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Why Pepperoni Pizza Ain't All That

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 2008, 1:04 pm PDT
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Jon Eick over at the blog So Good has a great rant about pepperoni. Long story short, he doesn't like it. Here's why:

If pizza is high quality, a mere slice of cheese is delicious. If pizza is mediocre, I understand the need to add toppings. But I have news for you pepperoni: you ain't all that and a bag of chips. Pepperoni, while ok, is simply NOT good enough to have earned it's place as the default pizza order of choice on merit alone. Hell no. I believe it has earned that place through process of elimination, unadventurous American taste buds and dumb luck. It's cheap, it's meaty, it's salty, and it adds additional flavor to an otherwise bland pizza. But you know what? So does sausage. But sausage just doesn't look good in photos like pepperoni does, so pizza places don't advertise ... it.

I generally agree with Jon on this one. Pepperoni is fairly unimaginative as a topping —but sometimes it just hits the spot, right? Below, an ode to pepperoni in haiku form. But first, I've gotta ask: What is the most unexpected but good topping combo you've ordered or placed on a pizza?

Check this out for more pizza wisdom.

  

'Pie-ku'

Crisp pepperoni,
Edge curled from heat,
A chalice of sweet, hot oil.

-submitted by Mr. Sin in a June 2005 "pie-ku" contest held by Serious Eats.

 

  • 1. Posted by proam54 on Mon, Sep 29, 2008, 1:30 pm PDT

    Give pepperoni a break. It's been arouund and will always be around. It's a great selling tool. People see a pepperoni pizza and who knows what they might get on a pizza. Long live the pepperoni.

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  • 2. Posted by Matt P on Wed, Oct 08, 2008, 12:37 pm PDT

    For those of us in the Northeast it is quite common but maybe not elsewhere. Clams are by far the best unusual topping for a pizza.

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  • 3. Posted by nad d on Thu, Oct 16, 2008, 4:03 pm PDT

    I hate pepperoni too, pineapple is my fav topping ^^

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  • 4. Posted by frogkickfrolic on Mon, Oct 20, 2008, 8:25 pm PDT

    Artichoke is probably the best. Though I prefer nontraditional pizzes... with spinach and other vegetables.

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  • 5. Posted by Anne B on Thu, Nov 20, 2008, 8:07 pm PST

    I used to work at a pizza place where we made the "PizzaMac" Basically, a Big Mac on pizza dough. Thousand Island dressing, jack cheese and hamburg, then lettuce, tomato, and pickles added after it was cooked. It took me 6 months working there before they convinced me to try it, but it's actually good!!

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  • 6. Posted by luke05151994 on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, 8:54 am PST

    BLack olives with sasuage and pinaple and onions and extra cheese. mmm.... yum

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  • 7. Posted by jessalay on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, 8:38 pm PST

    I'm just not a pepperoni person. I'll eat it, but it's just... kind of gross in my opinion. I'm fine with cheese, ham, and sausage, but pepperoni just turns me off. As to strange pizza toppings... CiCi's is easily the best pizza chain in the world in terms of price, flavor and selection. That being said, their mac and cheese pizza is by far the best non-traditional pizza I have ever eaten. They also make just about the only kind of pizza I do like pepperoni on- the pepperoni flip.

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  • 8. Posted by HopelessRomantic on Sun, Nov 23, 2008, 9:24 pm PST

    chicken bacon and ranch pizza is amazing... so is grilled chicken ceasar salad pizza... but pepperoni is really terrible its greasy and over powering and truly does hide bad pizza... the pizza place by my house... their best selling slice is plain... it tells you something about the place...

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  • 9. Posted by KEKE on Tue, Nov 25, 2008, 4:37 am PST

    Pepperoni is good if you are a person that has to have meat. However I am in Germany and it is no telling what you might get on a pizza over here. Some examples are corn, kidney beans, shrimp, a raw egg, octopus, squid,tuna pretty much anything. So sometimes you are lucky to get pepperoni. But if you get the right combination it might just be tasty. I am not going to chance it just going to stick with what I know. And pepperoni has never done me wrong...

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  • 10. Posted by Mellie on Wed, Nov 26, 2008, 10:45 pm PST

    artichoke sounds devine...so does basil and olive oil and i adore spinch. i have 3 boys in my fam....so its pep all the way...sigh, i always papertowel the grease off a bit..ack!

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  • 11. Posted by delune on Mon, Dec 01, 2008, 8:20 pm PST

    Eggplant! Unexpectedly sweet and savoury.

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  • 12. Posted by zarafan1774_zarafan1774 on Tue, Dec 02, 2008, 1:00 pm PST

    I have NEVER liked pepperoni on pizza and I think the last time I ate a pepperoni pizza was when I was 5 years old: already then I knew that it was too greasy and too salty, bleech! I generally only eat plain and/or vegetable pizzas, and I agree with the article cited here that if the crust and cheese are good, you really don't need anything else. Multi-topping pizzas are just junk in my opinion, and my ideal pizza nowadays is a thin crust with olive oil, fresh basil, dried rosemary, crushed red pepper, sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, and a little salt. That's how they do it in Italy, too!

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  • 13. Posted by Mark on Fri, Dec 05, 2008, 7:35 pm PST

    Throw on the peperoini, Love it!

