When someone says St. Patrick’s Day, one might typically think about the traditional foods — corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, etc. Like most holiday foods, people try to mix things up with variations often with mixed results. I can report that the corned beef and cabbage pizza from Woodstock’s Pizza is a superlative success.

After my radio show, I headed out into downtown Chico to catch a little of the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Most of the parties appeared to have wound down — I definitely saw a lot of people (and police activity) at about 8:30 p.m. Things were different post-midnight, and the crowds had largely dissipated.

The crowd at Woodstock’s was modest and there was no line. I quickly queued up for a slice of their evening special — the previously mentioned corned beef and cabbage pizza. The photo used on promotions was not totally appealing, it looked like a straightforward slice.

A regular-sized slice was $2.50, a steal for the treat I was about to eat.

The slice looked like a pretty normal piece of pizza. The melted mozzarella cheese concealed the thinly sliced cabbage and pesto sauce. The exception was the dark ruby-red chunks of corned beef scattered about.

Taking a bite, there was a great melange of flavor. The cabbage added texture and the tinniest bit of cabbage-y taste to the cheese and pesto sauce.

I was skeptical about the corned beef. The meat looked more like dry jerky instead of the roast served at the dinner table or the hash served at breakfast.

The corned beef succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. The texture wasn’t overly dry. The savory, salty flavor of the meat helped to bring the entire slice together. It reminded me of the Canadian bacon served on Hawaiian pizzas, but more nuanced and potent.

Without the corned beef and cabbage, the pesto may have been overwhelming and the slice wouldn’t have worked.

This cabbage and corned beef pizza definitely stands apart in the world of reinventing traditional foods.