I love to celebrate birthdays!
I think it should be celebrated. It should feel special. And it shouldn’t matter how old you get (or how “cool” you are lol), why not take any opportunity to celebrate yourself or your loved ones?
It’s become pretty much understood among my friend and family group that I do a “Birthday Week” to celebrate my birthday.
It actually tends to be Two Birthday Weeks (to include the weekend before the birthday and the weekend of the birthday, two weekends lol) though for my 30th birthday in 2019 I decided to go big and do a Birthday Month, lol. This longer duration of celebrations really just means more opportunities to eat good food under the banner of birthday celebrations.
It makes sense then that my style of celebrating would rub off on my husband Mike!
For his birthday this April, I had suggested we go on a Pizza Car Crawl, but he came back with this idea:
A Birthday Week of Daily Pizzas!
I know, right?
Mike has always loved pizza so the idea of a week of daily pizzas just lit up his face (proof below).
(I like pizza but I crave other food before pizza most of the time lol, so this was definitely *for him* lol).
For Mike’s Birthday Week of Pizzas, we tried ten different pizzas at eight different pizza spots in Edmonton (and area—Stony Plain). Some pizza spots we got half and half toppings to try as many ‘zas as possible. Some spots did thin crust. Some did thick. Most of the toppings were meaty. Some were pretty unique! Some were trendier. Some were more neighbourhood classics. There was good variety!
It was amazing to discover just how many pizzerias there are in the Edmonton area. I felt like we tried and ate so many and it honestly doesn’t even scratch the surface. There are a ton of places we still want to try!
Below is a summary of all the pizzas we tried counting down to Mike’s birthday, followed by Mike’s Top 5 favourite pizzas of the week, plus an honourable mention from me!
We chose to only rank Top 5 so as not to be mean about which pizzas were in bottom place (nobody needs to be kicked most of time, but especially during the pandemic lol). I would say even if a spot didn’t make it into the Top 5, I still really enjoyed all of the pizzas we tried and there was no pizza that we’d describe as terrible lol.
- 7 Days Until Mike’s Birthday: Meat Lover’s from Atomic Pizza
- 6 Days Until Mike’s Birthday: Half Potato Half Meuwly’s Soppressata from Toast Culture
- 5 Days Until MIke’s Birthday: Half Ricotta Soppressata + Half Calabrian from Panini’s
- 4 Days Until Mike’s Birthday: The T-Rex from Versato’s
- 3 Days Until Mike’s Birthday: All Meat from Red Swan Pizza
- 2 Days Until Mike’s Birthday: Pink Gorilla from Pink Gorilla Pizzeria
- 1 Day Until Mike’s Birthday: Garlic Chicken from The Stone & Wheel Pizzeria
- Mike’s Birthday: Donair from Capital Pizza (Londondale)
Also thank YOU for your pizza suggestions! Browse this Instagram or Facebook post for more pizza ideas!
Mike’s Top 5 Pizzas from his Birthday Week of Pizza
Please note: these rankings are obviously entirely based on Mike’s preferences!
I also added a bit more detail for each than Mike would have.
He wanted the blog rankings to say “good, better, not as good” really straight to the point, lol.
This is why he does not have a blog lol although there’s probably an audience for straight-to-point blogs.
5. The “Potato Pizza” from Toast Culture
Toast Culture
11965 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB
toastculture.com
The order: Potato, Capicola Cotto & Truffle oil with Garlic aioli, red onion & aged cheddar
I am a big fan of the “Potato Pizza” from Toast Culture and was excited to have Mike try it!
It reminds of potato pizzas we had while in Italy (though not exactly the same). But so comforting!
The garlic aioli works with the truffle oil which works with the melted aged cheddar which works with the capicola which works with the potatoes! Everything works. (Well, I could do without the onions but that’s just a personal preference, lol) The potatoes also help make this pizza extra filling.
And it’s unique in terms of Edmonton area pizza offerings!
Don’t do a half and half. Get a full potato pizza. Then get another one, lol.
4. All Meat from Red Swan Pizza
Red Swan Pizza (Whyte Ave).
10046 82 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
redswanpizza.ca
The order: All Meat sesame seeds, ham, pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage, beef, bacon, pizza sauce & mozzarella cheese
Mike and I had never heard of Red Swan Pizza before, until a few folks recommended it in my Instagram pizza post. Turns out this is a Canadian chain with local franchise owners in different neighbourhoods around Edmonton.
The All Meat pizza is a great, meat-packed pizza. And what was unique and extra tasty about Red Swan Pizza is their sesame seed crust. Mike and I had never had a sesame seed pizza before, adding not only an interesting texture and crunch to the crust, but also a nice sort of nutty flavour.