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  • 14. Posted by satrapdiane@att.net on Sun, Dec 28, 2008, 3:54 am PST

    sausage, cheese, mushrooms. Chicago to the bone.

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  • 15. Posted by Sandra B on Sat, Jan 24, 2009, 12:44 am PST

    when i ate at pizza hut in korea there was a layer of sweet potato between the toppings and the crust...

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  • 16. Posted by ericm815 on Sun, Jan 25, 2009, 12:04 pm PST

    roast duck, scallions and roasted corn. this was on a rye thin crust with a sweet grape bbq sauce ...really good

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  • 17. Posted by rdgibbard78 on Tue, Jan 27, 2009, 12:21 pm PST

    When I was in Germany, I used to go to this pizza place off-base which would put, among other things, a fried egg in the center of the pie. I've also had shrimp on a pizza. Barbecued chicken can also be a good topping, depending upon the sauce.

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  • 18. Posted by mich120384 on Thu, Jan 29, 2009, 12:05 pm PST

    The best pizza ever is the one we created while working in a pizza place while attending college.. The pizza was named "oh yeah".. it is thin crust extra sauce onions, mushrooms, green peppers, spinach, pineapple, sausage and pepperoni with extra cheese, browned for like two extra minutes.. most amazing pizza ever..

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  • 19. Posted by Vendela on Thu, Jan 29, 2009, 6:46 pm PST

    Pepperoni not only is too salty and tastes mediocre it is BAD for you. Nitrates/nitrites -- chemicals, ycch. Canadian Bacon in the other hand was a nice choice, if meat is really necessary tho I love an eggplant, fresh garlic and roma tomatoes the best next to Margarhita. And FYI, there is no pizza anywhere in the US that will beat pizza made in Italy...a totally ecstatic experience!!

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  • 20. Posted by Sammie on Mon, Mar 02, 2009, 9:46 am PST

    When I was a kid, my brothers and I would make homemade pizzas all the time. One time I decided I wanted jalapenos and bacon on mine. Regular bacon. It was sooooo good. It remains my favorite pizza toppings today! I even ordered a pizza with those toppings from the pizza place, Papa Johns. I love there pizza, but nothing could beat my homemade version. And also, a pizza isn't a pizza without a hold lot of EXTRA cheese! Yum!

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  • 21. Posted by Sammie on Mon, Mar 02, 2009, 10:01 am PST

    When I was a kid, my brothers and I used to make homemade pizzas. I decided one time to put jalapenos and bacon, regular bacon, on mine. Turn out GREAT! I loved it! I still do to this day! Just make sure that no matter what pizza you are having, you gotta have EXTRA cheeese

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  • 22. Posted by Benny on Wed, Mar 04, 2009, 6:22 pm PST

    Pepperoni is usually more safe than sausage when it comes to toppings. But a place has good sausage I go with it. Or better yet go half and half.

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  • 23. Posted by amanda_baum on Thu, Mar 05, 2009, 5:29 am PST

    try a chicken philly pizza, that's our favorite to make at home, a simple garlic cream sauce, sauted chicken, onion and green pepper, topped with a little mozz and jack it's the best!

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  • 24. Posted by true2mynature on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:30 am PDT

    chunks of tender chicken pieces. That with the pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese are the best.It's like having mini pieces of chicken parmesgan without the breading on the chicken. Yummy!!

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  • 25. Posted by Katie B on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:34 am PDT

    I love pepperoni! There is nothing wrong with people who love pep and don't love sausage! Give me a break!

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  • 26. Posted by true2mynature on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:34 am PDT

    However you top it off, nothing beats grilling it. Seriously. Take the pizza , put on a layer of aluminum foil, then close the grill.Make sure to not have the vent lid open. Just to cook it on there like the concept of an oven.Peak on it every few minutes until it's done to your liking. The bottom will be lightly done like a grilled piece of meat can look with the slight lines on the crust. Oh so good..trust me. It doesn't take long to make it that way too.

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  • 27. Posted by wuher_brewer on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:37 am PDT

    I love a curried eggplant pizza I had recently. Dynamite!

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  • 28. Posted by Nikki on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:37 am PDT

    pepperoni is the standard. you don't like it? suck a fat one!

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  • 29. Posted by lightbluelaura on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:38 am PDT

    Buffalo Chicken. I was asking my son about a strange, but highly flavorful pizza we got one time at CiCi's. At the time, we were standing in line at Pizza Inn and when the guy behind the counter heard me talking, he told me about the buffalo chicken which, he said, sounded pretty close to what I was describing. We tried it and, although nowhere near what we original intended, it wasn't half bad. It sparked an idea that my son and I carried over into our own kitchen where we routinely make buffalo shrimp and avacado pizza. (The avacado is a carry over from a "fiesta" pizza that we make as a family on a regular basis.)

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  • 30. Posted by chrisdg66 on Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 10:40 am PDT

    i LOVE pepperoni....the more the better. Double pepperoni with jalapenos and black olives with an alfredo base sauce (no red sauce) and cook it an extra 2-3 mins...I've had several friends steal my pizza after I ordered one of these! Can't do the italian sausage, don't like the fennel spice in it. Haven't been brave enough to try pineapple on a pizza, I always have to have my pepperoni. I even have extra pepperoni in the fridge to add to the pizzas I buy.

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