- Jupiter HRK48
After trying to second branch in Punta Arenas (https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/la-mesita-grande-punta-arenas-11-2016), it seemed an easy lunch decision to visit the conveniently located mothership branch in Puerto Natales.
The vegetable soup of the day (CLP3,300) was Italian cream of pumpkin and very nice and rich. Pancitos salmon (garlic bread with smoked salmon and grated parmesan cheese) CLP4,300 was excellent, with thick slices of fish that I wished I could have found for the hike.
La Barros Luco a lo Pobre (mozzarella, tomato sauce, beef, caramelised onion, egg) CLP 6,900 was a nice version with chewy meat, fried egg and adequate crust.
They also served a local brand of organic juices (Tamaya CLP3,200) of which the blueberry was delicious. Unfortunately they didn't have available the exciting flavour I wanted of Chilean black cherry.
This pizzeria was originally born in Puerto Natales and then the quality and reputation spread to Punta Arenas. It was the first taste of Italian food in South America and didn't disappoint.
The lasagna (CLP6,500) was served in a deep casserole dish with lovely melted cheese on top, layers of fresh pasta and a sugo with a hearty flavour and no tomato acidity. The Patagonian lamb pizza (La Mesita Grande - mozzarella, tomato sauce, marinated spicy lamb, onions, green peppers CLP6,900) was my first introduction to the regions famed animal. The redness in the meat was still visible. Although nice, it didn't seem particularly different from any other decent lamb I've had, but overall the pizza was good. The crust was relatively thin and chewy but I would have liked a bit more seasoning.
It was all washed down with a housemade lemon/lime-ade (CLP2,500) which was refreshing and had minimal fizz.
Argentina has a large Italian influence. It is therefore not surprising that they do a couple of Italian foods quite well - gelato, pizza and pasta specifically. I had been lucky enough to eat the delicious Italian-style thin pizza at La Mesita Grande in Patagonian Chile and the exceptional pasta at La Mamma in Puerto Iguazu, but Buenos Aires porteño pizza had another reputation in itself as a thick cut heavily cheesed beast that made it a local variation and specialty.
El Cuartito and Guerrin are two of the big name pizza arenas. Of course there are many others, but those two seemed to be the most commonly mentioned. Guerrin is listed in the Eater 38 BA recommended list but El Cuartito seemed to have the slightly better reputation with my online readings. Both are located close together and near the central tourist area just west of the Obelisk so made it easy to pay a visit.
At about 4pm the place was half-full with only middle-aged and older locals enjoying an impressive amount of pizza. It made for a good atmosphere amongst the sporting memorabilia dating back many many decades and the TV showing sport. I have no doubt it would be a great place to have pizza, drinks and watch some national sport.
Fugazzeta (yes, double-z and one-t) is the national type but known to be an impossible feat to finish a whole pizza of it. I didn't realise you could order half-half pizzas here (I saw some locals doing it) or I may have been tempted but I'm glad I didn't. One slice of it was enough (ARS31) - a thicker crust topped with an insane amount of thick melty cheese and topped with fried onions. It was a satisfying slice more akin to drunk food than sober food, but one was definitely enough.
El Cuartito (seasoned tomato sauce, ham, mozzarella cheese, natural tomato slices, sweet peppers, garlic & parsley, baked eggs, parmesan grated cheese & green olives) ARS190 for a small was a more standard set of pizza toppings other than the hardboiled eggs.
After that a slice of Anchoas (ARS25) finished off the meal with a double seasoned tomato sauce and fresh looking anchovies (with skin attached at least) and potent salinity - just how I like it.
The thick crust is one of the defining factors in porteño pizza. It was reminiscent of the thicker crust from the cheap nasty pizzas in the 1990s like Pizza Hut, with the difference being a nice crust, chewy insides, good seasoning and not saturated in oil and high quality toppings. I do fancy a good thick crust these days (like the types in NYC) although I daresay the NYC crust had a nicer crunch, seasoning and some extra oil.
When you win the best pizza in the world award, people will come and try and critique. I suppose it's difficult when you aren't the one actually cooking in the kitchen and your reputation relies on your subordinates to carry across the skill. Either way I'm sure business is fine. I've had plenty a good pizza in Melbourne, Italy, UK and USA in particular. I can't say I've eaten where the world's best is. He wasn't there during the evening I visited the mothership in Brunswick.
- Fiori di Zucca (zucchini flower stuffed with buffalo ricotta, spanner crab & chilli) $19 - very large flowers in a nice salty batter. The filling seemed to be plain ricotta without any detectable crab flavour nor chilli. It was disappointing for that;
- Margherita verace (San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, basil & EVOO) $22 - the specific world winner allowed the mildly chewy crust with some smoky flavour get cleanly sampled. The passata and cheese were ok but perhaps I prefer it a bit more seasoned. The basil added good contrast;
- Frutti di mare (San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, mussels, prawns, clams, scallops & rocket) $29 - this was a more seasoned version due to the topping of a good amount of quality seafood, exemplified most by some juicy crunchy prawns and two large soft scallops;
- Calzone with figs & mascarpone $11 - a dessert sleeper with a core of sweet rich hot fig and the cheese around the sides. I think the inside should have been mixed better but was still a good finish to the meal.
