Rapid Fired Pizza: When you absolutely need it fast!

They promise "zero to pizza in 180 seconds" and they are not wrong.  I hadn't visited Rapid Fired Pizza  for some time now.  Guess I've been trying to cook on my own more, and I've been learning some new recipes (including quiche, thank you very much Heather :-).  But I was coming back from a friend's birthday party yesterday evening and had the craving for a good pizza.  So I went to one of Rapid Fire's locations here in upstate South Carolina.  By the time I'd finished, I had vowed that I'd make myself a more regular customer, because their pizza ROCKS!

Rapid Fired Pizza for the most part uses a standard 11-inch pan.  Atop the dough you tell the guy assembling your pizza what kinds of sauce, toppings, spices and salt etc. you want on it.  Or you can pick from their menu of their many craft pizzas.  After that's done (and while you're paying for it all) the pizza goes into a big oven, where it cooks for three minutes.  By the time you've gotten your drink and found a seat they will have called your name to pick up your cooked pizza pie.  Take it to your table and enjoy!

So, what's Rapid Fired Pizza's errr... pizza, taste like?  As you can see I got a pretty standard pepperoni and mozzarella cheese (and a Dr. Pepper soft drink).  It arrived good 'n hot and I discovered that I had forgotten the childhood agony of hot cheese dripping off the slice and onto my tongue.  Yee-OUCH!!  But it doesn't take long to cool to a more palatable degree.  My taste buds delighted in the rich flavor of the traditional sauce and what can only be described as the perfect crust for a pizza chain.  The pepperonis cooked nicely and had a good bite to them.

In short, my dinner was a true delight.  And as I said I'll be going back more often.  Either dining in or taking a pizza home with me on the way back from the office.

Rapid Fired Pizza is a franchise that's seeing some growth.  They're mostly based around Ohio but there are a few locations beyond that region including four in the Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina area.  And according to their website they're also expanding to California.  So check it out and see if there's a location near you.  It's well worth making a visit!
 

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Mellow Mushroom goes the extra mile for U.S. soldier's family

There is a Mellow Mushroom that opened up not long ago in nearby Burlington. I've yet to eat at that one but now I'm feeling led to. For one thing the pizza is insanely delicious. For another, after reading this next story y'all will agree: this company rocks!

The tale begins with Army National Guard Major Shawn Fulker, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. At the moment Fulker is deployed thousands of miles from home in Afghanistan. His wife's birthday was coming up and in spite of the distance he wanted to do something nice for her. Josephine Fulker really loves the pizza at Mellow Mushroom, so Shawn e-mailed the company's corporate office and asked if one of their Jacksonville restaurants could deliver a pizza and a $50 gift card to his wife. Shawn let them know that he would gladly call the store and pay for it by credit card.

Good story so far, aye? But wait: it gets better...

Mellow Mushroom's headquarters forwarded the e-mail to the company's Fleming Island location, which went above and beyond the call of duty. First they made a special heart-shaped crust for the pizza.

Then the store manager and another employee drove out with it, stopped at a supermarket to buy balloons and a vase of flowers, and proceeded on to the Fulker home.

They delivered it all - including the $50 gift card - to Josephine.

And the store didn't charge Shawn Fulker a thing! From the story at ABC News...

John Valentino, the Mellow Mushroom franchisee who owns that location and others in Jacksonville, said his store was happy to have made the day special for the couple.

"Of course we weren't going to charge him for anything," Valentino told ABC. "Him being a serviceman and his wife being home. … Hopefully in her husband's absence we were able to help her have a great birthday while he's over in Afghanistan serving our country."

Josephine Fulker had just finished Skyping with her husband when the doorbell rang and she saw the two Mellow Mushroom employees at her door on Thursday.

"I don't know their names exactly, but they had a pizza and a big butterfly balloon and a vase of flowers with a gift card for $50 and they told me that it was from my husband. I said 'Oh my goodness.' I was surprised and excited and overwhelmed and all of that. It was so nice," she said.

It was especially nice because Shawn Fulker had already sent his wife flowers and candy earlier that day. Since he hadn't been able to check his email for a while, he had no idea that Mellow Mushroom had been working on his initial request.

The Facebook page for Mellow Mushroom at Fleming Island has gone bonkers with gratitude about their efforts for the Fulkers. Which was a very, very cool thing to have done.

And hey, Fulker and his unit also showed their thanks, all the way from Afghanistan!

It's stuff like this that renews my faith in humanity. Way to go Mellow Mushroom :-)

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Government redefined reality: Pizza is vegetable, Brillo pads are illegal gun silencers

What is it about food that brings out more than the usual looniness from government? Remember when California tried to impose the "snack tax"? And before that it was President Reagan who sought to have ketchup officially deemed a vegetable.

