Azzurri is old-school Napoletana pizza, from the 00-flour thin crust to the dough tossing to the 900-degree brick oven. The resulting blistered crust is perhaps the best in Calgary. What puts this little spot over the top is the wonderful family ownership of mama Terry and sons Allesandro and Faustino Ricioppo.
Azzurri is very much a family operation
There are 13, 12-inch pizza styles on offer, many featuring San Marzano tomato sauce, fior di latte, prosciutto and, in the case of my Italia ($29.50), house-made spicy sausage. As you can see, the prices are a little on the high side.
Azzurri Pizzeria 2404B Edmonton Trail NE Tuesday to Saturday 4 pm-9 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday 403-299-8774
Perfectly pleasing egg ‘n bacon pizza at Coco Brooks
It’s been more than 20 years since I discovered Coco Brooks, the little personal pizza-in-a-box joint in southeast Calgary. Each time I go (about every two years), I order the same thing: a marvellously fluffy scrambled egg ‘n bacon pie hot from the oven. Trust me, it works.
An efficient, no-frills operation
At $11.43, it’s a bargain for four thick slices that can easily keep me going for two meals.
Coco Brooks 640 42 Avenue SE, and two other Calgary locations Monday to Saturday 9 am-7:30 pm 403-243-2677
It can be kinda hard to get into Noble Pie. First, you have to find the popular Beltline pizza joint—down an alley or, like me, by walking through the adjacent Cookbook Company store.
I still get there at the crack of the 4 pm Saturday opening, only to discover a line of 10 people ahead of me. Sorry, no reservations, no cash, just a waitlist or an online takeout order, perhaps from the night before.
No matter. If you make pizza this good, people will find you. Even a senior like me, sharing the darkened space and rap soundtrack with a crowd 40 years younger and a bustling crew of pizza chefs and servers.
No bright lights here
Noble offers a couple of nibbles, a worthy Caesar salad and some wine and canned beer; I didn’t see any beer taps. But it’s really all about the pizzas—from the constantly evolving, blistered crust to high-end toppings— that keep flying out of the oven.
Of the 11 pizzas on offer, I choose a 13-inch Sweet Cheesus pie ($24). It’s a marvelous melding of tomato sauce, aged and fresh mozzarella, caciocavallo, grana Padano, pecorino, Sicilian oregano and drizzled hot honey. Six generous slices of chewy bliss.
Sweet Cheesus Pizza
Noble started as a pop-up pizzeria in Eighty-Eight Brewing in southeast Calgary. Four years ago, owners Mike Lange and Leslie Lamont moved to this back-alley location.
Noble Pie Back alley 720 11 Avenue SW, Calgary Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 4pm-9pm, Friday-Saturday 4 pm- 10 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday Text 403-536-4075
Over the next week, Calgary tourists and residents will be scrambling to choose from dozens of free Stampede breakfasts. If you need some guidance, the slam-dunk winner is the marvellous Ismaili Muslim breakfast July 12.
But you still need to eat lunch (maybe) and dinner. How about pizza? Not the greasy slices on the Stampede grounds, but the best artisan pies in the city.
Sorry if you’re a fan of deep dish or New York or Chicago styles, but this is my list, and I prefer thin, blistered crusts, with one exception. I’ve just reviewed Pizza Culture and will be covering four more pizzerias in the next few days, culminating in a declared winner. Here is the first of the other contenders.
I’ve been told the margherita is the perfect test for judging a pizzeria. That’s because its simple ingredients can’t hide under a bombardment of toppings or distract from the primacy of the crust. In fact, I’d happily chew an unadorned crust if it meets that high standard.
Which brings me to Calgary’s UNA Pizza + Wine. It aces the margherita test with only five ingredients: certified San Morzano tomato sauce, fior di latte, grana Padano, basil oil and Maldon salt. There’s still ample room on the edges for chewing the slightly blistered, thin California-style crust.
Marvellous margherita at UNA Pizza
UNA offers 11 other pizza styles, with toppings ranging from fennel sausage and roasted cremini mushrooms to smoked mozzarella. Make sure to leave room for a famous, mountainous kale Caesar salad, topped with crispy prosciutto and a hard-boiled egg.
Note: Both the margherita pizza and a small Caesar salad are available at the happy-hour prices of $10.50 and $7.50, respectively, from 2-5 pm and after 9 pm.
UNA has grown to seven, mostly Calgary, locations, since it opened on 17 Avenue SW in 2010.
Broadcast is one of five UNA locations in Calgary
UNA Pizza + Wine 618 17 Avenue SW and four other Calgary locations Opens daily at 10:45 am 403-453-1183
Perfectly blistered sourdough crust at Calgary’s Pizza Culture
I’m fast, ordering a roasted mushroom pizza as soon as I’m seated at Pizza Culture in north-centre Calgary. Thanks online research!
But apparently not fast enough. By the time I’ve read the other 22 pizza descriptions in the menu, my 12-inch pie has been delivered, thanks to a giant 900 Fahrenheit wood-fired oven that perfectly blisters the sourdough crust in 90 seconds.
Opened in 2020, Pizza Culture has fast climbed the ranks, earning coveted Napoletana certification status and being named 96th best pizzeria in the world.
Pizza Culture is in a brightly-lit space with an expansive, shaded patio
It covers all the pizza bases, from a standard marinara to ricotta truffle to n’duja. You can even grab a fresh-baked loaf of sourdough bread to take with you.
Pizza Culture 1114 Centre Street North, Calgary 403-277-4900
Slow-roasted tandoori chicken at Calgary’s Masala Bhavan
As I place my order at compact Masala Bhavan, I’m advised the tandoori chicken, marinated overnight, will take 15-20 minutes to roast in a clay oven. Fine by me; just means my meal is being made to order.
It’s a big, sizzling platter of food—four messy bone-in legs for $16, rounded out by four chewy pieces of naan and a refreshing goblet of butter milk.
Fragrant butter milk is new to me
Masala Bhavan is a celebration of South Indian cuisine, with a Red Seal chef crafting a menu ranging from the familiar butter chicken to the more exotic uttapam (rice-lentil pancakes) to paratha bread.
Masala Bhavan Express 103, 45 Greenbriar Drive NW, and one other Calgary location Opens 11:30 am Monday and Wednesday to Friday and noon on weekends. Closed Tuesday 403-534-1034
Marathon Mouth 