Pizza Night @ Brooklyn Pizza

Pizza night was created for folks who were too lazy or broke to have a decent home-cooked or fine dining meal. In our case, it was both. It was quite the coincidence as well, having spotted the faded, nearly transparent signage of Brooklyn Pizza along Tomas Morato. Years ago it was a sprawling hole for dine-in families, but circa 2012, it's become the parking spot for nearby Little Asia or Amici.

[caption id="attachment_1334" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="White Pizza (left), Deluxe (right)"][/caption]

However, the pizza's still the same: cheap, chewy and gleaming with its cheesy parade. The White Cheese Pizza will forever stand in competition with any Quattro Formaggio other joints will have to offer, and with a crust that folds neatly into rolls and never toughens up, it can kick Dear Darla in the front anytime. Now if only they offered salad.

The Deluxe Pizza is the consolation for the meat eaters but in every way, deserves its ultimate sounding name.

[caption id="attachment_1329" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Creamy Pesto with Chicken Parmigiana"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1330" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Tomato and Garlic Pasta"][/caption]

The Creamy Pesto with Chicken Parmigiana gives off that comfort food vibe complete with its breaded chicken slices that complement the creamy taste. Do not make the mistake of ordering the Pesto alone, on account of a no-cream diet or lower price, or suffer the throaty pains of one salty dish. The Tomato and Garlic Pasta follows the same cooking pattern as the plain pesto - grossly salty and devoid of any other Italian flavor. Better judgment led us to mix the Tomato and Garlic Pasta with the Creamy Chicken Pesto resulting to a mildly flavored and lightly creamed up version of Brooklyn Pizza's Pesto. So far, so good.

Pesto and pizza parade. Guess being broke pays off at times. 

Sweet Cynicism: Amici Gelato Cakes

Despite having a cold, a road trip to Tomas Morato necessitated a gelato break at Amici. I've decided to forego my favorite Banana Blast in pursuit of something festive and new, and these are what I ended up with.

[caption id="attachment_1112" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Rouge (Amici)"][/caption]

Rouge (P128/slice) Three layers of gelato (blueberry, strawberry and vanilla) lined up this ice cream cake on a graham cracker crust. The flaming red facade roused me into blindly ordering this fruity fiasco. The layers of chiffon cake were doused with extreme sweetness while thin layers of cream were spread everywhere. Neither a fan or chiffon nor cream, this cake doesn't make it to my list - and it won't in grandma's either. Give it to the berry lover or the ultimate sweet tooth because it's berry loaded with sweetness that even makes this cat blush. 

[caption id="attachment_1111" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Peach Walnut Passion"][/caption]

Peach Walnut Passion (P120/slice) Simply put, it's peach gelato, walnut, chiffon and thinly spread cream on all possible angles. The sweetness can be overbearing, as well as the lack of assortment of layers. Peach lovers would go for this treat, but you ought to love chiffon too as it takes secondary lead in the overall portion.

Di Lusso (P125/slice, sorry no photo) Layers of pistachio, chocolate and strawberry gelato make up the core over graham crackers, but what makes this most delightful is the chocolate ganache that envelopes the entire cake. Unlike the Rouge which was covered in this hideously red cake and artificial strawberry syrup, Di Lusso's chocolate ganache inspires sweet revelry in every bite. Beware the floral topping though because it's more butter than chocolate. Among the three, the Di Lusso seems to save the day and never made it in any photo. 

Nothing beats Banana Blast though, when talking about Amici's Gelato Cakes. It's just plain gelato and chocolate flavored crust - no overly sweetened chiffon or annoying cream that sprout out of nowhere and ruin every bite - and that's how an ice cream cake ought to be!