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Puget Sound Pizza serves capicola

Eating neck meat in Tacoma's Triangle District

Puget Sound Pizza owners Martin Osborn and Shannon Brenner with their beloved capicola. Photo credit: Kim Thompson

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Little did I know I would be getting an education on real, honest-to-absolute-goodness food when I visited downtown Tacoma's Puget Sound Pizza. Truth be told, I was too brain-fogged to think much of anything after speedily ingesting my pure chemical, pseudo-breakfast fillers - Carnation Instant Breakfast and an Eggo waffle.

Ah, but I was in store for a grand and delightful lesson, one that lifted the fog, parted the clouds, and brought in some yummy culinary sunshine courtesy of Martin Osborn, the establishment's co-owner. My chemical romance with breakfast was done.

It all had to do with neck meat. Yes, that's right, neck meat - specifically, neck meat from a pig.

It started in the form of a question, and the meaning of my mission: what is capicola?

"It's all in the etymology," Osborn said. "The word means neck and head in Latin. Capicola is made from neck meat from a hog, formed together and cured with different spices, specifically anise, that has that licorice flavor. It's like pancetta."

Upgraded salami, perhaps? Yes, Osborn confirmed. And then some. A pure labor of love, capicola takes six months to cure.  

Though the meat is time intensive, Osborn and business partner Shannon Brenner believe it's worth it. Not only does capicola fit into the restaurant's philosophy on food, but the customers also absolutely love it.

"We are selling a lot of capicola and can have really good runs on it," Osborn said. "Sometimes we can have trouble keeping it in stock."

Known for its delicate flavor and tender texture, the meat is paired with turkey for sandwiches and used as the sole meat ingredient on one of the shop's signature pizzas.

Capicola, though, is just one component of Puget Sound Pizza's "real" food philosophy.

"We slice everything here ourselves," Osborn said. "We buy thick rasher bacon, super dairy fatty cheeses. ... We spare no expense and offer high-end ingredients. We make our own meatballs and sauces."

Additionally, due to a special and unique cooking process, the coveted chicken wings wow customers. With no deep fryer on hand, Puget Sound Pizza's cooking procedures create chicken that turns out flavorful and succulent.

The process also presents Osborn with an unexpected surprise: lots of, as he put it, "wonderful and rich chicken fat," which is used along with a mirepoix (a combination of celery, carrots and onion) and bay leaves to produce a terrific stock for all of the restaurant's homemade soups.

What's next for the restaurant? In addition to supporting the community through its business, Puget Sound Pizza plans on doing more of the same - giving customers a taste of the good stuff.

"You want to eat awesome?" Osborn said. "Come here and we'll fix you up!"

Puget Sound Pizza - 317 S. Seventh St. in Tacoma's Triangle District - offers pizza, sandwiches, breakfast and booze. Open daily. For more information, visit its Facebook page.

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