Order: Hogwild ($18). A 12-inch thin-crust pizza with spicy wild boar sausage and prosciutto braised rapini friulano cheese and roasted garlic panna.
Crust: The thin crust was well charred and firmer than other thin-crust pizzas I’ve tried. As for which I prefer? Well I believe it should be the pizza-maker’s call. They are the creators of how they want the pizza to end up. While there are times where concept and execution don’t mesh in this case they did. As this pizza was not topped right to the edges the crust rose around the edge of the toppings and created a solid handle for picking up each slice.
Sauce: The garlic panna is really something special. I’ve never tasted anything like it but I am damn glad I have now. Roasted garlic purée is added to cream and then reduced to make a creamy rich and wonderful concoction that is used as the base for both the Hogwild and Shroom pizzas. It was so rich and tasty that I want to buy it by the bucketful and spread it on everything I eat in the future.
Toppings: I didn’t find the boar sausage to be as spicy as advertised but I did think it was nicely flavoured. The prosciutto was salty at first bite — as it should be — and thin enough that it broke away easily when needed. The rapini was also bite-tender. The friulano cheese -— also known as Italian cheddar — added a depth to the overall product and it worked well with the saltiness of the meats and the rich garlic panna.
Dining options : Eat-in or takeout.
Decision : Without Papers was open for less than a week when I popped in and overall it seems like they have their act together already. I could see some uncertainties going on in the open kitchen but none of that came across in the food. The food was bold confident and delicious. The other pizzas I saw being served also looked tasty. Calgary doesn’t need another pizza joint but I can’t say many bad things about Without Papers pizzas and ultimately I’m glad they are open. To be honest I have been craving the Hogwild pizza pretty much since the moment I finished eating it and I am going to have to go back again soon. This one gets a solid five out of six slices.
Next Up: Wicked Wedge
Please email pizza suggestions to darelleats@gmail.com. Follow Darell’s pursuits at twitter.com/darelleats.
