7th February 2015 - Story Deli, Shoreditch

okay pls do not get me wrong. This was not the first pizza I ate in 2015. Pls do not insult me by taking me for some kind of amateur. U know how I feel about pizza. But as with many great loves, life has somewhat gotten in the way of this pizza blog and I, and so this post, my first of the year, will record my most memorable pizza of 2015 so far - the 'Roast Veg' from Story Deli in Shoreditch. 

I can't remember if I have written on this blog about Story Deli before. If I haven't, that is a crying shame because they make glorious pizza with excellent ingredients. Everything is organic (they even vetted the vegan cheese that we brought with us to make sure it fit their bill of quality) and the bases are made fresh as you order. 

Let's talk about those bases. I am indeed all about Story Deli's base. It's an incredibly thin one which is so crisp that you can often snap it in half. It is also delicious. The crusts are pleasingly charred and the bite has a great crunch to it that I will never tire of hearing coming from my lil gob. 

In terms of toppings - as I say, everything is totes organic and you really can tell. My pizza featured all of Story Deli's roast veg - that's peppers, onions, courgette, aubergine and mushroom, as well as some leaves for luck. It required cutlery to eat because the base collapsed under the weight of all of the wonderful stuff on top of it and anywhere that puts so many toppings on their pizza that you physically can't hold it is alright in my book. Cheese-wise, we were v kindly permitted to bring our own, so we opted for old faithful Mozzarisella which is easily the most authentic vegan cheese I have ever tasted, and it went beautifully on the pizza, adding a v welcome creaminess. Lastly was a (vegan!) basil pesto drizzle which really Tied Things Together. 

Also, because we did not already have enough bread (as well as being generously topped, the Story Deli pizzas are, to put it honestly, fucking massive), here is a delicious garlic bread we also ate:

Was v yum.

In summary, Story Deli is the tits and if you are in the market for a gourmet treat yoself pizza there is nowhere else to really look. Also, because I am a terrible sap, it holds a special place in my heart as it was the first place I went on a date with Ben. Pals who eat pizza together stay together.

Pizza rating - 9/10
(lose a mark because there was a bit too much onion on my pizza and I am rather a pizza perfectionist)

Story Deli///123 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG

Pizza East, London - 4/5/14

As someone who is "into" pizza*, I have obviously heard a lot about Pizza East. As someone who does not live in The Centre of the Universe™(London, as people from London would have it) I had not gotten a chance to visit Pizza East until last Sunday. 

Pizza East have 3 branches around the city and I went to the Shoreditch one (the others are in Kentish Town and in Portobello Market, fyi). We got seated quickly right by the pizza counter which was dope because I got to watch the pizza chefs at work which, for an enthusiast such as myself (literally kill me),  was probably the best possible seating outcome.

boy, I lyk the way u roll that dough ;-)

okay okay sry. enough exposition, lemme get to the good bit. So we got two pizzas which u can see at the top. I opted for no cheese (didn't feel like it/solidarity with pretty much vegan boyfriend) on a pie which was otherwise topped with the most incredible crushed tomato 'sauce' (it wasn't really a sauce though, had a lil bit more texture which I was all about), sweet and spicy Calabrese peppers (they tasted how an orgasm feels and I am not even playing) and fresh basil. Ben's pizza, which you can see in the second picture in this post, had artichokes, pesto and sundried tomatoes on it. All of the toppings were clearly of great quality and made for very very delicious 'zas.

Benny G having a lovely time 

The Pizza East sauce is, as I've mentioned, really really tasty, but the star of the meal is without doubt that fresh dough crust, cooked in a wood oven. I am going to be real with you and just say that I need to have counselling about this pizza base. I am concerned that I will never find another crust like this and that is a real worry. Pizza East do the impossible and manage a very very thin base which is crispy on the bottom and soft on the top, making for a satisfying but not overly substantial crunch when you bite into it. I think I care deeply about this pizza crust. I want to ask it to run away to the country with me. *Hero by Enrique Iglesias plays as I imagine myself running through lush fields with this pizza in my arms*

Also yeah, before I forget, we also had this amazing garlic bread (see below.) It was really green and delicious looking but I still don't know what that topping was made from - if you can help then genuinely please get in touch because I want to try and replicate it. Either way, it was a really nice lil warm-up for the main event. We probably smelled rly bad after eating it though.

So yeah, Pizza East is really pretty excellent. You should go. I will probably go a lot more times. Cool? Cool.

Pizza rating - 9/10
(loses a solitary point just because I woulda liked an option to replace my cheese with another topping! Fussy I know but I can't be giving 10/10s out willy nilly)

Pizza East
56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ
www.pizzaeast.com

*I group myself in this category with a resigned, heavy heart. When you say you're "into" something it usually implies a) a weird interest and b) being way too interested in that interest - "oh yeah, Darren's really into painting Warhammer at Games Workshop and on the alternate Saturdays when he sees his kid he brings it with him." I am Darren, but with pizza.