Cafe 7

This week we had made plans to hit up Othello's, but there was a problem. Tonight, as if you didn't already know, is the Lost finale. And as nerds, we are honor bound to watch (even if 50% of New World Pizza hasn't seen a single episode). So we called an audible and swung by Café 7, on N. May and WEST Memorial. Café 7's shtick is that the sandwiches, the salads, the pastas, and pizzas are all $7 (actually, $6.46, plus tax). Oh, and everything comes out within seven minutes. And if you're the seventh son of a seventh son you get your seventh meal free (we think, you should probably check with them before you try this one).

How'd it hold up?

The Margherita Pizza
Café 7's crusts are similar to a thick pita is texture - chewy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. In both tensile strength and flavor, the crust is weak. The Margherita pizza comes topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh tomatoes, and oregano. The tomato sauce was savory . . . The cheese was gooey, chewy, and tasty. Occasionally there was a problem with it sliding off the crust, but overall it was excellent. The fresh basil was the star player on this pizza, overwhelming the wimpy contributions of the fresh tomatoes. Not to say the tomato was useless – it brought a lightness, an airiness if you will, to the pizza. Overall, it was a solid pizza, but nothing to write home about.

My Big Fat Greek Pizza
Essentially a modified Margherita pizza, the Greek pizza comes with an olive oil glaze, mozzarella, fresh garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and oregano. The olive oil and garlic glaze worked fantastically with the (wimpy) crust and cheese. The sun-dried tomatoes replaced the need for tomato sauce and the feta brought harmony to the mozzarella. Our only qualm with this pizza was the massive leaves of spinach unevenly spread over the pizza.

The Luau Pizza
The Luau pizza has tomato sauce, mozzarella, Canadian bacon, pineapple chunks, and mandarin oranges. While it sounds like mandarin oranges would bring a new aspect to a Hawaiian pizza, actual execution proved problematic. Additionally, the Canadian bacon really didn't have a distinct flavor. This problem is only perpetuated when combined with bland oranges and pineapples. The end result was a sweet pizza that had no one distinct flavor, but that might be what they were going for.

Discerning readers will notice that we didn't follow our established methodology. We're still reeling from the pepperoni overload last week. Hopefully by next week we'll be back to 100%.

Café 7 fulfilled its $7, seven minute promise. And honestly, for fast, cheap single serving pizzas it's not a bad deal. We'd be more than willing to go back if we were on that side of town and needed a quick lunch, but if time's not an issue, there are other places we'd rather go.



Hope everyone enjoys the Lost finale tonight!