Annie's Avenges '15 Loss vs Gung Ho; Meets Bottega For Bragging Rights in Final

Annie's Avenges '15 Beating by Gung Ho; Meets Bottega for Bragging Rights in Final of 2016 Pizza Cup

Michael Wester | Nov 3, 2016 4:12 pm | Add a comment | 2171 reads

A resurgent Annie's avenged their loss in last year's Pizza Cup to edge out two-time champion Gung Ho!, ending the New Zealand pie purveyor's quest for a threepeat. The outcome means Annie's has secured a spot in the final against Sanlitun's Bottega, who overcame Kro's Nest in the other half of the Final Four.

Expect the final round of pizza action to be a slice-for-slice nail-biter, as only one these gladiatorial pizza places will walk away with the coveted title of Beijing's best! In one corner we have Annie's, one of the oldest Western restaurants in Beijing with multiple locations and a reputation for reasonable prices, great service and an unbelievably quick and reliable delivery service. Bottega, on the other hand, is relative newcomer to Beijing's pizza scene, nevertheless their Neapolitan recipes, passed down from generation to generation, have already etched itself in the hearts and palates of many of our readership.

And as always, the fate of our burgeoning democra-cheese lies in the hands of, you, our readership. If you haven't already, you have the weekend to sample both candidates, before you cast your all important pizza ballot.

The pizza polls close at exactly 2pm Monday, November 7, with a champion announced later that day!

Here's a recap of interesting facts and figures we garnered from our Final Four survey:

Italy dominated the responses when we asked "Which country first comes to mind when you think of Pizza," with 77 percent. The only other country to get more than 4 percent of the vote was the United States, with 13 percent.

Our inquiry about great pizza cities of the world was more interesting. Aside from fair Beijing (which received 21 percent of the vote and was mentioned more often than all but Naples, here are your top world cities for pizza:

1. Naples
2. New York
3. Rome
4. Chicago
5. Milan
6. Venice
7. Sicily
8. London
9. Detroit
10. Boston

Lastly, before you vote, we also asked you to tell us which of your favorites did not make the Final Four. Here's what you said, and this will serve as their final rankings in the 2016 Pizza Cup:

5. La Pizza
6. Tube Station
7. Great Leap #45
8. Eatalia

They join the rest of the final rankings for 2016, from previous rounds:

9. Pizza+
10. The Tree
11. Pie Squared
12. Pizza View by Opera Bombana
13. Q Mex
14. Tavola
15. The Local
16. Luga's Villa
17. Hutong Pizza
18. Pyro Pizza
19. Mao Mao Chong
20. Pizza Express
21. Yummy Box
22. Ramo
23. Tiago
24. Yellow Cab
25. Bocca Della Verita
26. Sureno
27. The Rug
28. Flypizza & Hoodakdak Chicken
29. Passby Bar
30. Tim's Texas BBQ
31. Grandma's Kitchen
32. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel
33. Pizza by LMPlus
34. Vineyard Café
35. New York Style Pizza
36. Papa John's Pizza
37. Domino's
38. Mr Pizza
39. Pizza Buona
40. The Irish Volunteer
41. Stuff'd
42. Pizza Hut
43. Nasca Cafe
44. Lakers
45. Lily's American Diner
46. Xian Bar
47. Alio Olio
48. Jazz-Ya
49. Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano
50. iFresh Pizza
51. VSports
52. Paddy O'Shea's
53. Fratelli Fresh
54. Mrs Shanen's / Green Cow Cafe
55. Park 17
56. Ahava Bistro + Café
57. Elisa's
58. Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel
59. Nine Road Pizzeria
60. Loft Eatalicious
61. The Veggie Table
62. Red House
63. 1st Floor
64. Pizza Factory
65. PBD Pizza Bar
66. Peter Pan
67. Casalingo
68. Pizza Maru
69. Michael’s Place
70. FA Cafe
71. Isola
72. Nanjie
73. Peter's Tex-Mex
74. Mixs Italian Grill
75. Whale's Pizza
76. Assaggi
77. Pizza Now
78. Frost
79. Prego, Westin Financial Street
80. Pomona
81. Charlie's
82. Ricci Café
83. Kitchen Igosso
84. Eudora Station Bar and Restaurant
85. Byone
86. Agrilandia
87. Bene
88. Ku Pizza