Well, courtesy of my son, the music festival I phone app developer, Music City Mike was his guest last weekend at the great Forecastle Festival in Louisville (pronounced “Lou-a-ville”). It was my first music festival and it was great to find out that I’m actually not too old to enjoy this kind of thing. Although I’m sure our VIP passes helped.  (You know places to sit, clean bathrooms and other old people needs.) But, in addition to listening to the great sounds of some of my fave bands, (Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Justin Townes Earle and others) the Snob unexpectedly also got to do some business.

Pie for the People is a California-based pizza joint that also takes its wares on the road in the summer to many of the music festivals which now tend to pop up just about everywhere in this great land of ours. For when attending a weekend of non-stop music, we all need the opportunity to take a break for a captive-audience-priced $6.00 slice of pizza.

Well, on Friday as we arrived at about dinner time, we immediately checked out the VIP food court and my son said he had forgotten to tell the Snob about the pizza vendor he loaded into the app! So I moseyed up to their booth to select from my limited, but “Snob-correct” choice of either plain cheese or one with a combo of sausage and pepperoni. From sight it looked promising although the color looked less red than a classic slice normally does. Take that as a tip fans and, in summary, that was an indication of where this slice needed its most improvement.

The sauce just wasn’t right and could have used a little more flavor. The color may have also been an indication that there probably just wasn’t enough sauce in addition to not having the spices just right. And although the slice was a little short on cheese, it had a good melt and clung nicely to the tasty and crispy, well-cooked crust. My Friday slice had been sitting out and although it did well on the reheat, the slice I caught on Saturday straight out of the oven was better. The slices were also an odd cut; longer and thinner than the classic look. (More on slice-cutting is later to come.)

The non-VIP booth near the main stage saw a great deal of action throughout the fest and I’m not surprised. Although not a near-perfect slice in the classic sense, nonetheless it was a good and enjoyable one. However, the non-VIP booth also had a lot more space and used it to create “topping abuse” as I even spotted the dreaded pineapple among those available.

I also enjoyed talking with some of the Pie for the People workers who said they too travel from town-to-town along with the portable pizza ovens and tents. The main dude at the big tent said that they were off to Delaware next and that this gig was a great way to see the country. I also talked with the cook at the VIP tent, asking him a few questions about “pizza bubbles.” (More on that topic later as well.) I told him that I wanted to become a pizza scientist to which he replied “I am a pizza scientist!” And he was not a bad one either!

PIZZA SNOB RATING     ***1/2 Working On A Good Thing

Pie for the People
61740-B, 29 Palms Hwy
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
[And A Music Festival Near You]
760-366-0400
http://pieforthepeople.net