Ever wonder what we look for when grading pies? Some of the things we worry about so you don’t have to include:

• Size – We hand toss every single dough ball and want consistency in your crust.
• Sauce distribution – Puddles of sauce are unwanted – as is an unsightly red ring going around the edge of your pizza.
• Crust definition – Does the pizza look round? Is the crust defined? Does the pizza hold up when you go to eat it? We look for a consistent, well-defined crust that “pops” up from the rest of the pizza.
• Topping consistency – We want the cheese all the way to the crust and the toppings should be evenly distributed – not all loaded into the center. Half-and-half pies should be even.
• Color on the top and bottom of the pizza – We look for a perfect golden brown on both top and bottom. Using brick ovens lets us get that crispy, flavorful bottom that just can’t be replicated in most ovens.

Of course these are all just side components to the one grading that is the easiest – taste testing! 

Each day saw a new low toss time for the competition and 145th’s Mike Baxley’s 28-second pie was smoking fast. Unfortunately for him it wasn’t pretty enough to move him on to the next round. That wasn’t the case for Sam Kosola and Amanda Johnson. The two former fellow crewmembers hired 5 days apart tied for first. It seems that those extra 5 days have made Sam 1 second faster – and he blames the ovens for the one point keeping him from the outright 1st place finish. Mike Young, an 8-year Pagliacci veteran, moves on as does Trevor Takara of Edmonds.

Lake City Way GM Steve Crotts tried using home store advantage by rearranging the kitchen for his attempt. He was practically tossing in the oven and the other competitors cried foul. The majority of the trash talk was saved for Lake City Way’s Galen Lundquist ostensibly because he’s too nice.

Here is your Sweet 16 to update your bracket (listed in order of finish, ties going to the faster time):

• East Division: Paul Williams, Bert Trotter and Khalil Mardini from Crossroads along with Terry Hang from Bridle Trails
• Southwest Division: Alex Henderson from Commissary, Lisa Rossiter from Queen Anne, Crystal Leahy from PSC (the office), Luke Sumpter from Magnolia
• Central Division: Romael Jacobs from Miller, Jason Legaspi from HUB, Cameron Jackson from Stone Way, Luis Bibiano-Lopez from Sand Point
• North Division: Sam Kosola from Ballinger, Amanda Johnson from Miller (formerly from Edmonds), Mike Young from Lake City Way, Trevor Takara from Edmonds

Competition resumes Wednesday as the eight from the North and East compete to fill the first 2 spots in the Final 4. Thursday the Central and North have their go.

Things are getting down to the very end of the first round. Because of scheduling conflicts, not every bracket gets completed right away. There was a lot of cross-division competing in addition to the Central division’s first crack at their best cheese pizza.

The East Division is set – Paul Williams, Bert Trotter, and Khalil Mardini of Crossroads took the top 3 spots in the division. With their final tosser finishing 5^th – one spot out of advancing – Crossroads made their case to be considered the Big East Conference of Pagliacci (fitting as they are the easternmost store). Terry Hang of Bridle Trails rounds out the bracket and will try to play David to Crossroads’ Goliath.

Today’s competition saw some of the first real signs of nerves as a few competitors ripped holes in their dough. The patching cost valuable seconds and time is not on the tosser’s side. Sand Point and McMahon have yet to send their tossers into the kitchen – leaving today’s top finishers in doubt. Romael Jacobs of Miller (Cobra Kai) is the current Cinderella (only being hired 7 months ago). Sitting in first right now he hopes to sweep the legs out from under all those with more tenure.

Amanda Johnson came early for the North Division (who competes Sunday) and served notice with the third best score of the competition. Once dubbed “The Secret Weapon” this 4-1/2 year Pagliacci veteran will have a hard time keeping her secret now. She called out her rivals – former co-workers Sam Kosola, Trevor Takara, Brady Madsen and Noah Stanley.

The North Division is loaded with talented tossers – two of the busiest stores send in their best and Ballinger is home to the reigning GM and Cook competition winners. Brady Madsen, now of 85^th Street, has all the confidence in the world and should earn a spot in the next round – that is if he can toss with that giant chip on his shoulder from coming in second place (by 1 point!) in the AM competition last year. There are also rumors that 145^th Street GM Mike Baxley will use his “Octopus Toss” to kick aside competition like an old hacky sack.

