A knock on the door brought in a driver carrying two more cardboard boxes. He tried to look casual as multiple flash cameras went off in his face, but clearly this wasn't a typical Friday night delivery.
Tallinn's pizza delivery industry has been growing steadily since the appearance of the Peetri Pizza chain in the early 1990s, with one or two new arrivals each year. But despite this phenomenon being clearly modeled on a Western concept, much of what shows up in the box wouldn't live up to, say, an American's expectation of the cheesy-doughy feast that defines life in a college dormitory.
The crust is often undercooked, ingredients bland, and worst of all, it has to be eaten with a knife and fork. On the other hand, an Estonian could fairly argue that Tallinn's pizza is specific to Estonian tastes, and can only be judged by those who appreciate toppings like pearl onions and pineapple - two Estonian favorites.
The staff of Tallinn In Your Pocket decided that the best way to plow through this controversy and revamp its own "Pizza" restaurant review section, would be to hold a contest. Judges from the foreign community and the journalism world were selected and invited. Almost all accepted the task without hesitation when the monumental importance of the event was explained to them. Or maybe it was the free beer.
An intercom rang. "There's another one coming! That's 37 minutes for New York Pizza," shouted assistant editor Eddy Kont, just barely able to compete with the crowd noise and the rock music from the office boom-box. The number was immediately scribbled onto a paper wall chart. A moment later three more staff members were hovering over a pie, putting it on a scale, jabbing its center with a thermometer, and stretching a measuring tape across its diameter.
The large pizzas ranged in price from 50 kroons ($2.7) to 147 kroons, plus delivery, which was another 19 to 50 kroons. The weight, 455 to 842 grams, for the most part mirrored the price. Delivery time ran from 17 minutes (Peetri Pizza) to 50 minutes (Pirita Pizza), but in all fairness it should be pointed out that Peetri Pizza was just around the corner, and Pirita Pizza across town.
The real test came when the pizzas were cut up and served to the discerning judges for their scores and commentary.
"Vegetariana was like eating grass! - grass with rubber mushrooms and olives. But Estonians have been chewing bark through the ages," noted Juku-Kalle Raid, editor-in-chief of the KesKus monthly, evidently unimpressed by his Peetri Pizza.
Other responses were more diplomatic. "Yuck! ...of course, I hate olives," was one example. There were, of course, disagreements, some clearly a result of cultural biases related to the amount of spice and the thickness of the dough.
In the end though, Tiina Pizza was the clear hit of the evening, a surprise to many of the judges, most of whom had never heard of the independent outlet in the Mustamae suburb.
The results of the exercise were far from scientific - tastes differ, delivery time varies. At the least, some diners will have learned that there are more options for pizza than they thought. We just hope it was worth the mess. o
Steve Roman is the editor of Tallinn In Your Pocket, an English-language city guide that prints independent and often cynical reviews of restaurants, hotels, bars, nightclubs, and indeed, pizza.
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