Whopping toppings

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This article was published 15/09/2016 (3512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Everybody wants customized food these days. It’s one of the fastest-growing trends in the restaurant business.

Pizza joints have always let pick your toppings, but a new local outfit encourages you to go absolutely crazy with choice. Za Pizza Bistro — the St. Vital location is a first in Winnipeg, but the company is hoping to kickoff a franchise — offers unlimited toppings on an 11-inch (28-centimetre) pizza for the fixed cost of $9.95.

The restaurant also reflects another big trend — the so-called “fast-casual” experience, which forgoes full table service but offers a made-to-order menu with fresher ingredients than the usual fast-food chains.

Za’s value-for-money is undeniably Winnipeg-friendly — as the university student with me commented, “I am totally into this price” — and the pizza is tasty. The house-made crust, available in original or whole wheat, is machine-pressed rather than hand-stretched, but it’s thin and nicely crisp.

Then there are the toppings, and the big draw here is choice. You can start with olive oil, pesto, cream sauce, smokey barbecue, spicy red, classic margherita or even some idiosyncratic mix. Cheeses include mozza, Parmesan, cheddar, feta, ricotta and goat.

There are eight meat options, including grilled chicken, and an array of vegetables, from the standard mushrooms and onions to arugula, artichoke hearts and cilantro.

Za also offers a vegan cheese option and a gluten-free crust (the latter at a $3 surcharge).

A single pie might work for two people, depending on appetites. Or it could serve one, with a few leftover pieces for that all-important cold-pizza breakfast the next day.

My first experiment involved pesto, goat cheese, red onions and a fearless amount of roasted garlic, and it came hot and fragrant, the crust having just a nice edge of char. I also tried a pizza that started with mozzarella, Parmesan and spicy red sauce, which, as advertised, was pretty hot. (My lips were tingling.)

The theme of almost endless options continues with the drinks. A self-serve machine, which stands at the back of the restaurant like a glowing symbol of consumer capitalism, is programmed with more than 125 choices. The possibilities even multiply at the condiment station, which houses a range of hot sauces, including the ubiquitous sriracha, a couple of versions of Frank’s Red Hot and a trio of Tabascos.

The salads ($4.95 for a side or $9.95 for an entrée) also encourage freestyling with various ingredients.

Perhaps overwhelmed with all this too muchness, we ordered a stripped-down version, just arugula and balsamic vinaigrette. Our server seemed a little crestfallen. “Are you sure that’s all you want?” he asked, making a hopeful glance at nearby containers of chopped vegetables.

That’s the thing — you can load up like a meat-and-cheese-loving college kid or you can embrace your inner Neapolitan and keep things simple, but the choice is yours. That’s Za’s upside.

The restaurant’s downside involves the space, which is inefficient and squashed, and the service, which is spotty. Za calls itself a “Pizza Bistro” but that moniker overstates the case a bit, the term “bistro” suggesting a place where one could linger over a glass of wine amid some casual Euro ambience. (Za is licensed and serves beer, wine and spirits at the flat price of $4.99 per go.)

But the atmosphere discourages lingering. The long, narrow room looks fine, with its funny faux-industrial details. (What looks at a distance like raw concrete and exposed brick is actually wallpaper.) It’s not particularly functional, however, and the lack of flow can become a pressing issue — literally.

There is a bit of a wait for a pizza, and that’s not unexpected or unfair, since this is customized food cooked on-demand. But the wait is unnecessarily uncomfortable, as customers first cram in the door to get in line, and then proceed through that line only to get jammed up again at the other end of the room. At rush hours, there’s a struggle to get through the crowd and grab drinks, condiments and napkins.

There are a handful of tables, chairs and a long bench running parallel to the prep line and oven, but securing a table is an iffy prospect during the supper surge. I saw two families with young children come in, take a look around, and head back out again. Takeout is a good option, or you can try dropping in at off-peak times, between about 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the afternoon or later at night.

The crush affects the servers as well, who sometimes looked harassed, and have a hard time getting around to clean and bus tables.

Of course, one of the reasons Za is struggling to handle these crowds is because a lot of folks like its pizza. Being busy is not the worst problem a new resto can have, but it’s an issue all the same.

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca