Hot Mama's Pizza: What the Fuss?

Seattlest started the New Year with a strong dose of reality. Hot Mama's, supposedly the best pizza on Cap Hill, doesn't cut it for this eater. Crust soggy, toppings bland.

How'd this place become so popular, one wonders, when the far more authentic Via Tribunali is just up the street? Must have something to do with Seattle's pizza culture: a need for something predictable and cheap to ingest when you've been drinking. Tribunali's a sit-down dinner place with wine and all; Hot Mama's a hole-in-the-wall with few pretensions. No serious website, either, just a MySpace page.

We order up four or five large-size, with assorted toppings, and head for a family reunion. (This falls into the non-believers holiday tradition of paying strangers to do the heavy lifting.) Not much aroma in the car (not a good sign) but exclamations of "Ooh, Hot Mama's!" upon arrival. The pineapple and Canadian bacon succumbs quickly to onslaughts from the teens. Pepperoni likewise. The vaunted pesto less so. Last to go under, surprisingly, is the Chef Choice (tomatoes, basil, mushroom, garlic). Remains boxed for the 13-year-old, often picky but pleased with his unexpected bounty.

On plus side, Hot Mama's isn't unduly greasy (relative lack of cheese), and family doggies appear genuinely grateful for bites of cold, dull crust.

Hot Mama's Pizza, 700 E. Pine (at Boylston), 206-322-6444

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ronald in Food on January 2, 2009 1:30 PM

Comments [rss]

cbseattle

I think it is potentially the worst Pizza on the hill. There are some great options here: Palermo (Greek Style) Piecoras (NY Style) Pagliacci (NY Style) Via Trib (Neopolitan) etc...

I work right next to the place and wouldn't go there.

partyfernandez

i'm gonna come right out and say it - while i'm certainly no expert, i've never had a slice of pie in NY that i tasted and thought "OHHHHhhhhh, THIS is what all the fuss is about! this is amazing!"

typically it's just been run-of-the-mill greasey pizza.

not saying i don't LIKE that, i'm just saying it wasn't other-worldly

hapa

As a new york transplant, I shamelessly plug this place any chance I get. It's a trek from the hill, but well worth it for real pizza. http://www.snellsoftware.com/anewyorkpizzaplace/

rjh

It's a lot cheaper and less pretentious than Via Tribunali. Not everyone is going for "authentic" (which can mean very different things in different places) when ordering out for pizza.

mattgrundy

I've never heard anyone say it's the best place on the hill for pizza, for something in the haute cuisine department it's not going to be in the running. But it is consistent, affordable, tastes fairly good, and there are few pizza places on the hill that are by-the-slice and quick; this review comes off as slightly annoying. It's like reviewing a TV show and complaining it was only a half hour long.

jdavin

Hmm, I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one.

I've been eating Hot Mama's for about a year now, on average once every two weeks, and it's in my top 5 Seattle pizza places. And I have very high standards for pizza. I'm from NY, and when I go home and into the city I spend basically the whole day gorging on pizza. :)

But Hot Mamas comes close to NY pizza, I'd say for me it's tied with Piecora's. A key fact is you *must* have Hot Mamas while it's hot and fresh. Its quality deteriorates pretty rapidly when it's been sitting out for a while. So you said you got 5 pies to go and brought them to a family reunion? How long did it take you to get there? If it was over 30 minutes between the time the pizza came out of the oven and went into your mouth, it's not a fair test.

If you prefer deep dish or Neapolitan pizza (which is what Via Trib is more similar too), that's fine, it's just a different ballpark.

In my experience Seattle has 3 types of pizza: 1) fancy Seattle pizza with lots of toppings (Serious Pie, Via Trib?), 2) simple no-frills NY-ish pizza (Hot Mama's, Piecora's, maybe Zeek's), 3) Neapolitan style (Tutta Bella).

ronaldholden

The author of the article was not the purchaser of the pizzas, an out-of-towner who checked out Cap Hill pizza places on Yelp.

sciencevsromance

I'm confused: Did you know that you didn't like Hot Mama's before you ordered five of their pizzas for a family reunion? Or are you saying that it's food fit only for teenagers, dogs, and drunks?

I agree that it's great late at night when nothing else is open, but I never even imagined that people could or would order whole pies from them with so many other options in town.

Katelyn

Hot Mamas is perfect when you're drunk and need something to sop up the liquor. I never want their pizza when I'm in my right mind, I can tell you that.

downwithpants

I'm always surprised at the Hot Mama's love. I actually list their pizza as the absolute worst couple slices of pizza that I've ever ate. Maybe it was just a bad day, but I can't bring myself to go back because of that memory and I question the sanity of anybody that hypes Hot Mama's to me.