Pie Squared Beats Great Leap: Pizza Cup Voting Enters Elite 8

As Beijing's top pizzerias continue to vie for their slice of the proverbial pie in the latest round of voting, only the top seeds successfully fulfilled their appetites while the rest went home hungry. That's right, the batch of contenders for the 2017 Pizza Cup has narrowed yet again, with many top performers from years past prevailing as the competition continues to grow more fierce.

The biggest surprise no doubt comes courtesy of Pie Squared, a popular Detroit-style pizzeria in Shunyi that won out over beloved Liangmaqiao area restaurant and craft beer haunt Great Leap Brewing #45. GLB's showing in prior years of voting, along with it being cited as a favorite by many Pizza My Mind interviewees in the past, all made it a formidable opponent. Yet the distinctively textured slices at Pie Squared, along with its long lines at this year's Pizza Festival, no doubt helped it edge out a victory that will also surely boost its profile outside of Shunyi and among Beijing's broader restaurant scene. What's more: Pie Squared was a top seed, meaning its dark horse status has slowly but surely changed into a major contender in Beijing's pizza arena.

Other wins this go-round were less surprising, because all of those victories came courtesy of top seeds. Here's the breakdown:

Bottega chai'd Hutong Pizza
La Pizza whipped Yummy Box
Tube Station railroaded Ramo
Annie's extinguished Pyro
Gung Ho bungeed The Local
Pie Squared mathematically eliminated Great Leap Brewing
Kro's Nest flew over Luga's
Eatalia ousted Pizza Marzano

Going forward, here are your choices for the next round, by bracket:

Bracket A is an Italian deathmatch between current champ Bottega and La Pizza

Bracket B sees Tube Station go up against Annie's

Bracket C consists of juggernaut Gung Ho vs Pie Squared, the Shunyi upstart of this year's Pizza Cup

Bracket D is Kro's Nest vs Eatalia

To vote in the next round, scan/extract the QR code below! Voting closes at noon on Oct 12.

Aside from who won what, this round of voting also helped us establish crucial pizza-related stats when it comes to toppings and the suds that Beijingers swill along with their slices of 'za. Unsurprisingly, pepperoni remains the king of pizza toppings, with 47 percent of the voting population enjoying this cured meat on their pizzas. The least popular toppings in our poll were fruit (with an 8 percent approval rating; Hawaiian must not be your thing Beijing!), corn (7 percent) and dead last, stinky old durian (with only 2 percent enjoying ... yuck).

In our latest craft beer rankings, Jing-A has inched ahead in the race between Beijing’s Big 3 – that being Jing-A, Great Leap, and Slow Boat – with 57 percent of respondents being familiar with that particular Courtyard 4 brand. The remaining craft brews include Arrow Factory, Panda Brew, and Boxing Cat, each with an awareness rating between 28 to 39 percent (yeah we know, beer snobs, Boxing Cat was bought out, yadda yadda yadda, just drink up already!). The rest of the craft beer circuit has a long way to grow – with none having more than 17 percent penetration. Here are the specifics when it comes to suds:

And finally, here are the restaurants that didn't make it into the Pizza Cup's Sweet 16:

17. Q Mex
18. The Tree
19. Pizza Saporita
20. Papa John's
21. Pizza Factory
22. Tiago
23. Mao Mao Chong
24. Paddy O'Shea's
25. Pizza View
26. Tavola
27. Xian at East, Beijing
28. Frost
29. Bene, Sheraton Dongcheng
30. Eudora Station
31. VSports
32. Agrilandia

And here's a recap of the already established remaining rankings:

33. Sureno, The Opposite House
34. Flypizza & Hoodakdak Chicken
35. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel
36. Bocca Della Verita
37. Grandma's Kitchen
38. Stuff'd
39. Vineyard Café
40. The Rug
41. Yellow Cab
42. Pizza Hut
43. Tim's Texas BBQ
44. Pizza by LMPlus
45. Domino's
46. New York Style Pizza
47. Lily's American Diner
48. Lakers
49. Passby Bar
50. Mr Pizza
51. Pizza Buona
52. The Irish Volunteer
53. Nasca Cafe
54. Jazz-Ya
55. Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano
56. Radici
57. Fratelli Fresh, Renaissance Capital Hotel
58. Legend Beer
59. La Rucola
60. 789 (A-Life)
61. Buddy Bar
62. Jushi Pizza Just in Time!
63. Le Fromager de Pékin
64. Leos Pizza
65. Tribe
66. iFresh Pizza
67. Panda Brew
68. Ahava Bistro + Café
69. Alley Ale Taproom
70. Botany
71. Flying Kangaroo
72. Max Pizza
73. Miss Pizza
74. Elisa's
75. Four Ace
76. Napa
77. Park 17
78. The Veggie Table
79. 1st Floor
80. Atta BJ
81. Ebeiguo
82. Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel
83. Mrs Shanen's / Green Cow Cafe
84. Loft Eatalicious
85. BK's Tavern
86. Doppio Sete Pizza
87. Yun Brew
88. Nine Road Pizzeria
89. Assaggi
90. PBD Pizza Bar
91. Peter Pan
92. Casalingo
93. Isola
94. Pizza Now
95. Pizza Maru
96. FA Cafe
97. Michael’s Place
98. Whale's Pizza
99. Mix's Italian Grill, Crowne Plaza Yayuncun
100. Charlie's
101. Pomona
102. Prego, Westin Financial Street
103. Ricci Café
104. Kitchen Igosso
105. Byone

Photos: the Beijinger

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