End of the shift at a pizzería. The fire’s been allowed to die down; although the oven’s still blazing hot. Shows that you don’t always need flames to cook a pizza in a wood burning oven (although it’s very colorful to have some). That’s my pizza in there. Note the nice puffy edges.
Sliced black olives, artichokes, goat’s cheese pizza.
Pizza okay; too much char on the bottom; good crust; enough goat’s cheese. Ambiance – not a lot. I’d go again.
Not so very many years ago I wrangled a pizza oven.
A real, wood-burning oven from Italy; artisanal pizzas.
I am rather a big fan of pizza; as you may have gathered. A favorite of mine here in the south of Spain, on the Mediterranean, a hundred meters [yards] from the beach, is a place called Mayo 2004. Once I got down here from Madrid the first thing I did was pop over and have myself one of their nice little pizzas.
This one’s tuna. Thin crust, crispy, tomato sauce, mozzarella, a scattering of red and green peppers, tuna of course, and I have them add onions. The bases seem to be premade, commercially bought, but they’re very good ones. Properly baked. One size only. One pizza per person is about right. A very nice product.
I wrote about them once before and now, a year later, they’re still putting out a good product so that says something for their consistency.
You can find them and Avenida Tortuga Boba [Silly Turtle Ave] (head south from Vera towards Garrucha, then left down the AL-7107 [towards Villaricos] and turn right at the Consum supermarket). They’re closed mid-October to mid-November, resting after the high season for tourists, but when they open again in a couple of weeks I’ll be back in there for lunch.
Having said goodbye to Toronto by going to my favorite smoked meat place I started in Spain at my favorite pizzería [or, pizzeria, note: the difference is the accent over the `i´]. Here is the Solidaría pizza that I had; where they donate a portion of the proceeds of the sale to charity.
It has tomato, mozzarella, raisins, pine nuts, capers, onions and a few lovely black olives and a sprinkling of oregano. The combination of capers, raisins and pine nuts is ingenious; they’re all sort of the same size yet have three distinct flavors and textures.
The place is called La Cúpula and makes what are probably the best artisanal pizzas in Madrid. Thin crust, not too heavy on the cheese. Only one size of pizza. One pizza per person is about right; because they’re so very tasty. The wine list is very good too; composed of only ecological wines – and quite well priced. Beside pizzas they also have some imaginative salads, a couple of pastas and usually some nice artisanal desserts (try the apple pie).
We’re talking an authentic wood burning oven, everything is hand made, even the dough for the pizzas is prepared by hand. The emphasis is on natural, organic, and ecological ingredients and simple presentation. A great family place; not expensive. It’s a small joint and usually very busy so reservations might be recommended; especially around the weekend (see web site for contact info). A great casual atmosphere and everyone seems very happy.
The place can be a little hard to find; located as it is in an out of the way corner of a small town 26 kms outside of Madrid called Las Matas (in the municipality of Las Rozas). But finding it is worth it.
Closed Mondays, open for lunch and dinner the rest of the time. If you’re in the neighborhood it’s worth going out of your way to try it out. One odd thing, if the front door seems closed or locked go around to the side entrance where the terrace is (on the left); that’s the entrance everyone usually uses (I think it’s a trick they use to keep the crowds down).
Full disclosure: I used to work at this place thus you might expect me to be biased. None the less the general opinion of their pizzas is the same as mine; they're great.
The Terroni's sausage pizza; called the Smendozzata (website). A well respected pizza joint on Queen Street West. I found it a wee bit on the noisy side; even for a Friday night. Difficult to talk across the table. Okay, more than a wee bit - very very noisy.
They do a good representation of a thin crust pizza; some say the best in town. Being a pizza maker myself I might be a tough customer - - but I found the crust, although correctly thin and with some rise to the edge, I found it to be "dead"; lacking in spark. Maybe not enough yeast that day. Maybe too little rising time. Perhaps it was pressed out in a machine.
Something killed the base - 'twas dull, boring. The toppings were good, the tomato sauce not bad and the sausage very nice.
I'd go again to see if the same thing happened; always willing to give the kitchen a second change.
