The crust appeared to have suffered from a lack of
salt, lack of oil, and an overabundance of kneading. The edges were
crisp, but had NO flavor and the texture of a dry bread stick. But I should give you the "back story" first. I
knew I was going to be way up north that day, and looked at their website
in advance to plan this out, so I knew they opened at 5 pm. I called at 5:05,
ordered one pizza for pick up, and was told it would be 45 minutes. I
verified the length of time as it seemed a bit excessive, and said okay. I arrived at Mercury about
35 minutes later; they had my pizza ready, I paid, and drove approximately one mile
home. I will say, the staff were totally friendly, and the place is cute. When I opened the box on my kitchen counter (so about 6 minutes
from leaving Mercury), the pie was lukewarm at best. Really, 45 minutes? If I had waited that long to pick it up, it would have certainly been cold.
These
are such oversized pies -- 20" to be exact -- it doesn't exactly fit in the box! There were 8
huge slices, and I ate one of them, lukewarm and all, out of the box. The
White Noise description is olive oil, fresh garlic, Romano, spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella. I really didn't taste much garlic, and like the crust, the whole thing
could have benefited from a bit of salt. I will say the crust in the
middle of the pie stays crisp. For my second piece, I doctored it with
some red chile flakes, parmesan, and some gremolata (lemon, garlic and parsley) oil, and reheated it in the toaster oven. Definitely better,
but I shouldn't have to drastically enhance a pizza to make it taste
decent.
Mercury's location at South Lamar and Kinney is a bit awkward, and competing with Black Sheep Lodge for parking is a pain. I feel for the residential neighbors. Two friends of mine have had mixed experiences at Mercury. Is there someone who can tell me about a great pie they had from there? Please share if so!