I also like that Red Swan Pizza has some pretty great deals!
For instance, $29.95 or three 12″ medium pizzas or $7.95 10″ small pizza, etc.
3. The Donair Pizza from Capital Pizza
Capital Pizza & Steakhouse (Londondale)
7640 – 144 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
capitalpizza.ca
The order: donair meat, onions and diced cooked tomatoes
Mike was skeptical about this donair pizza at first because it came with tomatoes baked right in. His usual donair pizza order from Atomic Pizza puts tomatoes on the side so this is something he’d become used to.
But after a few bites he was sold.
The donair pizza from Capital Pizza was a good balance of donair meat, onions and he even liked the diced, cooked tomatoes in the pie itself. The crust was nice, and while this donair pizza comes with sweet sauce (he prefers tzatziki sauce with donair pizza), it worked for him! Capital Pizza is also a long-standing pizza joint, serving the north side Londondale neighbourhood of Edmonton since 1976.
2. The Pink Gorilla from Pink Gorilla Pizzeria
Pink Gorilla Pizzeria
7018 109 Street
Edmonton, AB
www.pinkgorillapizzeria.com
The order: Pink Gorilla garlic oil, fresh pastrami, pickled daikon, yellow mustard and cornichon pickles
Mike was really surprised with how much he enjoyed The Pink Gorilla pizza from Pink Gorilla Pizzeria!
On paper, it sounds a bit odd—a pizza with pickles? Mustard? Pickled daikon?
This was a pizza I was excited for him to eat though, because I’ve tried it a few times and LOVED it. The combination of flavours completely works. Don’t let anyone tell you mustard or pickles don’t work on pizza!
Mike says he really liked this pizza because he said it tasted like a Montreal Smoked Meat pizza!
Dip it with donair sauce and it’s like a (pizza) party of great flavours in your mouth. Delicious!
1. Meat Lovers Pizza from Atomic Pizza
Atomic Pizza
4401 48 Street
Stony Plain, AB
atomicpizza.ca
The order: Meat Lovers – Pepperoni, Ham, Salami, Bacon, and Beef
Mike loves Atomic Pizza in Stony Plain, a little town just 20 minutes west of Edmonton. It was his favourite pizza going into the week and he’s happy to confirm it is still his favourite even after trying the other pizzas.
Why does Mike love Atomic Pizza so much? He thinks it’s because of the crust.
He thinks Atomic Pizza makes the best crust. He also likes how much of each topping they include on the pizza and he also thinks the sauce on the pizza is quite generous and tasty.
Although for this Birthday Week we had Meat Lovers, Mike’s typical Atomic Pizza order is the Donair, which he says melts in his mouth—and is unbelievably good.
I did think this pizza was quite good, but I also think Mike applies some nostalgia points to this pizza because it was his family’s go-to growing up as well.
Linda’s Honourable Mention: T-Rex Pizza from Versato’s
Versato’s Pizza
12753 50 Street
Edmonton, AB
versatospizza.com
The order: T-Rex (pepperoni, ham, salami, beef, bacon and mozzarella)
Although it didn’t make Mike’s Top 5 (but was close!), I really loved the ultra meaty, thick T-Rex pizza from Versato’s in north east Edmonton. There are literal layers of meat, like several inches high, lol.
For a meat lover and a thick pizza lover, it’s perfect. Super filling!
And probably emitted the most tantalizing smell from the box as I was driving it home after pick-up lol.
—
So there you have it!
A week of pizzas.
A Top 5 ranking + honourable mention.
So much cheese. meat. crust.
I have to say, after an entire week of pizza, even with how good the were, I’m probably good for awhile, lol.
Mike on the other hand, still obsessed. Still would happily have pizza every night for the rest of his life.
A true pizza lover.
Thanks for following along on his Birthday Week of Pizza live on social media.
I’m also glad to hear it has inspired a few future Birthday Weeks of Pizza. :)
There’s lots of places we didn’t get to—simply because there are not enough days, stomach room, money, lol, to try ALL the pizzas. Some spots we had intended to try during the week but some hours of operation didn’t work out for our plans. If and when we try more pizza, watch for mini reviews on my social media!
Linda
2 Comments
Thanks for this list I will have to check them out as I always enjoy a good pizza! The two places I enjoy are Royal Pizza and Canadian Pizza Unlimited. If you are ever interested in trying to cook a home made pizza I recommend the recipe on BaconHound by Edmonton’s very own Mark Connolly.
Oooh! I love Nitza’s in Sherwood park. Love Pizza and Red Swan are my usual go tos for pizza.