MIKE'S PIZZA KITCHEN

NEW RULES
My wife showed me the math and explained to me that we're losing money when we deliver small orders farther than 4 km, so we're adding a 10 yuan delivery fee for anything farther than 4 km from us, which we will waive if the order is over 100 yuan. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

BUFFALOS!!

We have a new pizza and a new soup...possibly for a limited time only. The soup is a chunky tomato cream soup that I make from imported Italian tomatoes, and the pizza is inspired by The Mickey. However, since all my pizzas are named for fairy tale characters, and those of you who know Mickey can testify that he is anything but fictional; I've decided to call this one the Mad Buffalo. Mad Buffalo is a character from Native American folklore who battled the Thunder Bird, and the pizza is definitely an American style Buffalo Chicken pizza with cream cheese, chicken, bleu cheese and Frank's Red Hot.

We Won Something!
Every year, Chengdoo Magazine and GoChengdoo website do a reader's poll for the "Best of Chengdu." This year, for the first time, they added a category for "Best Pizza" and Mike's Pizza was chosen as the best pizza in Chengdu. So I want to say thank you to all my great customers who took the time to vote for us. It really means a lot to us. I was so excited that I emailed a copy to my mother, and my wife is so happy and proud that she finds clever and subtle ways to make sure the magazine cover is always visible in the restaurant. And we are always very aware that we would be nothing without the patience, kindness and understanding of our customers. So again, thank you all for making this possible.

Helpful Pizza Ordering Flowchart
I actually made this for our T-shirts. Yes, it's a hint.

Celebrating 2 Years!

Last Saturday was actually our two year anniversary here at Mike's Pizza Kitchen. It doesn't feel that way since the shop-front location seems like starting something brand new, but it was December 1st, 2010 that we delivered our first pizza. I've never been one for candle-blowing and birthday cakes, but I am very lucky and grateful that I've been able to keep making pizza for Chengdu these two years. So thank you to all of you who have made this possible. I really do feel like I'm living the dream. The first pizzeria in America was opened in New York in 1905 by an Italian immigrant, Gennaro Lombardi, but they had actually been selling pizza pies from their grocery store since 1897 before they realized what a huge deal pizza was going to be in New York. I'm certainly not the first "immigrant" to sell pizza in Chengdu, and I'm sure I won't be the last, but that idea of coming to a new land carving your own little place in like Lombardi did is pretty exciting. Anyway, thanks again all of you for keeping me around these two years.

Now Open for Dine-in
The Chengdu Pizza scene has a new (old) face. I've been doing the pizza delivery thing in Chengdu now for almost two years. When I started, I was very concious of the fact that so many small businesses, especially restaurants, go out of business in their first year. That seems to be especially true in Chengdu, so I was very cautious. I did everything possible to keep small until I knew I was ready for the next step. The next step just happened. We are now opening the door of our brick and mortar location on the north face of Singapore Garden on Tongzilin Nan Lu. I'll draw a map later. The place is tiny, only four tables, and we are still going to focus on our delivery business since that's our bread and butter. Still, I really hope all you guys will stop by sometime and say hi so I can see the faces that go with the voices I hear on the phone and thank you all for making this possible.

SOON!

True Story: When I started this whole pizza thing I was actually working as a musician. I figured I would have time to do gigs and when I wasn't busy I would make a few pizzas. No big deal, right? Then the Pizza Kitchen started to take off, we had to hire more delivery people and buy more bikes and hire more people and buy more bikes and people started asking when I was going to open an actual restaurant. I would laugh and go into a diatribe about how the game is rigged and I'm on the wrong side of it.

This is all true. It really happened.

That hasn't changed, the game is still rigged. But I've been doing this thing long enough to know that it is sustainable. It's also not fair to my employees to ask them to keep working for a company that doesn't really exist. I'm lucky enough to have a good core of people helping me without whom my life would really suck and they deserve to work for someone and something permanent and stable.

That's why I am taking the next step, a frightening plunge into legitimacy. In a few weeks there will be an actual shop, with an actual sign, and people will be able to walk through an actual door and see me throw pizzas in the air and at the wall, and sometimes at a moving target. We'll be on the outside of Singapore Garden. I'll let y'all know when we officially cut the ribbon.

I am both excited and terrified.

NOODLES! Seriously, all this time I've been open, why have I not been making Spaghetti? Well, the truth is, I've been making spaghetti for myself all the time. It's delicious. And occasionally for my good friend Gerard, he hasn't complained yet. The thing is, I want my spaghetti to be thick and saucy and meaty...or veggie-y if that's what you prefer. It's not about the noodles. You shouldn't have to proportion bits of sauce on every forkful of noodles because you're worried there won't be enough sauce to last until the last bite. There should be so much of that gorgeous red goodness that you'll need bread to sop up the remainder. So my spaghetti is always covered with a generous amount of my delicious meat sauce. Also, I'm assuming that since I usually deliver to homes and offices that you posess forks or chopsticks...if you need a fork tell me on the phone.

COOKIES! Fresh baked, when you order them. Seriously, how many other places in Chengdu can you call up and say, "I'd like you to start baking me a cookie right now please." and have that actually happen. These cookies are not sitting around on a rack or in a cookie jar all day, they are baked right when you ask for them. (They are also really big cookies. The same size as our small pizza.) 30 yuan each and they are available in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip or Chocolate Chip.

SWEET! Mike's Pizza Kitchen is happy to announce that we now have some delicious desserts to offer from Kim's Gourmet Kitchen, the best cheesecakes in Chengdu. Add a piece of delicious Apple Walnut Cheesecake to your order for just 25 yuan, or 2 for 45. We also have regular and Pumpkin Cheesecake for 35 yuan, or two for 65; and Lemon Cheesecake at 30 or two for 55.