Pizza School @ Ponti's Italian Kitchen

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ponti’s Italian Kitchen after we were invited to come along and celebrate Proscuitto Week with them.

Street Food with Pizza Pilgrims

So many times I had wanted to try the pizzas from Pizza Pilgrims, but somehow I was always drawn to those delicious baguettes of Banh Mi 11.

But this time I was determined to give them a go, so walking past my favourite stall, I somehow pushed myself further on down Berwick market past those wonderful looking banh mi. Somehow.

New York Tales : John's Pizzeria

New Yorkers claim they have the best pizza or pie (as they call it) in the world. Well they have quite a long tradition of it, with a gentleman called Gennaro Lombardo opening the first Pizzeria in Little Italy in 1905.

We were tempted to sample the pizza’s at Lombardo’s, but for some reason we just never got round to it. As is.

As we were staying quite close to West Village, John’s Pizzeria’s name crept up when we asked the hotel staff where we could get some good pizza close by.

Finally I make it to Franco Manca

I’m glad we waited to eat at Franco Manca. The chilled midweek service maybe does not have the same vibe as for example a Saturday lunchtime, but strolling up and getting a seat straight away, and also getting a choice of tables was a big big bonus.

I’d heard a lot about the pizzas here, and with everything I had read, I kinda knew how good they were going to be. Sometimes knowing too much beforehand can lead to disappointment. Thankfully this time it did not.

The homemade sourdough slowly proved overnight makes these the best pizza bases in town. These are true gourmet pizzas in every sense of the word, and at such a low price, a steal also.

Both our pizzas were fantastic. My Gloucester Old Spot cured ham, ricotta and mushroom pizza was everything one could hope for in a pizza. The ricotta was smooth and was a nice creamy texture compared to the ham and mushrooms.

The chorizo pizza, part picante, part not was one of the nicest combos I have had. It mixed well with the pillowy pizza base, especially as it had been drizzled in chilli oil.

I really like this place, it’s basic exterior hides the fact that it delivers food that could be served in a top end gourmet pizza restaurant in a posh neighbourhood in west London. Oh they are.

I must try that one to see if it has the same feel as its Brixton mother. I will return, but not sure if I want to queue for an hour on a Saturday. But it is definitely worth taking an afternoon off midweek just for this piece of heaven.

Il Bacio

I kind of knew what we were going to get even before we entered Il Bacio. My expectations were not that high, and I was not disappointed.

Il Bacio seems to be part of a growing chain in North London, and by the amount of people inside eating every time I have walked past. It seems to be a very prosperous one at that.

The menu is what you would expect to find in any tourist restaurant in Rome. It’s Italian for beginners really. It has all the favourites, the portions are big and the service is with a smile. Sometimes.

As I am still trying to find a decent pizza joint near to my house I wanted to give them a try. So I ordered the margherrita. If they can do that right then all is well in the world. Lina opted for the milanessa and specified no spaghetti. I am still mystified as to why they have as one of their sides, a portion of spaghetti. I mean who wants a portion of meat with some spaghetti. What is the world coming to? Is this how tourists eat in those crap restaurants in Italy you see?

I think Il Bacio get quite a few people asking for no spaghetti, as it was changed with no fuss with patate fritte. I.e. chips.

They have peroni on draft so I was happy, but kinda was wondering why there was a large flat screen TV on the far wall with MTV on it, but no sound.

My pizza came and had a tonne of gooey mozzarella, which was rather nice. The base was a tad hard but it was ok. It was nothing to write home about, or much to put in a blog about. So I’ll stop.

The milanessa baffled me. It was 4 small pieces of slightly burnt chunks of breaded chicken with some rather nice oven chips. Oh memories came flooded back of my teens where my mum hit those culinary heights. Oven chips and fried eggs. God how I miss the 80’s. She still has them now, I am sure of it. 

When the bill came, Lina almost flipped. They had charged her for the chips, instead of replacing them with the spaghetti. Amazingly she bit her lip, paid the bill and left. The manager called to us and said goodbye. She gave him a hard stare and a curt nod of her head in a way that in other circles would have meant a death sentence.

I’d only seen her act like that once before. It was in an Italian restaurant, well actually it was in Italy. It was not long after we got to know each other, and we found ourselves in Italy camping our way through the country. Shame we really had no money, as we ate pretty shit in those days.

