Pizza Express-ions

American pizza has never appealed to me. Yes, we have all grown up eating a slice of thick, spongy pizza, with toppings, but ever since I tasted the real Italian pizza, my palate only craves for that. Not surprising therefore, that I have been waiting for Pizza Express, the pizza chain renowned worldwide for its authentic Italian taste. It’s another thing that it makes me nostalgic about London too !

PizzaExpress has positioned itself as a casual dining restaurant. Its outlets have a live kitchen where customers can watch the making of a pizza live, interact with their chefs and spend hours over slices of pizza. I did just that, last weekend.

The Andheri West outlet, was buzzing with people that night. Families were busy dining and of course enjoying the Pizza and pastas.

Comfortably seated, we placed our order and soon, our Bosco salad arrived. Hearty portions as always. The salad was fresh and robust. Roasted tomatoes, spinach, rocket, and more. It was delicious. The right amount of crunch and zing. I simply loved it.

Four Seasons, the classic pizza arrived. Mushrooms, pepperoni, anchovies and olives and capers. Whew! An interesting quartet! The contrast of the four was interesting as the palate was subjected to a treat. Only found the anchovies a wee bit salty.

 

Polo Ad Astra came next. The thin crust was so reminiscent of the perfect Italian pizza. The grilled chicken had an unusual flavour and the sweet peppers, Cajun spices et al only further enhanced the taste. Outstanding.

La Reine with ham, mushrooms, olives and mozzarella I thought would be the best, but alas it was not. It lived up to my expectations but did not surpass them. Lacked the punch somehow.  The Cipolla Caramellata more than made up for all. The sweet flavour of caramelised onions teased my palate enough to be able to enjoy the taste and texture of walnuts, artichokes and mozzarella.

The ingredients used are authentic and of extra ordinary quality. True to the core. The service, despite the heavy rush was flawless.

The menu did not have any beef offerings and had clearly more vegetarian and spicy varieties to appeal to the Indian palette.  Even chilli flakes are never there in the London outlets I have been to.

We decided to skip pastas and desserts for a change. The menu offers several options though. The pizzas had satiated us enough. With outlets in Colaba, BKC and Andheri West, Pizza Express has a fairly good reach and given the quality of their food and service, they are bound to cause discomfort among other Pizza chains.

 

 

No Hollywood, Only Pizza Please!

Pizza is something I am always game for. For most if us, it is our comfort food.  And a special menu called ‘Hollywood on Your table’ at California Pizza Kitchen, the fine-dining restaurant, sounded even more exciting.

Hawaiian Chicken & Grilled Pineapple Pizza, Jamaican Jerk & Chicken Pizza, Deli Style Bistro Pizza are few of the new entrants in the much loved pizza menu. I was looking forward to these.

My Mango Mint Ecstasy arrived first. It was a tad too sweet and doused with ice. The Spicy Sonora Pizza, was not a very great start. The salsa did not compliment the paneer. The home roasted corn, and black bean salsa, failed to tingle my taste buds. The chicken version of the same pizza, did nothing much to salvage our taste buds. The next one, Jamaican Jerk chicken was a lot better. Distinct flavours, pleasing to the palate. The Vegetarian pizza with oodles of spinach,  was a pleasant surprise. Maybe because of the generous amounts of parmesan cheese, unlike in the other pizzas.

Hawaiian Chicken & Grilled Pineapple Pizza came next. No scope to go wrong here either. Perfect pair as always. The highlight of the evening was the one which unfortunately came last – Deli style bistro pizza replete with capicola Ham, Canadian bacon, sausages et al on a thin, crisp crust. Alas! If this had come earlier in our meal.

The new menu was a bit of a disappointment, or maybe I went expecting a lot more out of CPK, as I normally love their fare. Some pizzas were too bland and insipid, others had less cheese, or the sauce combination was not upto the mark.

 

Too full, I decided to skip the pastas completely.  Those looked appetizing though. Spaghetti Carretierra and Mediterranean Roasted Mushroom Spaghettini, are the new entrants. Check them out.

California Delight 215, the desserts was the star of the evening. The white chocolate, strawberry and dark chocolate mousse with cranberries and almond prailine was delightful.

The specially created menu will be available at California Pizza Kitchen starting February 24 – March 16, 2014. Pernod Ricard and Absolut partner with California Pizza Kitchen to ensure that Hollywood is a part of your drinks too!Men In Black will no longer be just a movie and Long Beach a place you want to visit –these are divine new mixes that are on their cocktail offerings. So hurry up and partake the  Hollywood experience this week!

