Pizza Pilgrims

Stef grew up in London during the 1970s, arguably not a good time for pizza in the UK. About your best hope was a soggy imitation of something someone saw on a TV show imported from the US. Let's just say that it influenced her dislike for pizza, cured only by marrying Gary who cannot live without it.

Typically we don't search out pizza while in London (occasional orders at Cicchetti being the exception -- more on that later). But for a post-theatre treat, we decided on Pizza Pilgrims, partly to check out Kingly Court in Soho and partly for the rave reviews.

We arrived to a packed courtyard and managed to score a table inside, even though it was getting close to the ovens being cooled down for the night. Happy customers with empty plates seated all around us were a positive indication and we eagerly awaited our Neapolitan style pizzas. And we were not disappointed. The brutally hot ovens (500 degrees celsius) turned out  a roundish pizza with minimal toppings and chewy, flavorful crust.

Pizza Pilgrims Margherita. Simply delicious.

Gary, of course, opted for the baseline test and ordered the Margherita. He also successfully replicated a true Italian style of eating by ripping and folding. He declared it delicious, carefully offered Stef a taste (declined), and did not say much else until the entire pizza had been consumed.

Successful tear and fold.

Stef ordered roasted aubergine (eggplant in other parts of the world) which was wonderful. A few more toppings might have threatened the soft and chewy crust, but it held up wonderfully. Made for some good breakfast pizza as well.

Roasted aubergine.

Combine that with a carafe of surprisingly decent red wine (choices on the menu were red or white), a cheerful and chatty server, and the hustle and bustle of Soho on a Saturday night ... a great meal.

Nomad (The Original)

We've been curious about Nomad in Philadelphia and just haven't gotten there yet. Recently some friends asked us to meet them in New Jersey and we decided to try the original Nomad in Hopewell.

It's a tiny spot, dominated by the kitchen and beautiful tiled wood-burning oven. It's BYO and first come, first served (if your party is all present) for the tables.

Of course, Gary got his usual baseline Margherita. The lovely surroundings, great reputation, and spectacular oven raised our expectations. Unfortunately, the Margherita was disappointing. The crust was underdone making it a floppy pizza, messy with sauce and dripping cheese.

A disappointing Margherita.

Because the pizzas are small, we tried several others. The homemade meatball pizza was tasty, but overloaded and messy. Again, a crust that was underdone. The Filetti was interesting and had great flavor from the prosciutto. The winner was a special mushroom pizza topped withe an egg. Right before serving, the egg yolk is broken and creates a creamy and delicious topping.

And not to be missed, is the Nutella dessert pizza. The crust was perfectly done and the amount of Nutella, just right. 

Do not miss out on the Nutella pizza.

So, a mixed review. The setting is lovely, especially in warmer months. And bring cash or check because they don't take cards.

Grimaldi's in Vegas

And so ... we're in Vegas. We're talking about the secret pizza in the Cosmopolitan and how were were a bit disappointed after everyone raved about it. And a friend says, "Well, the best pizza in Vegas is Grimaldi's."

Now, we are not strangers to Grimaldi's pizza ... but we are devoted to the original Grimaldi's, under the Brooklyn Bridge from back in the 80's. It was Patsy's then, Grimaldi's for a while and Juliana's now — it's a long story, best told with a glass of wine. Trust us when we tell you that we were regulars back when Patsy and his wife Carol made the best pizza you'll ever eat.

We've had good Grimaldi's in Hoboken (where it's Grimaldi's, but not the big chain Grimaldi's) and in Philly where Patsy's cousins opened a place called Pietro's. The big chain Grimaldi's is one we've never tried, so we thought it was about time.

When we walked in, we were amazed — the decor was thoughtful and an homage to the original Patsy's: red-checked table-cloths, cane-backed chairs, and a central prep area complete with marble counter and Carol's famous turntable for the orders.

