The Pizza Slice: Rustichella at Pizza Express

Ended up in Pizza Express on Monday night. My jet-set social life meant there was little point in me going home after work, and so I answered the call of the ever present voucher code.

I usually order a La Reine, but I fancied something different. After some umms and ahs I settled on the Rustichella. Supposedly topped with pancetta, rocket, and roasted tomatoes. Unfortunately it was also topped with a Jackson Pollock splatter of Caesar salad dressing. There is absolutely no need for such a thing on a pizza.

The Pizza Slice: 2010

When I think of pizza in 2010 it’s my visit to New York City that stands out above everything else, so this might turn into a belated What I Did On My Holidays. It’s just on another level over there. You get a fair amount of average places, but what really amazed me was the number of crappy looking places that, upon further inspection, were churning out incredible looking pizzas from wood burning ovens. I walked down one street near where we were staying in the East Village, and there was a wood delivery truck stopping at regular spots all down the street to deliver fuel to the humble looking pizzerias.

It wasn’t wood-fired pizza that won the day however, but old king coal. Grimaldi’s was a name I’d encountered whilst googling ‘best pizza new york’ and it had also been recommended by a work colleague. A friend of friend, resident in NYC, had also heard good things about it. The ‘good things’ have made it a bit of a tourist trap, and we had to queue for roughly an hour just to get a table. Eventually we were called in (we even got to jump the queue slightly) and the 5 of us were squeezed around a tiny table. The walls were covered in Frank Sinatra memorabilia (apparently he was a big fan), the waiter asked me what my ‘secret’ was - I was the only male in our party. Best of all though were the chefs. They worked as a chain. One passed the dough to the next, who effortlessly stretched it into a base, then another would apply the toppings, give it a drizzle of sauce, and fling it into the roaring hot coal burning oven. The cooked pizzas were then brought to the tables and perched on stands. We shared 2 between the five of us. They were easily the best pizzas I have ever eaten.

The most surprisingly nice though was a slice I had in Central Park’s Summer Stage whilst waiting for Pavement to come on. Despite some great food at Green Man and Latitude festivals, my expectations for food bought at outdoor music events are still coloured by the Reading Festival, but New York again excelled itself. One stall had a car trailer which had been converted into a wood-burning oven*! I had a great big slice of margherita and it was great.

Everything pretty much pales into comparison.

* For the record, I don’t think a wood burning oven is an essential of good pizza making. I’ve had plenty of great pizzas from places with more 'modern' ovens. It’s just that a wood burner is a bit of a badge, highlighting the chef as someone who cares about the pizza they’re producing. A Pizza Hut pizza cooked in a wood burning oven is still going to be pretty crap.

The Pizza Slice: Cafe Citta

Cafe Citta's biggest boast is that they have Cardiff's only wood burning pizza oven, countering the claims made by the gas burning 0 Degrees and Prezzo. So obviously I've been itching to go since I noticed it opening a few months ago. I wasn't sat close enough to the oven to see it exactly, but there was definitely wood smoke in the air as I ordered a ham and mushroom. Unfortunately it wasn't a stone oven, but some kind of metal one, so the oven can't sustain the fierce 400 degree heat of a proper pizza oven - no 90 second pizzas here, but it was still one of the best pizzas I've had in Cardiff. Nice base, slightly charred (though not blistered), and crisp at the edge. What really sang though was the quality of the ham. Not sure exactly what sort of pig it came from, but it was really tasty. The service was a bit slow as the oven isn't big enough to cope with the demand of a full restaurant in which everyone wants pizza. Which was a shame, but the pizza we were presented with was worth the wait I suppose. The side salad that came with it wasn't particularly great, and I've had better coffee as well, but I'd still be happy to return.

The Pizza Slice: Pizza Express and Strada

Sorry, have been falling behind on my Pizza Slicing. I’ve got 2 to tell you about.

Had an Al Tirolo at Pizza Express. Speck Ham, and a medley of various mushrooms. Really enjoyed it. It was topped with some fresh parsley after it had been cooked, though I would have liked a little more of it. It was on the Romana base which I am a fan of. Was considering going for their new ‘hottest ever pizza’ from the new range from the guest chef, but I wasn’t in a spicy mood and I quite like a bit of veg on my pizza. I’ll give it a whirl next time. I had a nice lemon tart for pudding.

