COCONUTS HOT SPOT—At Mad for Pizza, they not only let you choose from four kinds of dough (classic, herb dough, garlic parmesan and spinach), they also give you options for your sauce and toppings—no gimmicky Nutella or peanut butter choices here unlike that other DIY pizza place. You have 40 toppings to choose from, including popular picks pepperoni, parma ham and Angus steak. And you can “topping all you want” if you are so inclined.
But if, like us, indecision is your strongest suit, there are three pre-fixed items on the menu; we picked Anya’s Creation (PHP250), named after one of the owners, and requested for herb dough to go with the alfredo sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar cheese, shrimp, and roasted garlic. It arrived some 10 minutes later on a round wooden tray. The edges of the thin crust was slightly crispy, and the rest of the dough was chewy. The shrimp was still bouncy and the garlic added a nice finish to what could have been a salty pie, if we had let the cheeses have their way.
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Our companion was more sure of himself, and designed his own pizza (PHP280) with bacon, Italian sausage, meatball crumble, steak bits and button mushrooms on tomato sauce—it was a manly pizza that filled us up but in no way kept us from digging into the spaghetti carbonara pasta (PHP188), big enough to share, with oily bacon toppings to put the creamy sauce in its place.
Apart from the pizzas, we tried the spinach cheese dip (PHP188) which had the consistency of hummus and was served with corn kernels on top (we don’t get it). It’s a creamy concoction, which is why you will need to order an extra of the lightly toasted triangular pita breads that come with it. The deep-fried zucchini (PHP158) was first served thinly sliced and it turned soggy after a few seconds, so the kitchen sent us another batch, this time cut in wedges, but still salty, and it still turned soggy after a short while. Maybe blotting out the oil with a paper towel before it leaves the kitchen will help?
The satisfyingly tender Amboy Angus beef belly in adobo sauce (PHP218) was served with the most amazing fried garlic rice and—again—corn kernels, while the Tennesse pork spareribs (PHP268) came with fries and a piquant sauce.
The price range at Mad for Pizza is pretty friendly—and while it may be a place where you can see yourself eating as much as you can (imagine putting 40 toppings on your pizza), you just can’t. The flavor spectrum of their dishes is too narrow, you’ll have to be a teenager to enjoy finishing at least three dishes and not feel sated.
Mad for Pizza, 2/L Il Terrazo, 305 Tomas Morato Ave cor Sct Madriñan, Quezon City; www.facebook.com/madforpizzaph, +63 2 3512621. Daily 11am-11pm.
Coconuts Manila was hosted for this meal.
