Behind the glass doors of a small corner restaurant lies a sizable wood-fire oven with a large counter in front of it, with all types of meats, vegetables, sauces, and cheeses all sorted nicely. In front of the counter lies the actual dining room itself, decorated in a modern style with a black and red color scheme.

Fired Pie picks up on the “have-it-your-way” restaurant trend that seems to be popular with sandwich, ice cream, and burger joints. Fired Pie’s specialty  as they can create a multitude of combinations tailored to one’s liking.

There are nine AZ exclusive locations, including Chandler, Phoenix, and Scottsdale to name a few. While the restaurant I went to, down on Ray Road and Chandler Boulevard, was a slightly longer drive than I would prefer, it is bearable, and worth the wait.

The restaurant has a vast variety of toppings such as barbecued grilled chicken, meatballs, pepperoni, and even ham. In theory, someone could  order everything that is available on their pizza. There is no charge for extra toppings and the “create-your-own” pizza or salad is only around $7.95 for one pers. It’s less pricy than ordering a large pizza from any of the big name, commercialized pizza places, and actually, significantly better.

When first ordering, the menus for both the customizable pizza/salad are displayed. All of the toppings and sauces are listed so that way someone can already piece together what they want from the get-go. After ordering your food, they promptly set the pizza in the oven to bake, or just give you the salad.

The wait for the pizza is rather short and will be delivered to the customer’s table within minutes. The pizza is of a flatbread crust that decadently compliments the rich marinara sauce. The sauce is tangy in flavor and the meats, specifically the ham and/or bacon add a certain smokiness to it that almost makes the taste buds beg for more. The pizza is personal sized, so some might be disappointed to discover the cheesy/saucy/meaty dream has come to an end.

Fired Pie’s phenomenal food truly warrants a try and would almost certainly have first time customers returning to try different combinations.