Then about a week later we went to Strada as we were in the Bay anyway to watch Richard Herring at the Glee Club. Was once again impressed with the weight of the glasses and the pop-top bottles of table water. I ordered the Bresaola, which features thin strips of cured beef and huge dollops of ricotta, topped with fresh rocket. It was nice, though the ricotta was a bit rich, and there wasn’t that much flavour to the beef itself. Had a nice macchiato coffee after.

Still can't decide which of these 2 high street titans is my favourite. Think Pizza Express slightly pips it, as it’s slightly tastier and the menu has more depth. However, I find Strada a nicer ‘dining out’ experience, and I also prefer their bases.

The Pizza Slice: Zero Degrees

Zero Degrees should technically be the greatest place on earth. It’s a microbrewery that serves pizza. I should be in heaven. Instead, I’m actually in a converted garage and no amount of snazzy wall hangings can banish the feeling that you’re in a warehouse. The beer is actually pretty nice, fair dos. I stuck to the Pale Ale for the night; an American style amber bitter, but I can also vouch for the Black Lager being nice. Wasn’t so fussed on the Mango beer, and I don’t know if I could drink more than a pint of the Wheat Ale.

The pizzas are all a little bit too gimmicky unfortunately. If I wanted duck wraps, I’d go to a Chinese restaurant. If I wanted a curry, I’d go to a curry house. I don’t want hoi sin duck pizza. I don’t want curry pizza. I certainly never want pear on my pizza. I ended up going for a Four Seasons, but I asked the waiter if they could mix up the ingredients instead of the pointless quartering you usually get on this kind of pizza. This is a sore point for me; I want maximised toppings per mouthful, not some conveyer belt of flavours. I made a brilliant joke about how “what with global warming and everything, the seasons are all merging together anyway”, but the waiter didn’t seem to appreciate it. Chef also seemed to have trouble with this concept, as he forgot to add the pepperoni. When I pointed this out to the waiter he promptly took the pizza away, and returned a few minutes later with the exact same pizza scattered with some pepperoni. Whether or not there’s room for pepperoni on a 4 Seasons pizza is another debate entirely.

The pizza was nice enough in the end. They’ve made them a bit smaller since the last time I visited, which is good because they were way too big before. They could do with adding some non bready non cheesy starters to the menu, though the grilled halloumi wrapped in Parma ham and sage I had was actually really nice.

ATP NBC MBV

Last weekend was the All Tomorrow’s Parties Nightmare Before Christmas event, curated by My Bloody Valentine. I had a fun weekend. The bands I saw were…

Josh T. Person (later dubbed “King of Butlins” by Warren Ellis)
De La Soul (fun party band to start the weekend off proper)
Witch (J Mascis on drums but they all looked a bit like J Mascis)
Yo La Tengo (some people didn’t seem to like this but I did, not as good as they were last time I saw them)
The Tyde (so-so west coast jingle jangles with a Dylan sneer. They got the guy from The Thrills out to do some backing vocals at one point)
The Membranes (John Rob’s punk band. Hilarious)
Sun Ra Arkestra (good but I wasn’t quite in the mood for it, so I went and pumped loads of 2p coins into the penny arcade thing)
The Pastels (this washed over me a bit, don’t really remember it)
J Mascis & The Fog (good stuff, J had a mini colloseum of amps around him)
Sonic Youth (good, but I was a: stood behind a massive pillar, b: drinking the worst ale ever, and c: it was Saturday night and I wanted HITS but they played a fair bit of stuff from the Eternal instead)
My Bloody Valentine (not life changing)
No Age (brilliant, the best I’ve seen them, and they got Bob Mould out at the end)
Chuffed Up (double brilliant)
A Place To Bury Strangers (I’ve seen them 3 times before and it’s getting a bit samey but it’s good enough)
Th’ Faith Healers (this was ok)
Swervedriver (good but not great)
Mum (didn’t stay long, don’t like ‘em)
EPMD (amazing stage banter: “any Puerto Ricans in the house?” and “this for the ladies – all 6 of y’all!” and then a 10 minute obituaries section)
Bob Mould (played a mainly acoustic set, he seemed like a genuinely great guy)
Dirty Three (stage banter > the music)
Lightning Bolt (incredible, was umming and ah-ing about seeing them but so glad I did. Really glad they play on a stage now)