In one restaurant in Rome, we had a good meal. Simple and nice. The bill came and it had il pane on it. Which means bread. But also as we found out about 10 years later, it means service charge or similar. Lina thinking and rightly so that they were charging us for the bread. She flipped. She gave that poor woman a torrent of abuse in Spanish. I’m not sure if she was understood as no move was made to take il pane off the bill. Actually she just stood there behind the counter and stared almost in disbelief at this crazy Latina going off on one.

It was kinda amazing really to see this woman kick off over a 2 euro charge. Needless to say we never went back, and I know for a fact we shall never venture into Il Bacio again. Damn as I kinda liked the naff pizza.

The Stringray Cafe

I had never expected much of the Stringray café mainly because of the name, but also the look of the place didn’t feel with me with culinary delights. I’ve no idea why but I knew one day we would give it a try. It was just too close to our house not to.

The day had come. We arrived late from work, tired, hungry, couldn’t be arsed to cook, and didn’t want to go far to eat.

Stringray is the nearest place to our house. Just beating the Beach Café and Iznik by only a few metres.

The menu is Italian. I am always dubious of eating Italian food in restaurants, mainly because I know I can cook it better myself. Arrogant, no. Truthful. yes.

So looking down a pasta driven menu, I opted for a pizza. I still need to find a good pizza close to the house, after moving form Liverpool Road and the Regent. I need good close pizza.

So a margarita pizza and a calzone were ordered along with a glass of house red and a leffe. Something about continental beer and pizza just clicks for me.

The interior of Stringray is rather homely, nicely coloured walls gives a cosy feel to the place. A good cheap neighbourhood restaurant, which every street needs really, rather than those bloody chains. So glad I do not live in Chiswick.

The pizza was ok, nothing special. Thin crust, nice tomato sauce and quite a bit of mozzarella on top. The calzone was a bit doughy but again was quite good. Huge portions.

The bill came to £20 with added tip. So all in all not a bad option if we are find ourselves in a position where we in need of a quick bite to eat.

But I am still looking for that close to hand good pizza. 

Organica Pizza

As you can tell I am in India at the mo. But I still have a few blogs to write on places before I left Blighty.

The Organica Pizza is at the far end of Gillespie Road. Turn left out of Arsenal tube station and keep walking. It’s on the left near the end of the road. It’s a small shop with a few tables on a wooden patio outside.

As the Regent is so far away for that random night you just fancy something on the spur of the moment. For me this normally involves pizza. So a good takeaway joint near to home is needed.

One such day arrived. As we left the tube station and I decided I couldn’t be arsed to cook. I wanted something quick and easy and tasty to munch on. Organica Pizza popped into our heads and as it is so close to home why not.

Their menu is a little, well not to my taste. They have a Hawaiian pizza on the menu. I should have walked out there and then. But I am willing to try anywhere once, and my radar was not screaming for me to rush out of there in a blind panic. They seemed to be quite busy as telephone orders were coming in thick and fast. Pizzas were flying in and out of their brick oven. So why not give them a chance.

They do two sizes. 12 or 16 inch. Real party food. It’s odd though as you can buy two 12 inches for the same price as a 16inch one. That’s not right. It doesn’t make sense. 

We ordered a 16 inch Rustica. I was in a hungry mood. Order in and paid for. £15.50p, not the cheapest pizza I’ve ever had.

Pizza cooked and in an enormous cardboard box. Within a few minutes we were back home and scoffing our pizza.

It was my fault. I should have done a runner. I mean any place that does a Hawaiian pizza can’t take pizzas that seriously. Or am I just too snobby.

Where to begin. First, the base was pretty tasteless. It had a nice crispness to it, but it lacked any flavour at all. Had they forgotten to salt the dough? No they couldn’t have, it wouldn’t have risen. Maybe the flour. Who knows but it was like eating the cardboard box it came in.

The toppings were ok, but nothing special and did not taste of a 15 quid pizza. As we’ve known all along, organic food is just a rip off. So was this pizza.

We are still looking for a good pizza joint near to home, alas none can match the Regent. Maybe we shall have to move back there after our 6 months in out current flat comes up.

Actually I think that is going to happen. 

The Pizza Pub

I have tried to write this blog for ages now. Even before we left for Colombia, I tried and failed. Words have always failed me, no idea why but they do. Even now I am kinda lost for words, but I am gonna plough on and get it done.

