Headed South ... Sort Of

Mathias: OK, I've been a little slack lately about writing in the pizza blog. Constance is far more the ambitious Amish of the two of us. So, I've asked her to repeatedly swat me with a rolled up copy of USA Today-Amish Edition until I finish this.

OK, so the snow is back and if I were allowed to swear, I would. The best I can come up is "Churn My Butter!" So, in an effort to do our best to stay warm, we head south for our pizza and wings tonight (Feb 27); right to Southgate Pizza, the western version.

Hold on - a trailer for Watchmen is on the tv.

OK, so we bundled up in our best Amish outerwear (Goretex is a sin in our culture) and warmed up the buggy and horses for the quick run to the plaza at 2615 Evanston (Across from Bonnell's Collision on West 26th street). The place has a website(southgatewest.com), so stop watching videos of those crazy Mennonites and take a look at what the place has to offer. Constance had the luxury of pizza choice (cheese and ham) and I got to pick the wings (Buffalo ranch). We had a coupon for large one item and 20 wings for about $19.25 or so.

Now, I've had my share of good and bad pizza and Southgate was clearly the former, not the latter. Same for the wings. The pizza dough was fresh made and the cheese was muy fantastico (I'm taking spanish as Amish U.). And as for the wings, they were the best I've had so far; they had a bigger kick than a ornery Amish ass. I mean donkey, so settle down. Constance must have a greater tolerance for the kick in the crotch that these wings were, as she had five scraped clean before I had two finished. I went through half a liter of fresh buttermilk to mellow out the burn. Oh, but what a burn!!

We've been to over a half dozen pizza joints so far and Southgate so far tops the list, both for pizza and wings. I'm looking forward to getting up early tomorrow (for leftovers, not for milking the damn cows). I give Southgate Pizza 8 out of 8 slices!!! Top of the list!!

Constance: Matthias was kidding about the movie trailer on TV ... of course we don't have electricity! Wait for it ... alrighty then, he's the funny one!!

So Southgate Pizza rocks! We had been there bunches of times before. And actually this Friday they were our Plan "B" since we've wanted to try new places and discover some new favorites. We wanted to visit Newman's at 29th and Raspberry Streets. But I think they're out of business already. We first went there when they opened earlier in 2008. I remember the food being on the pricey side, but very delicious and worth the extra money. Their hours were very limited too. I think they closed at 8 or some very early hour. So, we didn't go back. It wasn't convenient.

So my point? I think it's important to patronize local businesses. Without our support they don't succeed and go away. It's an expensive learning for the business owner, but more than that, a failed dream. And for the business, price and positioning is important to the customer. Be different! Be smart about it and convenient for customers so they have a reason to come back. Fair prices. Customer service with a smile and convenient hours are the basics. 29th and Raspberry has been a graveyard for pizza and wing places. Having lived in the neighborhood for 20 years or so, it's been a revolving door. The only success story in my memory is Steel City!!

Who knew a pizza and wing blog would turn into a marketing lesson?!

Back to Southgate ... wow, they have the best pizza with hand tossed crust. And the cheese is real and perfect texture and taste. I got to pick the topping and picked ham. Thought it would be a nice complement to Matthias' Buffalo Ranch wings. For the record, they were hot but not THAT hot!!

I'd have to say that the leftovers this a.m. were the best leftovers we've had too. I just had leftover pizza, and Matthias got the wings.

The 411:

Southgate Pizza West
2615 Evanston
838-2377
southgatewest.com

They have daily specials and also extensive information and coupons in the phone book. And my friend's son works there too - small world!

My slice rating - 8 outta 8 - mmm!! If you have any suggestions for next week, let us know. My Edinboro friend suggested Carini's in Waterford. He says their pizza is better than John Wildwood's in Edinboro. We'll just have to see about that ...