As you might be able to guess from my brief summaries, I’m a bit indifferent to a lot of shoegazey stuff so I got a bit over-egged with that side of things – but that just made me enjoy the other bits more. Had loads of fun with my friends, and that’s always the best bit of ATP – dancing, pile-on, playing the arcade games, talking nonsense in the sports bar, drinking mulled cider in the chalet.

2 negative points – one was the staff not really having a clue what was going on with the wristband exchange thing on Friday, and the second being that Watership Down is the worst film ever to watch if you’re even slightly hungover. But other than that, no real complaints. Yay!

PIZZA SLICE BONUS MATERIAL – had 9 slices of Pizza Hut buffet. Not a bad effort.

The Pizza Slice: The Italian Way

I love The Italian Way with all its overt Italian fakery and fishing nets dangling from the ceiling. It’s just a bit kitsch in the best way possible. And it’s BYOB on the wine. “Wahey!”

Had some good calamari for starters, not chewy at all – always a good sign. She had some rather good meatballs.

Main course was obviously the pizza (or I wouldn’t be blogging). There’s no set menu here, you just build your own and get charged per topping. It’s quite a nice approach I guess. I had pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives. It was good pepperoni, not too hot and it didn’t have that cutting the roof of your mouth quality that some bad pepper sausages do. The mushrooms gave it a nice bit of texture. The olives were good but a bit annoying as they hadn’t been de-stoned. This isn’t usually that much of a problem for me, but on a pizza it’s a bit annoying. You either had to dissect them or just try and not choke to death. I went for the dissection approach. She had anchovies, artichokes, and olives. She agreed with me about the olives.

For pudding we shared a tiramisu. Not the best one I’d had to be honest. Washed it down with a nice filter coffee. Then we went to Chapter and I drank Buddy Holly themed ales. Brilliant.

Pizza Slice - La Vita (redux)

Went back to La Vita on the weekend. This time I opted for a pretty straight double pepperoni with chillies affair, forgot the name they gave it. It was really good, but I missed the vegetable element. The lady had a wholly veggie thing with olives and artichokes and possibly mushrooms as well – I can’t remember. It was good though yes, I’m still not fully sold on artichokes but I could probably grow to enjoy them if I put in the time and effort. Had a nice basic side-salad of rocket and parmesan as well. For pudding we wanted tiramisu (it was amazing last time) but they’d sold out, so instead we went for this pear and berry pie. Not what I’d usually go for but man, it was good! Special mention for the house red wine as well, which is ace-in-the-face. Only negative was that I ordered a coffee which never arrived. Waiter was being a bit cocky and not writing stuff down, and then a large group of people arrived just after I’d ordered the coffee so he must have just forgotten. Oh well, didn’t get charged for it at least. Not the sort of thing that’ll put me off going back.

After that we went to Chapter for the last few hours of their Oktoberfest. They only had 2 biers left. One was a straight Weissbier which was really nice, not as perfumed as the more commercial ones like Hoegarden and Kronenberg Blanc. The best was the Weissbier Dunkel though – it was amazing. Had this slightly metallic tang to it, it reminded us of a beer we drank in a Montreal micro-brewery as well. So it was nice to have that taste-based reminisce.

Swn 2009

My Swn from fuzzy memories:

Thursday - Shape night at Dempseys was mostly great. Thought the stripped down Freddie Stars were a bit boring alas, twas a shame. The rest was great but I was well tired by the end so I was itching for Zun Zun Egui to finish. Was relieved when they said "we're going to play one more song!" and then the relief soured when that one song turned into a 20 minute jam. They were pretty good though. Islet and Them Squirells were both great, and Evils as a full band was cool.

