Background:
Firestorm Pizza is a build-your-own pizza and salad concept started by Chris Berman. Berman has three locations of Firestorm, one in Winston-Salem, one in Mooresville, and his newest spot in Northlake which opened in January of 2017. I visited the Northlake location with my dearest friend Daniela after Firestorm so generously invited me out to sample some of their pizza.
Fresh to death
What makes Firestorm stand out? The customer service, cleanliness, and the quality of the food and beverages. We had the best time making our own pizza with the fun staff at Firestorm!
Oh no--creepy blogger syndrome happening again!
Eat This:
Once we all got outfitted with gloves and hats, we got to go behind the counter at Firestorm to actually make our own pizzas! On a typical visit, the friendly staff will do all of this for you without you lifting a finger, but it was awesome to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the pizza gets made.
Hi, Destyn!
The process begins with the dough. You can get regular white flour, whole wheat, or gluten-free dough. The dough rounds are flattened using this nifty little dough press!
Once your dough is flat, it is perforated so it doesn't bubble up in the pizza oven.
Let me perforate ya
Then, it's on to the most fun part--picking your toppings! Toppings are included in one flat cost at Firestorm--so feel free to load up!
Aunt Ms. Coach D AKA The Real Jewcan loading up those toppings!
Then it's into the oven for your little baby pizza! They start the pizzas near the back of the oven so the crust cooks up nicely, and then they move the pizza around for optimal browning.
Cuttin' up
Daniela's final masterpiece
I go hard on the banana peppers
In addition to pizza, Firestorm offers salads which you can also create yourself, and, my personal favorite thing at any pizza joint--garlic knots!
Dessert:
Firestorm also bakes up their own chocolate chip cookies. We didn't try one on this visit, but we were definitely tempted. Next time!
They also offer Cheerwine and root beer floats!
Drink:
In addition to the above floats, we can't forget about the beer! One of the coolest parts of Firestorm's concept is their tap system. They have twelve regional beers on tap and they have a nifty card system that they use to charge you for how much beer you want. You load up your card with a dollar amount, and then you can scan your card, which will keep track of how many ounces you have purchased. If you want more, no big deal! Just go back and load up your card again! This is a fun way to get to try lots of different options--maybe you could get a half glass each of two varieties you have your eye on! I tried SweetWater's "Goin' Coastal" pineapple IPA. It was super delicious, and I don't typically like beer!
Atmosphere:
The Firestorm at Northlake is very clean and has lots of cool touches--one of my favorite parts was that they offered "half boxes" by the utensil area so you didn't have to bother with going back up to the counter to get a box for the rest of your pizza.
Italiano Hospitality:
The staff at Firestorm were so kind and knowledgeable, and they were very patient with having so many bloggers and Instagrammers invade their store during peak dinner hours. I could tell we weren't getting special treatment--everyone who came in while we where there was receiving the same level of awesome service.
Frankie's Notes:
The weirdest part of going to blog events is having to introduce yourself with your blog name or Instagram handle; In this vein, a very special shout out to the gal behind "Put It In Your Mouth;" There is a lot of pressure to make a good looking pizza when you are surrounded by so many creative types--I feel like my pizza deserves a gold star for effort; A pour-your-own tap counter is like a Coke Freestyle for grown-ups; I always wish fruity beers tasted more like fruit juice, and I am disappointed when they taste more like beer; Do they make alcoholic fruit juice?
Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.