How many of us have eaten through pizzas from the usual Domino's and Pizza Hut (blech) and I forgot the other idiotic names out there? How many of us have chewed through the cheesey part and discarded the cardboardy doughy crust on the sides? How many of us have curled up next to the commode coz you have thrown up all night just because one of these jackass chains served you rancid mushrooms?
I have. I TOTALLY have. And so there was little hope in this world as far as my favourite junk food went.
Until of course, I went to Pizza Express. And realised that no, pizza is not junk food. It just recently opened up in Mumbai, Colaba (bang opposite Cafe Moshe's and next to Le Pain Quotidien).
Here in Mumbai all the way from UK, with 450 restaurants across the world, Pizza Express is possibly the only pizza chain we have in this country that comes closest to eating authentic Italian pizzas in a local setting.
The team I met on my evening out at their newly opened outlet, is a rockstar team. Their pizzaiolos (pizza chefs) from across the world started getting the word out about the brand's launch with a flash mob on Marine Drive, dressed in their trademark black and white horizontal stripes. But they did not stop with their enthusiasm there.
When we met them, they were just the rockstars we figured they would be. Right from...
Tossing pizzas. And dancing with them too. To music and beats!
Whipping pizza after delicious pizza, fresh, and baking them for us in less than 5 minutes.
And actually teaching us how their best pizzas are made.
And oh, yeah, also teaching us how to toss pizzas in the air (I admit I created two very large holes in my base and also tossed it on Antoine Lewis by mistake, poor fellow).
And they let us make our own pizzas which we then took home.
But let's forget all of that. Let's forget that I had so much fun doing all that and stayed back until 10.30pm, something I usually do not do (I have a man to feed, yo!)...but those pizzas we sampled?
The crust so crunchy and a delight to bite into, that passata (tomato sauce) with basil that was so luscious and tangy, I could kill to learn how to make it from the Greci family in Italy which exclusively creates the sauce for Pizza Express across the globe. Those lovely fresh toppings, that amazing extra virgin olive oil infused with garlic, that dash of cajun spice, the beautiful local produce they are sourcing when it meets their quality standards, those lovely snatches of fresh goat's cheese and fresh mozzarella...just that would make me give up eating all other pizzas and wait until I make a trip to Colaba so I could treat my life with some respect and eat a pizza that deserves my respect and attention...that alone should make you go there and sample their delightful creations.
We made several of their pizzas. We sampled every pizza we could. We made some new friends, of course, and we came back carrying a pizza we had all made so folks at home could also get a (cold) taste of how good, no, great pizza tastes like.
So, please. Go to Pizza Express. There are few chains that I respect because usually with numbers, quality is the first to go through the exit. This place is, somehow, planning to do the unthinkable. I hope they get it as right as they seem to have gotten it all over the globe. Then again, this is India. We never follow the rules and everything acts out of character here. So, please. Go sample them. Tell them I sent you there if I did. Bite into some of the best pizza you will get in Mumbai.
And steal some passata tin for me on the way out while you are at it :)
Ooh, and while you are at it, here's me suggesting that pizza dough tossing should be an Olympic sport by now:
I have. I TOTALLY have. And so there was little hope in this world as far as my favourite junk food went.
Until of course, I went to Pizza Express. And realised that no, pizza is not junk food. It just recently opened up in Mumbai, Colaba (bang opposite Cafe Moshe's and next to Le Pain Quotidien).
Here in Mumbai all the way from UK, with 450 restaurants across the world, Pizza Express is possibly the only pizza chain we have in this country that comes closest to eating authentic Italian pizzas in a local setting.
The team I met on my evening out at their newly opened outlet, is a rockstar team. Their pizzaiolos (pizza chefs) from across the world started getting the word out about the brand's launch with a flash mob on Marine Drive, dressed in their trademark black and white horizontal stripes. But they did not stop with their enthusiasm there.
When we met them, they were just the rockstars we figured they would be. Right from...
Tossing pizzas. And dancing with them too. To music and beats!
Whipping pizza after delicious pizza, fresh, and baking them for us in less than 5 minutes.
And actually teaching us how their best pizzas are made.
And oh, yeah, also teaching us how to toss pizzas in the air (I admit I created two very large holes in my base and also tossed it on Antoine Lewis by mistake, poor fellow).
And they let us make our own pizzas which we then took home.
But let's forget all of that. Let's forget that I had so much fun doing all that and stayed back until 10.30pm, something I usually do not do (I have a man to feed, yo!)...but those pizzas we sampled?
The crust so crunchy and a delight to bite into, that passata (tomato sauce) with basil that was so luscious and tangy, I could kill to learn how to make it from the Greci family in Italy which exclusively creates the sauce for Pizza Express across the globe. Those lovely fresh toppings, that amazing extra virgin olive oil infused with garlic, that dash of cajun spice, the beautiful local produce they are sourcing when it meets their quality standards, those lovely snatches of fresh goat's cheese and fresh mozzarella...just that would make me give up eating all other pizzas and wait until I make a trip to Colaba so I could treat my life with some respect and eat a pizza that deserves my respect and attention...that alone should make you go there and sample their delightful creations.
We made several of their pizzas. We sampled every pizza we could. We made some new friends, of course, and we came back carrying a pizza we had all made so folks at home could also get a (cold) taste of how good, no, great pizza tastes like.
So, please. Go to Pizza Express. There are few chains that I respect because usually with numbers, quality is the first to go through the exit. This place is, somehow, planning to do the unthinkable. I hope they get it as right as they seem to have gotten it all over the globe. Then again, this is India. We never follow the rules and everything acts out of character here. So, please. Go sample them. Tell them I sent you there if I did. Bite into some of the best pizza you will get in Mumbai.
And steal some passata tin for me on the way out while you are at it :)
Ooh, and while you are at it, here's me suggesting that pizza dough tossing should be an Olympic sport by now:
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