Friday – Was excited about seeing Exit International again, but now they're a bit too FOTLy/Mclusky-ish. When I first saw them the long hair man had crazy distortion over his vocals and the whole thing was a lot more sludgey and messed up sounding (for the better). PIZZA SLICE BONUS: Then I had a nice pizza at Pizza Express, the Sloppy Guissepie (or however you spell it). I’ve tried ordering it the last few times we’ve been, but it’s always been unavailable. It was nice, but I thought it would be sloppier... Then I saw a bit of Jonny Foreigner and I still don't like them, so I saw a bit of the Longcut who were also not great, and the Fuwch Goch doesn't really work as a venue that well, so I went back to Clwb. Pulled Apart By Horses were amazing. Attempted to head back to Fuwch Goch for Girls but obvs it never happened with the queue, so decided to catch people up in Dempseys but it was 1-in-1-out for Silver Gospel Runners (WTF?) and so we ended up in City Arms (first time I've been there since Twatty Bouncer-gate) for a drink because I didn't want to see Rogues, though this then meant we couldn't get in for Strange News (which was a shame as everyone who made it in said it was great) and then we just ended up dancing to the ridiculous DJing downstairs at Clwb till stupid o'clock.

Saturday - caught a bit of Allo Darlin but they weren't for me, bought some CDs in the record fair. I think new Chapter is good, nicer than old Chapter. The Gate stuff was great, though I don't know why it took them quite so long to serve people at the bar. I'm looking forward to seeing Internet Forever again at some point, and I think it was the best I've seen Los Camp ever. Mark Attack's Record Breaking Crowd-surf was amazing. Got into Slow Club no problems really (having power-walked over from the Gate), but they started about 15 minutes early which is a bit naughty, and it was full of people chatterboxing away which annoyed me no end. They were good though despite not playing their best song (All Our Most Brilliant Friends). Took one look at the queue for Right Hand Left Hand and realised there was no chance of getting in so had a quieter sit down drink whilst Adam Walton DJd in City Arms (didn't actually realise it was Adam Walton DJing untill the next day though, woops) then back to Dempseys for Moshi Moshi DJs - who were fun. So yes, all in all I had a fun weekend.

It's quite easy to find small niggly faults with Swn but equally easy to overlook them and have a great time (which I did), so hope they keep going strong. Just maybe try and not have the most hyped bands of the weekend in tiny venues with no other alternatives on next year please? It’s a shame they didn’t use Buffalos and Tommy’s Bar as they’re both semi-established venues despite their faults, so I hope they’re involved next year. Curious to see how the festival evolves from this point in, but best o' luck to 'em.

The Pizza Slice - DOUBLE PORTION

Alright Blog? How are you? This week I have had 2 pizza experiences. Firstly, I made my own on Monday night. They were a triumph. Toppings were some wilted spinach, chestnut mushrooms, and Italian cured ham. Plus the obligatory mozzarella and tomato sauce. I think they were probably the best pizzas I’ve ever made; and the first since moving house. I think the fan-assisted oven may have made a difference. The next step on my odyssey is to get an unglazed bit of marble or whatever to use as a bake-stone. Don’t want to buy an expensive one from the kitchen shops though. I'm sure I’d be able to get a cheaper option from a reclamation yard.

Pizza experience 2 was Pizza Express. King of the Highstreet. I had a voucher which gave you starter/main/drink for a £10er. I’m not that fussed on the garlic bread or doughballs personally; you don’t really need a bready starter before a bready main. My main was the ‘la reine’ which is ham, olives, and mushrooms. Ladyfriend had that one with spinach and an egg – it was nice but the egg got a bit rich. Can't go wrong for a £10er though!

