By Susie Timm

One thing that is a solid foodie truth for me is my ultimate and never ending love of pizza. I have eaten pizza with a myriad of toppings, in many cities all over this great nation. Some standouts in the Midwest are: Pat’s Pizza, a dive in Grayslake, Illinois, Mr. Pizza in Rochester, Minnesota and most notably, Casa Capri in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The one common element of those pizza joints for me is thin crust! I know, I know. We could debate all day long about thin vs. deep dish, Chicago vs. New York. At the end of the day, it’s all about preference. I prefer crispy, thin crust pizza with meat of almost any variety on it. I don’t do anchovies or fruit on pizza.

I am also on a never-ending quest for damn good pizza in Arizona. The Travel Channel has rated Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix as the best pizza in the US. I’ve been there twice. It’s good. Very, very good. I am however, very, very impatient. Waiting for 2+ hours in a line is not something I will do frequently. Grazie in South and North Scottsdale makes a good pie as well.

We were invited a few weeks ago to visit another local pizzeria: Humble Pie. I enthusiastically accepted the invite! Humble Pie has 2 locations: Hilton Village off Scottsdale Rd and McDonald and Shade at Desert Ridge that is off Tatum and the 101 in N. Phoenix. We hit up the Tatum location for our lunch date.

We were seated at the counter overlooking the open pizza prep and the wood-fire oven area. I wanted a bird’s eye view of the pizza chef in action. He was wearing a pair of nifty goggles and I first thought they were to keep the corn meal out of his eyes. He ruined my new product line idea by informing me he had eye surgery and needed them for protection.

Stretching the pizza dough--with sweet eye wear.

We poured over the menu and ordered some drinks. I had the summer sangria and Jay had a glass of Bevolio Pinot Grigio. They have a nice wine list with a lovely cellar display in the wall. My sangria arrived. It was very citrus-y and too tart for my taste. I am a sweet girl. We asked for strawberries to be added and that sweetened it up very nicely.

Sangria--pre-strawberries

From there, we ordered a calamari appetizer and Dave the manager, brought us some homemade (hand stretched daily using 180 degree water-ouch!) burrata and pesto with roasted tomatoes and crispy bread. I pretty much ignored the calamari in favor of the burrata. It was one of the most delicious takes on Caprese I have ever had!

Crispy Calamari mmm....sadly ignored in favor of Caprese!

Check out that burrata! Wow. Some serious cheese and pesto goodness!

For our main course (pizza!) Jay decided to try the BLT pizza and I ordered the shrimp, basil, and mozzarella with lemon and chili flakes.

Jay’s pizza was one of the most unique and tasty pizzas I have ever tried. The cheese, pancetta, and prosciutto were hot of course, but in contrast, it was topped with cold lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. It tasted like a melty, open-faced BLT. Scrumptious! We had a hard time not devouring the entire pie right then and there!

This BLT pizza is what dreams are made of.

My shrimp pizza had just enough lemon zest to offset the heat of the chili flakes. I am a huge fan of shrimp on pizza. I also asked them to leave it in the wood fire oven for a few extra minutes so it was “well done.” It was a shrimp-lover’s dream pizza. I highly recommend you order one for the table.

Shrimp Pizza extraordinare!

Dave decided to show off his culinary skills a bit and cooked us up 2 more pizzas. Artichoke with kalamata and green olives and goat cheese, Egg with prosciutto and smoked mozzarella. The artichoke pizza was very rich but a medley of tart and salty that was enhanced by the sweetness of the goat cheese.

Dave manhandles the pizza in the wood oven!

Rich and delicious artichoke pizza

The egg pizza I would describe as a salty, savory breakfast heaven. I would like to try it with some Tabasco sauce on top. I think Humble Pie should consider serving breakfast. That pie would most certainly bring the crowds running!

Egg pizza, it's not just for lunch anymore!

The pizzas at Humble Pie range in price from $9.95 for cheese to $12.95 for some of their more gourmet creations. Each pizza is the size of a dinner plate and with an appetizer or salad, would easily serve 2.

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with our Humble Pie adventure. The food is of the highest quality, the service was impeccable and the prices very reasonable. We will surely return and invite our friends—we are happy to brag if they are too humble to do so.