GUEST BLOG: SENSES FAIL’S HEATH SARACENO LOVES FOOD

Hey. My name is Heath Saraceno. I play guitar in Senses Fail. I go on tour. I eat food. This is the food that I eat while on tour.

Email suggestions to heathlovesfood@gmail.com if you know of a sweet spot I should try.

APRIL 2, 2009
Seattle, WA
SHOWBOX SODO LOUNGE—GRECO PIZZA

I had never played this Showbox before, only the one next to the famous Pike Place Market. Those of us who grew up watching the Real World in the ’90s might remember it as the place where Justin, the fish guy who dated Janet, worked throwing fish. I knew it as the club next to all the awesome pawn shops where I found a Bad 4 Good CD in 2002.

Anyway, I woke up having no idea where I was going to eat today, and it was a big source of stress for me. That stress was relieved when the guys told me that an old friend of ours had relocated from New York to Seattle and worked in the restaurant attached to the club we were playing. Without hesitation I dressed and made my way inside.

I said hello to my friend and briefly talked about the main differences between New York and Seattle. I saw a pizza on the menu that looked interesting, and I knew that he would give me an honest answer not only because he was the bar manager but also because, like any New Yorker, he knows what makes up a good pizza. So I asked if the Greco was worth a shot and then ordered it.

This was a standard-size bar pie with nontraditional toppings. It was topped with feta cheese, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini peppers, kalamata olives, roasted garlic, and olive oil. No sauce. I'm a huge fan of feta cheese on pizza, but I've always had it in a blend with mozzarella, like on my namesake pizza from Isabella's in Baltimore. Judging from this pie, I'd have to say that feta doesn't really pull a pizza together the way that mozzarella does. It's great in a mix, but can't stand on its own.

The first thing I notice in a pizza is the crust, and this one was bubbled and browned in all the right spots. The combination of ingredients was great, too. I thought all the toppings worked well together and kept within the Greek theme, except there was so much salt that there was an overall taste of brine. The olives were the most salty out of the bunch, and when I removed most of them the flavor was vastly improved.

This pizza had all the right pieces, just not in perfect ratio. It is definitely a specialty pie though, not one to be ordered every Friday night. If I could, I would probably get it once a month or so.