Located on the main drag in downtown Frederick Maryland, Pretzel and Pizza Creations is a hopping standing-room-only joint on the first mild saturday evening of spring.
Serving pizza, sandwiches, and ice cream, it is a place that gave me high hopes about finding a replacement for my all-time-favorite pizza place in Washington DC that closed it’s doors years ago. But you know what they say about expectations… they are really just planned resentments.
Even though I love pizza so much that I would dog down a whole pie that was home baked by my 11-year old from a kit that spent at least 6 months buried in the frost of my 40-year old deep freezer, ANY pizza place will struggle to win the top spot in my heart and stomach.
That being said, I will never stop looking. Pretzel and Pizza Creations was actually not the intended destination for this particular evening, but the first place we went to had a 45 minute wait to be seated. Serendipity brought us to Pretzel and Pizza Creations. My 16 year old raved about the roast beef sandwich there, but I was hell bent on pizza.
It takes pretty good parking karma to find a spot in downtown Frederick, and Saturday evening is prime time. We managed to find a meter a couple of blocks away and walked in at a good time. Our order was taken immediately and it only took about 10 minutes of stalking the family who looked like they were done eating before we could snag a two-seater outside for our party of 3.
Then, we spent the remaining 20 minutes waiting for our pizza and gawking at passers-by. The line of patrons steadily grew until it was pretty much impossible to open the front door because there were so many bodies in the way.
I sacrificed my seat to inspect the bathroom before eating, which was enough to make me lose my appetite. There are two large single unisex bathrooms, only one of which was easily accessible without climbing over people trying to enjoy their meal. First strike: toilet seat was up (I am aware that this is not necessarily the fault of the establishment). I had to touch the rim with my hand (heavily swathed in paper) to lower it.
Second strike: the toilet seat shifted sideways when lowered, which brought back a traumatic memory from a time long ago when I sat on a restaurant toilet seat that shifted, causing the skin on my nether region to TOUCH the rim of the bowl beneath, causing me to shriek, douse myself in bleach, and take pregnancy tests for 6 months afterwards.
Third strike: the sink and faucet was splattered with something that looked like recycled lunch. And I’ll just leave it at that. I really just wanted to BE hand sanitizer after that experience. The second bathroom was well worth the embarrassment of having to stick my rear end in someone’s ear to get to it. It was much cleaner, but I didn’t have it in me to compare toilet seats. This one was also up. I just scrubbed to the elbows like I was about to remove someone’s appendix and slalomed back to my table.
The pizza was delivered before my blood sugar plummeted but after I had recovered from the bathroom scene. The staff was friendly and found us outside before the pizza got cold
. We were supplied with a stack of stuck-together paper plates and a handful of napkins. Glass shakers of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes were cold, as if from the refrigerator, which I thought was a nice touch. However, wondering about the green flecks in the parmesan cheese and assuming they were oregano was mildly disconcerting.
We weren’t offered utensils or anything to cut the pizza with, but it was easy enough to separate by hand. It looked pretty fresh and I was still willing to give it a chance, despite the aforementioned events leading up to this moment.
We ordered the 12” Veggie Pizza, and my daughter ordered an 8” personal Cheese Pizza. She ate her whole pie with gusto and reported that it was good. I took my first slice and started with the crust side, a technique I often employ 
to avoid burning my tongue on the first bite. It tasted a little burnt, and I had a hard time finding the distinctive pretzel flavor.
The vegetables were cooked perfectly. It was heavy on cheese but light on sauce, and the bottom crust was thin and soft. The paper plates were almost as floppy as the slice, so I had to practice some basic oragami to stabilize it en route to my mouth. I was a pro by the time my second slice rolled around, which was fortunate, because the crust only got softer over time. I did get one fleeting, sweet buttery crust bite which really would have boosted my spirits if it were consistent throughout the whole pie.
But in the final analysis, this pizza was not The One. In fact, for the first time in all my pizza-eating experience, I neither finished the remaining two slices nor took them home. I wanted to like it. I would go back there and try again, maybe during off-peak hours. I would request extra sauce and less cheese and less well-done crust. Or maybe just get the roast beef sandwich.
ACCESSIBILITY
- Parking: Metered street parking, first come first serve.
- Entrance: Manual push/pull door with short concrete ramp and threshold.
- Dining area: Zero step, close quarters, minimal wheelchair access during peak hours.
- Hallway to restroom: Obstructed by tables and seating; difficult to negotiate on foot, much less with wheels or assistive device
- Bathroom: Two large single unisex rooms, handrails around toilet, lever-operated faucets, no changing table or diapering station
