Strada, Sheffield - 25/5/14 AND Pizza Express, London (Haymarket) - 31/5/14

So here is a post about some pizzas I ate at a couple chain restaurants, specifically Strada and Pizza Express. I'm putting them together a) because I'm lazy and it's 1:41am and I cba to do two separate posts and b) 'cause I thought it might be sort of fun to compare pies at two restaurants of a fairly similar ilk. 'Fun', lol. Christ.

Anyway, here are the pizzas:

Strada

Pizza Express (probably the world's worst photo)

The Strada 'za is their Puttanesca pizza (I think) without anchovies (it comes sans cheese anyway), and the Pizza Express one is called a Pianta. I am gonna go ahead and say that Pizza Express was head and shoulders better on pretty much all counts (however the Strada pizza did have olives on it and they're probably my favourite pizza topping if I can be real with you for one second). However, I would be doing u, my loyal readers, a disservice if I did not explain to u why this is, so at this point I would like to ~unveil~ my foolproof system for comparing and contrasting pizzas - it's as easy as S-T-D (far less sinister and gross than it seems):

S is for SAUCE:
The Strada pizza sauce was rly tasty but it was a pretty ordinary pizza sauce. I probably just thought it was tasty because I pretty much think all pizza sauce is tasty, as I was raised on puréed tomatoes (I have  mentioned before but my dad's Italian and I think his first words were "chopped tomatoes"). The sauce on Pizza Express' Pianta, on the other hand, was not their usual plain tomato and herb base; instead it was a really different spicy Arrabiatta sauce which I was super into - it made an awesome change and went really really well with the toppings they'd chosen. Great job Pizza Express.
Winner: Pizza Express

T is for TOPPINGS:
As you can see, we had to sorta alter the Strada pizza to suit an herbivorous diet - it already came without cheese, but the Puttanesca was also listed as having anchovies, so we got rid of those and had us a party. As I've said, I reallllllly love olives so I was stoked to have so many on this pizza, but something else as well would have been cool. Maybe we coulda switched the anchovies for some  mushrooms or peppers? Would have definitely taken this up a notch in my humble opinion. Pizza Express on the other hand were serving topping realness (I've watched a whole season of RuPaul's Drag Race in five days can you tell) - the Pianta has on it mushrooms, artichokes, spinach, and most interestingly, pine kernels. All of that is then topped with fresh rocket and olive oil. The pine kernels especially were a good touch, 'cause they gave a lil crunchy texture which I enjoyed very much, but in general these toppings all gelled super well together - I am a big fan of spinach on pizza and it was deliciouzzzz as always. The Pianta also comes without cheese as standard which is cool.
Winner: Pizza Express

D is for DOUGH:
A solid foundation is the most crucial part of any successful pizza, therefore pizza dough is super important. Whilst Strada's base was really thin (which I actually was very into), Pizza Express' is a lil more chewy, and both are satisfying in their own ways. Of the two pizzas, I'd say Pizza Express was the more comforting, whilst the Strada one was crunchier and crispier. Pizza base preferences are extremely personal and precious, and, much like a person's opinions on Kim Kardashian and whether they love dogs or cats best, they tell us a lot about that individual. I usually tend to sway towards the crispier side of things (what does that mean about me? Am I abrasive? Do I crumble easier under pressure?? Business idea: pizza tarot), but on this occasion, Pizza Express really had me feelin some type of way. I am going to sit on the fence here because I can't choose.
Winner: ~tie-break~ 

SO, by the law of averages, the victor of this pizza-off is Pizza Express. Their Pianta was dope and probably on the whole a bit more satisfying that Strada's sort-of Puttanesca (which was, however, still rly tasty). I am sleepy from all the pizza science I have been doing, so I'm gonna leave this one here for now, but for realsies I would recommend Pizza Express - I think that their pizzas are always really consistently good, their sauce is great and all of their ingredients taste fresh and delicious. I know it's a chain but DON'T LET THAT STOP U. These are good pizzas, widely available. Which is p kwl.

Strada pizza rating: 7/10
Pizza Express pizza rating: 8.5/10

Strada, Leopold Street, S1 2FG
http://www.strada.co.uk

Pizza Express, Panton Street, SW1Y 4EN
http://www.pizzaexpress.com