Welcome to the 2nd Vancouver Foodster Pizza Challenge. Restaurants from all over the city were invited to enter their pizza into this challenge, some of the restaurants have created a special pizza just for this challenge and others have entered their top choice off their existing menu. Each restaurant will be featuring their pizza on their menu from March 5-28, 2015.

How Does this all Work? For the public challenge, you are invited to go out and order any or all of the pizza creations in this challenge, then you decide who you think has the best pizza creation for the People’s Choice award winners. 

Share your experiences: Tweet (and don’t forget to tweet or instagram your photos) throughout the challenge, our twitter and instagram address is @vanfoodster and the hashtag is #PizzaChallengeYVR please include this hashtag in all your tweets during the challenge.

Voting criteria –  some things to help you judge your favourite pizza creations – keep these things in mind: originality, creativity, uniqueness, traditional, non-traditional, price, value and most importantly taste.

Get some friends together and make a night of it, visit 3 restaurants or more to share and taste the different pizzas or go solo or with a friend – just remember to VOTE for your favourites between March 5 – 28, 2015. 

Here are the 14 Pizza creations in this challenge, listed in no particular order other than when they were received by us.

Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria

Pizza Pomo Verde

Description: Urbani’s Spicy Fennel Sausage, Carozzi Tellagio Fromaggio, Fior di Latte, Fresh Fennel, Green Apple Chive Slaw

Price:  $16

Created by: Executive Chef Will Lucas

Offered: from 11:30am daily

Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria

6011 Hastings Street, Burnaby

Tel:  604-299-8002

Twitter:  @CottoEnoteca

Web:  http://cotto.ca/

 

Steel Toad Brewpub

Duck Confit Pizza

Description: Duck Confit, barbeque sauce (sauce is made in-house). It’s Sweet and tangy with a touch of spice. 12″ thin-crust forno fired, topped with Gouda cheese.

Price: $16

Created by: Chef Robbie Robinson created the pizza, forno chef Cameron Lewis perfected it.

Offered: After 11am Mon – Fri, after 10am Sat – Sun

Steel Toad Brewpub

97 East 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Tel: 604-709-8623

Web: http://steeltoad.ca/

Twitter: @SteelToadBeer

 

Alberello Pizzeria

Verde Noce 

Description: Verde Noce translates green walnut. House-made pesto base with toasted walnuts, roasted red and yellow peppers, caramelized onion, oyster mushroom sautéed in garlic oil, and aged mozzarella topped with fresh soft goat cheese & basil.

Price: $14

Created by: Azin Etesami (Owner/pizza lover) and Cristina Marianetti (Chef)

Offered: all the time

Alberello Pizzeria

115 W 15th Street, North Vancouver

Tel: 604-770-4484

Web: http://www.alberellopizzeria.com/

Twitter @Alberellopizza

 

Lombardo’s 2go

The Roma

Description: Thin, crisp, baked to perfection. A hand tossed thin crust filled with salami, ham, mozzarella and quark cheese. Baked at 700 degrees to a crisp and delicious finish. Available exclusively at Lombardo’s 2go.

Price: $4 per piece

Created by: Giulia Lombardo

Available: Mon – Fri 11am – 7pm, Sat – sun 12pm – 6pm

Lombardo’s 2go

1641 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 428-8646

Twitter:  @LombardosPizza

Web:  http://lombardos.ca/

 

Frankie’s Italian Kitchen & Bar

Pizza Bianca Gorgonzola

Description:  It is a pizza which combines the salty sweet flavor of prosciutto di parma with the sharp creaminess of a Gorgonzola piccante on a base of Sam Marzano tomato sauce. The prosciutto and gorgonzola are bridged by dried figs that have been bloomed in Red Moscato Wine and Honey. The pie is finished with organic arugula.

Price: $15

Created by: Chef Patrick Doré

Offered: all the time (11am-11pm Monday-Friday and 11am-10pm on Sundays) and will be offered on both our restaurant and bar side.

Frankie’s Italian Kitchen & Bar

765 Beatty Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-688-6368

Web: http://www.frankiesitaliankitchen.ca/index.php

Twitter: @FrankiesItalia1

 

The Bibo

Pizza Montanara

Description: Montanara means something that comes from the mountain. All the ingredients remind of flavours from mountains and woods, you can taste four different kinds of mushrooms, bresaola (cured beef meat), arugula, smoked scamorza Italian cheese and parmigiano reggiano shaved on a bed of light DOP tomato sauce.

