MOD your pizza, cab for a cure

I go through some pretty big mood swings when food is involved. I’ll be completely obsessed with pho for a while, can’t get enough of it, and then—poof!—I’m on to something else. There are always the old stand-bys, however, foods that are good no matter what. Like pizza.

I’ve been a little overly excited about MOD Pizza opening up near the movie theater, mostly because the concept is so different from any other pizza place in town. It’s more or less like a Subway, or Pita Pit, but with pizza and where they don’t charge extra for double meat or extra cheese. Genius! So, I finally made my way over there the other night and it totally exceeded my expectations.

First of all, the place is fun. The music was upbeat, hip but not hipster, and the decorations were bright and cheery without being gaudy. The staff was super friendly—and genuinely so. And they seemed happy to help a MOD virgin navigate the process. It boils down to this: Choose a pizza, salad or combine the two (yes, you can get your salad on a pizza crust). Then you can either choose from their most popular combos, which you can alter however you like, or you can create your own pie from scratch.

For my recent visit, I got takeout for me and my boyfriend. He chose the 11-inch (basic, $8.27) Mad Dog, which I kind of wish was all veggie because then it’d be perfect for Melissa “Mad Dog” Daugherty. But it’s almost all meat, so that won’t work. I decided to create my own MOD: white sauce, garlic, grilled chicken, artichoke hearts (which were huge!!), black olives, mozzarella and asiago cheeses. I also ordered the garlic strips ($2.97) and chocolate shakes with Oreo pieces ($3.77).

After a few minutes in the super-hot brick oven, the pizzas and strips (with dips!) were done, and I was out the door. They weren’t home more than a few minutes before we dove right in. Then we stopped talking for a little bit while we stuffed our faces. The crust is thin and crispy, and I only got through a little more than half before putting the rest away for later. The strips were less substantial, but a fun appetizer for three whole dollars.

I was a little bummed that the much-anticipated Cream isn’t open in the North Valley Plaza yet, as I was prepping myself for a MOD dinner with an ice-cream-cookie-sandwich dessert. Oh well, it gave me a reason to get a MOD shake, and a very fine shake it was.

Cabbin’ it If you need an incentive to choose a taxi over Uber, here’s another one: For the month of October, one Liberty Cab shed its red, white and blue in favor of pink and $1 from every fare is donated to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Chico. Last year, the Pink Ride raised $1,157! Call 898-1776 or get the Liberty Cab app to reserve a ride.