The Taste-Off Has Arrived: Here are the Final Four in the 2020 Pizza Cup

The Beijingers | Dec 17, 2020 4:58 pm | Add a comment | 260 reads

Well, it’s been a long, hard-fought battle that saw many a good pizza man and pizza woman meet an honorable and distinguished end. But like any struggle for supremacy, there can be but one victor, and while we won’t actually know who that is until the Final Four Taste-Off this Saturday, Dec 19 at Boxing Cat Brewery, we do know who will be competing. Of the 100 pizza purveyors to enter the Thunderdome – née, Thunderoven – Pizza Saporita, Bottega, Great Leap Brewing, and Q Mex emerged best in class.

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been watching with bated breath as some of the biggest names in Beijing’s pizza scene went head to head. We gasped as reigning champ Pizza Saporita narrowly put down Annie’s and stared wide-eyed as previous title winner Bottega rose like a Phoenix from the ashes to oust three-time champ Gung Ho. Meanwhile, in a brewer-meets-brewer battle royale, Great Leap outlasted Jing-A, and Q Mex once again proved that they're more than just a Tex-Mex restaurant when they edged past Pie Squared.

Incidentally, all four of our survivors were top seeds in their brackets: Saporita's path to the final saw them win matches over Green Cow, Marzano, and Annie's. Q Mex bested Tiago, La Pizza and Pie Squared to book their spot. Bottega made it past Plan B, The Local, and Gung Ho to make the finals, while Great Leap bounded past Paddy's, Frasca, and Jing-A.

Now, it’s easy to miss certain bits of information when you’re down in the trenches, feeling your way through the greasy fog of war that is the Pizza Cup, so listen up! Cause we’re only going to say this one more time: The only way to vote in the Final Four is to be present at Boxing Cat Brewery on Saturday, Dec 19. Moreover, there will be absolutely no tickets available at the door. We have but a few left – we’re talking like five tables – so if you want to play a pivotal part in the outcome of 2020’s most consequential election, then you’re going to need to scan the QR code in the poster below and book a table like yesterday.

As for those of you who bought tickets already, if you want to confirm your details, scan this QR code and start priming your stomach for the tastiest taste off this side of the Yangtze River.

Whether your top choice didn’t make the cut, you haven’t tried one of the finalists, or you simply want to support the runners-up in their time of need, a great way to do all of those things is by pulling up your JSS Delivery App and placing an order. More than just the lovely sponsor of all things Pizza Cup 2020, JSS Delivery is in fact our go-to bilingual grocery and restaurant delivery service.

The Pizza Gospel According to You

Aside from the match-ups themselves, we’ve been having a hell of a good time putting different pizza-related questions to you, our readers, and seeing your responses which have ranged from no-nonsense to über-inclusive and downright quizzical.

This time around, we were curious to know what sort of cheese you all preferred, and unsurprisingly, mozzarella is the most popular choice for pizzas by a wide margin, followed by parmesan, cheddar, and blue. Likewise, when asked if there’s any “right” way to eat a pizza, 60 percent of people gave a resounding “No! As long as it goes in your mouth.”

So where do those of you who think there is a right and wrong way to eat pizza draw the line? Well, for many, it was with a fork and knife, however, several voters said that some exceptions can be made if one is Keanu Reeves. As one voter bluntly put it, "Keanu can do whatever he likes." Another offensive maneuver turned out to be crust first. "Crust first is unthinkable and probably a sign of mental health issues," said a voter when faced with a picture of Donald Trump biting into a slice crust-first. "NO! STOP DOING THAT, DONALD! THIS IS TRIGGERING ME," exclaimed another.

We also asked our voters what a reasonable price for a standard 12" pizza in Beijing would be, and you said RMB 80. A bit more specifically, however, Chinese voters were willing to cough up a little more than foreigners, with local folk saying RMB 82 on average, and foreigners opting for somewhere around RMB 77.

Lastly, it wouldn’t be a proper internet-based Pizza Cup without two very important things: pizza, of course… and cats, the only reason the internet exists! As such, we asked you to caption this image:

Some of the best responses were:

And you wonder why I bring you dead mice for supper.

At least it's not durian

Enough with the pineapple

Hawaiian? I’d rather lick my own butt

I have a cat, I have a Pizza... Pineapple

My face when the Grilled Mouse and Pineapple pizza comes with ham instead

Pineapple?!? Who do you think I am? The dog?

