Pieology serves as delectable comfort food

After my brother left for UC Berkeley during late August, the novelty of getting his old room quickly faded into melancholy. To be completely honest, when I’m sad, I cram my face with whatever foods I can get my hands on. So I went to Pieology, the up-and-coming pizza spot in San Jose.

The smell of herb butter and freshly kneaded dough greeted me at the door. The interior was clean and simple, and the ordering setup was styled like Chipotle, with a customizing station that allows the customer to put whatever they’d like on a pre-made dough crust.

Pieology offers a variety of sauces and toppings to garnish the thin crust. A “Kustomized” pizza costs $7.95, a pretty good deal considering the amount of toppings you can add to the pizza. I chose a classic marinara sauce base with a topping of mozzarella, tomato, spicy chicken, pepperoni, red onion, green peppers, olives, mushrooms and basil.

The drive was a bit longer than I expected, taking around 30 minutes in rush hour traffic. I made it before the dinner rush at around 5 p.m. and ordered without the pressure of a massive line. But five minutes after I finished my order, there were about 20 people waiting in line.

The workers placed my pizza into an industrial-size baking oven, forcing me to drown in tantalizing smells for around eight minutes. But as soon as I bit into the first bite, I realized how deprived I’d been of good pizza.

I was a bit irked that the workers skimped on my cheese and sauce, leaving patches of bald crust. Without cheese as the proper adhesive, some of my toppings slid off.

At first, I was worried about how thin the crust seemed because I definitely didn’t want to bite into a charred slab of cement. But I shouldn’t have worried. Pieology knows its crust-making better than any other pizza place I’ve tried. The crust was a crisp piece of heaven, and the fact that it’s gluten-free was an added bonus.

The spiciness of the chicken had a good kick, while the pepperoni topped the mozzarella like a crown of perfection. The green peppers, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms were fresh and flavorful, almost as if they were picked just that morning.

Pizza is personal. I won’t touch that ridiculous pineapple and ham concoction of yours, and you might not touch my basil and tomato pie. That’s what makes Pieology so successful; everything is personalized down to the sauce. Pieology is, after all, a study in tomato pies, and it’s evident that the chain has its doctorate in delicious food.