My tongue is attending a little burn spot on the left part of the roof of my mouth. It's a beautiful reminder of the pizza Jason and I had for lunch.  

 

I'd heard about Crown Pizza from a couple of people, but I tell ya, your suggestion came without proper emotion. This is not simply a "good" place to eat. I went all the way to Italy, and back, before unreservedly saying to you now that Beaumont and Rome are duking it out for first place pizza. 

  
Crown pizza is located at 5535 Calder Ave in Beaumont. 

We studied the online menu before going in, so we had a game plan. Decisions of this nature should be made only after careful consideration. The menu boasts somewhere around a dozen pizzas, none of which could easily be excluded from our playing field. 

We narrowed our choices down and ordered three pizzas, the Margherita, the Shangrai La, and the BLT. 

La Margherita

  

Jason and I had a small tiff regarding the ordering of this beauty. I've tasted its kind. Though wonderful, I've had it many times and was hungering for something foreign to my tastebuds. Jason won, but I admit it, my tastebuds won too, being reunited with this old friend. You're familiar with its ingredients: hand crushed tomato sauce, fresh cow's milk mozzarella, hand torn basil, sea salt and olive oil. It was already half gone before I came to my senses and snapped a picture. 

Jason ordered the Shangrai La.

  
 He says 

"It has a combination of toppings I never imagined possible on a pizza. The basil pesto made a great flavor foundation. Whoever thought grilled brussel sprouts could be a legitimate topping." 

The Shangrai La is topped with prosciutto, serrano peppers and fresh mozzarella. My great grandmother may have never said "You don't love food, you love people" had she tried this pizza. 

I ordered the BLT. 

  
I wanted to choose the most exotic pizza on the list but this pizza had me at the word marmalade. The crust, like every pizza this awesome establishment makes, is crispy and isn't the kind you leave behind when you've eaten all the goody. This light crust is covered in some type of creamy balsamic-like bacon marmalade. Goat cheese and thick bacon are the middle layer in this fine pie. Cherry tomatoes and fresh arugula are piled on top. This BLT is the roof-of-mouth burning culprit. And I'm not sorry to say I still love it. 

These pizzas run from about nine to twenty dollars. The twenty-two dollar pizza is topped with frog legs. If you try it, or have tried it...let me know. Also make us aware of any of the other must-try pizzas on the menu. They have salads and desserts too, both of which, we were too distracted to try. We were on a pizza mission today. Mission accomplished.