National Pizza Month

October means the start of Fall, cooler temperatures, changing leaves, chunky sweaters and leggings coming out of storage, pumpkin-flavored EVERYTHING, spooky decorations, and children dressing up for Halloween.

But most people don’t realize October also means National Pizza Month!

As everyone is well aware, David and I love to eat – a lot! London has a terrible reputation for serving bad food, but this is simply not true.  While I’m not the biggest fan of a lot of the fried, unhealthy British options like black pudding, pickled onion crisps, or potatoes stuffed with corn and tuna, London is a worldly capital with tons of great international options.  From authentic Italian pizzerias, to falafel wrap stands set up during weekend markets, to Indian restaurants serving painfully spicy vindaloo, there’s something for everyone.

So to celebrate this year’s National Pizza Month (and because it’s been a very, very long time since I’ve written a blog dedicated solely to food), I decided to write a little snippet about our favorite pizza places in London.

Starting in our neighborhood in West London and moving East, we’ll begin with…

Santa Maria Pizzeria

Photo courtesy of Santa Maria

Santa Maria is a small pizzeria in Ealing near Walpole Park.  It specializes in traditional Neapolitan pizzas, and has been known to send home diners who order salads instead of pizzas (true story)!  We did not make that mistake, and ordered a few pizzas.  (And don’t worry, these were not food challenges.  During each of our outings, David and I were with friends.  We didn't eat all of this food by ourselves!)

We couldn’t go to Santa Maria and not have the Santa Maria (tomato sauce, EVOO, garlic, basil, and oregano).  And I added artichokes because I am obsessed with artichokes.  Our friends ordered the San Giuseppe (Italian mozzarella, Neapolitan sausage, friarielli - wild broccoli, and chili flakes).  Verdict – too much broccoli!  And last, we had the Santa Caterina (margherita with salami, parmesan, and chili).  While it was good, we all agreed that the Santa Maria took the cake.

And speaking of cake, we had to try the authentic gelato while we were there.  That was by far one of the best parts of the meal.  While the stracciatella was creamy and chocolately, the pistachio was by far everyone’s top pick.  

We felt like we were truly in Italy with the chefs and waiters speaking Italian around us, having to fold over our authentic, thin pizzas, and ending the meal with smooth, rich Italian ice cream.

Dante’s

Photo courtesy of Dante's

Dante’s is our local Italian restaurant walking distance from our house.  It’s the type of small, familiar restaurant where the owner knows your name and has your table ready for you on Friday night.  Though the pizzas are David’s choice during every visit, I always order the penne al'arrabiata, with a delicious sauce of sweet tomatoes and spicy chilis.

Our favorite thing at Dante’s is by far their cheesy garlic breadsticks.  The breadsticks are doughy and covered in butter, then mozzarella, before baked to an oozing, golden brown.  They come out of the kitchen on a plate swimming in butter.

Franco Manca

Photo courtesy of Franco Manca

Franco Manca has a chain of pizzerias around London.  It’s extremely popular, and it’s not hard to know why.  David and I went to the Chiswick branch near our home one night for a quick meal.  First off, it’s convenient with locations all over the city.  Second, it’s an amazing deal.  We ordered two glasses of wine, a starter, and two pizzas and if I remember correctly, our total bill was around £20.  That’s crazy cheap in London for a filling, good meal with alcohol.  

The best part of Franco Manca, though, is the slow-rising sourdough base.  I love sourdough and you can taste the tang in the crust (which even David ate)!  The individual pizzas are the perfect size, and the dough makes all the difference. 

Pizza East Portobello

Photo courtesy of Pizza East

Pizza East is exploding in popularity right now.  They've just opened up another location in Notting Hill right off of Portobello Road, an ideal location inside a restored Georgian pub.  So one Friday night, we decided to check it out.  While we were waiting for a table, we had a few cocktails and beer and garlic bread. 

The garlic bread blew us away.  It was so buttery and the garlic was wild garlic, so the bread came out green.  We mistook it for pesto at first, but after one bite, we knew it was the real thing.

We ordered four pizzas and a side of mac n cheese.  WARNING:  Too much food for four people!!  The pizzas ranged from margherita (buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and basil) to salami to veal meatball (with prosciutto, cream, and sage) to the San Daniele (with San Daniele cheese, rocket, red onion, and parmesan).  I think the fan favorites that night were the meatball and San Daniele.

I needed something sweet after all of that garlic and dough and cheese so I ordered a salted caramel chocolate tart for dessert. 