Now the squabbling between the Obama Administration and the Republican-held Congress has made it so that pizza is to be classified as a vegetable. The article is nigh worth reading, if only because it is the first (and I pray last time) that this blogger has ever agreed with the food Nazis at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (hey, a stopped clock is right twice a day...)

But that's not the most ridiculous act of federal gubmint to come across this desk today, folks. No, that dubious honor belongs to the assorted thugs and goons at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which has now declared it illegal to possess Brillo pads, Chore Boy Pot Scrubber and similar cookware scouring/cleaning material, depending on how it is construed. From the article...

"[S]ound/gas absorbing materials manufactured from Chore Boy copper cleaning pads, along with fiberglass insulation, constitute a silencer.

Therefore, it is illegal for an individual to replace deteriorated material within an already- registered suppressor without an approved ATF Form 1, 'Application to Make and Register a Firearm,'" along with a "$200.00 making tax" and "a 'no-marking' variance...since there is no viable area in which to apply a serial number to the sound-absorbing material."

The article further states that "The original letter included a question about the owner of a legally owned silencer having a reserve of such pads. In case, you know, they needed to clean something. According to the ATF that would be considered a "stockpile" and considered an illegal act."

So in the BATF's eyes, there is an illegal stockpile of munitions, ohhh... inside the cabinet beneath every kitchen sink in America.

I wouldn't put it past the BATF to seek warrants to invade private property on those measly grounds.

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Papa John's founder reunited with cherished Camaro

In 1983, John Schnatter had a gold and black 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. It was one of his most beloved possessions. And then he had to sell it to help pay the bills for his father's tavern. The Camaro was bought for $2,800 and there was some money left over after his dad's business got out of hock.

Schnatter used the leftover dough to start up Papa John's Pizza. Everyone knows how huge a success that turned out to be, how John Schnatter has become a multi-millionaire from that initial investment.

And yet, John Schnatter still needed something to be happy. He wanted to be reunited with his favorite muscle car. So Schnatter went on a nationwide quest to hunt it down.

Last week, with some help from car enthusiast website Jalopnik.com, Schnatter's dream came true. The Camaro was in the ownership of Jeff Robinson of Flatwoods, Kentucky (not far from the headquarters of Papa John's in Louisville). And Robinson is now $250,000 richer after transferring the title of the car over to Schnatter.

Here's John Schnatter with the Camaro in 1983, and Schnatter with it today...

After getting his Camaro back, Schnatter said...

"The Camaro represents what I gave up to start Papa John's. Words cannot capture the emotions I am feeling in getting back that part of my history. I didn't have much back then, but for my business dreams to come true, I had to part with the one true asset I had to my name, and even then, there were no promises of success. I never gave up hope that someday I would get that car back. The foundation of Papa John's was built on my decision to sell the Camaro, and while it may not appear to be a huge sacrifice to some, it represents my roots in this business. And, perhaps it can serve as proof to others that hard decisions today can pay off for you later, if you're willing to believe in what you are doing. I'm extremely grateful for the success of Papa John's, and really wanted this critical piece of our history back."

What an awesome story! And methinks there's a lot of good lesson here about success, having faith in one's self and having hope that no matter how hard the sacrifice, it will be worth it in the end. It certainly did for John Schnatter. So it can be for anybody.

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You know those peppers that Papa John's puts in the boxes along with the pizza?

Well, I just ate one.

DAY-UMMMNNN are those things hot!!

If you ever wondered what they tasted like, and had the temptation to try one, brace yourself: they will make your taste buds blister.

I kinda liked it though. Maybe next time I'll ask them to pack a few more of them in along with the pizza.

The hottest pepper on Earth is said to be the Bhut Jolokia, which I've heard is so hot that it'll burn bare human skin on contact. Most companies that sell it have you sign a waiver stating that you understand the danger that comes with handling such a thing.

So of course, I'm hoping to try it for myself someday :-)

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The $1,000 pizza pie

A restaurant in New York City is selling a pizza that costs $1,000, or $250 per slice.

Instead of regular sauce and cheese the pizza "will be topped with creme fraiche, chives, eight ounces of four different kinds of Petrossian caviar, four ounces of thinly sliced Maine lobster tail, salmon roe, and a little bit of spice with wasabi." It's also not cooked, because that would ruin the fish.

Doesn't sound like anything I'd really like to eat. Even if I had a few million bucks to spare, I would rather get my pizza from PieWorks in Greensboro or King's Inn Pizza in Eden... which may be the best pizza anywhere.

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