BJ Pizza Wars VIII: Alio Olio v Annie's

Susan Sheng | Oct 20, 2011 2:00 pm | Add a comment | 2598 reads

I was watching reruns of Castle last night, and there was an episode where feuding New York pizza parlours put dead reporters in each others' ovens ( the episode is called "Slice of Death," if you're interested). Beijing's seen her share of pizza-related bust-ups, but thankfully, nothing quite so dramatic. This all serves to hammer home just how much Mr. O'Malley and I risk every pizza-eating day for your dining edification!

Today's pairing matches up two Beijing pizza-houses less notorious than the K.R.O. factions, but no less fractious. Good old Annie's, and the restaurant her ex-manager opened after his departure, Alio Olio. Their menus are almost identical, right down to the prices. We put them to the test with the Capricciosa. What's on a Capricciosa, you ask? Ham, mushrooms, olives and the best part, artichokes. Whose pizza reigns supreme?

In the Red Corner: Capricciosa, Alio Olio (RMB 58, large)

Style: We need a new style. I wanted to call it "Bog Standard," but realized that not all places call this standard the standard. It's not even really the standard in Beijing, so not "Bog Standard Beijing." Would calling it "Annie Olio" be cheating?

Crust: Firm. Flat. A dense little mouthful. Floury.

Cheese & sauce: Enough cheese that pulling slices apart is something of a messy business, but a more neutral cheese than I like. To pre-empt cries of "Mozzarella is a mild, fresh, cheese!", I would like to disclaim that it probably shouldn't taste just of stretchy. Sauce was overwhelmed by the toppings, and I couldn't tell the difference.

Toppings: Lack of artichoke: not actually a negative. Artichokes are hard to find in Beijing, apparently - these obviously came from a can, and the pizza suffers slightly for it. Mushrooms appear sauteed, good. Strings of ham, calling to mind pizzas of childhoods past. Abundance of olives.

Satisfaction: This pizza is savory. If nothing else, it doesn't fall down on flavor. Slices aren't terribly large, but a large would have fed me well. We got this one delivered into the office: general consensus ranged from "good" to "I loved it." It's worth noting that the editors on the latter end of the spectrum are massive olive junkies. Not the greatest crust-to-topping ratio.

Morning after: Crust has fully hardened into "four-day-old April Gourmet baguette" territory. Anyone who's encountered such a beast knows of its fearsome nature and, er, hardness. Toppings are still tasty, but that's not enough.

Next up ...

In the Blue Corner: Capricciosa, Annie's (RMB 58, large)

Style: "Alio-nie's."

Crust:
Compared to Alio Olio, less flour, less flat, less brown. So, points off, on, and off, respectively.

Cheese & sauce: There's very little I find objectionable about tomatoes, except that habit they have of turning yellow. Oh, wait, no, that's how I feel about people with jaundice. Anyway, I'm really not sure what's going on with this pizza sauce. Tastes OK, and suitably tomato-y, but, er, very yellow. Anyhow. Not particularly generous on the cheese, but it serves a purpose and is delightfully melty.

Toppings: Oooh, slices of ham! Downside, fiendishly difficult to bite into without taking the whole slice of ham. Upside, taste factor is A++. A closer viewing reveals suspiciously-tinted mushrooms: pale and flattish. These look like they came from the same tin, but not the same tin as the artichokes.

Satisfaction: Lets just address the spread issue here, OK? Where Alio Olio suffers from a general crust-to-topping ratio imbalance, Annie's pizza toppings look like they're migrating. Maybe away from the yellowing? Spreading aside, not a bad pizza. I expected as much. Said expectations were not majorly disappointed. Marketing 101 would probably say that's a win.

Morning after:
The artichoke fell off en route to mouth, so we can either take points off for unthoughtful structure, or just conclude that I'm kind of clumsy. Cold is not a friend to crust! It was OK. Nothing flash. Not like my plates. They're pretty flash.

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Honestly, not a whole lot separates these two. The pizzas we've seen today aren't quite twins, but perhaps sisters. Estranged sisters. Really estranged sisters. Same coloring, same vaguely dodgy taste in cheese, same odd fondness for briny, tinned artichokes. For me, the closest battle thus far, and the only one where the teeniest nitty-gritty separates the two. Annie's delivered a slightly better crust, but we preferred the mushroom and olive on Alio Olio's.

Verdict: Alio Olio, by the very skin of their pleasantly-browned 'shrooms.

We're still trucking along in our quest to find you the very tip-toppest pie in the Beej! Check us out every Monday & Thursday at 2pm, and in the meantime, take a look at the places we've already sussed out.

Episode VII: Alla Osteria v Cornerstone
Episode VI: Scott's Family Restaurant v Nasca
Episode V: Vineyard Cafe v Alba
Episode IV: Tavola v Pizza by LMPlus
Episode III: The Den v Pizza Buona
Episode II: Eatalia v Pyro Pizza
Episode I: Hutong Pizza v Pass-by Bar