However, since becoming pescetarian a few years ago, going out for pizza tends to be an exercise in disappointment. Not a lot of places do more than a cheese pizza or a pretty tasteless veggie pizza - which usually comes with hideous mushrooms. While I've had some success at smaller restaurants, when I want to grab something quick, I end up usually getting a side or starter instead.
Enter MOD Pizza, which is now officially one of my favourite places for pizza in Leeds. It is basically like Subway but for pizza, so you control exactly what goes onto your pie. Not only that, but it is actually put together in front of you so you can ask for more or less of any topping at no extra cost. Essentially, it is pizza heaven.
Everything finally fell into place though when the husband and I wanted to see Black Panther. Missing the earlier showing and having some time to kill meant just one thing: pizza.
MOD is really close to a load of restaurants at Cardigan Fields, including Pizza Hut, Frankie and Benny's and Five Guys, so there are a fair few options. However, when we arrived, it was easy to see which was most popular by the size of the queue and the number of people already sat at tables.
There is a menu that includes some recommended pizzas, which you can get at a discounted price, otherwise, it's a choice of three sizes and all the toppings. The idea of building a pizza was a bit much for the husband after a long day at the office so he picked one off the board but I chose a mini pizza with the intent to top it as high as the sky.
You can choose between different sauces or even combine a few - I had their standard pizza sauce and pesto just because. There is also a choice between mozzarella and vegan cheese, so it isn't just veggies that can be made happy by pizza. For me, the only downside with the toppings is that anchovies - which I love - are the only fish option. I would have loved to see some tuna at the very least, but MOD seems to follow along the same lines as other pizza places in that regard.
Once we'd chosen all our toppings, we paid for the pizzas and got one of the buzzing things you put on the table that will go off when your food is ready. We were expecting to have to head over to get our pizzas, but they ended up being brought to us instead.
Here's when things got really good, as not only was it great to get to make your own pizza, they are also delicious. You can taste how fresh the dough is as soon as you bite into a slice and there is just the right amount of sauce to base so you aren't stuck with a dry pizza but it isn't falling off the plate too.
I got to take my sad little leftover slice home with me so it didn't need to go to waste and I can tell you it tasted just as good the next morning too.
I'm genuinely making as many plans as possible that involve a trip to MOD Pizza now, something that will be much easier when their second location opens, as everything from the service to the food itself was really great. It may even have nudged my other favourite pizza place in Leeds into second position and I never thought I'd say that.
Basically, what this blog is telling you is that you need to find any excuse for pizza so you can get yourself to MOD.