Maddux Pizza and Golmok Gourmet

So, I’m back from Europe, and I’ve got a lot to say about that, but before I do, I wanted to throw up a post real quick in case it’s of any interest to… anyone. Today, I took B to lunch at Maddux Pizza, in Itaewon — a place a friend introduced me to — in an attempt to cheer him up a bit from a disappointing morning. Yesterday (our first full day back in town, mind you) he went for an interview for what seemed like the ideal job — an extremely highly paid position at a prominent company working with cutting edge technology in a field he wants to learn more about. Unfortunately, they fibbed (as they always, always do) about the overtime until he got in for his first day this morning. Then they laid it on him: Every night until at least 8 or 9pm, and probably most weekends as well. And instead of three months, four.

So he walked.

So I took him for some legit New York style pizza.

There are three things I really like about Maddux. First is the fact that you can order it by the slice, unlike some other places, where you end up in a pickle (or a food coma) if you go with one or two other people. I also love that twice-baked crispness that comes from the reheating, which I haven’t found anywhere else. I saw some people complaining about the reheating on review sites and then going on to say that it was “close enough” to New York pizza — I don’t know what New York they visited, because New York pizza is reheated in exactly the same way. Finally, it’s the one of the only places I know that does a cream sauce pizza, which is my favorite — the fact that it’s spinach and artichoke makes it even better. Maddux’s cream is especially wicked and slathered on, so I’m all in.

The slices are huge — you can be reasonable and order one, or you can be me, most of the time, and go for two and nearly-but-not-quite regret it.

Today, we split the difference and went for three — they were nice enough to cut each slice in half for us so we didn’t have to make a mess of it ourselves. B wanted to try the mac and cheese, which I’ve taken a firm stance against so far. I don’t generally care for the idea of pizza being topped with other entire dishes — a dear friend of mine had a near life-threatening encounter with something called a hamburger pizza in college — but I gave it a chance today, as it was only half a slice, and it wasn’t bad. I just generally prefer to eat only one food at a time.

Their margherita, pictured here from a different visit, is also very nice.

But here’s the other thing — while we were there, I noticed a sign for Golmok Gourmet, which is a… promotion? I guess. It’s described on the site as a restaurant week, featuring set menu deals at nine Itaewon restaurants. I guess this is their first year running it — it would be nice if it were something a little more involved. I got quite excited when I saw I’d made it back to Seoul just in time for a restaurant week, expecting maybe some events or activities, but maybe that will come in following years. It’s going on until Sunday, for what it’s worth, and you can check the menus on offer on the website.

Maddux Pizza:
129-9 이태원1동 용산구 서울특별시
129-9 Itaewon-1-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Tuesday-Sunday 12-10pm
Closed Mondays