The Pizza Slice - La Vita

La Vita is a new-ish Pizzeria opposite Cardiff Castle. It used to be Café Europa which was my favourite place in town to have a cup of tea and a sit-down. In between it became Dirty Sue’s Café, which looked really rubbish so I never went in. Anyway, it’s now La Vita and they’ve exposed some of the old stone walling that Dirty Sue decided to cover in boring white plaster board, so they won plus points for that straight away. I opted for the ‘Gianni’ pizza, which is a mozzarella and cherry tomato pizza that’s finished with Parma ham, rocket, and parmesan cheese once it’s done cooking in the oven. Actually I can’t remember now if the Parma ham was cooked in the oven or not, I don’t think it was… whatever, it was really nice. You could tell that the ingredients were good quality, and I think that the simplest pizzas often offer the best results. I sampled a section of my friend’s pepperoni one which was nice and had a good level of heat, and my ladyfriend had some spinnachy pizza which I also sampled and enjoyed. The restaurant doesn’t have a ‘proper’ wood-burning oven so you don’t get that amazing slight charring to the base, but most restaurants don’t have a proper pizza oven anyway so you can’t really complain. The base was good as it was anyway. It’s nice being in family run places as well isn’t it? And the chef man gave us some free limoncello as well, which was nice – the last time I tried limoncello I didn’t really like it, but this was good. Had a little chat with the chef and he seems like a nice chap, the best of luck to them basically.

What I Did On My Holidays

Had a little mini-break over the weekend. Went up to Cirencester to visit friends of the ladyfriend. We went to the Cotswold Wildlife Park, it was rather ace. For some reason I was thinking it’d be a bit small-scale, but it’s actually huge. Good ‘spread’ of animals. I saw monkeys and penguins and meercats and wolves and bats and those giant guinea pigs and zebras and rhinos and the worst display of falconry ever. No bears, but you can’t win ‘em all. Actually I did see a sign for Red Pandas somewhere, but they’re not proper bears anyway so I’m not fussed about missing them.

In the evening we had food in a nice bistro place attached to a butchers. I had rabbit for starts and steaks for mains and sticky toffee pud for afters.

On the Sunday I went on to that London to stay with various friends. BONUS PIZZA SLICE ACTION: We had pizza for tea on Sunday. Can’t remember the name of the place, just a small pizza place in Crouch End. Reasonably priced. I had a spicy italian sausage with tomatoes and extra mushrooms. Thought it was very enjoyable. After that we had a pint in a nice pub. Their menu said that they had beer-battered cod, and the named the beer as Bombardier. Which is weird, because what with Bombardier being an ale, you don’t really get many bubbles. The whole point of beer-battering is that you get lots of bubbles so that the batter is crispier. You need a lager or something.

Anyway, after that we went home and watched a DVD of Gone Baby Gone – the Ben Affleck directed picture that had its release pushed back because of the ‘similar’ real-life vanishing of Madeline McCann. The film was okay, 6ish/10. It started well enough but descended into a fairly standard thriller. Ending was nice and ambiguous mind; it left you to decide on some moral issues.

On Monday I sat around in my friend’s flat for a bit, reading The Escapist comics that spun off from the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay novel. Personally I thought they should have been drawn in a more ‘traditional’ 1930s style as opposed to the more modern look they had. After that I used public transport to go over to the Roundhouse to see David Byrne’s Playing The Building. Essentially a piano wired up to various devices around the Roundhouse which created various noises. I liked that you couldn’t really tell at any point if the room was being played by a bunch of toddlers or a concert pianist. I had a little tinkle of the ivories myself, but felt a bit self-conscious. There’s a real glee to the whole thing though. Worth seeing.

Spent the afternoon wondering around, lunch in Wagamamas, met friends for teas and coffees, visited the gift shop of the Transport Museum (didn’t have the £9 to actually visit properly), and then went to a nice pub called The Harp to meet another friend. The pubs are the best thing about London really. Cardiff centre lost a lot of its old proper pubs back in the 60s – all in the name of developments which have now been knocked down to make way for new developments…

Then it was the main reason of my visit. The National were playing the Royal Festival Hall. Our seats weren’t great, right near the back in row U, but it was still a brilliant concert. They played an amazing set and it wasn’t until the following day that I realised they’d missed out some of my favourite songs of theirs. I really want to see them again and again and again. Easily one of my favourite bands.

The next day I caught a slow commuter bus to Victoria, saw a man get told off for being too loud on his phone, and took a megabus back home.