Price $24

Offered: Thursday: dinner; Friday-Saturday-Sunday: lunch and dinner

Created by: Chef Marco Di Stefano

The Bibo

1835 W 4th Ave, Vancouver

Tel: 604-568-6177

Twitter: @TheBiBo

Web:  http://www.thebibo.com

 

 

Il Castello Pizzeria

Zucca

Description: Pancetta, fior di latte, crispy sage, and toasted pine nuts on top of a butternut squash puree base.

Price:  $17

Created by:

Offered: Tuesday-Sunday Dinner.

Il Castello Pizzeria

119 East 2nd Street, North Vancouver

Tel: 604-987-4992

Web: http://ilcastellopizzeria.com/

Twitter: @IlCastelloNVan

 

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria

Patate Pancetta

Description: Crème Fraîche, Fior di latte, Thinly sliced roasted potatoes, Pancetta, Carmelized Onions, Romemary, Basil, Grana Padano, & lemon juice, truffle oil and sea salt.

Price:  $16.25

Created by: Chef Don Letendre

Offered: From open to close daily.

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria

1380 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Tel: 604-251-2292

Web: http://www.famoso.ca/locations/bc_commercial_drive.php

Twitter: @FamosoPizzeria

 

Pizza Fabrika

 

Dark Matter Ale Sausage

Description: Dark matter ale sausage, braised beef short rib,  sautéed mixed mushrooms, and red onion

Price:  $15

Created by: Chef Michael Wiese

Offered: 5pm until late, nightly

Pizza Fabrika

1680 Robson Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604.559.1680

Web: www.pizzafabrika.ca

Twitter: @PizzaFabrika_CA

 

Novo Pizzeria

Pizza con burrata e speck

Price: $23

Description: San Marzano tomatoes, Aleppo pepper, burrata, DOP speck, baby heirloom pomodori, vincotto pearls, basil oil.

Created by:  Carmine Paradiso and Charles Richard

Offered:  All the time

Novo Pizzeria

2118 Burrard Street, Vancouver

Tel:    (604) 736-2220

Web:  http://www.novopizzeria.com/

Twitter:   @NOVOPizzeria

 

Bella Gelateria Yaletown

Monte Carlo

Price: $18

Description: Goat Cheese, Spinach, Sundried Tomatoes, Fior Di Latte, Italian Rosemary Chicken (Local Fresh Free Range from Rossdown Farms)

Created by: Chefs team collaboration.

Offered:  Lunch and Dinner daily.

Bella Gelateria Yaletown

1089 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver

Tel: 778-737-7890

Web: http://bellagelateria.com/yaletown/

Twitter @BellaYaletown

 

Pizza Barbarella

The Hawaiian Punch

Price: $18 ($13 for lunch-sized version)

Description: Brown sugar-glazed and house-smoked fresh pineapple and hot capicollo, with bocconcini and aged mozzarella, tomato, finished with grana padano, served on our organic, sourdough crust. Softens the cynicism of even the most ardent pizza purist.

Created by:  n/a

Available:  Lunch, dinner daily and happy hour (weekdays 3pm-5pm)

Pizza Barbarella

654 East Broadway, Vancouver

Tel: 604-210-6111

Web: http://www.pizzeriabarbarella.com/

Twitter: @PizzaBarbarella

 

Ragazzi Pizza

Cotto é Crudo

Description: Prosciutto and bocconcini topped with a salsa fresco and basil

Price: $13.95

Created by: Manager Paul Teixeira

Offered:  Thursday to Sunday Only

Ragazzi Pizza

2996 E. 22nd Avenue, Vancouver

Tel: 604-433-2235

Web: http://www.ragazzipizza.com/

Twitter:   @RagazziPizza

 

Pizza Carano

Spicy Coconut Kale

Price: $15

Description: coconut cream, kale, peanut satay marinated mushrooms, fior di latte, coconut flakes, chili oil

Created by: Chef Trevor Hagenbuch

Offered: Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm to 10pm, and Sunday, 4 to 9pm.

Pizza Carano

4241 Fraser St, Vancouver

Tel: 604-877-1270

Web: http://www.pizzacarano.com/

Twitter: @PizzaCarano

 

Make sure you pick up one of the Pizza Challenge postcards available at each of the participating restaurants. Remember to Vote for your favourites daily, all the voting details are at https://vancouverfoodster.com/pizza-challenge/

Our Media judges for this challenge are:

Thor Diakow

Breakfast Television’s entertainment guru on City in Vancouver.

twitter:@thordiakow

 

Jay Minter

Writer of food and the arts for On The List, Vancouver Presents and other publications.

Twitter: @jminter

 

Jennifer Thomson

Traffic reporter on CKNW and AM730

Twitter: @jtradiogal

 

Adrian Harris

Food Blogger for his own http://www.foodgays.com/

Twitter: @talldarkroast