Speaking my heart out about Pizzas!! (slurp!)

The title itself sounds yummy isnt it?? Doesnt it remind yourself of that wonderfully crispy pizza laced with yummy toppings you had at this lovely place with great ambience. One reason I chose (or is it with the extra 'o') to blog about this is the fact that I had the most delicious pizza yesterday (Sunday 30-10-05). There is this place called Pizza Express in Mumbai. Its on the road connecting Churchgate station to Marine Drive bang opposite a restaurant called "Gaylord" (no the title does not indicate a hang-out place for gays - although I may be wrong here..I'm not sure ;-)).

The ambience is good, the service is good and though the pizza takes a tad too long, you can gouge on some drinks and starters, and that should keep your mouth occupied before the actual thing is placed in front of you. The restaurant's got a pretty decent variety and there's also a fair bit for the "pasta-thetically inclined". (I'm pretty good at coming up with such words, ain't I?)

Okay now back to the "real" stuff about which I actually want to talk. Its like this. In Mumbai you get pizzas right from the "gali-ka-grill-sandwich-wala" to the zingyest, zaniest, and most famous restaurants.

At the "gali-ka....-wala" you get a single size mostly 6/8 inch pizza with pretty thick pizza bread and standard toppings (read: onion, tomato, capsicum, mushroom) laden with lotsa grated cheese. Many-a-times it is half-baked and the cheese does not melt into the toppings.

The next "type" is the Udipi-restaurant-pizza. Udipi is a wonderful place in South India with lots of greenery and lovely temples and of course not to forget the "Shettys". The "Shettys" are a Tullu community mostly into restaurant business (also into dance-bar-thingys...more on that in another post) and do a great job at that.

The choices you get here are only slightly better than the "gali-ka....-wala" pizza. The sizes are pretty similar, there is slight variety in toppings. One thing that typically strikes you when you browse through the pizza section is that there is always a "-special-pizza". You didnt understand that??? Oh My God, you want me to tell you everything. Okay let me put it this way, if you consider an Udipi restaurant by the name Sai-Dham, then this restaurant will definitely have a pizza named "sai-dham-special-pizza". You got the drift? Phew! Finally!

I had one such pizza at one such Udipi restaurant. (I'll spare the name just in-case the owner or someone happens to read this post. I'm a peace loving, life-fearing person just like you) :-))) I was totally "shell-shocked" at the look of the pizza. This pizza had lots of nuts, honey and sweet-cherries as dressing. Now of course I do like nuts and cherries, not to mention the honey too, but then please...not on my pizza!!! Anyways, I'd still want you to try that stuff out and check it out for yourself. Maybe you have a "sweet-tooth" which is sweeter than mine!!

Moving on. After this comes a whole lot of "quick-pizza" restaurants that promise you prompt service, free-pizza-deals, extra-free-cokes, etc...etc. A typical 14" pizza would have 8 slices, quite enough for 2 people. (Of course people like me can finish-off a whole one) :-))). The pizzas you get here the indianised equivalents of the american style pizzas. They have the most variety. Variety in terms of toppings, in terms of sizes and heavy customization. The height of customization would be tandoori-paneer pizza with black olives and jalapenos, pineapple and extra cheese. Oh My God!!! Given this kinda combination, I wouldnt be surprized if the italian inventor of pizza turns in his grave!!!

This is the most popular with the middle class, who would much rather enjoy the pizza at the comfort of their homes, watching their favourite soap serials. (The talk or rather even the thought of soaps especially ones starting with "K" makes me feel pukey)

The final category of restaurants is "authentic-italian-pizza" restaurants. There are a whole lot of them in Mumbai. The size of pizzas is standard (mostly 10"). Crust is thin, the toppings are pretty standard, olives, jalapenos, coloured-capsicum, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, mushrooms, baby corn and sometimes paneer also. The Indian element is evident in these "authentic-italian-pizzas" too, but there is not too much mix-and-match. Most pizzas that you get here in these restaurants are not too spicy and you might have to sprinkle chilli flakes on top to make it spicier. Despite the "indianisation" these pizzas are closest to their italian counterparts. In many cases you also get a choice in the types of cheese - Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, Chedar etc etc.

I've had pizzas at all these places and enjoyed it thoroughly, albeit some more than the other. Wow...What a mouth-watering ending to a delicious, sumptuous post about pizzas. Wishing you happy Pizza Hunting!!!