Classification: Specialty
Location: Mound, Minnesota
I have thought about this more than most people, but I eventually reached the same conclusion as the majority: yes, flatbread is pizza. This is a variation on the "is a hot dog a sandwich?" meme* that has torn at the fabric of our nation for several years, and I can really see both sides of that particular argument. But there's not a really strong case to be made against including flatbreads in the writ large pizza category. Sub-category? I went with specialty here, because it remains slightly different.
* OK, the hot dog as sandwich debate has probably only torn at my family, but the fissures appear to be insurmountable at this point. The topic still comes up--long after the rest of the internets have moved on. But in a semi-related footnote, I have a (non-blood) relative that still argues, without common sense, merit or legal foothold, that M & Ms are a candy bar. Not a candy. A candy bar. Nobody argues that it's an excellent candy. But to consider it as a bar of any sort is unsupportable, and yet here I am, still belaboring the obvious after a decade (or more) of absurd debate. Still, let me know your thoughts.
Has the flatbread been created out of convenience, merely re-shaped to fit ovens and serving dishes, often at dining establishments with overly expansive offerings? I'll never view a flatbread as a "trendy" menu item, but part of me thinks they might have been borne out of the desire to appear more enlightened than serving up a lower-grade pizza. And I don't mean to malign flatbreads; no, quite the opposite. I almost always enjoy them when dining at restaurants typically featuring burgers, wings, and salads the size of a mixing bowl. During the early days of the pandemic, we enjoyed curbside service from Surfside, and the take-home was as satisfying as dining in front of the 84" screen while watching the Sabres-Maple Leafs game, which is our normal routine. Good flatbread, and not to overstate the obvious, but we need to get sports back quickly, because even hockey is sounding pretty decent right now. (7 of 10 stars)