This New Mexico/Italy fusion pie at Luna Rossa Winery & Pizzeria features New Mexico long green chiles, Prosciutto Cotto de Parma, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. The green chiles are grown in Deming where the winery grapes are grown. Luna Rossa has a wood fired brick oven, and the pizza was thin crust but not crispy on the bottom, just around the edges. There was lots of fresh prosciutto, imported from Italy, plenty of cheese, and excellent San Marzano tomato sauce. The green chile flavor was lovely but it wasn't really spicy; it's a mild pie, but the green chiles were the star. I came to New Mexico for the green chiles, and this pizzeria grows their own!
Location: Luna Rossa Winery & Pizzeria, 1321 Avenida de Mesilla, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Date: January 16, 2020.
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When you enter La Volata, you see that the wood burning oven from Italy takes center stage. They use flour imported from Italy, and each pizza is tossed by hand. Having said all this, the crust could have been crispier; however, the toppings on my pizza were amazing. Underneath all the fresh arugula (which I appreciated) there was pear puree spread on the dough, drizzles of olive oil and honey, gorgonzola dolce, prosciutto, and walnuts. This pizza is sweet, but there's some savoriness from the dollops of mild and creamy gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese) and the prosciutto (thinly sliced Italian ham), there's crunch from the nuts, and as you eat, the olive oil and honey start to pool here and there, and that's delightful. My pizza was unusual, delicious, and I ate the whole thing. The tables at this slightly quirky pizzeria are wood pallets covered with wood slats and colorful glass.
Location: La Volata Pizzeria, 1453 Ford Street, Redlands, California. Date: October 26, 2019. Good restaurants usually have more than one noteworthy menu item, and I've just found another great pizza at the Bricks & Birch pizzeria. This one features fresh mushrooms and pools of melted brie; both of these ingredients have the umami taste, which can be translated as savory. Olive oil is used on the dough instead of sauce, and even though you don't really see it, you can definitely taste garlic. The pizza was garnished, after it came out of the wood fired oven, with fresh parsley. This pizza was chewy, creamy, and just delicious. Once again, I ordered this pizza and ate it at The Vault bar, just around the corner from the pizzeria itself.
Location: The Vault, 20 E Vine Street, Redlands, California. (Bricks & Birch is at 101 Cajon Street.) Date: October 16, 2019. At Alfy's you get choices of crust, sauce, and toppings for you to build your own pizza, not to mention a fabulous view of the bay from your table (yes, I did take the picture through the window while sitting at my table). For my personal pizza I chose thin crust, alfredo sauce, and for toppings I chose pickled jalapeño and sun dried tomato. The crust was charred in spots and crispy, the creamy alfredo sauce was topped with gooey cheese, the chewy tomato was tart, and the jalapeño, of course, was spicy. My little pizza packed a large flavor punch. For my drink I ordered an Apple Pie Cider; this was hard apple cider flavored with cinnamon, clove, and maybe a touch of nutmeg. It sounds like a hot drink, but it was cold and refreshing.
Location: Alfy's, 916 SE Bayshore Drive, Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, WA. Date: August 20, 2019. A jalapeño popper is a whole jalapeño pepper usually stuffed with cream cheese or cheddar and then battered and deep fried. This 12” pizza version was spread with a cream cheese blend and topped with mozzarella cheese, garlic, and fresh jalapeño pepper slices. I ate this pizza at The Vault, a funky bar with good drinks located around the corner from the wood fired pizzeria. The pizzeria itself, Bricks & Birch, doesn't serve alcoholic drinks, but they deliver their pizzas to the bar. As soon as I opened the biodegradable container, I could smell the garlic, and I could taste it too. There was some nice char on the crust and the pizza was spread with creamy cheesy goodness. The jalapeños still had some crunch and a nice peppery taste. They were spicy, of course, but the spice wasn't too much. Overall, this was a delicious and addictive pizza.
Location: The Vault, 20 E Vine St, Redlands, California. (Pizza from Bricks & Birch, 101 Cajon St.) Date: July 10, 2019. This fantastic pizza on the island of Menorca had a magnificent crunchy thin crust, and the meat sauce, which included some tomato, was savory, meaty, and a touch sweet. There was just enough cheese which was more moist than gooey. The pizza was garnished with pickled jalapeňo slices for heat and tang. The spacious and modern restaurant was located in a former Renault dealership, and it had opened only ten days before. The chef was still experimenting with his recipes when he brought out the Bolognese for us to try. I'm sure he was pleased at my reaction. If you're ever in Ciutadella, you must try this pizza.
Location: Es Pati, Calle Sabaters No 1, Cuitadella, Menorca, Spain. Date: December 12, 2018. This pizza had a crispy thin crust, and I think it was flavored with thyme. It came with melted cheese, but the cheese wasn't thick and gooey. The pizza sported date halves and squares of bacon for a sweet and savory profile, though I found it more savory than sweet. This was more of a flatbread than American pizza, but it was really good.
Location: Ágora on the plaza in Viladrau, Catalunya, Spain. Date: December 4, 2018. This grilled flatbread had house smoked duck breast on it as well as duck prosciutto. It also came with caramelized onion, goat cheese, and baby arugula. The caramelized onion provided some sweetness, the goat cheese was creamy and not too strong, and the arugula provided some peppery freshness. Even though there wasn't a lot of duck, some duck fat must have permeated the bread because I could taste duck in every bite. The flatbread at the Purple Room changes, so I was lucky that I got to have the duck version. Location: Purple Room, 1900 East Palm Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 11, 2018. This ranks as one of the most interesting pizzas I've ever had. On the menu is was called Pizza de Jamaica, after flor de jamaica, which is Spanish for Jamaica flowers, another name for hibiscus. The thin crispy crust was supporting melted mozzarella on which was a layer of hibiscus flower compote sprinkled with diced red bell pepper and blobs of tangy goat cheese and garnished with chopped parsley. It was tart, sweet, and savory, and had a discernible spice (thyme or oregano, perhaps). It appears that the hibiscus flowers had been cooked until tender in water with sugar added. The waiter told me that the cooking liquid is reduced, creating a light syrup. I often make hibiscus flower tea, but I did not know that you could cook the dried flowers. The restaurant also serves hibiscus tacos. I paired my pizza with L.A. Cetto chardonnay, a local Baja wine.
Location: El Colegio Baja Med, Revolucion & 5th, Tijuana, Mexico. Date: September 30, 2014. I had this noteworthy combo at a micro brewery in the historic Casco Antiguo area of Panama City. Not only was the porter brewed with coconut, you could actually taste it!
The thin crust pizza was spread with sweetened condensed coconut milk instead of tomato sauce, and apart from the cheese, the toppings were shredded coconut, plantain, and bacon. Yum! Dried thyme and red pepper flakes were on the table and worked well with this pizza. I sat outside where huge electric fans attempted to keep patrons comfortable in the humid heat, even at night. I've had some amazing pizza experiences, but this one takes the cake. Location: La Rana Dorada Pub, Casco Antiguo, Panama City, Panama. Date: December 9, 2013. Note: La Rana Dorada means The Golden Frog in English, and a percentage of the profits from this pub are dedicated to the preservation of this endangered species. Golden frogs, native to Panama, are tiny and cute! |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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