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28 | December 8, 2016 | The Mokena Messenger dining out mokenamessenger.com The Dish Blaze Pizza offers personal pizzas in a flash Assembly line setup offers quick, personalized options Tim Carroll, Editor Blaze Pizza 24 Orland Square Drive in Orland Park Hours • 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily For more information ... Web: www.blazepizza.com Phone: (708) 873-0616 America is a land of dichotomy. There are those who look scornfully upon others who feel the need — whether because of time constraints or limited ability — to pay someone else to fix their lawn mowers, set up their televisions or butcher their meat. On the other hand, there are those who very truly do not have the time nor the ability to complete any of those tasks, and are forced to pay others to take care of those things for them. Luckily, those seeking a middle ground have some places where they can get the do-it-yourself feel without having to actually do it themselves. One such place is Blaze Pizza, a chain that recently opened a location on the outskirts of Orland Square. While Blaze customers can choose from eight different signature pizzas, the “build your own” pizza option ($7.95) is the most popular. Customers who choose to build their own pizzas have the opportunity to pick from 40 different ingredients for their personal pizzas, all assembled right before their very eyes, which gives both the incontrol feeling a do-it-yourselfer craves and the hands-off service a pay-for-it person needs. It is a very quick process, as well. After all the ingredients desired are placed on a pizza and it enters the superheated oven, it takes roughly 3 minutes until the pizza is cooked and ready to eat. The whole process can take as little as 5 minutes. The idea for Blaze began when founders Rick and Elise Wetzel were searching for a quick pizza. The couple drew inspiration from another very popular fast-casual restaurant chain, Chipotle. “One day, [the Wetzels] wanted a pizza, and they wanted a pizza fast,” said Adam Cummis, a partner and president of Blaze. “They were saying, ‘Why can’t we ever get a pizza fast?’ Traditionally, if you go to a restaurant and order a pizza, you have to sit and wait 25 minutes, 30 minutes. If we’re talking Chicago-style pizza, it could be an hour. “The two of them went to a Chipotle, because that was their go-to option when they couldn’t get a pizza, and a light clicked, and they started sketching on the back of a napkin.” Since the first Blaze location opened in Irvine, California, in 2012, the company has grown quickly. “It’s pretty fast and furious,” said Dean O’Brien, head of operations. “The company’s growing fast. We’ve opened up six restaurants this year, and we’re trying to get this great pizza to the public.” After they had the idea for the restaurant, Cummis said the first priority was finding someone to come up with a great crust, which led them to Bradford Kent, who people in the company have nicknamed “The Pizza Whisperer.” “He was able to develop a fantastic crust that we’re able to make fresh, in-house, every single day here,” Cummis said. And after the crust is pressed, customers move on to choosing from Blaze’s four different sauces (classic red, spicy red, white cream and garlic pesto), seven different types of cheese, eight different meats, 17 vegetable options and five finishing sauce drizzles. “You can get as many ingredients as you want on a pizza [at no extra charge],” Cummis said. “I usually recommend that you get no more than five or six, because if Blaze Pizza in Orland Park offers “build your own” personal pizzas ($7.95 each) like this one, which contains classic red sauce, mozzarella and feta cheeses, chicken, bacon, spinach, mushrooms, red onions, and giardiniera. Photos by Tim Carroll/22nd Century Media you start piling on the ingredients you start losing the flavor.” Cummis said he was put to the test at a new location opening a couple of weeks ago, when a customer asked for all the possible toppings, sauces and cheeses on her pizza. While he encouraged her to rethink her order to something that might taste better, there still was no extra charge for the toppings. But Cummis and Orland Park location general manager Matt De- Santis highlighted the fact that diners can feel good about the ingredients, no matter how many they choose to add to their pizza. “Almost our entire menu is clean, as that has become a popular concept,” Cummis said. “No hormones, no antibiotics. It’s a great option you can get on the run.” The clean ingredients are one aspect that Cummis and O’Brien said sets Blaze apart from other chain pizza restaurants with similar models of service. But the crust being made in-house is another, even in areas like Chicago, where people may be used to a different kind of crust. “In the market, I think it’s exciting, because we’re changing the way people think about pizza here in Chicago,” O’Brien said. Orland Park Blaze employee Najee Robinson presses the crust, which will be made into a personalized pizza. “Traditionally, you get a lot of thicker-crust, pan-style pizza, and we’re wowing people with our thin crust.” Blaze also is trying to change the perception of chain restaurants, which are too often impersonal. Instead, customers are greeted by all available employees with a hearty “Welcome to Blaze!” “We want people to feel like they’re welcome into our home,” Cummis said. O’Brien added, “We pride ourselves on our customer service. ... Even though it’s a very quick experience, we want you to feel good about it.” Disagreements may arise between do-it-yourself proponents and those who have to hire others to do it for them, but a middle ground can be found and agreements can be reached. Prior to Blaze, America could already agree on at least one thing: pizza is good. Now, there is a second thing on which Americans can agree: fast pizza is even better.
mokenamessenger.com life & arts the Mokena Messenger | December 8, 2016 | 29 Munchies Another ranch dressing option to share Winter reading is here. Beth Krooswyk Contributing Columnist You might have noticed that I’m a big fan of recipe hacks. I find it fun to “beat the system” and make my own version of something that’s marked up in special packaging at the store. It’s even more fun when someone else has done the work for me—thanks, Internet!—and all I have to do is follow a recipe or two, taste test and tweak. All the ingredients one needs to replicate the famous ranch dressing packets while avoiding the negative additives. Photo Submitted This week’s recipe is just that, a copycat version of those famous ranch dressing packets. But the homemade version does not contain nasties such as maltodextrin, MSG, modified food starch, calcium stearate and natural flavor, like the store packets do. Sure, it’s super easy to buy a bottle of ranch dressing or the packets. But when you make your own, you know exactly what you’re eating, and all of it is easily pronounceable, which means your body will recognize it as food and not chemicals. Homemade Ranch Packet Dry Mix Ingredients - Adapted from simplyscratch. com • 1 cup dry buttermilk powder* • 2 tablespoons dried parsley • 1 tablespoon dried dill • 2½ teaspoons garlic powder • 1½ teaspoons onion powder • 1½ teaspoons dried minced onion • 2 teaspoons salt • ½ teaspoon sugar • ½ teaspoon black pepper • ½ teaspoon paprika • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper Directions Whisk all dry ingredients together in a pint-size jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in fridge for 3-4 months to use as needed. For use in recipes, note that 3 tablespoons of this mix is equal to one packet of store-bought ranch. For ranch dressing: Combine ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, 3 tablespoons homemade ranch packet dry mix, and 2/3 to 1 cup of milk (depending on how thick or thin you want it); store in fridge in a covered container. For ranch dip: Same ingredients as dressing, but use only 1-2 tablespoons milk. Store in fridge in a covered container. For ranch snack crackers: Stir together a 10-ounch package of oyster crackers, 3 tablespoons homemade ranch packet dry mix, 1 teaspoon dried dill, and 2/3 cup oil in a 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 250 for 20- 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cool and store in covered container. *Note: You can find canisters of dry buttermilk powder in the baking aisle. Chicagoly’s winter issue out now. Secure your copy at Chicagolymag.com/subscribe ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR $ 16. $ 4.99 FOR SINGLE COPIES.
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