Pizza in Potsdam, and TAN!

So I realized that I forgot some important things yesterday. Namely, my weekend.

The band Thunderbirds are Now! played a show in Berlin on Saturday night. As some of you may know already, back when I lived in the coffeehouse at Albion College, I was the booking manager, in charge of booking bands and entertainment events for the house. One of the bands I booked a few times was Thunderbirds are Now!--this was back when they were first starting out. Since then, they've put out a couple of albums and experienced a modicum of success (ex: Rolling Stone listed their newest album among the top 50 albums of the year.) Hence, they were able to do their first European tour. I've managed to stay in contact with them over the years, and we were able to hang out Saturday night, which was really fun. It was good to see them, and I'm happy for them, that they've been able to have these experiences. It wasn't anything I'd ever anticipated--seeing TAN! in Berlin...it was kinda crazy. They used to play in my living room to a crowd of 15 people (not that the crowd was much larger than that on Saturday, but they had played to 200 people the night before outside of Frankfurt!). Anyhow, that was kinda cool and I thought I should mention it here.

The other thing I wanted to mention was my idea that I had...a blogging idea. I call it "Pizza in Potsdam." Let me explain. Here in Germany, Pizza is both delicious and very inexpensive, and one can choose from a wide assortment of toppings, many of which would seem quite exotic to t he american pizza topping palate (artichokes? tunafish? gorganzola or goat cheese? asparagus? mmm) . Here, pizza typically consists of a thinner, chewy crust, light tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes or a cream sauce, and toppings and a light sprinkling of cheese (a wider array of cheeses than the typical "mozzerella" shredded cheese mix we are used to at home). One typically orders a small pizza (8-10 inches in diameter) to eat by oneself, and it typically comes unsliced and one eats it with a fork and knife. Pizza here is, in my opinion, supirior to pizza in the united states. It's lighter, yet more satisfying. It's really quite wonderful. So anyway, here is my plan.

I am going to sample pizza around Berlin and Potsdam, and then blog about my findings. I will try different pizzerias, fresh and frozen, every vegetarian topping combo possible, every price range. And I will blog about it here...or I will possibly start a new blog solely for my dining out adventures. The main theme of my pizza posts will be reviewing the pizza itself, but also the service and atmosphere and price tag that come with the pizza. I may, also, review other types of restaurants too, who knows. Maybe I'll have to branch out and include falafel and kebaps too.
Why do I want to do this? Mostly just for fun. But also to kind of have a record of what I do, where I go. Maybe I will use my pizza reviews as a jumping off point into more location based writing. We'll see where it takes me. And maybe, who knows, some one will do a google search on Pizza in Potsdam and get my blog and know where the best (in my opinion) pizzerias are...haha, maybe I could turn into a guide book writer or somethign rediculous. It could be a start, who knows?

So yes. For my first review, I would like to talk about the pizza I just ate for lunch. I didn't go to a restaurant today, no no. Rather, I went to Kaufland...the supermarket. I wasn't originally planning to have pizza today, but I saw a price tag I couldn't refuse: 63 cents for a frozen Kaufland brand "Pizza Margherita" It came topped with Edamer and Mozzerella cheeses, Red, Green and Yellow bell pepper, and zucchini. It looked like a perfect lunch.
Now, I hate bell pepper, so I had to pick those off before cooking, but the pizza was suprizingly tasty, despite being a frozen discount brand. The crust had a nice chewy consistency, but crisped up nice on the bottom. The toppings didn't make the pizza soggy (as is sometimes the case here with frozen pizzas) and the cheese wasn't too greasy or oily. It was, however, a little saucy, but if you like a saucy pizza, this would be for you. The sauce had a great flavor...not too sweet, too bitter, to salty or too sour--just right. I would have never expected to enjoy a 63 cents frozen pizza so much, but I did. It was better than some of the crappier fresh pizzas I've had (um, such as the "joey's pizza" chain. Don't get your pizza there. Trust me.) So yes, folks. I reccommend the Kaufland brand Pizza Margherita. Plus, it's easy to jazz up with your own toppings. A perfect lunch....and not a "Kalorien Bombe" either! It was small-ish, so it weighed in at about 450 calories. Not bad for a whole pizza!

So yes, next time you're in Kaufland and craving some pizza, look past the pricier name brands and try the K-brand. It's tasty stuff.