Third Street Deli, Pepin, Wisconsin Field Report

On the third day of our field trip to Wisconsin, we had dinner at the Third Street Deli in Pepin. I had checked with them about some questions I had, so that when I arrived, I was recognized. We actually stopped by twice, once before they were heating the oven and later after they started serving food out of the oven.

The oven was built last year. It was more massive than they were expecting.  

The oven is part of an outdoor kitchen with some counter seating and an outdoor patio. There is some shelter from the weather while still being out of doors.

It's a pretty big oven. It looks like a relative big barrel-vault oven instead of a hemispherical oven more typical of a pizza-only oven.

They have some of the tools that I would expect for a wood-fired oven, but not all of them. (It's enough for what they do.)

Once the oven is heated up, they keep a fire in the back to keep the temperature up. That takes some practice to regulate and to cook with.

Here are a couple of calzones in the oven.

One got a little charred. This is apparently a rare problem, and they remade the item (for free of course) for the people who ordered it.

This is a "before" picture of my margherita pizza.

This is the "after" picture of my pizza. It pretty much comes out of the oven and then to the table. (It was only about 5 minutes before the pizza going in and me taking the after picture. Part of that was remembering to get my camera out before I ate the pizza.)

I thought it was a very reasonable price for the pizza ($8). Unlike A to Z Produce (the Pizza Farm), the Third Street Deli does not specialize in pizza; they have a lot of other offerings. (My wife really liked the roasted beet salad.)

The next time I'm in the neighborhood of Pepin on a day when A to Z is closed and Third Street Deli is open (Thursday through Sunday), I would happily go there again for pizza or for something else on the menu.

Rabbit's Bakery, Lake City, Minnesota Field Report

One the second day of a vacation at Stockholm, Wisconsin, we crossed the border back into Minnesota to visit Rabbit's Bakery in Lake City. We got there just before noon, so that baking for the day was over, but the wood-fired oven was being heated up for the next day's baking.

There were lots of tasting things in case waiting to be chosen. We saw lots of people coming in to buy things or to have lunch at the bakery cafe.

There was some breads of the day on the rack waiting to be taken, a menu for drinks on the wall. You can also see a sign for pizza (lower right), which they currently make once a month.

They have their distinctive sign hanging outside their door.

Here you can see the chimney stack and cinder block addition for their wood-fired oven. It looks like they also added some additional venting.

Just in case you can't find it going by the address, they also have a distinctive sign on the exterior wall of their bakery building.

Everything we bought was good. I'll certainly stop by again if I'm in the area.

Bricks Wood Fired Pizza, Lombard, Illinois

Once again I have a little time to post in my blog.

This time my Google Alert found a news post from Lombard, IL.

There is a good picture of a pizza and an interview with the owners of Bricks Wood Fired Pizza, Lombard, Illinois. Their oven is apparently a genuine Italian import.

Unlike many wood-fired pizza places I have found, these folks deliver (if you are in their territory of course).

I don't get that way very often, but I might again someday, in which case I'll see if I can make a field report.

Third Street Deli, Pepin, Wisconsin

People in one of my oven-building classes had told me that there was a new wood-fired oven business in Pepin, Wisconsin.

An article in the 7/7/11 Taste section of the StarTribune says in part:

As if Judith Hanks weren't busy enough, what with cooking jumbo breakfasts and lunches at her Third Street Deli along with running an adjacent consignment shop and day spa. No, Hanks recently dove headlong into the outdoor pizza business, and it's a gas.

 They have a Facebook Restaurant/Cafe page.

The next time I roll through Pepin at the right time, I'm stopping for pizza.

Wild Fire Organic Bakery and Cafe, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.


There was a bare mention of Wild Fire Organic Bakery and Cafe, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.


Their home page says, "Organic Levain Breads Baked in a Wood-Fired Oven."


Pictures of the breads look beautiful. They have an on-line photo album.


I would like to visit someday.

Lido Woodfired Cafe and Restaurant, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Not all the news caught by my Google Alert involves reviews, openings, or good news.

An on-line article for the Courier & Mail reported that there was a fire at the Lido Woodfired Cafe and Restaurant, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Lido does not have a web site that I can find, but they do have a Facebook page.

(On Facebook they made it clear that they were not closed for long by the fire.)

Sounds like a jolly place.

Goodfella's Pizza, Staten Island, New York

Apparently I was in the middle of posting about Goodfella's Pizza, Staten Island, New York, but got distracted and didn't finish. (We have been having thunderstorms here in the upper midwest; I disconnect my computer when there is lightning about.)

I was reading the Facebook group, Brick Oven Builders, where Scot Cosentino posted a picture and a link to Goodfella's Pizza.


After following the link, I discovered they also had a Facebook page.


It certainly looks like award-winning pizza.


There is no doubt that they have a wood-fired oven.

Mamie's Cafe and Bakery, Marthinsburg, Pennsylvania

I don't know anything about this place, but they did claim on their site that they were having brick oven pizza.

Elanta Wood-Fired Bagel Cafe, Seattle, Washington

A Seattle food blog entry recounted a visit to Elanta Wood-Fired Bagel Cafe, Seattle, Washington.

The entry says in part, "The doors were unlocked and employees were busy hoisting long paddles of bagels in and out of the large wood oven."

Flames Brick Oven, Westchester, New York.

According to a restaurant review, the owner of the Old Stone Trattoria had previous worked at Flames Brick Oven in Yonkers (also with a Facebook page).

Old Stone Trattoria, Chappaqua, New York

A restaurant review in a food blog for the Lower Hudson profiles Old Stone Trattoria, Chappaqua, New York.

The review says in part, "If you’re in the mood for a warm brick oven and a cozy neighborhood trattoria, come down to Angelo Tradito’s new place in Chappaqua."

TRIO A Brick Oven Cafe, Greenville, South Carolina

A list of The Top 5 Restaurants in Greenville for Local Fare mentions Trio A Brick Oven Cafe.

The listing for Trio says in part, "Trio A Brick Oven Cafe offers both indoor and outdoor dining. It features pizzas made right in their brick oven."

The Trio home page says in part, "An eclectic fare of gourmet wood-fired pizzas are a specialty--with sauces made fresh daily and in such intriguing combinations as roast chicken with basil pesto. A wide variety of homemade pasta dishes like sautéed crawfish and rotini are another specialty of the house. Rotisserie-cooked chicken as well as a variety of wraps and sandwiches round out the menu."