While Pizza East was really enjoyable, we visited shortly after our trip to Santa Maria and the pizza and dessert were not quite as good.  The crust was a bit thicker, and the mac 'n cheese didn't cut it for us Americans (or maybe we were just so full at that point that nothing more would've tasted great).  Overall, the cocktails and garlic bread are fun and delicious, but for an authentic Neapolitan pizza, Santa Maria is the place to be.

Otto

Photo courtesy of Otto

Also in Notting Hill, Otto is known for its cornmeal crust and inventive toppings.  The pizza is served in a cast iron skillet and reminded us of the deep dish pizzas we had in Chicago.

Though cornmeal crust is not my preference, I liked the idea of Otto’s sampler pizza with different toppings on each slice.  We tried the BBQ pork (mozzarella, pulled pork, celeriac coleslaw, and chives), balsamic red onion and sweetcorn, pepperoni, and spinach and artichoke. 

Otto serves their pizza with dipping sauces like garlic mayo, BBQ, and honey mustard.  We tried all three, but I'm not the biggest fan of dipping sauces with pizza.  I think the pizza should be good enough to stand up on its own, and those sauces remind me too much of ordering delivery from Papa John’s... Oh boy, did I offend some Papa John lovers out there?  I hope not!  I like Papa John’s and their garlic butter dipping sauce just as much as everyone else, but I think we can all agree if it's a choice between delivery and restaurant-style pizza, we'll head out to eat.

Ciro’s Pomodoro

Since moving to London, I’d been wanting to try Ciro's Pomodoro.  It’s frequented by celebrities and was known for its great pizza.  Near Knightsbridge, just down the street from Harrods, we had tried to get reservations in the past with no luck.  When we finally got in with an early reservation last year, we were shocked. 

The restaurant is housed in a dark basement and we were the only ones there!  We got there for the first reservation at 6:30 and when we left two hours later, it was still completely empty.  Literally, no one else had showed up.  And this was a Saturday night, which made us wonder if the first time we called, the host was just messing with us.

To make the evening even creepier, during our entire dinner, a man sat in the corner of the restaurant going over the books and making calls.  It was uncomfortable and weird.  Don't they have a back office?

The food was okay, but nothing to write home about.  I don’t know how this place is in business with real estate in Knightsbridge.  Does it turn into a nightclub later on?  Do celebrities still endorse it?  All along the walls were photos of celebrities that had visited Ciro’s, and the restaurant seemed to still be living off of that reputation.  Our recommendation: there are much better Italian restaurants in London.

Pizza Pilgrims

Photo courtesy of Pizza Pilgrims

Pizza Pilgrims was started by a couple of Londoners who left their day jobs to sell pizzas from a 3-wheeled pizza oven van.  They soon figured out they didn't really know what they were doing, and went on a pilgrimage through Italy to learn how to make authentic, delicious pies.

After success with their food van, they opened their first pizzeria in London’s trendy Soho neighborhood.  We decided to check it out a few weeks ago after watching UT crush OU at the UK alumni game-watching event. 

Because the game was played live, we got to Pizza Pilgrims at 10:25 and they close at 10:30 on Saturdays.  That didn’t seem to make a difference, as they happily seated us and quickly took our order before the kitchen closed.

The service was outstanding.  The waiters and waitresses didn’t seem angry that we showed up last-minute, and even asked us about our burnt-orange gear, which led to a longer conversation around American football and our waiter’s recent trip to New Orleans.

We ordered a Calzone Ripieno stuffed with prosciutto, ricotta, and mushrooms and topped with tomato, fior di latte cheese, and parmesan.  Sometimes calzones can be a bit dry without enough pizza sauce inside, but because the calzone was smothered across the top with sauce, that was not a problem at Pizza Pilgrims. 

We also ordered a margherita and the artichoke, ricotta, and smoked garlic oil pizza.  The artichoke was, of course, the best!  

One of the best parts of the meal was the side of sweet peppers and onions in tomato sauce.  We used it as a dip for our pizza crusts, and not only was it a smart way to get rid of those unwanted crusts (for David at least, I love pizza crust), it was also extremely flavorful. 

For dessert, we had to try the nutella ring (nutella-stuffed pizza dough with sweet ricotta shaped into a ring).  How can anyone go wrong with nutella?

Homeslice

Photo courtesy of Homeslice

There is a famous pizzeria in Austin called Homeslice, and now there is one in London, too.  Tucked away in Neal’s Yard near Covent Garden, Homeslice offers its patrons enormous 20 inch pizzas, which can be ordered whole or by the slice. 

I went to Homeslice with three other girls and we ordered one pizza – half spicy chorizo and corn / half margherita.  We each had two large slices, and realized we could each have another slice… or two… and ended up ordering another whole 20 in. pizza.  This time, we tried half salami / half mushroom, ricotta, and pumpkin seed. 

