Restaurant: Captains Stone-oven Baked Pizza

Stan Chen (陳振成) was a member of the crew that helped establish Alleycat's Pizza as one of Taipei's leading thin-crust pizza dining establishments. Late last year he decided to go it alone and open his own pizza joint.

When it opened in November, Chen's Captains Stone-oven Baked pizza restaurant was the target of a series of rude remarks that appeared on a popular local online bulletin board. Thankfully these disparaging comments didn't stop him from concentrating on the business at hand -- running a restaurant.

Like the aforementioned Alleycat's restaurant, Captains is a come-as-you-are type of dining establishment that has built a strong customer base already.

The interior design is minimal and comprises several posters portraying Italian themes. The dining area is reasonably comfortable and offers diners a modicum of privacy. The menu is, like the joint itself, not overly large, but solid and filled with reasonably priced pizza staples.

Appetizers include pine nut pesto (NT$150), ricotta and anchovies (NT$150) and ricotta and salmon (NT$200) served on thinly sliced French bread, all of which are tasty and make for a pleasing accompaniment to any meal. Captains' salads include Caesar and chicken Caesar at NT$120 and NT$150 respectively, Greek salad (NT150) and the ever-popular capressa at NT$350.

Calzone flavors include tuna and spinach (NT$380), vegetarian (NT$380) as well as a house special, which comes filled with just about everything but the kitchen sink and costs NT$480.

There are several types of pizza on the menu and these range in price from NT$250 to NT$480. But one of the niceties about Captains is the fact that if the pizza of one's choice is not listed then patrons can opt to design their own pizza. Patrons get to choose from 20 ingredients, ranging from flavor boosters such as garlic and capers, to more wholesome ingredients like asparagus, salami, Mexican sausage and spinach.

The basic pizza costs NT$200 for a 10-inch thin crust or NT$250 for the 12-inch version. The individual toppings costing from between NT$30 to NT$60 and diners can opt for as many, or as few toppings as their wallets allow. Along with the pizza Captains also has a pretty reasonable selection of beers and of course all the usual popular flavors of soft drinks.