Friday, September 8, 2017

First Bite: Crosta Pizzeria

Aged pizza dough? It's something I've heard in the US but I haven't really tried anything like it here in Manila... till a few weeks ago. A pizza stall at Social on Ebro offers scrumptious premium pizzas at reasonable prices. And what sets it apart from fancier savory pies is its 48-hour aged dough. 
Hello, Crosta Pizzeria

It was my first time to drop by this side of Makati and I must say, it looks very hipster. Colorful wall murals, neon lights, grass, benches, millennials having photo sessions... this place has it all to be called "lit". (Okay, putting quotation marks makes it obvious that I'm borderline millennial.)
I was warmly greeted by Tommy, the other half of the dynamic duo behind Crosta. He shared with me a quick overview of the brand and how it came to be as well as its challenges in the local market. 
Crosta started as a passion project. Ingga and Tommy love food (pizza to be exact) and they want to share with the locals what makes pizza good... with its dough. And you can have a better pizza experience by aging your dough. 
However, Manila's very hot and humid weather made it challenging for them to make their dough. It took a long time (four years to be exact) and hard R&D work before they were able to perfect the craft of aging which they now offer at Crosta. 
I sampled The Basic Bitch (PHP200 | PHP300 with garlic confit), Shroomed Out (PHP380 | PHP400 with garlic confit) and Pepperonley (PHP250). 
While waiting for our pizzas, we enjoyed our cocktails Mojito (PHP190) and Sangria (PHP220) and marveled at the adorable decals of Social. (The adorable paw prints on the stairs tell you which side is for going up and down.)
I loved my refreshing mojito though I got slightly tipsy after finishing my drink. 
It took about 10 minutes for our pizzas to get ready and Tommy was the one who served the delectable imperfect pies to our table. 
He also explained to us that the mini bubbles on the crust show quality dough. 
I first tried Shroomed Out and it was delicious! The generous serving of shiitake, portobello, white button mushroom, mozzarella, fontina, Taleggio, parmesan and fresh thyme made this dish stellar! 
Though slightly salty because of the dough and cheese, I couldn't help myself from finishing my huge slice of heaven. Crosta's mushroom pizza is one of the very few of its kind to delighted my taste buds. 
The Basic Bitch or Crosta's take on margherita is perfect for those who prefer a bit of tangy taste. Topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil leaves, this straightforward pizza will surely be loved by topping haters. 
But if you want a bit more complexity with every bite, you might want to try Pepperonley. Just like The Basic Bitch, this one is topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. But with parmesan and salami sans the basil leaves. This though could be a bit too salty for those with low tolerance to salty food. 
Overall, it was a lovely first experience with aged dough. I had no idea that pizza dough ages well just like cheese and wine. Thank you, Ingga and Tommy for the invite and I'll surely be back for more! To more branches!

Crosta Pizzeria is located at The Social on Ebro, 5770 Ebro Street, Poblacion, Makati City. 

Crosta Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

1 comment:

  1. Just by looking at them makes me wanna run at the place and buy a bunch, but I can't because is raining too hard outside :(
    #tipzycoolcomments

    ReplyDelete

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