Homeslice is simple, delicious pizza.  No starters.  No desserts.  Just pizza served with paper plates and napkins.  The options are ever-changing and offer some original combinations, like bone marrow, spring onion, and watercress.  For great, simple pizza, visit Homeslice and you won't be disappointed! 

Stay tuned for more food-themed blogs, like London’s Pulled Pork Challenge across the top BBQ restaurants in the city...

Five Star Five Year

David and I wanted to do something really special for our 5-year wedding anniversary, so we planned a week-long trip to the Maldives.  And it was aaahhhhmazing!

We stayed at the Mirihi resort, which is its own tiny island.  When picking a hotel, I had a couple of criteria – 1) reachable by seaplane instead of speedboat, since we’d never been on one and it sounded like fun and 2) a small, boutique hotel since we wanted to do absolutely nothing but lie around on the beach and eat lots of food.

There are a lot of long videos in this blog, so if you're bored at work, enjoy! :)

Mirihi fit the bill perfectly.  It was recommended to us by friends that stayed there last summer, and #1 on TripAdvisor, so we knew it had to be good.  A 30-minute seaplane journey from Male, Mirihi only has 30 huts, so a max of 60 guests, and about 150 staff.   It was nice to be able to circle the island in just a few minutes, and feel like the staff knew you personally. 

Usually when David and I travel, I have a list of places I want to visit and restaurants to try.  We buy guide books, make dinner reservations, and often book tickets in advance to ensure we see the attractions.  There was none of that in the Maldives.  We literally spent all day every day on the beach…

reading in the hammocks,

eating breakfast or dinner at the delicious over-water or beachside restaurants,

snorkelling along the house reef,

or lying on the beach and our deck.

From the moment we arrived at Mirihi, it was pure luxury.  We were jetted away from the sea plane on a small boat to the island, where the staff promptly took away our shoes and gave us a guided tour of the sandy resort.  That’s right, they took away our shoes.  No one wears shoes at Mirihi, even in the restaurants.  It was neat, and worked perfectly fine with the layout of the island.  Before we stepped inside the over-water restaurant or into our room, we washed the sand off of our feet using the water buckets placed outside the doors.  Everywhere else, including the beachside restaurant and lobby, was covered in sand.

And the service at the resort was impeccable.  Because the island is so small, the staff got to know us quickly, and we even made friends with other guests.  Our waiters quickly found out that we were obsessed with seeing sea turtles and dolphins, so they would keep an eye out for us, and point out spots where they’d last been seen.  They also knew our schedule, and made sure to ask how our days had been every night at dinner. 

So I lied.  We did have to make one dinner reservation for Mirihi’s overwater restaurant, Muraka. 

Saturday night is Lobster Night at Muraka, so David wanted to ensure we got a table!  That evening, we watched the sunset from the restaurant balcony and then had our lobster feast.  The restaurant is open in the middle, so diners can watch the sea creatures swimming around below.  As we ate, we were mesmerized by all of the sharks and fish hanging around, waiting for us to drop some of our dinner.

And there were lots of sharks!

But not to worry, there has never been a shark attack in the Maldives.  The country practices sustainable fishing with poles only, no nets, so there are plenty of fish for the sharks to eat.  They don’t need to snack on any humans!

Mirihi has a huge house reef that we snorkelled around every day.  The reef is home to tons of fish, a couple of Eagle rays, and lots of baby and teenage sharks.  After the sharks are born, their mothers drop them off at the reef to grow up.  Once they become teenagers, they move further out to the deeper parts of the reef, and then once they become adults, they move back out to the big, wide ocean. 

Unfortunately most of the reef is bleached, but the colourful fish more than made up for the lack of color in the coral.  We saw clown fish hanging out in anemones, Nemo’s friend, Gill, as well as some squid who preferred staying in the shadows of the boats, huge schools of bright yellow fish, and really gorgeous multi-coloured fish that reminded me of the character from one of my favourite children’s books, The Rainbow Fish.

There are also about half a dozen sea turtles that live near Mirihi and I think David and I saw all of them.  We felt really dumb the first couple of days because we could not find a turtle to save our lives.  When we would ask the staff where they liked to hang out, they would just look at us blankly and ask, “Really?  You really haven’t seen them?”  Finally, on Tuesday during breakfast, we saw a turtle poking its heads up near the dock, so we ran over there.  Sure enough, he was just hanging out at the surface.  And once we knew how to spot the turtles, we saw at least one every day.  And we knew it wasn’t just the same one we were seeing over and over because they were all different sizes and had different markings.

