PIZZA PILGRIMS
20:06
"A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveller who is on a journey to a holy place." So I decided a pizza pilgrim could be one of three things. 1.) A literal slice of pizza travelling to a holy place. 2.) A traveller who worships pizza so much that they could define their pizza destination as a holy place. Or 3.) A traveller who is transported to a holy state of mind when indulging in pizza. I would say I fit somewhere in the middle of 2 and 3, however a bit of research into the London eatery informed me of another option. 4.) Two brothers who went on a pilgrimage to Italy to learn the secrets of pizza-making before returning to London and opening the very successful Pizza Pilgrims.
I took my own pilgrimage last summer to their pop-up space at the Peckham Rooftop Film Club. As what happens with most things I build up in my head, I was a bit disappointed on arrival. As it was a small pop-up venue, we weren't able to see their usual menu. There were just two options and I wasn't entirely certain what the second one was. So rather than asking, I went for the safe bet - the margherita, the plain Jane of the pizza world. On arrival that's exactly what I thought it looked like. I eyed up the smattering of cheese uncertainly, wondering how this flimsy bit of pizza was going to live up to expectations.
I took my own pilgrimage last summer to their pop-up space at the Peckham Rooftop Film Club. As what happens with most things I build up in my head, I was a bit disappointed on arrival. As it was a small pop-up venue, we weren't able to see their usual menu. There were just two options and I wasn't entirely certain what the second one was. So rather than asking, I went for the safe bet - the margherita, the plain Jane of the pizza world. On arrival that's exactly what I thought it looked like. I eyed up the smattering of cheese uncertainly, wondering how this flimsy bit of pizza was going to live up to expectations.
I needn't have worried. It was beyond my expectations. The sourdough was perfectly soft, the cheese was perfectly stringy and the sauce perfectly delicious. In fact at the time I declared it to be the best pizza I ever had, though it's been so long now that I can't remember if this is true or if I was just very hungry (as one often gets when on a long pilgrimage). The ingredients are all sourced from Naples and slow cooked in a stone oven - according to the owners electricity kills pizza - so there really is no hope of recreating this at home.
I recently decided to torture myself even further and see what I missed out on from the restaurant menu. Aside from a large variety of other pizza toppings, I also missed out on mini deep fried calzones, tomato risotto balls filled with smoked mozzarella and most upsettingly, deep-fried Italian mac n cheese. Most intriguingly though was a recent addition to their Exmouth Market stall - pizza soup and a dipping calzone to go with it. Genius. I believe another pizza pilgrimage shall be in order.
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