This is a good slice of pizza...to poop on!

This isn't anchovies!!!

You gonna eat the crust?

Though the online portion of the voting is over, we're doing a final round to rank the four members of the Elite Eight that didn't make the finals, which you can weigh in on by scanning the QR code below. And to sweeten the pot (and keep your head warm this winter), we've got 20 pizza-themed winter beanies for a flock of voters that we'll randomly select from those that respond by Friday.

In the meantime, however, we wanted to know how the folks who didn’t make it past the Sweet 16 stacked up. And their final rankings in the 2020 Pizza Cup are … (drum roll) …

9. Tube Station 站点比萨
10. Forno 意角
11. La Pizza 那匹萨
12. The Pizza Show 披萨秀
13. Pizza Marzano 比萨玛尚诺
14. Frasca, The Opposite House
15. The Local
16. Pyro Pizza 火鬼餐吧

They join those that were ranked in the last round:

17. Kro's Nest 乌巢
18. Xian Bar, EAST,Beijing 北京东隅仙酒吧
19. Pizza Hut 必胜客
20. Hulu 琥禄
21. Baozza 包萨
22. Boxing Cat Brewery 拳击猫精酿啤酒馆
23. Domino's Pizza 达美乐比萨
24. Papa John's 棒约翰比萨
25. Turkish Feast 西庭·秀色
26. EATALIA 意塔利意式餐厅
27. TIAGO
28. Yummy Box 美盒披萨
29. Green Cow City Cafe 单太太绿牛咖啡
30. Paddy O'Shea's
31. Plan B
32. The Rug 33. Saizeriya 萨莉亚意式餐厅
34. The Cheesecake Factory 芝乐坊
35. Lily's American Diner
36. Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫酒吧
37. MIAM MIAM 咪吖咪吖·福楼
38. Big Pizza 比格比萨
39. Laker's 湖人餐吧
40. Tavola Italian Dining
41. Tribe Tribe有机餐厅
42. Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano 意大利家庭料理
43. Peiping Machine 北平机器
44. Brotzeit Bier Bar & Restaurant 博璨德国啤酒餐厅
45. MIO, Four Seasons Hotel
46. LMPLUS
47. BUONA BOCCA Italian Bistro
48. Assaggi 尝试意大利餐厅
49. Mr. Pizza 米斯特披萨
50. Get Pizza 披萨工廠
51. Eudora Station 亿多瑞站
52. Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel 花样罗马意大利餐厅
53. Ponte Ponte意大利餐厅
54. 1st Floor 壹楼餐吧
55. La Cucina 后厨意餐
56. Legend Beer 老牌酒廠
57. Jazz-Ya 爵士屋
58. Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房
59. NBeer Pub 牛啤堂
60. Pizza Fuoco 岩火比萨
61. Groovy Schillers 大明餐厅
62. Peter Pan Peter Pan意大利餐厅
63. The Veggie Table 吃素的西餐
64. Bacchus Bistro 酒神食馆
65. Cafe Ruhe 如何餐厅
66. Agrilandia 意大利农场餐厅
67. Nine Road Pizzeria 速度披萨
68. QS
69. Alpha Omega Club 甲丁坊.新德餐吧
70. Pizza Now 披萨到
71. Pi Italian Wine & Restaurant 意派·酒肆
72. Nasca Cafe
73. Joe's Bar & Kitchen 后厨餐吧
74. Passby Bar 过客
75. La Mezzaluna 伴月意大利餐厅
76. Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken
77. Lenbach 兰巴赫西餐·啤酒坊
78. Pinvita 大品大爱
79. Tomcado 花厨
80. Bene
81. Casalingo
82. Pomona 波莫娜
83. Byone 百万庄园
84. Dongli Brewery Restaruant 东里手工啤酒·精酿餐厅
85. CHAPTER，北京康莱德酒店
86. FestinTable 佩斯汀西餐
87. Ummm Classic 最意·经典
88. Happy Bites I派.纽约手工披萨
89. Casa Gusto
90. Jushi Pizza 巨时比萨
91. Olive Restaurant and Bar 橄榄餐吧
92. Sesto Senso 食巳意大利菜
93. Hisewel Brew-pub 海森威精酿啤酒餐吧
94. Atta BJ
95. CUP ONE
96. Lonely Us 一人食·融合餐
97. PBD Pizza Bar
98. BLT BLT美式西餐厅