Tucked away in a strip mall on the outskirts of Melbourne is a small gem known as Genna's Pizza Company. Sitting at one end of a nondescript building is a restaurant where your pizza fantasies can come true. The have both a gas fired oven as well as a coal fire, and they claim that once you've had their coal fire pizza, you won't want anything else, and they are right. Although we are pizza admirers and it's our job to taste different pizza for you, we would gladly go back to Genna's without request.
Upon walking in to Genna's you notice just how clean the place is, from dining area, to kitchen, to bathrooms. Everything is spotless. That wonderful scent of fresh pizza baking hits you with your next step inside. Black and white photos of different New York landmarks adorn the wall, and the seating is ample. They even have a pizza bar so that you can dine and watch them create their works of art. When the doors open to the coal ovens, you are dazzled by the display of fire as the logs burn down to coals.
We ordered our standard large pepperoni pizza. As we were discussing amongst ourselves if we had indeed ordered a coal fire pizza, one of the servers overheard us. She came up a few moments later and asked us if it was ok for them to put one in the coal fire over for us. Without pause we said yes. We aren't going to turn down a chance to have a pizza of any kind. The pepperoni pie arrived in short notice and was piping hot. It was a beautiful presentation with a pizza that was treated with love and appreciation. As you can see, it was loaded with pepperoni, that was full of flavor. With just one bite, you knew you were in for something special. The crust was the crispiest that we have ever had. It had that wonderful crisp crackle when you bit into it, and you were rewarded with a light fluffy inside that if your mouth wasn't already watering, would soon do so.
As we were partaking of that wonderful pizza, the pizza chef came over to us and asked us what we liked on our pizzas. He wanted to know, because he thought just a normal pepperoni would be a little boring for the coal oven. Guy as per usual, wanted meat, and he was rewarded generously with what was called the Italian Sausage pizza. It was loaded with soppressata, Italian rope sausage, and raw bacon (we will discuss that raw bacon in a moment). Other Guy was up for anything, so the Italian Bomb was made for him. It was loaded and then loaded some more. It also had soppressata, Italian rope sausage, and that raw bacon, but it also had onions, portobello mushrooms, and Italian chilis. The chilis were a last minute decision by the chef, and it was a great one. Here is where we split up writing duties because only Guy had the Italian Sausage, while Other Guy only had the Italian Bomb.
Guy here with my take on the Italian Sausage coal fire pizza. This pizza had fresh mozzarella, soppressata, raw bacon, and Italian rope sausage. The combination of ingredients created a marvelous taste explosion. This pizza was a true joy to eat. The meat had a brilliant smokey flavor that blended nicely with coal fire charring on the crust. Best word to describe this pizza, is amazing. I would like to personally thank Genna's Pizza Company for allowing us to enjoy their delicious coal fire pizza.
Other Guy here. I had the Italian Bomb, and I think figured out why they chose that name, and it is for two reasons. The first being that there is an explosion of flavor in your mouth when you bite into it. The other is only speculation on my part. The coal oven is in excess of 800 degrees (I believed they said it was around 890 degrees). With that kind of heat, the chilis explode a bit and spread their flavor over the entire pizza. It works, on so many levels. That heat is also the reason why they use raw bacon on the pizza, if they precooked the bacon, it would burn to a crisp in the heat of that coal fire oven. The bacon comes out prefect, with nice crispy edges and a smokey flavor that makes you wish all bacon was cooked exactly this way. On first bite, you are hit with the heat of those Italian chilis, but it soon disappears with the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella. The other flavors from the tanginess of the soppressata, the spiciness of the Italian rope sausage, the earthiness of the portobello mushrooms, and the snap of the onions hit the back of your mouth. They use a different sauce and dough for the coal fire pizzas, but the crust is just as crisp and soft as the gas fire. The sauce even though different is just as hearty as what is used on their standard pizzas.
Watch the video below for our immediate reaction to Genna's Pizza Company.
We thought Genna's was absolutely delicious, and it didn't stop with the pizza, The brought over a house specialty for dessert, cannoli cookies. These cookies were perfect. You don't always want a full sized cannoli and this is the answer to that. Done in the style of a black & white cookie, with a cannoli filling, these really hit the spot to round out our meal.
Genna's Pizza Company was clean beyond compare, we found out that the bathrooms are cleaned every hour whether they need it or not. We found that out purely on accident. Guy had already checked the bathrooms and reported that it was the cleanest bathroom he had ever seen. As we were sitting there, we heard one of the servers say she was going to clean the bathrooms. We were shocked, and asked her to repeat herself. She did and we then told her how we were just discussing how they were the cleanest bathrooms we had seen. That is how well they take care of their restaurant and care about the experience their patrons have. With the cleanliness, the incredibly friendly service, and the pizza, oh the pizza. We give Genna's a 5. It will be hard to find a place better, but we are up for the challenge.
Reheat Update: Other guy here again, with the reheat update. I preheated my oven to 4000 degrees, and put a slice of the pepperoni, and a slice of the Italian Bomb in for a little less than 10 minutes. I don't like to overheat, I only want to warm the pizza up. The Pepperoni was good, but the crust suffered a little from cooling and sitting in the fridge over night. It ended up being a little chewy, and that could have been corrected, but heating about 5 minutes longer. The Italian Bomb on the other hand, came out perfectly. All the flavors marinated overnight, and the crust was just as crisp and fluffy as the day before. Just remember, if you do the standard pizza you will need to heat it a little longer, while the coal fire is just fine with a nice warming.
For more information on Genna's Pizza Company, you can visit their website right here Genna's Pizza Company website or you can visit their Facebook page here Genna's Pizza Company Facebook.
When you go, don't forget to tell them that The Pepperoni Report sent you. Also the staff of Genna's recommends that if you go on a Friday or Saturday night to call your order in as you leave the house. They get swamped on those nights and if you make that call, your order will be ready or near ready when you arrive, and you just have to find a table.
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