Pizza Pie Do or Die with Christian Ayala of Avandra

Let's take Pizza Pie Do or Die into the Caribbian Sea.

Avandra is riding high on their latest record, Descender, which you can pick up via Blood Music on BANDCAMP.

In the mean time, let's find out what pizza is like in Puerto Rico.

1. Pizza is the world's most perfect food. This is not up for debate. 

Please define pizza as based on your geographical location.

Pizza in Puerto Rico is actually pretty damn good. 

Best pizza I have ever tried anywhere is from an Argentinean pizzeria in Isla Verse, an area in Puerto Rico, called Ferrari’s. 

And when I say “anywhere” I mean New York (was partly raised there) and Philly and so on. There are also restaurants, like Tony’s Pizza in a town called Arecibo, that does this great tasting corned beef pizza. 

It sounds weird, but man, it’s so damn good!

2. It's going to get controversial now. Pineapple on Pizza. Why or why not? 

I personally don’t mind. I’ve eaten the Hawaiian ham/pineapple combo and it’s actually really good. I like the sweet ‘n sour dimension it adds to a pizza slice.

3. For literally years, my family didn't order pizza from the take out places. We made Chef Boyardee boxed pizzas. After that, we only ordered St. Louis Style from Imo's. But finally, in the LATE EIGHTIES, I had Domino's Pizza. Tell me your tale.

Man, I’ve been eating pizza since I can remember. When I was 5, the Ninja Turtles had recently come out (I was 5 in 1990 and the Ninja Turtles I believe came out in ‘89), and so they influenced everything pizza in my life. 

My dad would have these random pizza parties when we were living in upstate New York (Troy, New York, to be exact), and he would order Little Caesar’s for all the neighborhood kids (which, because it was the RPI campus, were a United Nations of people, and they ALL loved pizza!). 

At that age, my taste buds were ignorant as to what real pizza was. Now I can’t stand Little Caesar’s. It tastes like cardboard!

4. St. Louis Style Pizza is the perfect pizza, especially if you enjoy bragging about how much pizza you can eat, but when I'm out in other parts of the country, I seek out Chicago Style Pizza. What do you look for?

Either New York style or Chicago deep dish. Kill me if you must, but I love the Uno’s deep-dish chunky tomato pizza. 

This interview is making me hungry…

5. Pepperoni, started giving me heartburn. So I switched to green peppers or onions. What's your go to topping?

Same thing happened to me! Had to switch to mushrooms. Though if I crave some meat, then chicken or ham.

6. What do you look for in pairing beer with your pie?

I love Piraat, which is a Belgian Strong Ale, with my pizza. The pizza, if it isn’t a DiGiorno one or one of the equivalents (for me that’s Little Caesar’s and its ilk), and is handmade, then awesome. 

In fact, I now want to eat a pizza from Ferrari’s with a Piraat!