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Fat Pie Pizza, Fairhaven

We went yesterday, late afternoon. Happy hour menu looks really good.

We wanted to try both styles of pizza. Detroit and Chicago....both of which I liked...both of which I don't really consider pizza ;)

First we ordered the happy hour ceasar salad. It comes with a little disc of Parmesan crisp. Nice little size for 2.99. You almost need to order an app and drink, as the pizza will take about 30 minutes to get to you. The Chicago is 30 minutes, the Detroit is 25 minutes. I can't imagine just sitting there with water for a half hour.

They have a half priced bottle of wine menu during happy hour too. Nice. We ordered a decent red for 15 bucks. Can't beat that.

Okay....the Detroit we ordered had caramelized onion and Gorgonzola. I believe the name was the 57 Packard. It was good. The Detroit style is more like toppings melted on focaccia bread. Very doughy and Chewy, not browned on the bottom. I have never been to Detroit so I am not sure how this compares. I liked it. It reminds me more of cheesy bread with toppings than pizza. I intend to try more of this style there.

The Chicago style we ordered was the union square. It was made with bolognese sauce and completely filled with meat. It looked like a huge filled meat pie covered in cheese. It had a unique flavor (reminding me of a Greek sauce maybe). I asked the manager and he confirmed it was nutmeg. It was tasty, but heavy as a brick. Flakey, buttery crust, well made to be sure, did not squish or fall apart when cut into. I would have never called this pizza. I only say this, because if you are having a pizza craving....this might not satisfy it. This is a pizza *pie*.

We talked with the general manager a bit. He said this restaurant was inspired (by the owners of rocket donut) to create a different pizza experience here. They really enjoyed these different pizza styles and wanted to recreate them here.

They are making their own sausages. They are looking to expand in that area as well. They have put much effort into sourcing ingredients and creating the pies they want on this menu. No "copy cat" stuff here.

The challenge was having people wait for 30 minutes and making sure that the order is perfectly correct. There is no "sending it back" when there is a half hour wait for each pie. They are figuring all that out. So far, they have had positive feedback. We ate downstairs in a booth by the window. I didn't go upstairs.

I think they are putting out a quality product. It will be interesting to see how west coast hamsters will take to these pies.

For the record, I liked the Detroit style best this time. I will want to go back and get a Chicago style with some veg in it, this one was too big of a meat bomb for me, but that is just a personal taste thing. If you dine with a big meat lover with a big appetite....order this one!

All in all, I liked the concept and the food here. Nice friendly, informative, efficient staff. Go give it a try!

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  1. Great report, thanks !

    I certainly hope those wait times come down, cuz if I go with my family I can't imagine waiting 20-30 mins just for a pie or two. Fairhaven Pizza gets your order to your table < 20 mins (I timed them, actually). I wonder if we can "call ahead" to order and tell them it's for eating in ?

    Will definitely *not* go for the Chicago-style (sounds like deep dish, almost like a crusted lasagna), but the Detroit could work.

    They need to update their website and FB page !!


    4 Replies
    1. re: LotusRapper

      The wait times are not supposed to come down, because they are needed to cook the thick pies. I never thought about calling ahead (I don't have little kids) but that might work. It goes by fast with a salad and wine.

      They said they were talking about what to do in certain situations because of the wait time. They might offer snacks or things to do for kids, I didn't ask. If you call and ask, report back. It would be good for people to know that!

      Chicago is deep dish pizza.

      1. re: sedimental

        I'm a NYC-style or Neapolitan-style pizza kind of a guy. Chicago deep-dish is just too heavy for me !

        1. re: sedimental

          Hi, sedimental: "...what to do in certain situations because of the wait time."

          You could always go somewhere and grab a pizza...


          1. re: kaleokahu

            Sounds like a Steven Wright response :-D

      2. "Toppings melted on foccacia" doesn't sound like Dee-troit pizza. If you get the Cooking Channel, look for Pizza Cuz and check out the episode titled "Neighborhoods". One segment is about Buddy's in Detroit, which is true Motor City style. The crust should be browned, almost fried, and crunchy

        Little Caesar's Deep Deep dish is chain-style Detroit pizza

        Pizza is one thing I DON'T seek out when visiting the PNW :), specifically MV and Bellingham as that's where my family lives. We are too happy to eat seafood for just about every meal!

        1. Wanted to refresh this thread and say I really really enjoyed their Chicago style deep dish. While some of the offerings are made with bolognese sauce, which I can see ending like a meat bomb, they don't all. And you can swap any sauce with any other as we learned when my little guy - who doesn't like tomato go figure - asked for Alfredo on the 57 packer. But I digress. I had the Uno, which is tomato sauce cheese, sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onions, olives. It tasted great, closer than Chicago and better than the deep dish in Seattle - the one in University Village. They have a really nice buttery flaky crust, and the cheese doesn't overwhelm. Also - bonus points for selling it by the slice at lunch. 1/6 of a "large" for $4.

