Pizza.
It’s the food of simpletons. Which is surprising, considering how unaffordable it is for a large section of society.
It’s also the love of my life. Food-wise.
This is not to say that rasam-rice, mosaranna, or anything else is displaced from the top of my list. I just really love pizza. It carries a huge place in my heart for a bunch of reasons.
My mom apparently survived on pizza and maggi while she was carrying me. And as a child, one of my fondest memories is coming back from the swimming pool and eating the pizzas my mom had made at home. She’d buy pizza bases and coloured capsicums and cheese, and prep everything. We’d all then head to the pool as a family. She’d head out early and cook everything while my dad helped me float around a little, and then pushed me to swim a lot more. I’d come home to hot hot pizzas and a tall glass of milk.
It was a great time.
Pizza also features in some highlights of my life. I’ve eaten pizza on atleast 6 of my 20 birthdays – in some form or the other. My old school in Dubai had this amazing canteen operated by Caesar’s which sold pizza for 1 Dirham, and well, the day we moved houses, the food I was eating when India beat Pakistan, when Manchester United won the Champions League, when RCB almost won the IPL. Pizza.
You get the gist.
So when I discovered that you could get a 1+1 on pizza in Bombay because of Zomato Gold, I was shook. We took this offer way too seriously and went to this place called 1441 – which serves some ridiculously good pizza. I think half the reason why it tasted so good was because we were all happy our internships had come to a close, but also because we saw the bill’s value reducing although more food was coming to our table. That correlation to happiness is indescribable.
I also do believe I’ve had the best pizza I’ve eaten in Bombay at Joey’s Pizza. It’s arguably the best pizza in India I’ve eaten. The crust was flaky and buttery, and it was mid-sized (not too thin, not too thick), it was structured like a pie so you could taste the cheese right on top. Oof. It was amazing.
Pizza is a large part of me surviving the last two months in Bombay. It’s only fair that it gets a mention on this blog.
Please go watch the Pizza Show on VICE if you don’t already. There’s such a rich history to the food we eat across cultures, and I think the Pizza Show does a great job of capturing that history.
I want to do that with curd rice one day.
And saaranna.
Tejas Rao 