Like most gourmet pizzerias in Melbourne the quality is definitely there. It wasn't my favourite pizza place in the world but the chef that evening wasn't the winner, so I guess that wouldn't be expected either. Nonetheless the food is still worthy of pizza night out.
I'd finally returned for a short visit to my previous home of Whitechapel. It isn't easy finding new places in the area as it tends to be dominated by old curry houses (and for good reason).
I was pleasantly surprised to see a new opening of a pizza and particularly cider dedicated space near my Qbic Hotel. They offer a good value lunch deal for only £6.5 including a pizza and salad. Add a half-pint of your choice of cider for £2.5 extra and you have yourself a great meal.
I'd need more time (and an evening) to go through the ciders and pick a few favourites but for lunchtime the pizza was my main focus. I sampled the Hells Bells (spicy chopped pork, Naga chillies, garlic, red onion, basil leaves, field mushrooms, tomato sauce, mozzarella). I've been scarred by previous curries with Naga (aka ghost) chillies but I was told this was cooked into the pork sauce and wasn't too offensive and it was true - there was a definite heat and kick but other than a slight runny nose I handled it nicely. The chilli pieces themselves weren't too hot so I can only assume those were different chillies. I was surprised at how little tomato sauce there was (obviously having been thin and baked in rather than much liquid left) and the base was thin and quite crispy (although I do prefer the chew eg. Franco Manca).
Overall it's a very good lunch deal and on another day with friends and time would be a good way to pass the afternoon with cider tasting.
Luckily I was told to visit Innocent Bystander, to take advantage of the free tastings (including a delicious "real" apple cider that I took home, a moscato and a little vermouth) and the excellent woodfired pizza (spicy pork sausage, buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomato + chilli $25).
The food and drinks are excellent and the venue buzzes some excitement and atmosphere. It's a great place to visit.
The Kingston Foreshore is really starting to heat up. Considering the incredible number of apartments being built that will eventually surround the place, I can only imagine getting some early real estate for food business must be a good long term investment. Up until relatively recently the only pub was Walt & Burley. The food there is extremely average and quite pricey. The drinks are similarly high. Rum Bar serves decent drinks but the food is limited and also expensive.
This made way for The Dock, a sports pub with decent drinks, live music on certain nights and something new to try. For a very short time they were listed in the Entertainment Book but I suppose after realising how much business they got, this was then unnecessary.
The Beez Neez Beer Battered wild caught fresh Australian Barramundi ($25) and Full rack of American Pork Ribs ($46) were really quite expensive but adequate. A few days later I took advantage of their 2-for-1 pizza Mondays (there are also 2-for-1 rib Tuesdays and burger Wednesdays) - a little expensive on their own at $20-24 each but for half price a serious bargain. Sure the weekday atmosphere doesn't quite match the hustling weekend, but you can't have everything.
It's better than Walt & Burley in my mind. Otherwise eat elsewhere on/near the foreshore (eg. Brodburger) and have a drink with company here.
Although the menu is only small, the pizzas are cheap (£5-7 each) and well known for the slow-rising sourdough base. The result is a complex masterpiece of soft gelatinous dough, a gently crisp surface and some nice toppings. Realistically the star is the dough and a Franco Manca pizza was the first one where I enjoyed eating the crust at the end moreso than the topping part.
Great toppings require excellent ingredients. Great dough requires outstanding skill.
I've tried the dough recipe from the cookbook. It uses yeast rather than sourdough starter (more due to availability than anything else) and although the taste doesn't have the same sourness, the texture comes close. It's definitely the best home version I've had.
I thought I'd heard from my dad that this pizza place had won a world pizza championship in Italy. I was a little disappointed to find they competed but didn't win - nonetheless that's a pretty incredible feat.
As the reputed home of pizza I remember my first (and only) trip to Naples back in 2005, where pizza was apparently born. We spent the whole time going from one pizza place to the next as recommended in the Lonely Planet. We barely ventured out at night due to safety issues but during the day I could appreciate the old buildings and the incredibly bad (or is it tactical?) car parking on the streets. One of the Zero95's pizza makers is from Naples and he even offered to allow me to come back sometime and make my own pizza... how exciting that would be.
But for this trip I remained solely on the eating side.
- Fried calamari - wickedly soft, tender and extremely well cooked without any hint of rubber;
- Pizze Frutti di Mare $24 - exceptional soft and chewy crust topped with cheese and good quality seafood. It's definitely better for presentation with the shells on but I'm not sure if I'd prefer to eat it without having the remove them;
- Calzone Buffalo (stracchino, prosciutto, rocket, yellow cherry tomatoes, black buffalo cheese) $27 - the typical calzone is filled (this with prosciutto and black buffalo cheese) but also this had a beautifully presented exterior to the toppings laid.
The ingredients are high quality, the dough is exceptionally good (could it be better than Franco Manca? - http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/franco-manca-london-10-2013) and the staff are so friendly and so passionately Italian. I adore it all and will be back to try each of the pizzas and calzones.