northing artisan about this pizza. i love cogan's. that's a well known fact. i've been going here for years now. it really pains me to post this review but i have to call "crap" on the pizza i had there yesterday. i want to say up front that this review is only for this particular food item and not the establishment in general. i still love ya cogan's.
on with the story. cogan's has jumped on the "artisan pizza" bandwagon and when i stopped in yesterday my normal purple haze placed in front of me and i ordered a slice. the bartender asked me if i wanted to try an artisan pizza and said it's about half the size of a regular pizza. i said "sure what the heck" and didn't think about it again until it arrived.
what was put down in front of me about 10 minutes later is interesting to describe. it was a small pizza pan, with dough spread out covering about 3/4 of the surface. the pizza had one long down the middle and then was cut cross ways making sorta rectangular slices. i actually asked the bartender "wtf is this?" and she replied that's how they make it. she didn't look happy with it either. it looked sloppy, and was the same dough, the same sauce, the same ingredients as any other pizza in the house. just because it was shaped and cut different doesn't make it artisan. there was nothing special or artisan about it.
here's the deal. the authentic meaning and application of "artisan" alludes to a simpler time when people took pride in their craft. it's about special and unique. today, the draw for real artisan products is born out of a movement deriding overly processed, mass-produced foods linked to big corporations. manufacturers, attempting to ride the wave of this movement by stamping artisan on their products, are hoping it will suggest that what's inside is higher quality--even premium. there was nothing premium about this pizza.
what i see here is a shortcut to denote higher quality and premium charge, however what it really is, is a higher price for the same ole thing while serving a smaller portion. that's a fact. personally i think they should go back to the drawing board with this because cogan's is going to get some po'd customers when this pie arrives at their table and when they see the bill.
'nuff said.
-----03 sep, 2011-----
1st post hurricane visit. man o man. it seems like it's been forever when it's only been a week. cogan's took a hit from hurricane irene and was without power for a few days, however thursday evening i was able to get in and feed my pizza addiction.
as always i was able to saddle up to the bar, sharon put a purple haze in front of me without even asking. that's whatgoodplaces do. the staff knows the regulars and vice versa. the atmosphere was great. i had another brew and ordered a pizza to go. large peperoni, onions & sauteed mushrooms with their spicy sauce. everything was fresh. pure pizza heaven.
-----28 oct, 2009-----
this is great pizza!. finally, i had a slice from cogan's, and they are a welcome pizza blessing. i've been meaning to stop in at cogan's for years and for some reason or another it just hasn't happened until now.
cogan's claim to fame is a spicy sauced pie. it was spicy alright, but not as spicy as the local favorite chicho's. i did on the other hand find that the dough, toppings and cheese blend was better than cho's any day of the week. sorry cho's, you had your chance.
in addition, cogan's has 33 micro brews on tap. on a hot summer day that's a definite plus no matter how hot or mild the pizza sauce is. :)
check them out if you're in ghent.