pizzas from 27 places. My highest headcount of the night was 62 pizza eating souls although many people came and left during the night. We raised $51 for the Haiku Help Fund.

We made a run at voting this year. However, I should mention some disclaimers. Pizza comes in at various times during the night. Few people could have tried all 50 odd pizzas, it all depends on when one arrives and how quickly a pizza gets eaten. In the case of Bono – those pizzas lasted 8 minutes and were sampled by about 10 people at the most. Our inaugural categories:

Best of Grand Prix
Winner: Dewey’s Buffalo Chicken
Runner Up: High Beck Smokehouse Combo

Best Homemade
Winner: Rockmaster Mike’s Bacon Baccahanalia

Best Topping Combo
Winner: Mama Mimi’s BBQ Bacon
Runner Up: Surly Girl Blue Cheese Cranberry

Best Vegetarian
Winner: Northstar High Street Veggie

The best comment in the voting cards – “Hounddogs Feta and Olives Soooo F**king Good!”

A trend I noticed among the winners … bacon. Bacon is still the new black in Columbus. My favorite was the Hi Beck Smokehouse combo – Brisket, Pulled Pork, BBQ sauce – so “fraking” good. It arrived later in the evening, a few more votes and it would have won two categories.

Taking Pizza to the Next Level: Pizza Box Jenga

Taking Pizza to the Next Level, Pizza Box Jenga

Thanks to: Everyone that came, Wild Goose Creative for hosting as well as setting up and tearing down, Dewey’s for donating some pizzas, Surly Girl for donating and delivering pizzas, the Hounddogs delivery guy I forgot to tip because I was multi-tasking, Bill from Bono for making pizzas just for us, Walker Evans and anyone I missed.

For those of you that missed it, listen live – Columbus Foodcast Episode 35

Posted in Clintonville, Columbus style pizza, events, pizza | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »