The Jealous Crumpet

A sweet little blog


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Uncle Maddio’s Pizza

Uncle Maddio's

Madison Alabama has a new pizza place, Uncle Maddio’s Pizza, and it’s pretty awesome! I had the pleasure of attending Maddio’s Ribbon Cutting and VIP event (somehow I’ve tricked people into thinking I’m a VIP, he he he) and got a first taste of the pizza and restaurant.
Uncle Maddio'sMaddio’s specializes in fresh pizza made with local ingredients. There are 3 types of crust (traditional, whole wheat and gluten-free), 6 types of sauce (tomato basil, BBQ, buttermilk ranch, buffalo, herb pesto and garlic olive oil) and 45 toppings!!
10At the event I met up with fellow bloggers C.C. Fridlan, Bo Williams, and Constance Smith. Make sure you check out their blog posts as well.   9 The restaurant is a family-friendly, casual restaurant with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients.
16The way it works is, you select your crust and sauce and then comes the hardest part, you have to pick your ingredients, which seems easy until you realize that you have 45 to choose from.
18So many options!14I went with the gluten-free, Peachy Keen summer pizza, which had fresh peaches, basil, onions, prosciutto, and balsamic vinegar. It was de-licious!
15The staff was friendly and lovely. The employee (pizza artist, pizzista, I don’t know the official title)  making my pizza even happily tolerated my manic picture-taking and posed to let me get a photo right as it was about to go into the oven.
13After the pizza is assembled it goes into the oven and you go to your table to wait.
12We all received our meals promptly, which was impressive considering the throngs of people who were there.  As us bloggers enjoyed our pizzas we were brought cookies and cannolis (though I think this was only because it was a VIP event).  I am absolutely not supposed to have wheat or sugar (that’s a blog post for the future) but I did partake in one cannoli.
7I’m such a sucker for tiny desserts!5Everyone’s pizza looked delectable and I’m looking forward to bringing my husband and trying Maddio’s again. They had so many local beers on tap for the adults and a children’s menu for the kiddies.  There really is something for everyone!68Patrons can order online and avoid the line. The employees were fast, so the line wasn’t a problem for me, but if you have small children this could be a life saver.
20Check out Uncle Maddio’s in Madison and let me know what you think!4


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The Pie Factory

The Pie Factory UNA had its graduation ceremony on Saturday. As an UNA alumni I got quite nostalgic about my years at the university, so I dragged my husband around the campus, pointing out locations of various fond memories and hijinks. “That’s where a gang of squirrels chased us down”, “here’s where a weird, religious zealot would stand and scream at students passing by”, “there’s where the LARPers would practice their sword fighting skills”. You know, typical college stuff.

After several hours of walking down memory lane, we made the short trek to The Pie Factory. I was actually quite jealous of the current UNA students, as the downtown Florence area is completely different from when I was a student. There are numerous wonderful stores and restaurants that we would have killed for back in the day, including The Pie Factory.  The Pie Factory

The Pie FactoryThe Pie Factory opened their doors in 2013 with the goal of creating place that served great New York style pizza in Downtown Florence. A mighty tall order, but one which The Pie Factory does very well.feature10We opted for an early dinner and arrived to the restaurant around 5:30. The restaurant was pleasant, with fun pizza themed details festooning the walls. The general ambience was lively, but laid-back.feature6 It weather was perfect, so we sat in the outdoor seating area.  The outdoor veranda had a beachy feel and made me reminiscent about white, sandy summer vacations.  feature3Olivier and I split a wedge salad, which was just they way it should be: simple and fresh.

feature7I knew we would be ordering pizza, but I still agonized over the menu for quite a while. There were numerous interesting choices such as The Funky Chicken, which included gouda cheese and another pizza (I can’t remember the name) which included pork tenderloin and peaches. The Restaurant Week Special is the Arthea’s Franklin, which is a spicy Buffalo chicken pizza, including ranch glaze, grilled chicken, jalapeños, Frank’s Hot Sauce, red onions, chives and both gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese. I did get to sample a slice of this at the Kick Off of Restaurant Week and it was quite delish, but in the end I went super basic and got The Sweet Marguerite.

 Tomatoes + Basil + Mozzarella = Perfection

feature9Shortly after we got our pizza a little bird perched across from us, hoping we were messy eaters and he could bag a few scrapes.  See even the birds love The Pie Factory.feature2The restaurant also has an extensive collection of beers.  I was happy to see a lot of local brews and ordered Straight to Ale’s Monkeynaught to pair with my pizza.  feature11In the end we all enjoyed our food: Olivier, myself and the bird. Not that we’re messy eaters but I fell for the guilt trip and tossed him a bit of crust.  The bird, not Olivier.

I am looking forward to going back and trying something more adventurous, perhaps the Funky Chicken.
feature8Disclosure: I was invited to participate in Florence Restaurant Week by Florence Main Street. My hotel was paid for by them to make it easier for me to participate and I received a $20 gift card from The Pie Factory. I paid the remaining balance out of my own pocket and all thoughts and opinions about the restaurant are my own.


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Pieology Pizzeria in Alabama!

Pieology PizzeraBridge Street Town Centre (in Huntsville, AL) has a pizza place! And it is delicious! I was cordially invited to Pieology’s Media Event (Thank-you Tim!) and got a sneak peek at the restaurant, met the talented staff, and, best of all, got to sample their delectable pizza.

Pieology Pizzeria at Bridge Street Town Centre

Pieology Pizzeria at Bridge Street Town Centre

Pieology Pizzeria originally started out west with the goal of creating fresh, customizable pizzas at a good price. Finally they’ve come to the south and we too can enjoy great ingredients, friendly service, and a fun experience.

Pieology Media Event

Happy people waiting for pie!

I attended the event with my husband. I took a photograph of him waiting in line with me as evidence, but he got annoyed that I was taken too long to take the picture and made a stupid expression at the last second. I should have posted the photo anyway (serves him right) but being the loving and benevolent wife that I am, I deleted it.

The line was long, as everyone was excited to sample the fare, but we got through quickly. Plus there is a giant quote wall along the line path, so you are entertained/inspired while you wait.

Pieology Pizza Oven

After several minutes of inspirational quote reading we were ready to order. A super friendly employee (I’m so sorry I forgot your name) explained our different crust options and put the fresh dough in a pizza press for a nice thin crust.  He was very nice so I feel terrible that I can’t remember his name.  I guess I was just too excited about the pizza.

Pieology Pizzeria

You can see my husband’s reflection in the bottom left of the photo. Sadly, that is the only decent shot I got of him at the lunch.

We then picked from one of seven different sauces. You an even mix and match them! I was completely uncreative and just went with the pre-designed Alfredo’s Alfredo pizza, but it was delicious, so I was happy with my decision. My hubby chose the Rustic Veggie. We planned to swap a couple of slices so we could try both, but we forgot. Oops! Guess we’ll just have to go back.

Fresh Ingredients at PieologyThen we picked our your cheeses and toppings.  Again, I just defaulted to the menu item, but I think I’ll get creative the next time.  The great thing is that every pizza is only $7.95 no matter how many toppings you get on it.

fresh ingredients at PieologyEverything is fresh as well. I was told they don’t even have freezers so you know you’re getting fresh food that is produced on site.

Oven at PieologyThis is inside the oven where all the magic happens!

Fresh food at Pieology

Manager Tim is on the right. Say hey to him when you go in for a visit. He is very helpful and nice.

After we picked out our toppings the pizza went into the oven to cook for 3 minutes.

We got our drinks.  There were 4 sweet tea choices so southerners will be happy.  And the tea was good, none of that canned nonsense which will remain nameless.  True southerners will know what I’m talking about.

Drink Station at Pieology

Drink Station at Pieology

We waited in the patio area for a very short time and Volia! yummy pizza goodness.

feature3

Looking at the photo I just realized that I did not follow the instructions of the number sign and place the sign at the edge of the table. It was pretty much in the middle, which is the opposite of the directions. Oops! I’ll know for next time.

I am looking forward to my next visit.  Thank-you Tim and the staff of Pieology for inviting me for the sneak peek.  Congratulations on your grand opening today (April 23rd).  Make sure y’all like them on Facebook to keep updated on any upcoming events!
Pieology Pizza
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Pieology Pizzeria Opens Wednesday!

Pieology Pizzeria

Yesterday I saw a long line of people waiting for pizza at Pieology.  I would have jumped in line with the excited patrons (who can pass up free pizza!) if I wasn’t already planning on going on Wednesday for lunch.  1Y2B6003Where the magic happens!  I’ll let you all know how it is on Thursday.

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Coming Soon to Alabama!! Pieology Pizzeria

1Y2B5960I’m so excited to have been invited to the media junket at Pieology Pizzeria next week! I’ll have a post all about it next week, so be sure to check it out.  Also make sure you like the Facebook page with the link above.  1Y2B5966