Taste Plus Health = Cafe Pishu’s

The discerning diner today wants to eat healthy stuff, yet enjoy, what he eats. Healthy food is no longer tasteless and bland. Sounds quizzical? Not really so, if you have eateries like Pishu’s in Mumbai.

Located in bustling Andheri West, Pishu’s is a health-conscious person as well as a foodie’s delight. A cafe with a modest ambience, it offers 100+ variants of juices. Not just that, the café also has a well-crafted food menu including pizzas (made out of whole wheat lavash base), whole wheat pasta, many variants of sandwiches, brown rice, hot organic salads and many more such options. In short, there is something for every palate.

The fat burner I sipped first was a pleasant surprise. Made of dudhi(bottle gourd), pineapple, tomato, mint & ginger, it was delicious, unlike the perception one has of health drinks.  The Pizza exotica with a dash of cheese on a lavash base was fresh and crisp with a great balance of flavours and textures. Distinctly light. The garlic added the right amount of zing to it.

Although the organic salad lived upto its promise of being healthy, with no oil and had exotic veggies,  it was not flavoursome and a wee bit dry. Not something I would like to repeat often. The brown rice with green sauce was tantalizing for the taste buds with spinach, herbs and spices et al. It comes with two other sauce variations too. The dessert I thought was really innovative. Oats with fresh fruits like kiwis, bananas, figs and more.

Pishu’s has an interesting blend of juices and shakes which are quite unusual apart from being healthy. What’s more, each dish has the calorie count specified. The menu is far from limited and by no means boring.

Monish Rohera, the owner, is a health and fitness freak himself and being a Dadar Catering college graduate, understands food well. He has painstakingly created the menu and tries to incorporate healthy elements in it. The ingredients used are seasonal, fresh and wholesome.

For those of you, who are not counting your calories, there are brownie shakes and cheese burnt garlic sandwiches too. so get healthy this season. And with Pishu’s flavourful spread, it is not a bad idea at all.

 

Palette Pleaser Par Excellence

If you’re looking for a quick bite and yet want to enjoy your food, then Palette, the new urban kitchen at Kamla Mills, Lower Parel, is just the place.  A no-frills, self service  eatery with the menu and pricing listed clearly, one just needs to pick up one’s tray and help oneself from the vast array.

From tasteful sandwiches, appetizing bagels and hearty soups, to delectable wraps, lip smacking burgers and mouth-watering pizzas. Palette has them all. One may finish one’s meal quickly, but the meal is delectable nevertheless. Chef Ajay Mathur, the Executive Chef uses the finest ingredients and painstakingly creates each dish. There is no compromise on the taste or quality.

The soup with shredded chicken, veggies and the aromatic lemon grass was perfect for the rainy weather. The pizza we tried was unique with caramalised onions, which clearly enhanced its flavour. The wraps too had an interesting filling, with chicken folded in a a lip-smacking sauce. But what added the wow factor to the meal was the roasted potato salad. It was absolutely a palate pleaser. I have never enjoyed a vegetarian salad more.

The chocolate mousse cake was the only disappointment, with a tough texture owing to excess gelatine. Did not appeal to my taste buds at all. I should have settled for the Baked cheesecake or Tiramisu maybe.

Catering to all the cravings of the day – from breakfast to dinner, Pallette also offers free wi-fi to keep you connected during your lunch hour and special coffee breaks!

The staff is helpful and affable and Chef Mathur a culinary wizard who makes a simple meal seem so exciting and delicious with unusual flavours and textures. A next trip to Palette is already on my mind.

Passable Pizza and Past(a) Imperfect

Not another Pizza and pasta joint in Mumbai! That was my first reaction when I heard about Ristorante Prego. And that too Prego. I was a bit confused as Prego is my favourite fun-dining place at the Westin Mumbai Garden City. Yes,  this newly opened Italian eatery serves typical Italian fare, but a lot more than that too.

The decor is bright and chic and the ambience cheerful. Being able to look at the busy street outside, helps. It gives you the feel of being on a High street abroad. After being comfortably seated, we settled for a Virgin Mojito and Iced tea. The soups and salads,  sounded pretty interesting, but we decided to skip those and plunge into our main course. The appetizers section too is quite exhaustive. There is something for every taste-bud.