Grimaldi's ... it's NOT the original Patsy Grimaldi pie

So we were excited. And disappointed. The crust was so-so, the sauce nondescript, and the mozzarella chewy. It was edible and a bit better than the secret pizza from the Cosmopolitan. But it was not a Patsy Grimaldi pizza ... a wannabe imitation :(

Secret Pizza at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas

So you probably don't go to Vegas for pizza, but when we heard about the best pizza being in a secret location inside the Cosmopolitan hotel, we couldn't resist. If you google secret pizza in vegas, the information pops up pretty readily — so it's not really that much of a secret. But yelpers and google reviewers all claimed it was really great pizza, so we figured it was worth a try.

And truthfully, when you're in the Cosmopolitan's multi-level food court, every restaurant is clearly marked except for the pizza place. So maybe it is a bit of a secret.

In search of secret pizza

Unfortunately, we found it. We tried the plain and the white pizza. Neither was remarkable in any way (although Gary and Stef disagreed on this to some extent). Other than the secretive nature of the location (down a long decorated hallway), there isn't a whole lot to extol about the pizza. The crust holds up to the floppiness test, but the flavor is fairly standard — a bit on the salty side. And, like everything else in Vegas, it is extremely overpriced.

Not-so-secret pizza

Jules Thin Crust

If you're ever in Montgomeryville, PA you'll want to treat yourself to Jules Thin Crust. This is not a chain -- just a delightful, tiny, family-owned business with outstanding pizza. They serve a few other things (soup, salad), but the pizza is not to be missed.

When you walk up to the counter at Jules, you'll notice they have many offerings with meat, cheese, and vegetarian clearly marked (and separated). You choose the types of pizza you want, they slice off a section, and place it on their conveyer belt warmer. It arrives at your table, moments later, nicely warmed and ready to be devoured.

Cheese #4 ... plain & simple, yet delicious

It's super simple and totally family-friendly (there are usually a lot of kids). However, we've gone with a group of adults and a bottle of wine and it's just as lovely. Won't bore you with the details (you can visit their website), but it's a small enterprise opened by a mom and dad frustrated when looking for healthy options when feeding their daughters.

Veggie #7 zucchini, sweet corn, poblano sour cream, mozzarella

Our benchmark is always the plain pizza, but the vegetarian combinations are not to be missed. The butternut squash/caramelized onion/apple/ricotta/mascarpone will have you wondering why you bothered to order anything else.

Veggie #15 ... Is it dinner or dessert? Or both?

Pizza My Heart

While spending the weekend in San Jose, we stopped into Pizza My Heart. Truthfully, we didn't expect much from our west coast friends because we are eternally east coast pizza snobs. (Don't even get us started on Chicago -- that's a whole other story).
But the place was super friendly and the staff were amiable and ready to put on a show. They were egging each other on to toss their pizza dough higher and higher. Several of them ended up on the floor (and subsequently, the trash) so we asked them to stop before we felt responsible for the place going out of business.

What goes up, must come down.

We then witnessed one of the most interesting preparation tools ever seen behind a pizza counter: the turkey baster. The sauce was squirted onto the pizza in widening circles as if being done with a spirograph.

Turkey baster pizza prep.

And after baking for quite some time in the oven, the pizza finally arrived. How was it? Eh, pretty good. Basic pizza, nothing extraordinary. A little too cheesy for our tastes, with a floppy crust. But we certainly enjoyed the visit.

A good time was had by all.

Brigantessa

Along with friends visiting from Germany, we stopped in South Philly for a taste of Brigantessa's Stella Pizza. Stella (meaning star) Pizza is unusual in its 6 points of dough, each thoughtfully containing a dollop of fresh ricotta. Yup, it was delicious. The pizza part was a little too thin, making it a bit floppy. But the taste was lovely -- a great sauce and fresh cheese. Worth trying if you're in the area. Brigantessa also has delicious non-pizza options. The eggplant polpetti are particularly delicious.