Awhile ago, I was invited to Marco’s Pizza’s Toledo-based headquarters to learn about and taste its Old World Pepperoni, with a natural casing. Specifically, I was being offered the Pepperoni Magnifico pizza, which features both standard pepperoni and the other classic variety.
We went back and forth, forth and back, but our schedules just didn’t sync up.
But then there was a Sunday afternoon when I had no events to attend, no Dinner for One or Cheap Eats episodes to tape, no recipes to test for the food page, and — despite being left to my own devices, for once, to make whatever I pleased — no desire to cook that day.
But I was very busy, so getting take-out or going somewhere wasn’t an option.
So my boyfriend Craig and I ordered pizza on Marco’s website for delivery. We ordered two pepperoni pizzas: one with the regular style and one with the Old World, for a proper compare/contrast without any influence from one upon the other as they shared space on the Magnifico pie.
We made sure, too, that each had a standard crust and that there were no other toppings competing for attention.
We ordered at 4:47 p.m., and at 5:02 p.m. the online tracker told us, “Your order is in the oven, smelling delicious!”
Twenty-three minutes after we’d started, at 5:10 p.m., the tracker announced: “It’s on the way!” (The pizza had been promised within 45 to 60 minutes.)
A few minutes later, Cassie — a very friendly carrier performing the critically important job of bring hot, fresh pizzas to our homebody selves — handed us our dinner.
We noted that the Old World pepperoni was smaller in diameter, and its natural casing caused the slices to curl up into cups as they cooked. They held tiny pockets of grease, which doesn’t necessarily sound appetizing.
But remember that fat equals flavor.
The traditional pepperoni slices lay flat. They were not the glamour girls that the others were.
Both pizzas were very good, I reported back to Marco’s after my taste test.
But personally, I could’ve just snacked away on those crispy, crunchy, salty, spicy little tidbits of the Old World pepperoni as if they were popcorn or peanuts. They were the star of the show.
Marco’s Pizza was founded in 1978 by Pat Giammarco, who wanted “to make an authentic Italian pizza. Everything we do is based on his standards,” said Darren Gray, senior director of menu and culinary innovation for Marco’s. The franchise was named best pizza chain in the Harris Poll 2019 EquiTrend Brand of the Year.
“Pepperoni is such a universally popular pizza topping,” Mr. Gray added. “Easily, it’s our number one topping.”
The Pepperoni Magnifico pizza “uses both types of pepperoni we have on our menu,” he continued. “Putting the two together has a synergistic effect.” There’s “just enough difference that makes a dramatic difference between them both.”
Although he admits he prefers the “lay-flat pepperoni,” the Old World pepperoni offers “crispier, crunchier action,” Mr. Gray said.
“I jokingly refer to it as ‘meat candy,’” he said with a laugh.
The new-to-me Old World pepperoni has “been a pretty good hit for us,” Mr. Gray said happily.
After finally getting to try it, I can certainly see why.
First Published December 4, 2019, 2:18 a.m.
