Pick a perfect pizza
View(s):Among the thin crust pizzas – Italy’s gift to the world – the Margherita is queen. Unassuming yet utterly succulent when done right, it is all about hitting that perfect balance of cheese, tomato and basil. Their colours (white, red and green) are those of the Italian flag and legend has it that that is why Queen Margherita favoured this particular pizza above all others.
Royal dictates aside, we love it for its appeal to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike and for the simplicity of its robust flavours. This week we ordered in and went out, all in pursuit of the perfect Pizza Margherita. Our one condition – that it be cooked in a wood-fired oven. Here’s what you need to know
They’re three of a kind, but which is the best? Our column has us traipsing across Colombo in pursuit of our favourite things. We’re talking food and drink, massages and clothes, essential services and places to party: there’s nothing we won’t have an opinion on. We’d like to hear from you: what would you like to read about? Have a recommendation to share or a suggestion on how we can improve? Write in to take3colombo@gmail.com.
Urban Kitchen | Arpico Super Store, 69 Hyde Park, Colombo 7 Tel: 011 – 5732732
If you’d like to see your pizza being made right before your eyes, it’s fun to eat at Urban Kitchen where the wood-fired pizza oven takes pride of place at the entrance. This used to be Regina Margherita, but appears to have since changed hands. They might be the only people in town to serve a pizza with a duck topping but it’s their large ‘do it yourself’ pizza for Rs.1400 that presents the real temptation.
We’re pleased to discover that their Pizza Margherita is the most competitively priced at Rs. 569 (inclusive of taxes), though the addition of delivery charges will reduce the price gap. We’re served in 15 minutes and when our pizza is placed on the table its base is both thinner and softer than we expected. The char around the edges is a nice, crispy reminder of the oven it was cooked in but it’s the rich green slivers of fresh basil that really enliven the dish, delivering on the Pizza Margherita promise of exquisite simplicity and making it our favourite of the three.
Caffé Michaelangelo | 530, Nawala Road, Nawala, Tel: 0722612612
Our Pizza Margherita from Caffé Michaelangelo comes with a generous serving of mozzarella – the pliable cheese lies like a thick coat on the pizza, bubbling up and crisp on the surface. Tomato, oregano and basil (this time dried and powdered) complete the dish. The pizza is delicious and so we’re nitpicking when we say it could have used more tomato on the base.
Their pricing puts Caffé Michaelangelo smack between Harpo’s and Urban Kitchen – Rs. 700 for the pizza with an additional Rs. 150 for delivery. Perplexingly, though the menu they send along promises 50% off on weekdays between 5 p.m. – 6 p.m, we’re charged full price. Perhaps that’s only for dining in? They don’t specify. Incidentally, it’s worth noting that Michaelangelo’s is an evening affair – opening daily only from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
If you’re in the mood for something more loaded with toppings than a Margherita you might want to consider their unusual cheese and grilled potato pizza (Rs. 750 for 9 inch and Rs. 950 for the 12 inch) while at Rs.1200 for the 9 inch and Rs. 1600 for the 12 inch, the Your Choice pizza allows you to go really crazy.
Harpo’s | The Bay Leaf, 79, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 7. Tel: 011 – 4869000
Harpo’s are perhaps the best known sellers of thin crust pizza in town – they’re adventurous enough to add new flavours fairly regularly and pride themselves on the crispy base of their pizzas. The nine inch pizzas are perfect for a single person while the 19 inch pizza with its 16 generous slices will feed your family and the neighbours too.
Fortuitously, the Pizza Margherita is the cheapest on the menu: Rs. 9 inch: Rs.855 (Rs.910 with taxes), 12 inch: Rs.1130 and 19 inch: Rs.3055. Service can sometimes leave something to be desired at Bayleaf, but their delivery is usually reliable – An hour and there’s a pizza still warm from the oven at your doorstep. (Attached to our bill is a little card that promises a free pizza and a serving of brownies in exchange for 10 such cards.)
When we help ourselves to a slice, a long string of warm, melted cheese stretches out, providing the kind of mouth-watering visual you’d expect to see in a pizza commercial. The cheese topping is a blend, the menu tells us, of Mozzarella and Parmesan. Though tasty enough, the fresh basil is keenly missed – Harpo’s use oregano instead. Another point on the cons list? They’re also the most expensive of the lot though they do deliver for free.
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