For those of you unfamiliar with places of high altitude, allow me to explain the results of finding yourself far above sea level. The first thing you’ll notice is a shortness of breath, when a short walk up the stairs leaves you breathless. Next, you’ll find yourself in a constant quest for water, as the altitude saps the water from your body and leaves you dehydrated. Such is the case in Breckenridge, Colorado, sitting at 9600 feet above sea level. While I had previously thought such altitude issues only applied to humans, a pizza from Giampietro taught me this was just not the case.
In the mood to just relax at the condo for the night, we picked up Sicilian Deep Dish pepperoni pizza from Giampietro and when I opened the box, I immediately saw danger. In transit, some of the cheese from the top of the pie had stuck itself to the ceiling of the pizza box. I can’t blame Giampietro for this, as I have no idea how my family handled the pizza in the car, but it was not a good sign.
When I took a bite from my first slice, though, I realized that this pizza was suffering from the same dehydration as me. The crust was way dry and if not for the copious amount of cheese, it would have been difficult to take down. The sauce and pepperoni were tasty, but the dough really broke this pizza. I usually love deep dish, too, so this is not some general complaint about deep dish. it is only a complaint about arid deep dish.
In strange twist, though, we had quite a mass of leftovers after this meal, so I microwaved some pizza the next morning for breakfast. I ordinarily hate microwaving leftover pizza, as it often winds up soggy, but that was just what this pizza needed. While I lamented the loss of some of the pizza’s crispiness, I welcomed the newly hydrated crust with open arms and mouth.
I didn’t linger in Breckenridge long enough to see if there were any other viable pizza options, but just be warned that if you order from Giampietro, you may want to have a microwave on hand to save your pizza from altitude sickness.