Okay, here’s the deal. Hubby and I go to Pizza Express alot. Maybe once a week. Its one of the few nice places that is close to our house. Plus, ever since this horrid recession started, the restaurant has been doing a lot of buy one get one free deals. I may not be all about frugality (as you may have noticed), but I do like getting a good deal. In case you don’t live in the UK, Pizza Express, is a sort of upscale pizza chain which is prevalent throughout the country. They serve what I call “European type pizzas.” The pizzas are thin crust, unsliced, individual sized pies, (which are kind of easy on the cheese compared to the American style pizzas), with a nice variety of toppings. Oh, and they happen to do the most awesome gelato by the way.
So whats the problem? Well, I was recently browsing the Serious Eats website where they were discussing the chain’s relatively new type of pizzas which are part of their “Leggera” range (which means “light” in Italian). Basically, these are low calorie pizzas. How is it low calorie? Well they cut a big hole in the middle of the pizza (my guess is that they are removing about 30-40%) and they fill it with salad. Call me crazy, but this offends me. In my mind, they might as well say on the menu, “Hey fatty, this pizza is for you. We cut a hole out of it and filled it with some grass. Graze on that will ya!” Yes, leave it to Heavenly Housewife to have this kind of inner diolague. Some people worry about world peace, some people worry about the economy, and I worry that someone is going to take half of my pizza away.
And here’s what it looks like.
It looks pretty enough, and I’m sure a lot of girls would probably order it … but not me my dear readers. HH is no girl you see, she is all woman LOL, and she can eat a whole pizza.
That being said, I do think that Pizza Express is a wonderful place to eat. I applaud them for the fact that ALL of the items on their menu have the nutritional information posted on their website. Its a shame that more restaurants aren’t as forthcoming. If you are watching your weight, its easy to eat a NORMAL pizza (aka without a hole), and still incorporate it into a nutritionally balanced eating habit. I totally appreciate that. But please, don’t remove half my pizza and call it diet. Especially if its not going to be half price. Know what I’m saying??? Ahh, glad I got that off my chest.
And now, for some pictures:
This one is my favorite of Pizza Express pizza. Its called the Padana. This is the pizza I pretty much always order. Its topings include goat’s cheese, red onion with caramelized onion confit (divine), spinach, with a drizzle of garlic oil.
Here is a Margarita pizza on one of their special “Romana” pizza bases. Its basically the same as the normal base, but its rolled out even thinner, making for a more crusty and somewhat larger pie.
And here is that super delish gelato I was telling you about. I always order 2 scoops of pistachio gelato and it comes with a little cookie wafer. It is so so so yummy.
Ooops, did I faux pas? I guess I was a bit of a piggy. Sorry daaahlings, I couldn’t help myself. I’m sure you know how it is.
On the Serious Eats discussion, most people seem to think the Leggera concept is a really good one. The housewife seems to be standing alone on this issue. Well, beauty often does make a creature such as me stand out, so I’m used to it *wink*. I would love to know your thoughts on the whole thing. Or should I say “hole” thing. Oh, am I not funny??? (Nod your head dears!)
