Palo Mesa Pizza found its victory when the pizzeria took home second place after a tough tie-breaker at the 2018 West Coast U.S. Pizza Cup hosted in Oceanside, Calif. on Aug. 27.
Michael Stevens, chef and owner of Palo Mesa Pizza, put his famous ‘Mama’ pizza up against the stiff competition ranging from a number of states. The pie was made with hearty ingredients like homemade sausage, red onions, jalapenos, Galbani fresh mozzarella, nectarines, cilantro, garlic, olive oil and a finishing of balsamic vinegar aged for 18 years.
After tying with fellow competitor, David Conti of Red Planet Pizza and BBQ in Ansonia, Connecticut, Stevens was eventually awarded the second place prize. The honor allowed Stevens to continue on to Italy in April 2019, where he will take his pizza internationally to represent the U.S. on the American pizza team.
“We love our new Wood-Fired concept for Palo Mesa in the heart of the AG village. It was exciting to be able to share what we’ve created with my pizza team. I try to have everyone who enters our door take a trip to Italy with our wood-fired pizza. The winning pizza was the same pizza that the Central Coast enjoys every day,” said Stevens.
Other California pizzerias made the top winners’ list, including Mind Public House and Pizzeria in Los Altos and The Lamb & The Wolf in Rocklin.
Palo Mesa Pizza has four locations along the Central Coast; three stores in Arroyo Grande and one in downtown San Luis Obispo.
