San Diego, California - Project Pie

At work today, a co-worker asked me if I wanted to go to Project Pie.  I'd never heard of it.  If you haven't heard of it, and you like pizza, read on...

Project Pie is located in the Hillcrest neighborhood.  There are no shortage of great places to eat in Hillcrest, so if you want to stay in business, you need to stand out.  As for what makes this place unique, think pizza at Chipotle.  Well, not exactly, but take the Chipotle model of personalizing your own item, and that's Project Pie.  It's essentially a (not-too-thin) thin-crust pizza that you design yourself.  But, before I get ahead of myself, here's a look inside:

 I didn't take a picture of the entire inside, but there are plenty of tables to sit at, and the walls are decorated with humorous and inspirational quotes.  Enough about the décor, let's talk about the food.

Project Pie offers 2 options:  1) ordering a pizza off the menu, or 2) building your own.  A basic cheese pizza is $6.00, and anything else is $7.50.  The pizza is 12".

So, you order your pizza, and fresh dough is stretched out.  Then the staff starts loading up on the toppings.  Extra pepperoni?  No problem.  Just a little pineapple?  You got it.  as much - or as little - of any topping(s) as you want for $7.50.  You could get mushrooms only, or one with every topping on the menu (and there are many), and the price is still $7.50...

After you've got everything you want on it, two minutes in the brick oven, and you're good to go.  Here's mine (pepperoni, meatball, and sausage - the #2):

 

 

I thought it was excellent!  The crust wasn't cracker-thin, and it was chewy on the inside.  It was also a little black on the bottom, since this is an actual pizza oven, fire and all.  It's cut into four giant slices.  I'd say depending on how hungry you are, you could probably split one with someone, and fill up.  If you're starving, be selfish, and order one for yourself...

 

I'm also happy to say the soda machine (with free refills) offered Boylan's natural cane sodas.  I haven't had Boylan's since I lived on the east coast.  It seems to be a regional favorite in the New York / New Jersey areas.  The cola, birch beer, and grape sodas are my recommendations.  Soda and pizza set me back $9.00.

Finally, I ordered a dessert pizza ($4.50) with nutella and banana to take back to the office.  I gave most of it away to co-workers, but the half-slice I had was good.  Basically, it was a chewy crepe.  My only complaint was that I wish they'd put a little more nutella on it.  I guess I could have asked for it, and would next time.  Peanut butter was also an option, as was cinnamon and sugar...   

In conclusion, I really enjoyed it, and the prices are great!  Try this place now!