Ollie's Pizza, Brick Oven, Rosarito, B.C., Mexico

http://www.olliesbrickovenpizza.com/html/html/eng/inicioeng.html

I feel the need to just start by busting this one out of the park.

THIS PLACE KICKS ASS!!!!!

Really, truly

All of the stuff I love, none of the stuff I hate

It's like they read all of my past rants and said "aight, here ya go!"

But let's back up just a bit.  A little about the place.  It's a wood fired brick oven pizza place located on the free road to Ensenada, after Rosarito, just before Puerto Nuevo.  

Km 40.5.   Exit the toll road at Puerto Nuevo and head north just a bit, BAM!

OK, to the pizza.

The owner, I believe his name is Richard, labels this pizza as "adult pizza".  Just something you will enjoy eating.  A bit refined, firmly grounded in Italian/Neapolitan stylings, yet a very Mexican flair that works very very well, but not pretentious or trying to be something they aren't.  

Perfect.  Thank you.

Details. Again, a Neapolitan style, but not quite.  The main difference being the use of a hard mozzarella instead of the fresh, really wet stuff which tends to make the top soupy.  Too loose for me... so this harder cheese makes me smile.  The dough is made fresh every day, made the previous day for the next day's offering.  Their sausage is also made in house.  Although I never asked, not sure why..., but the sauce appeared to be simply San Marzano tomatoes and salt, the standard sauce for a Neapolitan pie.  The place was beautiful and inviting.  Chairs at the bar looking into the kitchen and then a lovely dining room with plenty of room for all.  Even a fireplace and couches to relax either before, after, or during your meal.

Wanna see?  Here ya go....

I was allowed full access into kitchen, and I took full advantage of it.

Here's the oven

Imported from Italy in pieces and assembled at the restaurant

The V is the logo for the maker of the oven, it's unknown what the V actually stands for, but it's cool

After the oven was built it was given a local look with red bricks artfully placed around.  It's an Italian oven on the inside and looks Mexican on the outside.  Well done.

Wood

Here's the chef of the night.  I'm a douch for not getting his name.  There was another guy also working in the kitchen but this was the main guy during our visit. 

Dough

Starting to look like a pizza.

No stupid spinning or other theatrics.  Just smoothing the dough to a general round shape.

Bravo.

Sauce

And sauce

A little parmesan

The near pie is sausage and peppers, and they add some red onion as well.  The far pie is Margherita.

In they go.  The oven is abut 650f.  We were there early on in the evening so the temp wasn't at max just yet, which is about 800f.

Totally awesome

Rad

Killer

Bada Boom!

Super delicious

Well worth the drive, no question about it

Now this, this is a great example of why this place is great.

Very typical Italian, or even European, to have not only the dried red pepper flakes but olive oil infused with pepper flakes, or even better, chopped and/or pickled chunks of peppers in oil.

What do they do at Ollie's???  BAM!  Jalepeno's!!!  Dried and in a shaker!  And, in a bottle of olive oil as well!  Being creative but making it have some correlation to something.  Creativity that has meaning.  Pizza in Mexico should have a Mexican twist.  It's like the moron in NYC who is doing Neapolitan in Brooklyn, American guy, and is trying to infuse Sake into his pizza somehow.  YOU'RE AN IDIOT!  How does that relate to anything!

Ollie's, well done

If you love pizza, or Mexico, or friendly people, or Negro Modelo on tap (!!!!!) or cool places to eat, or just wanna be more awesome, then you have to check this place out.  I know I'll be back very soon, and I have room for stragglers.  Let's get in the truck and go!

Eat more pizza

DVA

DVA Pizzeria - South Park - San Diego

Yo Tom!  This one's for you...

This episode is entitled "My Pie My Mouth"

I love to eat pizza, obviously.  I also obviously like to write about it.  I love to photograph it, smell it, look at it, and I also like to make it.  Now, I'm not claiming that mine is the best, it's not even my favorite.  But the process is completely a pleasure.

The inspiration for this came from the fantastically amazing Ottoboni family.  Dear friends of mine from Switzerland (they are Italians, NOT Swiss!) who were living in San Diego for a few years.  They would have Hannah and I over for dinner occasionally and the first meal was their homemade pizza.  Dough, sauce, everything from scratch.  It was wonderful.  Not just the pizza but the whole experience.  The smell of the food, the taste of the wine, the children running around yelling at each other in Italian.  And these kids, there were only 3 at the time and they were young, like 1, 4, 6 maybe???  Now there is a fourth and they are all super cute.  Great kids, great parents.  Most of my visits to Switzerland include a dinner at the Ottoboni's, and I'm always snapping photos of the food, they are amazing cooks.  I promise that on my next visit I'll fully document the occasion and let you all have a peek.  

My point with all of that was Luigi, the dude, and Letizia, the Mrs. dude, inspired me to make my own pizza.  They showed me the process, in and out, and sent me on my way.

Here is my pie.

It starts with the dough

Yes, I made it.  The problem I have with this batch is that there isn't much pull to it.  And the error lies in the fact that I normall substitue about a 1/2 cup of the 5 cups of all purpose Bob's RedMill flour with a high gluten flour, and this time I was out.  The development of the guten is what gives you the pull.  But, too much and it will be too tight and won't relax so that you can stretch it and flatten it into a pizza.

Cornmeal, love it

Sauce

No, I didn't make this one, but it's fairly simple.  Tomatoes and salt.

2 types of cheese.  Mozzarella and parmesan.

If this was a Neapolitan pie  I'd use fresh Mozzarella, but I find that the fresh makes the top kinda soupy, which I really don't like.

Drizzle of Red Pepper Olive Oil

And into the oven and onto the pizza stone

500 degrees or more

A couple of minutes later, out comes my pie...

My friendly helper

Bada-boom

Bada-bing

Just cheese

Yummm

Nice and crispy on the bottom and warm and soft on the inside.  

Pie.  

Go find one and eat it.

DVA

M Noodle Shop - Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC

Now that I'm a Williamsburg local I'd like to introduce you to my favorite local restaurant.

http://www.mnoodleshop.com/

Fresh, delicious, handmade food.

Need anything else?  

You don't.

I found this place by simply walking by after coming off the L heading back to the hotel.  It's very cose to the Lorimer/Metropolitan stop.  And to be honest, before I went I checked Yelp to try to get an idea of what to order, what's awesome.  And to my surprise the Yelp reviews were terrible.  Pretty much a slam, stating that if you were drunk and it was late and you were hungry then you might want to check it out, otherwise don't bother.

Yelp is dumb.  I hate Yelp.  

This place is great!  But you need to know that you are headed into a noodle shop.  Chinese fast food, not fine dining.  They also do a huge take-out and delivery service, so if the place doesn't look packed then it's still not kosher to assume that it's dead and they should be totally focused on you.  Come in, sit down, they'll be over soon.

Another cool thing?  Open SUPER late.  Check this out:

Open till 6am?  WTF?!?!?!?!?!?  Wowza!!!!

There are no photos of the first visit, it was just enjoyed, not documented.  And it was completely enjoyed!!!

The second stop is detailed here-after.  I happened to be lucky enough to arrive when two of the owners were making vegetable dumplings.  Here's that piece of art for you:

I also had the Ho-fun noodles with beef and bean sprouts.  SOOOO good!!!

If you're ever near this place you HAVE TO check it out.  Great, delicious, fast, fresh, did I say delicious?  

Eat more noodles

DVA