After watching the Russia vs Netherlands football [soccer] game at a friends place the other day... someone went and got a pizza on the corner. It's the middle of Little Italy in Toronto so it ought to be good; and it is. A decent pizza, not made in a wood oven though - but an at least "okay" product. And they have a lovely, large, terrace and loads of food other than pizza. A nice place to go to; usually on the full side - which can be considered a good sign.
My home-made ones are better - but I might be biased.
Here's an interesting product... a Sushi Pizza.
The base, which you can't really see, is sushi rice made into a thick disk, about 3 inches across in this case; topped with salmon, onions, peppers, salmon roe, mayonnaise, and a little (fake) crab meat.
It's really quite a treat. I'd never tasted, seen, not even heard of one before.
Went for my first wood-fired-oven pizza in Toronto yesterday; at The Standard, 667 College St @ Beatrice; in downtown Toronto.
Flashy looking oven; all sparkly, shiny, little tiles surrounding it.
Pretty good pizza. A thin crust, a light touch with the toppings, okay char on the bottom, with a fairly light/bubbled and small edge on the crust. The crust was a bit soft, maybe underdone, in the middle - - - perhaps the oven was too hot- - and a bit overdone on the edge .
They messed up the composition of the "four seasons" pizza by mingling the four ingredients together; each ingredient ought to have its own quadrant (it was artichokes, ham, sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms). The tomato sauce lacks something as well (maybe it was just missing some salt?). And where's the oregano sprinkled on top?
The place has a nice atmosphere, good service, decent prices. Worth going to. I'd give them another chance.
The pizza: 
The crust:
If nothing else, it's attractive. And yes, it was tasty too; but there's room for improvement.
Via Pietro Colletta, Naples
Never mind what I, or anyone, tells you about the best Napoletana pizza - this is it.
The pic was taken about 40 seconds after we walked out after having lunch, the last ones to enter, eat and leave. They close early (3:00) at lunch. Well, by Spanish standards - that's early.
Pizza pics to follow.
The point being... go there. Have the pizza. It's worth the trip.
I'm dead - so this will be a brief picture post only. The place is Sorbillo Gino, Via Tribunale, 32, Naples. Go there. Don't bother with thinking about it or consulting multiple guidebooks and differing opinions. Just go there and enjoy the atmosphere and the pizzas.
They have a web site. An there's another pizzeria on the same street with basically the same name - so watch out.
The picture's from the part upstairs. Damn the place looks nice (okay, sure, most of this sort of stuff does when photographed in sepia tones).
When recently visiting Naples I also toured the ruins of Pompeii. Destroyed in August of the year 79 AD. 1928 years ago.
This is the only picture I took while there... of a wood-burning oven, the oldest I've ever seen (or probably ever will). Given that it was probably old when the city was ruined the beast is maybe 2000 years old. Things haven't changed much in the wood oven business although given the height of the archway people weren't so tall back then.
Okay, they were probably more into bread baking than pizza making but I can imagine, can't I, that both were cooked there.
Another pic can be found at Picasa
And here's another oven at Pompeii that I didn't see with a big pic of it at Chef Mike Online. The web's a wonderful resource.
First, the menu. Check those prices! A Pizza Margherita for €5,50. This place is not just a pizzeria, it's a "real" restaurant too - specializing in Roman cuisine - for those not into pizza every day.
This is their 4 seasons pizza. more than 1 artichoke would have been nice but look, on the other hand, at that lovely slice of prosciutto
This one here is a little odd. What you see there on the right are not button mushrooms - they're beans. It's called (translated) "The Explosion". As you can see the pizzas are a little toasty around the edges and the dough might have had a touch too much salt for my taste.
Note that the edge of the pizza is not an inch high [2 cm] all puffed up like earlier pics of pizzas. That's because this is Roma style; probably not hand thrown but formed with a little rolling pin. The crust is still soft, less chewy than Naples style. Good in its way.
Oh, and the address of the restaurant is Via dell'Archetto,46, Roma, Italy (not a real long street - you'll have no trouble finding it)
A very short one today since I have a killer flu... this might well be my last post ever (no, not really, just feels that way at the moment). This is the lovely ambience of the restaurant pizzeria l'Archetto in Rome. On a side street (okay, an alley) as so many of the good ones are.
Roman style pizzas (less bulgy on the edge).
