Saucy Talk: TalkinWitMike
Yo, yo, yo! What it do, what it do? The Bay Area’s most beloved and well respected food guru, GrubWitMike, stepped away from his usual scene to hang out with us and our very own pizzaiolo, Marc. Read more as he spills the tea on his latest creation, Da Grubby Pie, featuring that bold Alabama white sauce and a kick of Gochuchang—no balut in sight…iykyk! Curious? Hungry? Shoot, us too. Read about it and find out (be sure to follow him @GrubWitMike)!
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Marc: We’re going through some quick-fire questions for some pizza! By the way, you look great! Let’s talk about your health journey. How’s it going?
GWM: It’s good, but I gained about 20-25 pounds during my travels to Hawaii, LA, and AZ in 30-40 days. I need to fast after this, and I’m off to New York next week, so that’ll complicate things. But I did lose a lot of weight by eating better.
Marc: Totally get that. You travel for food! Let’s dive into pizza. We have the Da Grubby Pie coming out soon, which is fire! You helped design it with us. What’s one thing you never want on a pizza?
GWM: You can put almost anything on a pizza, but if I had to pick, it would be balut.
Marc: Is that a chicken fetus?
GWM: Yeah, crazy right? Shout out to all my Filipinos—don’t be mad at me!
Marc: Don’t be mad at Mike! He’ll have to try it! So, we reviewed a Hawaiian pizza together. Does pineapple belong on pizza?
GWM: Yes, 100%! It doesn’t belong on every slice, but it has its place. I prefer thinly sliced pineapple, not them juicy, fat cuts.
Marc: Agreed. What makes for a “good” versus “bad” pineapple on pizza?
GWM: Good pineapple isn’t soggy or watery. It should be sweet and cut small.
Marc: I mean, I consider myself a pizza expert, and I agree. What are you looking forward to in our collaboration?
GWM: I’m excited to work with you all. I’ve always loved your pizza. Shout out to Big Von! I’ve seen your collabs with Zaza and JLin, and thought, “I’m gonna have a pizza with them!”
Marc: We’re honored! The Bay Area respects you, no BS here!
GWM: Tell them how many pies it took to get here!
Marc: About 20-25! Mike came by 3-4 times, and we tried 6-7 different versions.
GWM: Yeah, we tried a ton.
Marc: The best part of collaborations is refining the product together. You had your preferences, and we showed you different pizzas until we nailed it.
GWM: Exactly! It had to be right for me to collaborate—no compromises! It took us about 9 months.
Marc: So, no balut on the pizza. What’s the craziest pizza you’ve tried?
GWM: A cheese pizza from Sophia’s with lobster on top. It was wild! I haven’t had it since, but I think it should be recreated.
Marc: What do you think that cost?
GWM: No idea. Whatever the market price is for lobster.
Marc: Smart man. Alright, next question. You go out with your boys for a night, get drunk–all the works. Cold pizza the next morning: yay or nay?
GWM: Yay, but it can’t be refrigerated. It has to be room temperature.
Marc: I’d call that congealed pizza.
Mark: Alright, and the moment we’ve all been waiting for: let’s talk about Da Grubby Pie. It has Alabama white sauce, GrubWitMike special spiced chicken, Gochuchang, Gochucharu, with sesame seeds, pickled fresno chiles, scallions, and grana atop.
GWM: Firree! When we tried the final version, it was an instant hit. I’m so hungry just thinking about it.
Marc: Yeah, me too. Well, so every collaboration here has a good cause in mind. Who are we donating to?
GWM: My pockets! Haha, just kidding. We’re donating to City Eats, which helps the unhoused and low-income by providing meals. I recently connected with them at Everybody Eats, and it just worked out perfectly.
Marc: Shoutout to City Eats for working to eradicate hunger in the Bay Area! Every Grubby Pie will donate 3% to them—none to Mike’s pockets, though!
Marc: Well, I appreciate your time, Mike. We can’t wait for Da Grubby Pie to hit the public!
GWM: Of course! It’s gonna be fire–it’s gonna be shmackin’!