Why am I having so much problems writing about a great place to eat and. It’s weird.

I have lost count on the times I have eaten at The Regent. At least once a week, sometimes more for over 6 months, and that was before we left for Colombia. Since our return we’ve carried on from where we left it a year ago.

I remember passing it once many, many years ago when it was being refurbished from  an old mans pub into pizza heaven.

I love the pizzas that they do in the brick oven, which sits in full view of us customers. This gives their pizzas a crispy nicely baked under base. They are thin crust as well, for me this is essential for any place selling decent pizza.

The selection is wide and varied. I’ve only ever tried a few of them though, as I’m kinda picky when it comes to pizza. Their margheritas are as margheritas should be, lots of mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil. Nothing else. They are really good.

The other ones I’ve tried are the smoked pancetta and the anchovy pizza, which has a liberal scattering of red chilli’s. Sometimes very hot, sometimes not. I love all three of them, but the margherita is my choice 99 times out of a 100.

There is something wondrous about pizza. A simple combination of flour, yeast and water combined with a great toppings and a good oven makes heaven. The unfortunate thin is so many places cannot do it well. It’s not rocket science, but attention to detail is paramount.

The beer here is good also, lots of European beers that marry well with the pizzas. Pizza and Leffe is a match made in heaven. They do sell wine, but I’ve never really looked at what they sell. I think it’s mostly Italian. No idea really.

There is also a cool jukebox in the corner spilling out cool tunes all night, this and the buzzing crowd make it a great night out.

Also on the menu are some mixed starter platters, salads and puddings. But I’ve never tried them. I go for the pizzas and pizzas alone. Actually to think about it, I’ve never gone there just to drink a beer. For me The Regent is the Pizza Pub. It’s a place to go and eat pizza and drink beer together. Not separate. Together. I would never dream of going there and just having a pizza, and not drink anything. That would never happen; likewise I couldn’t go in and just drink a beer. The temptation to eat one of their pizzas would be too much. Much too much.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who thinks the same. I’ve never seen anyone just drinking a beer. Everyone go there for the pizza. In my view The Regent does the best pizza in London. But then again I haven’t tried pizza everywhere, but the Regent has it all.

Cheese Laden Pizzas

Argentineans are very proud of their pizzas. As so much as to say, that if you even mentioned that the pizzas in Italy are better than theirs, then you are facing a heavy duty argument. Which in simple terms means that they will scream and shout at you for hours on end. Hands waving around, aggressive overtones, faces getting all red. It’s the Italian blood in them. You kinda get the picture.

The pizzas here are pretty good I have to say. But wether they are as good as in the “Home Country” is another matter.

Since we have been here, we have had quite a few of them to sample. I can only eat so much meat in one day. The one thing that Argentineans love is mozzarella, or muzzarella as they call it here. As it’s not the freshly made balls of buffalo cheese that melts like heaven and looks like puddles of snow after it comes out of the oven. As in Colombia they use a processed version, which comes in large blocks. The Argentine version is better than the soulless, tasteless one from Colombia, but it’s still not fresh as in Italy.

No matter what pizza we have ordered they all come with a heavy covering of this processed cheese. Actually every pizza on every menu has muzzarella as one of the main ingredients. They love it.

On a cool San Martin de Los Andes night, it works a treat. Kinda fills you up in a comforting way. On a hot sultry Buenos Aires night in a hot restaurant with a broken air conditioner. It’s hell. The heavy cheese sits on your stomach like a brick. It’s not a good thing. It’s the only time a pizza has made me feel a little ill. Not a good thing.

My favourite tipple with pizza is beer. I can see that some wine would go well with pizza, but beer or Belgium to be precise is my preferred type. But a couple of litres of Quilmes goes down a treat.

I am a finger eating pizza person. I am a big anti knife and fork pizza eating person. I think it is wrong. For me eating pizza with a knife and fork is a crime against food. It’s not right.

There is a chain of pizza restaurants in England that tries and sells itself as a gourmet pizza place. Pizza for the posh folk. Every time I walk past I cringe as I see people cutting up their pizzas and eating small bits. Sometimes I want to scream.

Thankfully in Argentina everyone is in on my side and eats their cheese laden pizzas with their hands. Phew.