Food ‘n Drink

I think I’ve been spoilt when it comes to Pizza. I think the first pizzas I used to eat were from a pack of 10 out a bag, with plastic cheese and even worse tomato sauce! Then at University I found the only pizza place in town that delivered (admittedly it could take up to 2 hours on a friday night for delivery!) and at the time I thought the pizzas were great. I doubt they were. When I lived in London my flatmate and I were partial to Pizza Hut pizzas and often ordered instead of cooking, made worse by the fact you could pay with a credit card! I have to admit that now, I don’t even like Pizza hut. I’ve never really liked Dominoes Pizza either.

Why do I think I’ve been spoilt? Whilst living out in Austria we lived near a couple of restaurants that did stone baked pizzas. One was on the slopes, so on quiet days or if you got in early enough for lunch you could get a pizza (ski instructors got their lunch free if they took a group of paying customers in!). The best however was from a place called the Alpina. A 5 star hotel at the foot of the slopes which had a great little Bistro and Pizza place. Often, if we’d been out for a few drinks after work to the apres ski next door to the office / ski hut, we’d end up in the Alpina ordering pizza, before hitching a lift home (yes we bought the pizza but wouldn’t ordered a taxi!!). At 6 euros for a 12″ thin base with cheese, tomato, ham and parmesan (gave it a kick) you really couldn’t complain. Plus they did a good hot chocolate whilst you waited for an extra couple of euros! These pizzas were, and still are, amazing. I have to say I’ve not come across anything close to comparison. I’m sure I will when we go to Italy in the autumn, but for now, being in the UK, I’m fed up with the lack of decent pizza around.

Tonight we ordered pizza from a local Italien Takeaway. Run by true italiens (well I can’t understand them on the phone!), I thought we’d get the real deal. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The cheese was tasteless and plastic, the dough too thick and undercooked. The only place I know of in the area that can do a fairly decent pizza is Pizza Express down on Cheshire Oaks shopping outlet. Unfortunately they don’t deliver but they do offer takeaway. I guess it’ll be the best option available for now.

In case you’re wondering, whilst my attempts at pizza making haven’t been too bad (better than most that are available!), the dough isn’t as light and tasty as I’d like and I’m still working on getting the tomato base right. Plus sometimes you just don’t want to spend an hour in the kitchen cooking pizza when you can order and have it within half an hour!