The Pizza Slice: Tesco Finest's Italian Meats

Found this in the reduced section due to slightly bashed packaging, thought it’d make a good lunch. Salami, pancetta, Parma ham. Meaty! Took it home, deboxed it, unwrapped the cellophane, added some olives and a bit of leftover sweetcorn we had knocking about in the fridge. Put the oven on to heat up. 20 minutes later and the oven still wasn’t hot. In fact, the fan ‘assistance’ meant it was actually colder. Seems our oven is broken. The joys of moving house. So we ended up having to grill the pizza, which lead to a slightly undercooked base and a slightly overcooked topping. It was nice enough I guess.

List of problems with new house so far:

1. Broken oven.
2. Fridge bulb not working (have tried replacing)
3. No keys to open any of the lockable windows (most of which are currently locked)
4. Two of the upstairs radiators come on when you turn on the water heating.
5. Had to (violently) remove one of the back door locks so that I could actually close the door. Technically my fault I guess, but if they’d given us all the keys then it shouldn’t have been an issue.
6. Broken shower bracket, so you can’t fix the shower head to the wall whilst washing. I now have to clamp the shower between my knees when lathering.
7. House was filthy.
8. Cutlery drawer won’t close as the runner is broken.
9. Various issues relating to overly comprehensive inventory.
10. No gas safety certificate because of the pipe connecting to cooker to the gas supply.

Being a letting agent – easiest job in the world (if you’re a bit of a scumbag)?

The Pizza Slice: STRADA – Cotto

Once again, Martin Money Saving Expert – patron Saint of cheap pizza – came up trumps with BOGOF vouchers, and so off we went on my first visit to Strada. I was rather excited as they’re apparently the main competition for Pizza Express; aka The High Street Pizza Chain Benchmark.

I’d been a bit bored earlier at work and browsed their menu online. I was pleased to see that they offered one of my favourite topping combinations; ham, mushrooms, and olives (meat and a double dose of umami). My excitement level was set to medium-high. At the restaurant itself I couldn’t decide between that one and a spicier option, but eventually decided to go with my gut instinct (pun!).

First impression: The restaurant was tastefully decorated though the deep reds and the mood lighting combined somewhat murkily. Couple of nice touches; I particularly liked the tap water served in refrigerated Grolsch style pop-top bottles, and the glasses were pretty nice as well. At the end of the night they got an indie point by playing We’re From Barcelona.

Pizza itself was in a slight naan bread shape, which I’m a fan of. Perfectly symmetric circles always look a bit machine-made and I like the more rustic hand stretched approach implied by the tear-drop on my plate.

The base itself was really good. Nice and floury, thin but not so thin that it shatters at the touch of a fork. Slight charring. All good things. The mozzarella hadn’t quite started to brown yet, which I don’t mind that much but as the pizza cools the cheese can get slightly rubbery. There was a generous helping of toppings evenly distributed, which is always welcome (particularly after the 5 olive fiasco in Prezzo). The waiter also brought a bottle of chilli oil stuffed with dried chillies if I wanted to spice things up a little. Gave the oil a spin on one section. It didn’t really pack a punch, instead it packed a slow-burning jujitsu arm lock; pleasantly surprising. The toppings started to get a little sickly as I progressed through the pizza, but I endeavoured and the summit was scaled. Celebrated with a macchiato.

The lady-friend had a ‘Rustica’ pizza which combined thick slices of Italian sausage, roasted plum tomatoes, ‘caramelised’ onion and some form of artichoke (I get them confused). It was also rather good. I had her leftovers cold for lunch just now confirming one of my feelings that cold leftover pizza is one of the greatest lunches known to man. Up there with re-heated leftover take away curry and re-heated leftover take away Chinese.

All in all, I don’t think it was quite at the standard of Pizza Express, but I’m definitely happy to go again (if only to sample that spicier option). Their bases were better than Pizza Express, but Strada just couldn’t compete with the depth of the Pizza Express menu (for pizza at least, they do offer other kinds of dishes if that’s the sort of thing you’re in to…).

