I've had Red Oven once before at the Flower Festival for Yelp Elites. I wasn't too impressed then either, finding their crust flavorless and undercooked. The story was about the same here, though I did like their toppings a bit more this second time around. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
It's an impressive setup. A large oven in the back of a truck, a small tent, broad workstation, and one guy making pies before scooping them into the fire with impressive timing. He always had more ready to go, none waiting on the table for long, as he cycled them around the heat, pulled some out to cool, and replaced them to keep the oven stocked. There were long lines, but the wait wasn't bad.
We split our pie, half Diavola and half pepperoni. Looking at the whole, it seemed poorly crafted. It's funny to note, especially considering how impressed I was by the lone guy working, but, looking at the finished product, you can see where the sauce wasn't spread evenly, some slices barely having any toppings, and the Mozzarella clumped in only three small spots. The Olio Piccante was tasty, but overpowering, even burying the saltiness of the Salame Calabrese underneath. Yet, the salami had a nice chew, giving the pizza a crispy texture that the crust lacked when normally advertised from a wood or coal fired oven.
All of this on 6 small slices for $13. Now, I know you're going to pay more for "quality toppings" and I admit they cook them well, if not in the right amounts. And being at a festival for a good cause might warrant a few extra dollars added on. Still, that doesn't change the fact that the menu is untouched by markup, betraying that these are their typical costs to eat at Red Oven. Underwhelming, overpriced, and ultimately subpar food, it could be worse, and it may have been the day, but it certainly isn't better than just alright.
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EDIT: In response to the owner of Red Oven.
First, I honestly appreciate the jovial sarcastic tone of your comment. I try to inject the same in my prose and to see someone come at me with it is fun. Typically whenever anyone mocks a Yelp reviewer for self-importance, it comes from the bartender of a sports bar. To see the owner of an artisan pizza place do the same is refreshing, sort of a "we are alike deep down" thing.
I'm sorry the tips weren't to your liking at the Flower Fields event. Most of my own tips went to getting a group of friends come with me to Hungry Bear Deli; those sandwiches were amazing. We followed it by having a few Yummy Cupcakes the following week. I know a number of other attendees followed suit. I apologize you didn't get the same response.
And, if that was you under the tent at Jefferson, let me say again you did a fantastic job keeping up with the lines. That was a high stress environment and whoever the chef was kept it together and the pizza rotating in and out of the oven beautifully. Seriously...
I want to note, you argued that you deserve special consideration due to the quality of your ingredients, both in cost and region; I agree that can boost a dish. When I reviewed Craft Pizza, their owner also came back with this point, despite him taking those ingredients, precooking their pizzas, and leaving the pies out for hours before finishing them to order. You don't do this, thankfully, but you were trying to convey that you take a grand extra step.
But, then you chastised me for not giving 5 stars to Yogurtland, a shop that chemically mixes their product off site and ships them packaged in bulk. Forget that you invalidate the value of fresh ingredients with this comparison, but instead focus on the fact that you really should have pointed out my review for That Pizza Place; it's a 5-star rife with personal preference and childhood clinging you could have used for evidence against my tastes. Plus, it would be an actual pizza vs. pizza contrast. It may not be artisan, as you pointed out I might not be familiar with the wide variety available, but still an example of west coast style.
Which reminds me, the Diavola at Quei Bravi Ragazzi is fantastic.
I'll end by saying that I'm not trying to 'bring down' your business with a scathing review. It's just my personal experience the few times I have gone. Many Yelp Elite love your cuisine (despite your apparent disdain for yelpers as a whole) and I'm not trying to sway hearts and minds, just share what I thought.
But, in the spirit of your list of the type of people who yelp (sick burn, brah; it must have taken you a good 20 seconds to google that), let me point out that you stated one of the reasons your pizza may have suffered was because we had a custom order of a split pie. Might I suggest you inquire with the master chefs at Domino's and Pizza Hut; I hear they teach their craftsmen how to actually apply two different styles of toppings (and even differing sauces) on the same pizza and still manage to keep everything separate. It's amazing.
I jest, trying to give as good as was got. read more