Our drinks arrived after a long time and the pasta and risotto even later. Papardelle grilled chicken Alfredo Pasta was what my friend tried, while I opted for the Confit chicken Risotto. The pasta was a bit overcooked, while my Risotto was a wee bit too insipid and pasty in texture. We were disappointed. The Prego classics like grilled chicken lasagne and spinach& ricotta cheese cannelloni might have been a better bet. Maybe next time!

The menu offers a fairly wide array of thin crust pizzas, both vegetarian and non vegetarian to choose from. Chorizo & marinated rocket leaves & chillies, I thought was quite innovative.  Espresso crème brulee, tiramisu are the popular desserts but failed to entice us.

For those of you, who are bored of pizza and pasta, there are a lot of interesting sandwiches and paninis. A good idea for office- goers in Nariman Point.  What’s more there is something for kids too, in terms of the Kids special menu section.

Prego seemed busy for lunch on a weekday and is apparently open for dinner too. The food is passable, but not spectacular. Robust Italian flavours are clearly missing. It appears to be more of an Italian joint, dishing out quick stuff for people who are not too particular about textures & flavours. And the service could be expedited a bit.

Palate Pleasing Pizza from CPK

My first visit to the casual dining restaurant California Pizza Kitchen aka CPK, at BKC, Mumbai, turned out to be a memorable one. I was actually going to meet and witness the International chef, ‘Chef Justin Parras’ make hand- tossed pizzas.

Known for their innovative, non-traditional pizzas, such as the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, BLT, Thai Chicken, and Jamaican Jerk Chicken pizza, it was going to be fun watching chef prepare those.

And fun it sure was. An excellent conversationalist, the energetic and witty Chef Parras regaled us with anecdotes, lesser known facts about CPK pizzas, as he hand- tossed them with convivial ease. Watching him hand stretch the artisan dough seemed so easy. He also shared the 10 Pizza Commandments that everyone at CPK has to follow.

Chef Parras reiterated that the ingredients were of high quality, mostly imported as CPK serves only the best.

The interactive Live Kitchen session got all of us engrossed. Chef invited some of us to participate in the pizza making process. He spoke about the 16 different type of sauces like Barbeque, Kaprow Kai (Thai inspired), Korean Barbeque from various parts of the world. These are used on the pizza base along with hi-end ingredients like Salami Napoli, Scottish Salmon, Wild Rice and innovative pizza toppings  Chipotle salsa with lime cream sauce,  Tostada pizza topping – shredded lettuce, roasted tomato salsa, ranch, and tortilla strips, Grana Padano. Whew! That was a vast array. Now one knew why a pizza at CPK is so deliciously different.

 

The ‘Hearth Oven Baked Pizza’ at CPK is really unique and there is something for every palate, including vegetarians.

Chef also demonstrated salads and pastas and of course the ‘pick me up’ Italian Tiramisu.

I had the most enjoyable evening, learning how to make pizzas. My favourite was the five meat and Kaprow Kai. The tiramisu sadly,  did not live upto my expectations.

They have recently introduced the multigrain pizza and what’s more, the Mexican festival is starting from April 29. I can’t wait to sample some of those delectable dishes as part of that promotion. Are you coming?

 

 

 

 

We like it too : Ci Gusta !

Italian food is always a delight to indulge in and Ci Gusta, the newly opened eatery in Bandra West was certainly buzzing with frenetic activity even on a weekday evening. Everyone was obviously having a good time.

From word go, there was warmth in the pleasant demeanor of the staff. One felt extremely welcome and happy to be there.

The menu is fairly simple, though exhaustive. Pizza, Pasta, sandwiches, salads, breakfast, crepes, waffles, smoothies, frozen yogurts, desserts. There is something for every palate. Affordably priced too.

We settled for the Iced mocha, which was refreshing but not overly sweet. Quattro Al Polo, the pizza with four varieties of chicken, sounded appealing and sure was. The chicken pieces in different sauces were juicy and succulent. There were several options to choose from including vegetarian ones. The chicken and parmesan risotto came next. That was a wee bit disappointing and did not match upto my expectations. The texture and consistency was not of a typical risotto. The ingredients used are fresh and of excellent quality.

The service was prompt and courteous and Rohan patiently explained the menu to us and also gave great suggestions.

The green apple yoghurt was a treat for the taste buds as was the Parfait full of seasonal fruits and fresh yogurt. The sweet warm burger sounded enticing too, but perhaps next time.

This is clearly Italian fast food, though authentic. A great place to catch up with friends and family. Lively and cheerful, you can spend hours here. Not fine dining, so no pretense.

