2011 Dec 01 The Kro’s Nest Beats Gung Ho! in The Beijinger Pizza Cup
After three gluttonous weeks, five fierce rounds and 32 pizzas (ranging from traditional Neapolitan to the most re-imagined American slice), The Kro's Nest has come out on top. The final match pitted the crazy Kiwis in pink against the second-coming of the Kro in a nail-biting final that left The Kro’s Nest reigning victorious and serving up the best pizza in Beijing.
Responding to their win, a spokesman for The Kro's Nest had nothing but thanks for everyone involved: "A big thanks to all Kro's Nest' friends, you're the ones that took us over the top. Thanks to all our staff for their dedication and persistence for greatness. A big thanks to all our competitors, you give us great motivation and a reason to continue on, and thank you to The Beijinger, the Pizza Cup rocked."
And from the ever gracious, runner-up Gung Ho!: "Congrats to Kro's Nest! They've done as much as anyone to put their own unique stamp on the pizza experience! And go Gung Ho! We're super stoked to make it all the way to the finals. And Kro? We'll meet again."
Kro’s win seems like a well-earned victory in a year where Olaf Kristoffer "The Kro" Bauer emerged out of the ashes from the previous year's troubles of losing his restaurants and fighting for his name. Kro made his comeback nearly a year ago to date at his Xiaoyun Lu branch, a Kro's Nest that was bigger and more impressive than ever. The restaurant, like his pizza, did everything on an over-sized scale from the engulfing entrance to a dining area large enough to fit an actual tree. Kro recently opened a second branch in Sanlitun influenced by the hip, trendy vibe of the surrounding nightclub scene.
Along their path to the top, the Kro’s Nest beat out worthy competitors Pizza Buona (+66 percent), Paddy O’Shea’s (79 percent), La Pizza (59 percent), The Tree (58 percent), and finally Gung Ho! (56 percent).
In the battle for third place, The Tree handily put down their worthy competitor Hutong Pizza, raking in 64 percent of the vote.
To get more information on Beijingers' view of pizza we asked some more simple questions, including whether you're an Italian-style purist or open to reform:
If you thought RMB 68 for a pizza was a good price:
And if the crust should be thick or thin:
We hope everyone enjoyed The Beijinger Pizza Cup, and had plenty of pizza in the process. Crowning one champion doesn’t make the rest losers, but highlights how much variety and debate there is in Beijing when it comes to pizza. We salute all the original pizza places of Beijing – each with its own specialty and each in its own way contributing to the unique culinary culture of Beijing.
In honor of their win, The Kro's Nest will open their doors for a night of special discounts. Keep an eye on the Beijinger for more information. Meanwhile, Sida, Hills and fishsh will all receive a pizza party for 10 for their correct final predictions.
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Kro's Before Ho's? You Decide In The Beijinger Pizza Cup Final
Beijing has had its say over the past three weeks and the final is here, and boy, have we got a heavyweight matchup for you? It's America versus New Zealand as long-term favorite Kro’s Nest is going to head-to-head with delivery upstart Gung Ho! Pizza in a match to decide who lifts The Beijinger Pizza Cup.
Kro's fought off a late surge from stalwart The Tree in the Final Four to earn its spot in the final, whereas Gung Ho handily dispatched Hutong Pizza to earn their berth.
Neither establishment had an easy path to those penultimate matches. Kro’s path included victories over Pizza Buona, Paddy O’Shea’s, La Pizza and finally The Tree. Gung Ho’s path meant fending off Vineyard Café, Annie’s, Sureno and Hutong Pizza.
No less exciting will be the third-place playoff match, which pits two great pizza spots with long traditions different styles, and different turfs – Sanlitun’s The Tree and Houhai’s Hutong Pizza.
The Beijinger’s Pizza Cup: Kro's, Ho's, The Tree & Hutong Pizza Reach Final Four!
A furious round of balloting over the past four days has resulted in the Final Four of The Beijinger’s Pizza Cup – a hearty crew of the new, the old and the reborn who go on to the next round. The most dominant victory of the Round of 8 was rung up by The Tree, which slapped its bar brethren The Den to the curb by winning 74% of the vote. The narrowest victory was achieved by Gung Ho! Pizza, who eked out a win over surprising challenger Sureno by a mere nine ballots. In a clash of pizza empires, the American-style Kro’s Nest whacked the Italian-style La Pizza, 59% to 41%. Meanwhile, Haidian’s last challenger, Eatalia, was knocked out by an ascendant Hutong Pizza, 54% to 46%
The Beijinger Pizza Cup: Who's In The Elite Eight?
In an exciting second round of the Beijinger Pizza Cup, local favorite Annie’s was ousted by a rising Gung Ho, Kro’s stomped all over Paddy O’Shea’s and upstarts Eatalia overthrew Pyro Pizza to claim Haidian supremacy. Kro’s Nest scored the most resounding victory of the second round, slaughtering Paddy O’Shea's by winning 79% of the vote. The second most dominating performance was by Opposite House basement-dwellers Sureño, which doubled up the votes over Sanlitun neighbor Ciro’s.
What We've Learned In The REAL Pizza Wars
Midway through Round 2 in the Pizza Cup (you can vote here until noon on Monday), we pause to take stock of what we’ve learned so far.
What's in a name?
Our random draw in the Round of 32 inadvertently pitted two mortal enemies against one another: Pass By Bar and Hutong Pizza. According to legal documents sent to our office by Pass By's lawyer, Pass By has applied for and received an official trademark for the term "Hutong Pizza" which is one of Pass By's signature pizzas (featuring chunks of lamb a la Beijing's ubiquitous chuan’r).Sweet Sixteen: The Beijinger Pizza Cup Round One Winners Battle it Out
You’ve voted and now the results are in for the restaurant you think serves up Beijing’s best slice. Did any of your favorites get knocked out? Are your final predictions still there? See who’s in and start voting in the next round. Round 2 of The Beijinger Pizza Cup will be open until Monday, November 21 at noon.
cowboy123
Re: The Kro’s Nest Beats Gung Ho! in The Beijinger Pizza ...
If most prefer Italian-style, thin crust pizza, why did Kro's win? Sympathy votes?