Cowabunga Pizzeria

A pizza topped with pineapple, popcorn chicken, roasted peanuts, toasted sesame, and scallions sits on the same menu as the Classic Cheese with marinara, mozzarella blend, fior di latte, and oregano, and Cowabunga Pizzeria treats both with the same seriousness. The Upper Wellington pizzeria, in Hamilton's Concession Street neighbourhood, opened in 2020 and runs as a takeout shop with service from three to nine in the evening every day of the week. Phones come on at eleven in the morning, which gives a Hamilton table a four-hour window to call a pickup in before the oven starts working.

The classic side of the order — Classic Cheese, Pepperoni with double cup-and-char pepperoni in mild or beef, and "Our Marg" Margherita with sun-dried tomato puree, basil, jalapeno pesto, and Parmigiano — is built on the same dough, a mozzarella blend with fior di latte, and a marinara base. The house pies are where the kitchen takes wider swings. 1Up Truffle Honey carries truffle cream, mozzarella, fior di latte, honey, Maldon salt, white truffle oil, and Parmigiano Reggiano. The Cowabunga pie holds pineapple, popcorn chicken, the house Cowabunga sauce, roasted peanuts, toasted sesame, and scallions. GG Garlicky Greens stays vegetarian on garlic oil, roasted garlic, charred broccoli, kale, lemon oil, jalapeno pesto, and Parmigiano. Six dipping sauces — Garlic, Jalapeno Ranch, Truffle Parm, Marinara, Sara's Spicy Honey, and Truffle Hot — line up alongside the pies and extend a pie order into a fuller meal.