Pizzagram and The Butchers Club Open in Joy City, Xidan

Italians might already be familiar with ordering their pizza by the gram, but now the mathematically-inclined and hungry can sate their statistics and stodge cravings as far west as Beijing’s Joy City. Pizzagram, as the name loudly hints, is a pizza parlor, where said pies are sold, you guessed it, by the gram.

As writers, we don’t have the best grasp on numbers, and so we struggled to visualize just how many grams of pizza it would take to fill us up. We do, however, have hyperactive imaginations, so reveled in the fantasy of ordering 327.65 grams of pizza and watching the staff delicately slice off an eighth of an olive to fulfill our exacting request. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how Pizzagram works: you get the choice of 100g, 250g, or 500g, and you can lump it or leave it. Small, medium and large would taste just as cheesy by any other name. After weighing your selection they bung your pie in the oven to reheat it and serve.

Oh, pizza

We tried the best-selling Raclette (RMB 18/100g), featuring Raclette cheese, bacon, potato, and eggs, which made for a heavy slice. The barbeque chicken pizza (RMB 15/100g), a good combination of sweet and savory topped with onions, bbq sauce, and peppers, was our favorite. Pizzas here have a thick and crunchy base, and aren’t as tasty as the renditions at Eatalia, but it’s hard to beat the price. At least so we think – we’re still not sure if RMB 18/100g is good value. Perhaps that’s intentional, or maybe the mathematical mystery is all part of the fun.

Cut the slice

What is fun, though, is the on-screen pizza ranking. In arcade style, all the pizzas on offer go head-to-head in a live and public popularity contest that ranks their selling success gram vs. gram. While the indulgent Raclette was topping the scoreboard when we visited, no doubt aided by the suave European sophistication associated with Raclette cheese, we’re interested to see if any dark horses can climb the rungs of pizza stardom, with our money on the unusual but luxurious “salmon eats truffle.” The menu also features “Hawaii & Italy go to China,” meaning Pizzagram could be the battleground where the ever-controversial question of pineapple on pizza is settled once and for all.

The Double Happiness burger (RMB 168), double guiltiness

If you don’t like pizza but do like fried foods, clogged arteries and piling on the pounds, why not explore The Butchers Club, which shares the space with Pizzagram and belongs to the same group, whose first branch in Beijing opened in Parkview Green in last Oct. For an outrageously meaty meal, try the Double Happiness burger (RMB 168), which includes two layers of perfectly cooked dry-aged beef steak. It’s an impressive undertaking, leaving us with an understanding of why their sibling in Hong Kong won a Michelin star in 2016 and 2017. If that’s not enough animal for you, add on the duck fat fries, which are, predictably, fried in duck fat, after an initial twice-frying in vegetable oil. Because, as the ancient American proverb goes, why fry something once when you can fry it thrice? To round it off and round you up, complete your meal with one of the ten choices of gelato, served in European style, from a cart.

Pizzagram披萨馆 | The Butchers Club 堡爵仕
Mon-Fri 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun 9.30am-10pm. 6F-C04, Joy City, 131 Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District (6618 9300)
西城区西单北大街131号西单大悦城6F-C04

Photos: Tracy Wang

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