Anyone who has casually followed this blog knows that the one item of food most heavily featured here is pizza. Naturally, that makes people think I’m some kind of connoisseur. Or, worse, since I’ve mostly featured pizza I myself made from scratch, a snob.
Not true. Obviously I love pizza, but not as madly as you’d think. If there is one thing that keeps me at it, it’s the crust (or dough), and by that I mean I still have to make one entirely to my satisfaction. In food blog-speak, “the best — ever” is yet to come. Not that I’m counting on that. I have to believe it, see, or what’s the point in trying? More than Gasul, hope fuels cooking.
As for what others think or say about my pizza, I’m happy when they are. If not, well, I’m always first to point out its deficiencies. That’s why it amused me when a friend expressed reservations about me liking the pizza at Cafe Emmanuel. Too thick, she’d said of the crust.
I disagree. It wasn’t the crust, but what came piled on top of it. There was just too much — of a muchness, even (like the décor) — and that was after we told the kitchen to hold the ham and sausage. From “vegetable” pizza, go figure. At ₱550 an order, I could see why people would like the kitchen sink on it as well — sulit, ’ika nga. But anyone who’s ever struggled to make decent dough (and this one was) knows it’s what makes pizza both unique and tricky. If it were up to me, I would have showcased it with just tomato, onion, and basil. Then I still might have had room for the calzone.
I fully understand I’m in the minority here. When people complain about how “commercial” pizza is that they buy from some stand, they are mostly referring to what’s on it. Hardly anyone thinks to comment on the crust. If you think about it, good dough can make cheap ham and Quickmelt cheese look good, whereas jamón ibérico and burrata can’t save lousy bread. If it’s value for money you want, Cafe Emmanuel certainly delivers. It is not so much Italian as Italian-American for its propensity to overload. Pizza porn, I call it. Like I said, I’m not most people — I want less on my pizza, that’s my problem. Go check the place out. You have my blessing.
Cafe EmmanuelZone 5, Sogod, Southern Leyte
POSTSCRIPT: It seems that the common complaint about the pizza is that it takes too long to get to the table. Understand that they have to get their oven as hot as it possibly can for the crust to brown and crisp up. I wait for my oven to make an unsettling rattling noise, then I know it’s ready. That’s just the way it is. You want good pizza, you wait. If really hungry, start with some pasta.
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