Every once in a while, a new
Italian restaurant opens in Beirut; it’s as if Lebanon is competing Italy in
the number of pizzeria’s available.
Regardless of that, trying new
restaurants is one of the things I like most; the new experience each one promises
(whatever the outcome might be) is worth the try.
So it is shortly after Pizza
& Co. opened in Beirut Souks (
Downtown), that I decided it’s time to give it a try.
The place was a bit crowded,
which is supposed to be a good sign.
As we stepped in we were greeted
by a hospitable waiter who asked us to wait a second as he checked for a place
for us to sit. Meanwhile, I took in the surrounding.
The place was so simple, yet as
simple as it was, it was pretty elegant. Where the nearly eight chefs (all dressed
in white) cooked was within sight of the customers, and the oven (or if you
want to call it a fire place here) was so artistically designed; it was a
pleasure to look at.
Small mosaic tiles, red in color,
decorated the entrance to the oven; the small tiles went up towards the
ceiling, getting lighter in color as they went up; such that if you looked from
a distance it gave a nice view of a mix of orange, red, yellow, beige and
brown; I loved the architecture of this, so warm and relaxing. A flame-like
glass decorated oven!
Photo Credit: Blog Baladi
Back to our waiter, who comes
back and leads us to a small table, flanked by two other tables with a few
centimeters between them. Literally a few centimeters, leaving no space for
private conversations where your voice and the voices of the people surrounding
you all mingle to create a musical atmosphere of letters and words floating in
the air. (I even forgot if there was actual music played in the background)
“Are we supposed to be this close
to one another?”
The waiter smiled as he replied:
“Well, that’s the whole idea of our restaurant”.
Then I got it and I even enjoyed
the idea more; Italy’s a place where family is a holy issue, especially among
gangs. Mario Puzo in his bestseller classic, The Godfather, says that a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a
real man. That’s why everything was so crowded; to resemble a huge family
gathering and probably to bond people more.
On your
table sits a paper (written on it: Watch out, this is going to be messy) on top
of which is a clean white plate with a napkin, on which “Sauce Remover” is scribbled.
Then comes
the moment we are all waiting for: The Food.
The menu
doesn't have that much of options; a limited types of pizzas, pastas and
appetizers. Some were the usual ones you may find in any restaurant, others
were house-specific.
I chose a
weird pizza plate and another weird pasta one and the wait begins.
Meanwhile-
and as all Italian restaurants- during the wait, you entertain yourself with
freshly baked bread and delicious olive oil (comes in a spicy version or the
classic one).
The
serving was pretty fast; our plates arrived quickly and they were such a
pleasure to look at.
The pizza
had asparagus, broccoli and zucchini in it covered with melting cheese. The
dough was so delicious and mildly chewy. One of the best I have tasted in the
region.
All what
you had to do is to sprinkle some olive oil on top and take your first bite.
With each
bite, you experience a new flavor, for not all three ingredients are present at the same time in one bite. I fell in love with it, everything was so
perfect in it (maybe because I love broccoli and asparagus I fell for it, the
zucchini was a bit risky to include but it was delicious none-the-less).
One of the
best mouth-watering vegetarian pizzas I ever tasted.
Then comes
the Pasta.
The pasta
wasn’t that ripe, as Italians claim that good pasta is a half cooked one. It
was drenched in white creamy sauce, covered by thin stalks of asparagus and on
top, a sprinkle of herb which I forgot its name. The pasta was so good; the
combined taste of asparagus mixed with light cream and the herb was so unique
and new.
However, I
have tasted better pastas in another place; it misses something, can’t tell
what it is, but it needed something intense to balance the mild taste that
dominated the plate.
Regarding
the prices (As we Lebanese say, now we are talking business), it isn’t that
cheap; the price range is between 25000 L.L to 50000 L.L. depending on what you
choose (our pizza was for 24000 and the pasta for 30000) which is slightly
similar to the other new –born Villagio. The pizza, I believe, was worth every
penny.
Lastly, I
can’t judge a restaurant by just tasting two of its plates, but all what I can
say is that Pizza & Co. was a nice experience; it’s worth a try to Italian
food lovers and well worth a second visit to try out the rest of the menu.
Moustafa Moustafa
