Some people like pineapple on their pizza. What about clam chowder or pico de gallo?
Starting Thursday, Seattleites will be able to order two limited-edition collaboration pizzas topped with Pacific Northwest culinary cult delicacies: Taco Time Northwest and Ivar’s clam chowder.
You read that right: Seattle-based Pagliacci will roll out a Taco Time Pizza with hot sauce, pico de gallo and other taco fixings at all of its pizzerias from Oct. 1-27. Local pizza chainlet Big Mario’s, meanwhile, announced its seafood-covered Clam Chowder Bread Bowl Pizza in collaboration with Ivar’s, available at all Big Mario’s locations Oct. 1-31.
Local pizzerias often think outside the box. In fact, this area is a hotbed of fun fusion pies, from spaghetti and meatballs pizzas to popular Indian-influenced pies.
Still, the pies from these four local restaurant chains are eye-catching, testing the limits of adventurous pizza toppings. Here’s the scoop.
Spicy (and so Seattle)
The Taco Time Pizza will use a base of Taco Time Northwest’s original hot sauce, topped with seasoned ground beef, the brand’s Tater Fries and 60-day-aged cheddar. Pagliacci will add its own mozzarella, onion and housemade pico de gallo, topping the pizza after it bakes with creamy Taco Time Ranch and fresh parsley.
“I’m super excited about this pizza,” said Pagliacci co-owner Matt Galvin in a Monday news release. “Taco Time is a Seattle icon. I grew up going there and loving it as a kid.”
The Taco Time Pizza is Pagliacci’s latest collaboration, following in the footsteps of the Waji Pie, a teriyaki chicken and chili crisp pineapple pizza released in partnership with local Asian grocer Uwajimaya earlier this year. By that time, Pagliacci was already testing a Mexican-inspired pizza in its kitchens, so management reached out to Taco Time Northwest to hone the recipe.
“We are huge fans of Pagliacci,” said Robby Tonkin, Taco Time Northwest co-president, in the news release. “We love their food, their people and their purpose. When a brand that shares so many of our values asks to build a pizza around our food, the answer comes easy.
“In our 64 years, the Taco Time name has never been on another restaurant’s menu. We’re proud Pagliacci is the first, and we’re blown away by how good this pizza tastes.”
Three other new menu items will join the Taco Time Pizza this month at Pagliacci pizzerias around the Sound. The mushroom primo, with roasted king oyster mushrooms, golden chanterelles and brown shimeji mushrooms, and Molly Moon’s pumpkin spice ice cream are both available at Pagliacci through Oct. 27. Customers can also purchase Macrina Bakery cinnamon rolls by the tray this month at Pagliacci pizzerias.
Honoring a New Haven classic
Known for its sourdough bread bowls filled to the brim with clam chowder, Ivar’s is reimagining its signature dish into a New Haven-ish-style pizza, courtesy of Big Mario’s.
The collaboration is meant to celebrate pizza month and seafood month, which both take place in October. According to a Tuesday announcement on social media, Big Mario’s will serve slices made with Ivar’s white clam chowder, bacon, Fontina cheese and leeks.
Pizza lovers will note that the seafood-inspired pie takes after Connecticut’s famous clam pizza, a New Haven staple that stretches back to the 1960s. The story goes that Italian immigrant Frank Pepe placed freshly shucked clams atop a sauceless white pizza, topping the pie with Romano cheese, olive oil, garlic and oregano.
For more information, including store hours and locations, visit pagliacci.com and bigmariosnewyorkpizza.com.
Dining and Cooking