My ardent promise of treating my son to a ‘delicious surprise’ implicitly carried along the prospect of 'Being Surprised' as well. So, the choice of eatery had to be as much to his delight as to mine. A shared knack for yeasted flatbread and pursuit of wonder led us to ‘Fabbrica Della Pizza’ on Allenby Road.
‘Fabbrica’ oozed with Italian warmth. The interior featured a muted Mediterranean palette in tune with pristine chequered flooring, pale plaster-walls and faux vines twining the overhead oak beams. I blended in. On being asked to surprise, ‘Pollo Caldo Pizza’ was what the attending waiter offered to begin with – a loaded and large hand-tossed thin crust, bubbled of heat and crisp just along its edge yet pliable and thin enough beneath its toppings to be folded while eating - with delicious Mozarella [the cook refused to divulge its source - silently agreeing to having procured it locally], pomodoro [Italian for Tomato], olives and onions liberally tossed on a crust seasoned with garlic oil. Only in adding the Arrabbiata chicken chunks, they stopped short of the Italian generosity. Nonetheless, I relished every bite of it. If the haloed Mozzarella di Buffalo Campana or San Marzano tomatoes could render the fare any better was what I sincerely doubted!
My admiring outpourings made the waiter dish up ‘Pollo Piadina’ – barbequed chicken, caramelised onions, rucola, Bruschetta tomatoes and parmesan, with pesto as base, neatly wrapped in a flat-bread. The round filling, which had all the ‘make-or-break’ ingredients carrying discrete flavours, didn’t let one dictate the taste of the treat. Pesto’s pairing with barbequed chicken in particular delighted me. Pollo Piadina truly left the father-son duo happy.
Rating ‘Fabbrica Della Pizza’ as the best pizzeria in town may sound too rash a verdict. But if I fancy a pizza, now I know where to go!
No comments:
Post a Comment