          1 Reply
          1. re: sasha1

            I knew I wasn't dreaming. What used to be a great lunch deal - 1/6 of large deep dish for $4 is now a pretty sucky deal at 1/4 of a small for $5.

            I got one today and I could've sworn it was a different deal than before. Then I found this old post of mine. Oh and btw after my slice of the small, I was still hungry.

            Fat Pie, you won't gain supporters this way.

          2. We finally made it to Fat Pie last night (a Thursday night). Arrived a little after 7 pm and were happy to see it wasn't very busy which we hoped would translate into a shorter wait.

            We ordered a Lakeshore Drive Chicago-style pizza. And then we waited, and waited, and waited. The table of 3 next to us that ordered salads and a large Chicago-style pie got all of their food and were nearly finished before our regular sized pie arrived. The wait was much longer than 30 minutes, at least 45 minutes.

            The crowing touch--our pizza wasn't even hot when it arrived so we asked for it to be put back in the oven. Sadly, it still wasn't hot in the center when it came back, at that point we were over it and each had a small slice and brought the rest home.

            The pizza was fine, but I wouldn't order that particular pie again. The cauliflower and Gorgonzola weren't doing it for us. It is the only veggie option, so if we go back we'll build our own pizza.

            Happily, they provided a feedback card with our bill, and I left plenty of very specific feedback, but they didn't offer to comp out any portion of our bill, offer us a free app or beverage, or even fess up to what we suspect was a mix up in the kitchen that caused the delay in the first place.

            Hope it is much better if we decide to go back. :( Maybe we'll just go for a slice next time.

            7 Replies
            1. re: laurachow


              I'm not as forgiving as you if that happened to me ;-)

              We stick to Fairhaven Pizza Co. now by default if in the 'hood. Cheap, fast, reliable and service *always* friendly and professional. If downtown we'd be at La Fiamma. But I still need to check out that goat pizza place.

              1. re: LotusRapper

                Do you ever go to Pizzazza in Fairhaven? Don't let the gas station location fool you, they have some good pizza!! It's my south side friend's fave.

                I'm not crazy about Goat Mountain, but lots of folks like it. I think they might have changed how they charge. Used to be by the pound and you never really knew how much you were spending, but I think I read somewhere they are charging by the slice now?

                1. re: laurachow

                  Pizzazza I've eaten slices of (pre-packaged :-( ) at the Market Fuel there, yes I was prejudiced against the surroundings so I've never ordered their pies. Perhaps I need to rectify that.

                  Goat Mtn ..... a try is in order so we can say we did it.

                  There's another pizza place on S. State opposite Pepper Sisters right before the roundabout. Any experience with them ?

                  1. re: LotusRapper

                    Oh, New York Pizza. I think it's a chain. I know they have locations in Lynden and in Seattle, too. I've been there for a meeting once and had an okay fish taco and for pizza once a long time ago. I have a gluten-free friend that really likes their GF crusts, and they have some sort of pizza deal on Tuesdays that she went to. I just never think of it.


                    Here's Pizza'zza, which I think is much more promising: http://www.pizzazza.com/

              2. re: laurachow

                It's such a bummer that restaurants don't realize how a bad experience can totally negate good food. Not that you liked yours, it sounds like, but you can build your own and make it all veg. We've only ever eaten in at Fat Pie once. We've gotten to go several times and do like it. It's pretty heavy stuff, but a tasty occasional treat. We do Pizzaza fairly often for a mid-week dinner when no one had time to cook. Fiamma when we feel spendy! And rarely Fairhaven pizza, which has a weird-ish sauce that isn't to our taste. Actually I miss the Cichitti's on Railroad. We enjoyed that pie - especially their fire roasted pepper topping... My little kid likes the wood fire at the farmer's market. It used to be Goat, I think, but is something else now.

                1. re: sasha1

                  I miss the old Cichitti's that used to be in the current Rudy's space on State St. It was so good, back in the day, and the roasted pepper was my fave topping too!

                  The new biz in the BFM is Gusto Wood Fired Pizza. My former co-worker owns it. No association with the previous pizza booth at the market. He bought a very high-end wood-fired oven to open his biz. Uses only quality ingredients. Just had a veggie version of the weekly market special yesterday! He is an excellent cook; used to bring smoked turkeys to the office and treat us. They were the BEST!

                  1. re: laurachow

                    My little one loves his pepperoni pizza. I'm almost always at the Ethiopian stall myself...

              3. Anyone recall the pizzas at Stanello's ? Sorry, that was a poke ;-0