Review

FOOD

The Carolina brisket and Little Caligula pies from Greektown’s Pizza Cat Max.

TOM PERKINS

Is anything on a pizza weird anymore?

By Jane Slaughter

Whenever the discussion

turns to what to order, I always vote against pizza, just because I’ve had it one hundred million times. But every time I’m outvoted and faced with a big, droopy slice, I scarf it happily. There’s a reason we have 75,000 pizza restaurants in the U.S.: we love our gooey, carb-y, tomato-y slices. (But note there are 91,000 burger places, which does not include all the relatively high-end places that find to their chagrin that their burger is their best-seller.)

Actually, Pizza Cat is less carb-y than most. Co-owner Andre Robinson refers to crust as “waste,” and the Cat chefs don’t build one up around the edges of their pies ather, it s a soft, flat, extremely thin piece of dough with the toppings spread right to the edge. You can still eat the slice with your hands, but it’s more challenging with no crust edge to hold onto.

I believe it’s considered cooler, among some pi a aficionados, to value the crust most, more in line with a true Italian pizzaiolo; the toppings are seen by those in this school as mere addons, and you’re lucky to get one leaf of fresh basil per slice. I’ve never been in that camp, but Robinson and co-owner Matt Wojtowicz take the anti-crust philosophy to the nth. They advertise more than a million topping combinations, offer defined pies, and add to that some pies for dietary specialties, all under the slogan “Keep Pizza Weird.”

Personally, I found it weird to have my ID scanned and my male companion thoroughly patted down on entering i a Cat he e planation t s downtown aybe some will find this level of vigilance reassuring. If you weird out, they have your on file

Pizza Cat, in the former space of the Ready Player One arcade in the Globe Building, has a basement-hang-out feel, with speckled concrete floors, a high decibel level, and five s e had an exceptionally sweet server and our pies arrived quite quickly. Happy hour, when cocktails are $2 cheaper, runs from to p m onday through Friday.

Though you can, of course, build your own, a scan of the suggested combos shows a higher proportion of pineapple and salami than you might find elsewhere his changes the paper menu is different from online, and there’s a seasonal “Motown Shakedown” menu with pies named after Berry Gordy’s greats.) Two of the pies sport five kinds of meat, but there are eight vegetarian options, a vegan pie with a gluten-free hemp crust, and keto pies where the crusts are made of chicken ll told, there are five crusts, sauces, and toppings ut no fresh basil leaves.) re the ingredients weird s anything on a pi a weird anymore There’s not a single unusual topping ingredient on the build-your-own list, if you don’t count dairy-free cheese, and for sauces, it’s at least debatable whether ranch or Thousand Island is good on a pizza. However, the suggested combos offer lamin ot Cheetos, rippo s potato chips cial Chip of the Cincinnati Reds), and kraut, and 407 E. Fort St., Detroit 313-800-5995 pizzacat.com

Pizza $9-$24

see below for some unusual crusts, so I won’t argue with the owners’ brags about their weirdness.

I liked just about all the pies I tried. All were well laden, though the slices seem smaller without a crusty edge. The Little Caligula was generous with both cheese and jalapeños, in addition to spicy garlic butter, chicken, and sausage. The barbecue sauce on the Carolina Brisket was very sweet, on top of pineapple, so yes, sweet he Smelly Cat lived up to its billing with garlic butter sauce, red onion, roasted garlic, salami, and sausage, with the salami dominating. The Fetaterranean was generous with Kalamata and green olives, as well as chicken and feta, but I didn’t think the feta worked that well; call me weird.

The keto crust, which is just as thin as the others, is made with shredded chicken breasts mixed with herbs and binders, then pressed into the pie pan to create the shape, and pre-baked. I honestly didn t find it different from the normal crusts remember, they re all very thin but it was good with roasted garlic and artichokes, slightly spicy.

The hemp crust involves hemp seed and is dubbed “NOT HC,” both vegan and GF. I thought it tasted a bit like weed, but general manager Tay Henderson assured me this could not be, and really, how could that flavor outmuscle Carolina boom sauce, bacon, and sausages here s a cauliflower crust too.

Desserts such as brownies and cupcakes are from JessiBelles in Toledo, home of the first i a Cat

Pizza Cat has a full bar, with the emphasis on cocktails and shots. I liked my eow ule tangy and not too sweet and my aw rint, with strawberries, lemon juice, and Triple ec yes, pink in both color and conception. I will point out an option made with RumChata and Fireball with a Cinnamon Toast Crunch rim, and say no more.

You don’t go to a pizza restaurant for wings, which Pizza Cat has, nor especially for bagels. The “Monroe and Central steamed bagel sandwich” was stuffed tall with brisket and a si cheese blend, but the bagel seemed a lot like a bun. It was slightly larger than a cannonball, but the same weight. credit card service fee of was added to our bill, and a gratuity of