a color story: pizza pizza in a historic building

On my way to pick up a birthday cake, I stopped at an unfamiliar intersection at Highway 7 and Markham Road. I surveyed the plazas and there were historical buildings in these parts of the Greater Toronto Region. One plaza had a peculiar building that stood out - beige exterior with wooden panels stacked. The pretty building exuded a cozy and warm-charm aesthetics. I suspected that the building be occupied by a complementary brand like Starbuck's. To my surprise, the orange logo spelled out letters, "Pizza Pizza".

I was not the landlord of that building. But, if I was,  I could live with it. Why did the orange logo work well with the building's historic and beige exterior? Why did I feel an emotional connection?

Pizza Pizza- a popular pizza franchise in Ontario, Canada. I viewed it as utility pizza; it got the job done at a low price. Large slices. Weekly flyers. Popular flavors: cheese and pepperoni. Elementary School "Pizza Day" pizza. Middle School pizza. Creamy garlic dipping sauce. Orange boxes with mini white table stabilizers ( to be honest, I still don't know what they are called. But, I heard that it prevents the cheese sticking to the top of the box just incase someone flipped it)

Once I had some pizza money, I tried out others. 

Pizza Hut, and Pizza Nova.

College pizzas like Papa John's, Dominos. 

Toronto Hipster Pizza like North Of Brooklyn, Superpoint  on Ossington. (Note: I called it the "Za on Ossington)

Then (the final stages), making pizza from scratch.

Yeast + Flour + Water + Salt + 20mins of kneading = Pizza Dough

Tomato Sauce + fresh mozzarella + dough + 450 degrees Oven + pizza stone

= home made margarita pizza

Interesting to see my progression with pizzas. After making pizza from scratch, I couldn't go back. I enjoyed the process of making it too much.

But, I forgot the joys of eating pizza in a large group setting. 

The beige historic building with the orange franchise alluded to a simpler time of my life. 

At my elementary school, we had a gym that also acted as a cafeteria. Once 11:20 am hits the clock, the caretakers would roll them out of the storage room. Anchored the tables down. Swing the benches down from the table top; the motion was similar to opening a thick, heavy book. The bench was made out of wood but the seats and table coat were coated with smooth beige-colored material. 

When the orange Pizza Pizza boxes arrived at the cafeteria for a birthday or for any other special occasion, the color combination of box and table top probably stuck with me. You couldn't just dive right in. Of course, the teachers wouldn't allow it. We would probably get the top of our mouths burnt. While the pizza cooled, we would take turns going to the washroom and wash our hands.  I waited and stared at the pizza until it was my turn to do my chores. Even while we were eating, I would stare at the boxes. I was a quick eater so I waited for my window to grab seconds. And even thirds, if the teacher allowed it. Without any shame, if my classmates were leaving out the crusts, I would eat them. I recalled one classmate who wouldn't allow it. I wondered if his half Italian heritage influenced his crust pizza rules: don't eat it, but don't allow others to it.

The dipping sauce rules was sacred. Everybody wanted the action since the crust could get dry. Since we were all sharing them, there was a "no double dip" rule. Huh. Bacteria education started all the way back then. I remembered one class mate getting so fussy about it; I would double dip intentionally just to annoy her. Slowly, I discovered that I can hog the sauce for myself. The situation gotten so bad that my classmate hid the dipping sauce away from me or if it was plentiful, they would just give me one. 

Pizza Pizza was more than a utility pizza; it was a special place where I practiced (or rebelled) the unwritten pizza rules in the elementary school cafeteria. How did I forget such a moment?

Green lights back on. Made my turn. Parked behind the pastry shop. First time visitor. They specialized in chocolate. The sweet pastries looked delicious behind the boxed glass counter. Couldn't help but notice the smudges on the glass. The back room fan overpowered the coffee shop music in the front. Fancy ingredients filled the descriptions. Exuberant price tags came along with the small sizes. The cake was made to order. Basic, curved white packaging. The front staff recommended carrying the cake from the bottom due to its weight. Out. Cake on table. Lit candles on cake. Birthday Song. Cut cake. Tough time cutting through base. Comment about cake. Creamy chocolatey mousse. Tasty. Good take on what chocolate could be. Didn't like the "crustiness" of the icing on top. Maybe it was intentional. 

Memorable?

Only time will tell.