Once tomorrow’s competition is over the Sweet 16 will be set. Competition continues on Wednesday and Thursday as we set the Final Four with a champion crowned next Saturday.

The Commissary laid down the gauntlet. Wow! Alex Henderson, the muscle behind the daytime catering at Pagliacci’s Commissary, strolled into today’s competition, volunteered to toss first and coolly delivered a 36-second cheese pizza. For a few minutes I thought back to the UNLV teams with Larry Johnson, Stacy Augmon, Anderson Hunt, and Greg Anthony – teams that no one wanted to be on the court with because they were so dominant.

While no one was able to catch Alex’s time and score – he has established himself as a heavy favorite – the times dropped as competitors knew the mark to beat. Lisa (Dill) Rossiter returned from a 2-year Pagliacci hiatus to put herself in position to move on (it might have had something to do with her supportive husband watching from the wings). Crystal Leahy – the main office’s entrant – tied Lisa and looks to prove that the “office-folk” can still cook and that she can beat Alex – her former colleague those 10 years ago – in the next round.

Bigger crowds are expected Saturday as the weekend matches commence. Miller Street hosts the Central Division. Miller – dubbed “The Monster” because of its 6 ovens and claim as the busiest Pagliacci – has 4 competitors looking to use the home-store advantage to move on. Jeff “Blue Steel” Maneval runs Miller, and not unlike the sinister head of the Cobra Kai dojo, expects nothing but the best out of his crew and himself. Luis Bibiano-Lopez “The Best Tosser in Pagliacci,” looks to be the Daniel to Miller’s Cobra Kai and crane kick, er, toss, his way to the finals. 

Today was the tip-off for Pagliacci’s March Madness Best Cook Competition. 13 cooks gathered at our Bridle Trails location with their carefully selected dough ball in tote. Each cook tosses, sauces, cheeses, and cooks a cheese pizza.

The pizza is then graded rigorously by the judges – with all competitors looking on. Unlike our other pizza gradings (trust me, we do a lot), this time we add points for any flaw. This score is then added to the time it took to toss, top, and launch the pizza. The cooks with the lowest scores move on to the next round to do it all over again.

Because of scheduling conflicts, 3 competitors could not attend today but will get their chance at another location. For that reason, only one competitor – Associate Manager Khalil Mardini from Crossroads – is assured of moving on. Khalil decided, unlike some other competitors, to let his skills do the talking. Not only did his pizza get the fewest points added for flaws but he also posted the fastest time, putting all other regions on notice that he is a serious contender to take home the trophy when all is said and done. Other highlights included several instances of students surpassing the master: cooks Zach Linder and Terry Hang from Bridle Trails both learned to toss from their GM… and then beat him. Bellevue Square’s Shift Leader Tony Schaeffer edged out his AM, Adrian Aramburu – who has 9 year’s experience on his pupil.

Tomorrow it’s off to Valley Delivery Kitchen, as the Southwest Division kicks off. There are plenty of rivalries, both within stores and between. Three of the favorites are all former fellow crewmembers – over their combined 28 years with Pagliacci they have moved and grown, but remain competitive. Good luck to all tomorrow!

Every year there is a Thursday in March that is unlike any Thursday throughout the year. The first round of the NCAA tournament is like a holiday for me. I have pretended to be sick, actually been sick and cut class all to take in the games. The only thing I haven’t missed in the name of watching games is tossing pizzas – though thanks to TiVo I am able to manage work and games just fine these days.

One of the great things about March Madness is the brackets. I love filling out brackets and seeing how well I do relative to co-workers, friends or my annual match up with my dad (the loser has to do dishes).

I have always been competitive and March Madness fed that for three weeks every spring. I’ve often wondered at how I can get brackets and competition into my everyday life. This year is the year that I finally get to stop wondering. Pagliacci is having its own March Madness competition.

That’s right – 64 of the best cooks in the company have been chosen and are ready to toss their way through the brackets. Whether it’s a store manager with 10 years’ experience, an Associate Manager with tons of tossing time, or a part-time crewmember looking to be a Cinderella, these cooks can bust it out in the kitchen.

So this week we start our regional matches – all held at various stores to pare down to the eventual champion. Contestants are graded on both speed and quality – tossing while their fellow crew cheer them on and rival stores heckle and jeer. As a judge I might not be getting my one shining moment this time around, but at least I don’t have to call out sick to see the matches!

See our bracket.