That's all for now - more details later (and pics of the pizzas) - I need a rest.
Reputed to be the first Napoletan pizzeria in Rome. Once inside you notice the ambiance, or lack thereof; sort of metallic and cold.
A couple of nice ovens. Using all sorts of odds and ends of wood.
Big working space. It's after the lunch rush and a drizzly day so apparently not a lot of work to do.
The menu. From EUR 4,50 a pizza - cheap (but not the cheapest in town).
The pizza Forum; square with borders filed with the meaty ingredients.
A stright, by the book, traditional, Margherita. Someone spends a whole mess of time cutting up cherry tomatoes.
A little bit gummy and quite soupy under those tomatoes in the center; a slight smell of flour in the base (not good - needed more time to rise; should smell yeasty, not floury).
Tasty though. And the "Pizza Forum" was good too.
Would I go again? Maybe. There's so many to choose from that this wouldn't bubble to the top of the list. It was conveniently close to the Colosseum and what with the rain it could be a winner again if only on the basis of geography.
The first ting you notice is the oven (although I also noticed two pizza bases, bare, precooked, sitting on the front of the oven there; not a good thing [precooking your pizza-bases])
And how small the preparation area is (ignore the pizza-base rolling machine just behind the guy's head in the background; we shall hope it is never used)
The menu. Reasonable prices.
A straight Margherita
Porcini mushroom pizza
For a real close view click the foto below
First place visited was Navona Notte.
The base was a little bready and bland/soft/underdone in the center (a soupy center is common in Rome pizzerias it seems). Sauce was showing through under the cheese (this is a good thing).
But - tasty; cherry tomatoes and a decent amount of basil.
As the first pizza I ate in Italy it was not disappointing at all. The Napolitan style crust, light, spongy and chewy was an interesting new experience.
Nice atmosphere, fast service, fair prices - food other than pizzas as well. I'd go again.
Rome: Good pizza at Rossopomodoro. A chain, but producing decent Napoletana style pizza. Delicious tomato sauce.
The oven(s) - one guy needs something to do.
The pizza kitchen - roomy. And he's still underworked
The main pizza menu
The Margherita
A plate of mixed non pizza items
Lots of locations. Expect a wait. You'll enjoy your pizza.
The dough was slightly over salted - the only negative comment
The continuing adventure of studying pizza-making in the south of Spain.
In Vera (playa) the restaurant Mayo de 2004 makes a decent pizza.
This one is mushrooms, ham, artichokes and ... bacon. Ham and bacon are too similar and don't provide a flavour contrast. 
Fresh crust, some bubbles there. good colour. Thin in the middle. Not bad at all.
The odd thing, which I noticed elsewhere, is that this is a "four seasons" pizza. comes with fours toppings - - but I would expect that the the traditional four seasons pizza's topping are one each in four quadrants of the pizza. Not all spread equally over the thing.
The point is to enjoy each of the four items separately.
It looks like I'll be continuing the studies in Italy next week. Off to Rome and Naples to check out the pizzerias there. Call it a business trip.
Continuing the reviews of pizza I've had recently.
On the boulevard leading to Hotel Vera Playa Club you can get an excellent pizza at the Cafe/Restaurant/Pizzeria Jardin (that's in Vera, Almeria, Spain - in the beach zone)
They know what they' re doing - producing a decent thin crust pizza with just about the right amount of bubble in the crust and a proper proportion of toppings - nicely toasted (but probably in a regular pizza oven, not a real wood-burner so there's a lack of that subtle wood-oven touch). Good price for a better than average pizza. My favorite, so far, in the area.
While down in Vera I was checking out the local pizzerías. One nice looking place at Vera Playa (Puerto Rey) is "Pizzería Trattoría Lua". Linen service, crystal glasses, good heavy silverware, well dressed servers, but an informal atmosphere. Upscale looking but not pricey at all. 
Hand rolled, baked in a gas fired platform oven in an open pizza kitchen. I had ordered the Margherita with fresh tomato (the tomato could/should have been sliced thinner).
Their pizza: what I'd call American style; thicker crust, sort of soft, chewy, loads of cheese. 
I'd eat there again - because it's got a nice atmosphere and I enjoyed watching the pizzas being prepared - but I wouldn't be going just for the pizza.
