Pizzallini

We wanted to have a nice dinner, but as always, we couldn’t agree where to eat. While we were arguing in the car, I couldn’t stop listening to my mom’s voice in my head: “you two are the complete opposite!” That was, in fact, a big truth about my boyfriend and I. However, we thought it was romantic, you know, the “yin and yang”, “opposites attract” and bla bla bla. But, this mostly meant fighting for everything, even dinner.

He is a meat lover; I am a more seafood kind of girl. He loves cheese and most days, I try to avoid dairy. He believes in dessert first and I cheer for the espresso after dinner. He loads his French fries and wings with tomato sauce on top and I always ask for dressing on the side. On that occasion, instead of continuing the argument, I decided to suggest something: “what about pizza?”

“Pizza?” he answered. I noticed first a hysterical look that then turned into a laugh. He then recalled how every waiter from every pizza place we went, hated us because we would take too long choosing and always end asking the same thing: half veggie, half 4 formaggio. We always fought for the oregano jar and at the end; he gets mad because I start taking bites of his meal. I told him about this new pizza place in town, known for serving pizza al taglio, which is the Italian for by the slice. I noticed he ignored me and just started driving, evidencing he was very hungry. This is how we ended at Pizzallini, an Italian family business in my hometown Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The place’s motto is pizza pala alla Romana al taglio, this means that they prepare and serve pizza like in Rome. They bake it in large rectangular trays and sell them in rectangular or square slices by weight. Their crust is known as scrocchiarela, a crust with an extra-virgin oil to make it crunchier and tastier. This is how Rome transformed pizza into a takeaway dish, and how Pizallinni gave us a perfect spot to not fight about food.

When we arrived, we found a large and rectangular communal table in the center. This table was made with wood and was garnished with small planters. It was surrounded with more tables made with seats, brown cushions and more planters in each center. It had big lamps in the ceiling that make the place look bright. Chill music played in Spotify, no voices, just sound that gave it a lounge ambient. The wall combined a black and white squared pattern and in the back, where restrooms were located, a flower wreath fell to give the place it artsy touch. It was slightly crowded: a group of teens at the back, no more than 18 years old, a young couple in the corner, a group of girlfriends in their 20s that shared on Instagram every move, joke, and pizza, from the table. The assistants gave the place its young and modern vibe. And then, there was us, another young couple of 21 and 22 year old that wanted to have a romantic dinner…with our pizzas.

We approached to the counter: a transparent glass that showed every choice from the menu. My eyes got crazy between the options and the colors that glowed. There were green peppers, red tomatoes, brown-ish pieces of ham and the one and only kind of golden cheese melting in the trays. And behind the pizzas, were them, the guys that serve them holding scissors and waiting for us to decide what we would have. “Maybe they’ll want to join our hating club”, I thought. But, we noticed each person would have their wood tray with any type of pizza at any size. It was $ 2, 50 per gram. We looked at each other, and for the first time in the night, we agreed that we were in the correct place. And then, the fun began.

To begin, I went for the classic Margherita pizza. I got surprised how the first bite let me felt the extra virgin oil in the crust. It was crunchy, perfectly salted and it combined perfectly with the basil. I instantly got in caprese heaven and everything changed. I got a portion of fugazzetta pizza, a type of pizza loaded with onions and mozzarella over thick crust. When I tried it, the caramelized onion felt sweet at first, but then salty, almost greasy, leaving a juicy taste in the palate. My favorite choice was the veggie pizza with shredded zucchinis, cherry tomatoes, pieces of eggplants, onions cut in halves and green olives. It was a whole garden that created a fresh and natural flavor. And while my heart was getting warm for the pizza goodness, I looked at him: captured by the dessert pizza that, as quoted by him, gave ricotta another reason to be born and that was, to be eaten with Nutella and mint. Our date was going pretty well just half hour after an arrival. An hour to go with no complaints and we would beat a record.

He smiled while I looked at him, all dirty and with little pieces of cheese on his beard. In his tray, I could see a slice of Pepperoni pizza, a 4 Formaggio pizza and the house favorite: the potato and bacon pizza. He liked it so much that he made me taste it (what a miracle!) and let me say, I could feel that the potato was perfectly roasted and combined with the bacon’s grease that gave a pizza its juicy taste. It didn’t need any topping, dressing or extra sauced. It was perfect and original, just like our drink: lightly sweetened lemonade with a spicy touch of ginger. When we finished, we were very full but happy for the date we had. Why fighting when we can talk about how much we love to eat, especially when we were together? Luckily, we knew we didn’t need to fight for pizza anymore. “The porchetta sandwich from the menu doesn’t sound bad, doesn’t it?” he said, “Maybe next time we can share it”, he added. I just smiled and got ready for our next discussion: where we should go for coffee?