I first noticed Paradox Pizza on Instagram as a pop-up at places like Amigos, but I was never able to get there. Then suddenly, like some kind of culinary mirage turned solid, their sign went up on the old Nutana Café space on Broadway Avenue. With a slightly new name: Paradox Pizza & Brewery.
The Nutana Café had been around forever, and even though I hadn’t set foot in there in a while, I was still a little sad to see it go. Norm, the notoriously grumpy owner, was practically a Broadway landmark himself. A surly, noodle bowl-slinging staple. The pho spot was one of those places you expected to exist forever.
But it’s always exciting when something new comes to our Nutana neighbourhood, so we were psyched to get down there and check Paradox out. We made a plan to show up early for dinner and beat the rush. Walking in, the space looked quite different. It was darker and more pub-like in its refresh. Paradox isn’t trying to be slick or Instagram-bait fancy. It’s eclectic and homey; the kind of place where you can settle in for a beer and a bite.
I’ve rarely been greeted with such friendliness. The staff were like a hospitality SWAT team. My theory is that they’re working overtime to exorcize the ghost of Norm’s scowl from the premises. If the Nutana Café was powered by passive-aggressive charm, Paradox runs on warmth and good vibes.
Our server brought the kids some complimentary popcorn, which made their day.
My wife, Jenny, and I kicked things off with a crispy artichokes and caper aioli appetizer matched with a pint of one of my favourite beers, Shelter Brewing’s NEIPA.
The Paradox in-house brewery isn’t live yet, but the taps were stocked with some of Saskatchewan’s best — Shelter, Nokomis, Pile O’ Bones, etc. It’s like they raided my beer fridge. Screw those spots that only set forth a paltry offering of Molson or GW products.
And then came the main event: Detroit-style pizza. Let me gush for a second. If New York pizza is a floppy, paper-plate classic, and Chicago deep dish is basically lasagna cosplaying as pizza, Detroit-style is the unsung hero of the crust world. It’s a thick, square pie with caramelized cheese running up the edges of the pan, giving you this crunchy cheesy halo crust. Then, the inside of the dough is softer and chewier. It’s both indulgent and perfectly balanced, the kind of pizza that makes you wonder why you’ve wasted years eating any other style of ‘za.
We ordered a simple cheese pizza for our picky and unadventurous kids. I opted for the Flamel, which is a prosciutto and pineapple concoction. I had a hot honey crust dipper on the side. And don’t @ me. Pineapple is perfectly fine on the right pizza. I mean, Hawaiian pizza was a Canadian invention, so if you hate pineapple on pizza, are you even Canadian?
Jenny can’t have dairy, which can put a damper on going for pizza. There are a few places in Saskatoon that offer excellent vegan cheez options. Thankfully, Paradox is one of them. Jenny ordered the Trismegistus, which was a showstopping combo of pepperoni, prosciutto, and Italian sausage.
Vegan Cheez can be severely hit and miss. Sometimes it tastes right but doesn’t melt properly. Sometimes it melts like cheese but tastes like a yoga mat left out in the rain. Jenny enjoyed her pizza and I took a bite to take the cheez for a test drive. I’d have to eat more to be sure of this, but it seemed to me that I may not have even known it was fake cheese had I not been aware of that before biting into it. So chalk that up as a win for Jenny. (They also do a gluten-free crust if that’s your bag).
By the time we were leaving, the place had started to buzz with bodies and conversation, a line up forming in the doorway. Clearly, Broadway was more than ready for this change up.
And we’ll be back, no question. I’m excited to see what Paradox does once their own brewery fires up, but for now, I’m hooked on the combo of friendly vibes, great craft beer, and Detroit-style pizza. I can’t wait to try some more of their pizza offerings.
Sometimes, paradoxes resolve themselves beautifully.
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