Sherman's Food Adventures: J. Beethoven's Pizza Gourmet

J. Beethoven's Pizza Gourmet

Man, I remember reading about this place in the early 90's in the Province newspaper. No joke! The reason I remember is the name - J. Beethoven's. If my memory serves me right, the review was favourable. It's funny how that I've never tried the place out, despite being nearby for almost 5 years. Well, today is the day. With my son finishing up his ice skating lesson, I needed to pick up some food along the way home for dinner. Not wanting to settle for a chain pizza joint (nothing wrong with that by the way), I reached deep into my memory and pulled J. Beethoven out of the hat. Apparently, this is Michael Buble's favourite pizza joint. It probably has something to do with the fact he is a Burnaby native himself. Well, when I arrived to pick up the pizza, there was no mistaking that Michael Buble likes this place. There must've been over 10 pictures of him on the wall. If I didn't know any better, I would mistaken this place for a Buble shrine! I'm surprised they weren't playing his music.

In terms of the pizza, the thing that sets it apart is the shape. You won't find many places specializing in square pizza, other than the infrequent specials at Pizza Hut and the lot. We decided to get a large pizza with one half being Hawaiian and the other being the Herculean. The Hawaiian is pretty self-explanatory, while the Herculean consists of Italian Sausage, Lean Ground Beef, Pepperoni and Salami. I'm not sure if pizza is the right description. To me at least, it resembled pizza bread more than anything. The crust is quite thick; yet soft at the same time. As you can see, there is a good amount of toppings and cheese. After 2 slices, I was pretty stuffed.

The pizza didn't feel greasy at all and despite being thick, the crust was easy to eat. There are actually tables for people to eat in; but it's a bit cramped. Moreover, you'll have to stare at pictures of Michael Buble since they're on every wall. I'm not with Michael here since I didn't love the pizza. I wasn't really all that wow'd by it. I thought the crust was a bit too much. I prefer Hot Oven Pizza where the crust is a bit thinner. With that being said, it was a decent pizza that I brought "Home" (sorry for the stupid Buble reference there).

The Good:
- Heavy on the toppings
- If you like thick crust...
- If you like Michael Buble...

The Bad:
- Too much crust for me
- A bit heavy to eat

J. Beethoven's Pizza Gourmet on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

KimHo said...

Well, they are not the only shop in town that has something similar: The (Dollarton) Crab Shop also displays autographed pictures of Buble...

The pizza looks extremely heavy. Sorry guys but, if I want a thick piece of baked dough, I would instead go for a sandwich. May be a one-of type experience I guess.

Finally, Luis Miguel > Michael Buble. (Not that I listened much to either one but I have to give some points to the fact I lived in Latin America "long enough"!)

Sherman Chan said...

Kim, it was indeed thick and not really my cup of tea. I like thin crust myself.

Chris said...

Very heavy indeed. Like a classic pan crust form the Hut, but even thicker. Sounds like a solid option though, with you mentioning the dough was easy to eat. Sometimes I find the thicker crust pies go like show leather the next day.

Also a thin crust man.

trisha said...

guess i'm the first one to celebrate the thick crust. i really don't like those thin crust pizza's so this one is right up my alley. looks great! i had to giggle at the mangled grammar on the menu though. proof reading, anyone? :)

Sherman Chan said...

Well, you're right Trisha, everyone has different tastes. Otherwise, we'd all have only one restaurant to go to. LOL on the grammar...

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