Vote Now: How You Will Decide Beijing's Best Pizza for 2019

原创 The Beijingers theBeijinger

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It's been a year of big change since we last brought you the Pizza Cup in the fall of last year: 18 percent of last year's 100 contenders have closed or gone AWOL, and an additional 5 percent have stopped serving pizza altogether. Don't fret though as, despite the losses, a dozen venues have since added pizza to their menus, continuing the fine Italian tradition of pizza-making.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how you'll cast your vote, let's take a closer look at those who fell and who we gained in the lead-up to the big 2019 showdown. Those we lost include Lido family favorite Ramo, Wudaoying-adjacent sausage kings Stuff'd, Gongti sports mecca VSports, and long-time expat hangout Tim's Texas BBQ. Elsewhere, La Villa, Buddy's Pizza Bar, Uno Bar & Grill, Elisa's Italian Restaraunt, Prego (at the Westin Financial Street), Loft Eatalicious, and Miss Pizza also closed.

However, the gap in the market has also allowed several newbies to rise, including impressive Guomao brewery and restaurant Oh Yeah! Brewing, Groupe Flo's global canteen entry MIAM MIAM in Sanyuanqiao, authentic meat and bread haven Turkish Feast in Xinyuanli, a special pizza menu from Shuangjing old-timers Plan B, and new supermarket-bound pizza bites from Baozza. There's also EATA, La Mezzaluna, Unico, Eagle Town, Ummm Kitchen, Georgia's Feast, and Cafe Ruhe.

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Going into this year's competition, the top seeds among the 107 hopefuls stand as last year's winners Gung Ho!, followed by Bottega, The Local, and Annie's.

Now that we're all caught up, it's once again time for you, dear reader, to choose the best in our annual knock-down, drag-out Pizza Cup.

Eat Before You Vote

First, we urge you to eat before you vote – so that when it comes time for you to select the best, you are an informed voter. The fun has begun this weekend at our annual Pizza Fest at Galaxy Soho where you had more choices than you can possibly fit in that stomach of yours.

This is a contest we do not take lightly. We do everything in our power to ensure the ultimate outcome of this exercise – an authoritative list of Beijing's Best Pizza – is both fair and reflective of the wonderful selection we have on hand. So you too should cast your ballot with responsibility.

What we hope to do is inspire you to visit as many new places as possible – you may think you know Beijing's best pizza, but how can you be sure if you haven't tried them all?

How Voting Will Work

After you have had plenty of time to sample pizza, it's time to put them to a vote. The initial ballot features Beijing's Top 107 contestants spread into four brackets (scroll down to see that), and you will choose which ones deserve a spot in the next round.

Vote now by scanning/extracting this QR code:

There is a almost week's worth of meals between now and the closing of the first round of voting, so it would not be a stretch to think a reasonable foodie could expand their pizza horizons by sampling at least 12 new choices without growing too weary (or unable to fit into one's normal trousers).

When You'll Vote

On Oct 25, the top eight contestants from each bracket will go on to be seeded into a 32-contestant World Cup-style sudden death competition bracket. This bracket will be put up for another round of voting – and also gives you a chance to "fill out your dance card" so to speak and try the remaining 32 before casting a ballot.

In each successive round, the number of contestants is cut by half. We'll keep doing that until only one remains: Your pizza champion for 2019. The schedule for voting will be as follows:

Opening round ballot: Saturday, October 19, 11am
Round of 32: Friday, October 25, 3pm
Sweet 16: Tuesday, October 29, 3pm
Elite Eight: Friday, November 1, 3pm
Final Four: Tuesday, November 5, 3pm
Championship Round: Friday, Nov 8, 3pm
Beijing's Best Pizza crowned: Tuesday, Nov 12, 4pm