Toward the end of the trip, we saws rays every day as well.  On Wednesday night, we saw a group of manta rays flying through the air deeper out in the ocean.  Who knew they could jump so high out of the water?  On Thursday after breakfast, David and I were relaxing on the beach.  He had to go back to the room for something, and shortly after I noticed another couple running down the beach with their camera.  They had spotted the elusive Eagle ray!  These rays are very shy, and very fast, so they’re hard to spot.  I grabbed my camera and took a pic before putting on my snorkel gear and quietly getting in the water to swim around with them.  I got to spend about 10 minutes with the two rays before they dove deep and I lost them.  Worst part was, David missed it!  And I forgot to grab the Go-Pro to get some underwater pics and videos!  I was so angry at myself.  So there are no pictures besides the one below, where the rays just look like rocks.

One of the best parts of the trip and most amazing experiences of our lives was swimming with the whale sharks.  These sharks are the biggest fish in the sea, and completely harmless.  On Monday, we took a seeker cruise to find them and swim with them.  The boat didn’t have sonar, so the captain and two guides just kept a look out.  We sailed for about an hour to a well-known whale shark hangout, and then spent about another hour keeping our eyes peeled.  We felt like we were back on safari, except spotting whales in the dark waters is so much harder than an elephant in the tall grass!

After an hour, we finally spotted movement below!  We jumped in, but he was pretty deep already.  Whale sharks usually like people and won’t dive as long as there are people swimming around, but we were too late.  About fifteen minutes later, we found another shark but the crowd around that guy was enormous.  We were even joined by a group of scuba divers.  Finally, on our third shark, we found one that loved hanging out with people near the surface so we were able to spend well over 30 minutes swimming around with him.  In fact, we got so tired from all of that swimming in open water that we were the ones that decided to call it quits and head back to the boat before he dove.  After that, we saw a couple more sharks and spent about 20 minutes with each one.  5 sharks total!  We got very, very lucky!  It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and absolutely incredible to be that close to a massive shark in the wild. 

On Wednesday, we took a break from all of the swimming to attend a traditional Maldivian cooking class with Mirihi’s head chef and his sous chef.  David and I learned how to make vegetarian and chicken curries, cold pumpkin tuna salad, and stuffed coconut bread.  For dessert, we made simple but tasty banana fritters accompanied by maple syrup and vanilla ice cream.  It was a lot of fun, and a delicious meal in a beautiful tropical setting near the beach!  I was soooo full!

We were constantly full.  We did a half-board plan, which meant breakfast and dinner were included in our room rate.  So no lunch, but we didn’t need it!  Each night, the main restaurant offered a different themed buffet menu.  And this was no fast-food buffet.  This was gourmet food featuring a different region of the world each night.  Ranging from Middle Eastern chicken schwarma, to Asian sushi, grilled BBQ reef fish, French crepes, every night offered something different to suit all palates.

The only downside was eating so much each night, and then having to eat a big breakfast the next morning, knowing that was our only meal until late that evening.  Breakfast was too good to resist, anyway.  From the waffle station to the pastry and bread baskets filled with muffins and cakes, to the warm foods section of hash browns, bacon, and breakfast tacos.  The only way we managed to keep all of the weight off was through swimming hours and hours every day. 

On our last night, David and I booked a private sunset cruise.  We had booked a dolphin cruise with champagne and canapés the night before with a few other guests, but unfortunately no dolphins showed up.  We were disappointed, but it was still a beautiful cruise.  However, David was determined to find us some wild dolphins, so he booked a private boat ride for us on Friday. 

After sailing for about an hour, we came upon an island and playing in the waves was a huge pod of dolphins!  David and I nicknamed the island the ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’ and we spent the next hour just watching the dolphins.  When it gets cooler in the evenings, the dolphins will hang out on the surface and they love to jump and spin and do flips through the air.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Wild dolphins acting as if they were at Sea World!  There were a ton of babies showing off for us, and then another boat came by, and the dolphins got up close and personal with us.  They began swimming at the front of the boat and jumping around us, just like in the movies.  I was so happy.  I’d never seen wild dolphins before, and that made my life.  It was something I’ll never forget.

The dolphins actually responded to our whistling and clapping, and would come closer, jump and flip, as our clapping and whistling got louder and louder.

The next day, it was time to leave paradise.  We knew it was time to go when we had to put our shoes back on…  It was a really amazing vacation, though, and I cannot praise the Maldives (and Mirihi) enough.  We are so blessed to be able to go there, and spend our five-year wedding anniversary at such a romantic destination.  Truly, a trip of a lifetime.