Panago
Panago
Multiple locations in Canada
969 Denman Street (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC
OK, I know some people might criticize me for this post but, to be truthful, I am here to blog about almost any place I can think of – fine dining, mom-and-pop, dives, chains, out of the way, etc. etc. Sure, this is your generic chain but, as I have mentioned previously, restaurants like this have a place in society. Despite my (pre)conceptions, if it is there, I will go and visit it at least once. Having said that, I went to Panago during lunch on a break we had from the stretch of rainy days in the last two weeks and was in Denman Street looking for eats when noticed this sandwich board.
For $6, I can think of a lot of places to get lunch in the area but, then again, I was standing out there and wasn’t in the mood to look for other options, specially options I haven’t blogged previously. So, walk in I did. One thing immediately “caught” my eyes – or rather, what I did not see. To those who haven’t been in the area, this is almost across of one of the schools in the West End. Since it was just past noon, I would expect some kids there. No, that was not the case. I guess I won’t have to “fight” with them for space and me being able to take the pictures… Anyway, after several minutes, I received my personal size pizza and drink.
This is the Italian Classic, which has “Italian tomato sauce, pepperoni, Canadian ham, red onions, sautéed mushrooms, green olives, green peppers + mozzarella“. The distribution of these components was somewhat odd; however, I will blame that to the size of the pizza. I mean, you can only put that much in 300 or so square centimetres….
For the most part, the ingredients seem to fit “fine”; however, I was not too excited about them. It was borderline bland. I think the only piece that slightly added something was the olives and that is stretching it. What sort of “disturb” me a little bit was what seemed to be fat left behind on the box when I lifted a piece. Fat normally does not bother me if it adds flavour; this was not the case. Or could it be because the dough was stretch to thin?
In the end, I do not think this should be extrapolated to their regular pizzas, mainly because, well, preparing such a small size pizza has its limitations. I have had their regular pizzas in the past and they were slightly better (in this case, it does not mean much, though). For lunch, I will give it a pass, as for $6, other (better) options exist. And, for pizza during lunch, I might be more tempted to go to 2001 Flavours.
 |
 |
In the words of Todd Bertuzzi: it is what it is…
Panago, whether I like it or not (and I don’t), is my kids’ favourite pizza place. (Remember when it used to be called Pizza Panagopoulis?)
The fat you see is from both the dough and the toppings. They use oil in the dough to make it easy to work with and they use “cheeze” which is really akin to Kraft slices.
You are a brave man.
the “fat” you saw was probably condensation — cool cardboard + hot product against cardboard = dampness. and they actually use a cheese that is lower in fat than pizza hut or domino’s or such. their website has all sorts of information, including nutritional info. either way, i always order my pizza with just a sprinkling of cheese so you can taste the toppings.
Sherman, I think you pretty much summarize it all…
Gatronomydomine, unfortunately (?), I am not aware of its previous name. Probably they did that just before I moved here? Brave? Or foolish?
rainbowgirl, welcome! I can assure you it wasn’t condensation: I opened the box less than three minutes after it was given to me while I was still in the shop. As a result, it did not have to go through the “cold” outside, which would have hastened that effect. But, at the end of the day, I still think there are better options…
Topping distribution gone awry. I though in the third picture you actually had them make a personal pizza with two different combos! I have friends that rave about their BBQ Chicken pizza.
Raidar, it is also possible they mixed pizzas for me instead! Regardless, no hurry to come back, considering I am aware of “better” options…
A large meatball pizza for $10. A LARGE for $10….what.
Kevin, nope, that is $10 for a medium (30 cm/12 inch).
Su-Lin, I guess that makes it two of us!
Panago is usually pretty decent delivery pizza. One thing they do have going for them is a good selection of vegetarian pizzas, plus a veggie pepperoni option which most places don’t offer.
Since I can handle greasy, meaty thin crust pies, 2001 Flavours completely destroys most other downtown pizza joints for a quick lunch. During lunch hours, their turnover is pretty quick, so slices generally tend to not sit in the window for more than a few minutes.
Chris, and I thought I was among the few bloggers (if not about the only one!) who went and like 2001 Flavours! So, Sherman, there it goes, you must go now! But, back to Panago, again, it has its own merits but there are no particular redeeming quality, specially considering that, if I go for pizza, I will certainly go for broke so veggie option isn’t really an option, hehehehe.