Ci Gusta- we like it, it means. We like it too. Errr…make that, love !

Pizza in the Metro

Bandra is abuzz with activity again on the culinary front, as international  Neapolitan pizzeria chain, Pizza Metro Pizza, has opened on Ambedkar Road. It is not just another Pizzeria for sure. It is different. Some more Italian food for us in Mumbai.

As you step inside, this cheerful, vibrant eatery, it’s easy to forget you are in suburban Mumbai. Copper fixtures hanging on the wall, the mural sketch of an Italian market place, bright floor tiles, complete the picture.

The international brand owner Chef Diego Palladino brings with him the Italian love through his original metre long pizzas. Mumbaikars are going to love these, but at a whooping cost. The pizzas are not only served with chilly oil & Parmesan cheese but their chefs are flown down from Italy as well. So much for an authentic experience.

We started with a salad, cherry tomatoes, rocket & parmesan, which was light and fresh. Pretty basic and ordinary, actually. The metre long Pizza arrived next and completely bowled us over. Well presented too. Mozzarella, gorgonzola and salame. A terrific trio. The Cheese like Parmesan, goat cheese & Mozzarella are used in the pizzas, we were told. Panna, another pizza with ham, mushrooms, salame, mozzarella and cream is sinful and luscious in its flavours. The freshness of the ingredients is evident and enhances the taste of the food. The dough is made fresh each day from the finest wheat, hand-stretched and cooked on the stone of a wood burning oven. Somehow one does not miss chicken in the Pizza menu, which is a typical Italian tradition. Oodles of beef, pork and seafood toppings tantalise your palate.

Although we decided to skip the pastas, there are a wide array of those on the menu- both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Fresh tagliolini, with cream and sage, cognac flambé in parmesan wheel sounds exotic and is a special inclusion in the Mumbai menu.

The tiramisu was pure decadence but unfortunately they had run out of the other desserts so we could not sample those.

The service can be stepped up a bit. The young Italian chefs are warm and friendly and it is a delight to watch them a work. The food is undoubtedly of exceptional quality.

It’s a great place to visit with family and friends, especially on the weekend, but one that you need to plan. Not an impulse visit kind. It definitely burns a hole in your pocket. College kids are going to steer clear from this one. But if you are a Napoletana pizza lover, you can’t resist this.

Rustic & Robust Italian food: Spaghetti Kitchen

The cheerful décor with natural light filtering in makes the Spaghetti Kitchen outlet at Khar special. It’s my favourite. It has just turned a year old. Incredible. Tastefully done up in vibrant colours, it is a good dining choice.

Spaghetti Kitchen is a speciality restaurant conceived to serve up a rustic and flavoursome Italian cuisine that is acquiring universal favour among Indian diners. Genuine Italian food is robust and flavoursome, and yet, suited to the Indian palate. That’s what sets this place apart.

The new menu by Bill Marchetti, Master Chef is a delight as always. Varied and exhaustive, it is difficult to make up one’s mind. We are given suggestions and we decide to abide by those. Bruschetta is what we sample in the Primo Piatti or First Course. Superb toppings and flavours. The artichokes and capers swept me off my feet. The sea food soup with tomato chowder is palate tickling. It relaxes me completely as I watch the rains outside. Some more sea food is what we venture into with the Mixed fried sea food platter. Each variety of sea food tastes better than the other. Calamari, prawns, fish. Absolutely delicious and fried to perfection in batter with herbs. The thin crust Roman pizza is light and crispy. The topping with generous helpings of spicy chicken in an interesting marinade, complement the crust. It simply melts in the mouth. I can never resist a Pizza so decide to skip the vast array of pastas, hand crafted, long & short and others. The Vegetarian fare is as delightful as the Non vegetarian one and for once one does not regret being a vegetarian. Parmesan, Olive Oil, Basil, Tomatoes are evident in most of the dishes. Fresh and of great quality, making a real difference to the flavours.

Tiramisu is difficult to resist, inspite of a heavy meal. I am ready to indulge. Creamy, mascarpone cheese, with the right flavour, it is a treat for the palate. The Sicilian ice cream cake too is pure sin. Opt for it only if you are still hungry.

Umesh the Senior captain serves us with enthusiasm and warmth, gusing us through the new menu and that makes the meal even more enjoyable. Chef Nitin’s personal visit makes me feel special. An unforgettable rainy afternoon. No wonder I love dining at Spaghetii Kitchen.