Your story about Guerrilla Pizza reminded me of when we lived in Alaska. An entrepreneur decided to get a pizza franchise with Dominos and operate from a a Nordic Tug boat and go from small town to small town to sell pizza. None of these towns were large enough to support a pizza restaurant. Dominos though the idea was crazy, and the entrepreneur had to fight to get the franchise.

He finally got the franchise and installed the pizza ovens in the main cabin of the boat. He named his tug boat “Pizza Tug-O” and trimmed it in Dominos colors. He would anchor off a small town for a few days and make/sell pizza until the town had eaten enough and filled their freezers with pizzas. Then he’d go to the next town.

He was successful because he provided a service that could not be provided in the traditional manner. It’s been a long time since we lived in Alaska so I don’t know if he is still operating, his business failed or if he was so successful that he is sipping margaritas on a tropical beach.

From Captain Larry Brudnicki USCG ret.

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Pizza Profundo
Last weekend we over-nighted in Dallas with our good friends, Ray and Candace. We had agreed that since they were providing a comfortable bed we would spring for dinner. “Pick your favorite place. Make reservations and we’ll be sure to arrive early,” we said, expecting I would need an excuse for not bringing a sport coat.
We showed up hungry after five hours on the road so it seemed natural to ask about dinner even before we had the bags from the car.
“We’re going for pizza,” announced our host with a hint of a grin. “Normally this place is not open for dinner. It’s a bakery but they sometimes open for pizza.”
This was not looking good.
Ray went on to explain that a renegade pizza maker had a pizza oven on a trailer that he pulled from one location to another. A last-minute consult of the Internet was the only certain way of knowing where he would strike next.
Swell.
We arrived early like old people showing up at four o’clock for the senior dinner special at Denny’s. But when we walked through the door of the nearly empty bakery Ray and Candace were greeted by name by a server wearing enough metal piercings to give TSA airport screeners a fit. Maybe things were beginning to look up.
From our seats near the window we could see the mobile pizza oven parked near the door and attended by a platoon of cooks and helpers. I scooched a little closer to watch. Things were definitely looking up!
The Iron Maiden took our order and in spite of the imposing stash of sterling that seemed to be holding her face in place, she was fun, efficient, really a delight.
Through the window I had a front row seat. A cook scraped a portion of dough, shaped it, stretched it, and with the grace of a concert pianist applied a thin layer of sauce before dappling the pie with the freshest of ingredients. I pressed my nose against the window so as not to miss the show. Things were looking good!
In fact, the things that looked so good through the window were headed to our table where I was about to get up close and personal with incredibly delicious pizza… fresh from the parking lot!
Here’s what I saw:
After the sauce there came a light sprinkling of course ground salt.
This was an unexpected flavor.
The ingredients were not evenly spread.
This left every bite with a taste of its own.
The ingredients were few but of very high quality.
This resulted in flavors that were subtle but delicious.

Here’s what I learned:
Different is good. In this case it’s delicious!
A product doesn’t have to be consistently prepared as long as it is consistently good.
Quantity is no substitute for quality.
Quality ingredients produce a bigger bang for the buck.
Ray sent me the secret link: http://www.ilcanerosso.com/ and now you, too, can find the renegade pizza guy.

Ray says that there is a plan afoot to move the operation to a permanent location. Do you think that’s a good idea? Tell us what you think!

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