The Pizza Slice: Some kebab/pizza shop in Canton

Got so caught up in packing/house-moving yesterday that we didn’t realise how little food we had in the flat. Some friends were getting take-away pizzas so we decided to join them (we were running out of packing boxes anyway). It was from some Pizza/Kebab place on Cowbridge Rd that a friend visits fairly often, and in the past I’ve found the odd slice of their pizza I’ve had (via said friend) to be that dreaded mix of bready dough and greasy cheese; but it was actually better than expected.

Dough wasn’t as dry as I remember it being, and I’ve definitely had worse (hello Pizza Hutt!). Toppings wise I went for the ‘Spicy Chicken’ which places the pizza in the heart of India. Tandoori chicken, onions, green peppers and chillies. Didn’t really notice the chillies to be honest, so the term ‘Spicy’ in the title was a bit misleading, but I suppose I can forgive them for that (almost).

Price-wise it was almost a steal, what with their ‘buy one get one free’ offer. Basically worked out as being £3.75 each! And that left me with enough for lunch today as well. Bargain.

The Pizza Slice: Domino’s Pizza (various toppings).

Slightly impossible to objectively review this. Had spent roughly 8 hours (on and off) helping friends empty out their house. Boxes and furniture shuffled about in the most physical game of Tetris I’ve ever played. 3 or 4 van loads worth of stuff.

Pizza was bought as reward for the volunteering of puny muscles. Tasted like heaven. All in all, I don’t really mind Dominos to be honest. Base is doughy without being too bready, and there’s something pleasing in the unctuousness of the cheese and tomato – it never slips into the greasiness of a Pizza Hutt. Toppings wise, we had a variety – 2 with various meats and 2 with various veg. Generally I don’t like to overcrowd my pizzas, 3 or 4 toppings max (only 2 of which should be meat), but again, in context, it was perfect. And the little pots of sauce, perfect for dipping crusts into. Experimented with some Tobasco at one point as well. Fiery goodness.

Side note: We had some beers with it as well. Refreshing Corona. Hoppy SA Gold. And a new one on me was Tomos Watkins brewery’s Cwrw Braf (rough translation ‘Lovely Beer’). There was a fruity sweetness to it that reminded me of Christmas – particularly a box of Quality Streets. Nice, but not really a 'session ale'.

Score: context/10

The Pizza Slice – Pizza Hut (All You Can Eat Buffet)

As part of the ATP ‘experience’ we went for an all-you-can-eat buffet at the on site Pizza Hut. I’d not been in a Pizza Hut for a couple years, despite being given a voucher at Christmas, and I’d sort of forgotten how little I enjoy it. The cheese is really greasy and the base is so doughy. I know pizza isn’t exactly health food, but these are a step above your usual heart attacks. You just feel the whole thing ooze into your blood stream. It’s definitely the worst of the high street pizza chains.

I was feeling a bit woozy from drinking, a bit proteined from a fry-up I’d had earlier, and so I didn’t eat that much. ‘All I could eat’ didn’t equate that good value for money. I can’t even remember what toppings I got now. One slice of ham and mushroom. One slice of pepperoni. That’s all I can remember. The ham and mushroom was probably the best of the lot, but maybe that’s just because it was the first one I had? Who knows? I doubt I’ll go back to Pizza Hut until the next time I go to an ATP festival. Which will be in December.

I do quite like those little shakers of chilli flakes you get mind.

The Pizza Slice: Prezzo (Tre Gusti)

Welcome to my new pizza feature where I review pizzas (which I love).

Had my first visit to a Prezzo restaurant last Wednesday. I was quite excited because they’ve got a fairly proper looking pizza oven plonked at the back of the modernly furnished room. I was getting a little anxious because we had to sit in the little waiting area for what felt like ages despite the fact that there were at least 4 empty tables, and other diners leaving on a regular basis.

Anyway, we eventually got our seat and I scanned through the menu. I opted for the Tre Gusti, which features pepperoni, chicken, pancetta, and fresh rosemary. I didn’t really notice the rosemary now that I think about it, and it really needed a vegetable of sorts in there as well, olives or something. The base itself was good mind, the pizza oven gave a nice ever-so-slight charring, but on the whole the pizza lacked any level of comfort. The ladyfriend had a vegetarian thing with leeks, gorgonzola, and a perfunctory amount of olives.

Overall Rating – 5.8