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@iameric about mike’s maybe you are right, so I will leave americans eat it.
about mandolino sorry you sure are wrong. My God Mandolino should pay me a commission for that ^__^. Tonight I will ask boss pay me!!! hehe…
Where’s JerryS on this topic? I’m sure he’d agree that you can’t classify all types of pizza made in America as “American”. As there are so many, very distinct styles.
I might prefer the following depending on my mood:
A large, thin, greasy, pepperoni covered New York style.
A very filling, deep dish Chicago style (Uno’s).
A light, thin crust margharita Italian style.
sometimes even American delivery like Papa John’s covered in garlic butter sauce or a buttery stuffed crust Pizza Hut pizza.
I’m NOT a pizza enthusiast like others in this thread though. I just think that different types of pizza can all be delicious and there isn’t one that is clearly superior.
Quote:like sascha said, their parmaham is bomb! but “in my opinion” the pizza’s the only thing there that’s any good. even the music, decor, and management is quite odd.I felt the same way about Mandolino. It felt weird to me, like a Chinese foreign hybrid restaurant.
Quote:I’m NOT a pizza enthusiast like others in this thread though. I just think that different types of pizza can all be delicious and there isn’t one that is clearly superior.Definitely, I think there is no doubt about that. There are countless varieties of pizza, and I think most of them were popularized by Italians in the US. Although pizza originated in Naples, it was Italian American influence that made it a household cuisine worldwide, and with that came exposure all the variations.
After all this discussion about Pizza Mandolino I will go back there and try it again though.
I will say here “Seriously, guys” in my shitty Cartman voice as an opener.
I don’t understand the love affair with Mike’s Pizza. Yes, their various combinations of toppings appeal heavily to your typical American pizza consumer, and they actually use sauce, albeit never enough, though all pizza places in Chengdu are guilty of this, I’m a Chicagoan and I dearly love my sauce, but the other thing I love dearly is crust.
Mike’s crust sucks donkey balls. Absolutely and without equivocation. Donkey testicles. And the cheese is…well, sub par. I’m even gonna use that oft-spoken descriptor: plastic. The shit tastes like plastic. I live right next to a Pizza Hut, which I noticed hasn’t been offered up as a suitable destination in all of our long and often unrewarded journeys in Chengdu for pizza havens. Before you disregard my opinion by muttering to yourself, “This asshole’s bringing up Pizza Hut?”, the crust there is as baller as you’re gonna get here. You get your stuffed crust or traditional (which is nicely greased up and buttered) but both are cash money. Caveat emptor: sauce is nearly nonexistent. Here’s a plus: in China, it seems to be a legitimate spot to propose to your girlfriend. All Pizza Hut’s I’ve been to in China are immaculate, a stark contrast from the dirty ass, actually hut-shaped architectural monstrosities I remember in the States.
So I suppose the lesson here is you just gotta pick your poisons in relation to pizza cravings in this the great land of the grey. I’m just sincerely confused why everyone backs Mike’s. I suppose because it’s foreign-run. And they deliver. But I mean, christ, at least Pizza Mandolino uses a brick oven (doesn’t it? I think it does). Mad props for brick oven usage.
What is considered ‘American’ pizza is what is mostly popularized and sold throughout the US and abroad… I guess the title goes to Pizza Hut… Yea…
BUT i am a pizza enthusiast! In CT there are many styles of pizza. So i am limited to just one state… Yet Pizza Mandolino is good, not great. For a good cozy place and ‘Italian’ atmosphere, this is the place to be. Seeing the oven in the middle brings back memories of a pizzeria.
Since this is China, size of the pizza is very limited. Nothing above 12′ inches, which is a downer.. I remember destroying 18 inches of mozz in one sitting! Back to topic… Mandolino is good brick oven pizza, i believe the temperature is limited due to the design of the oven, normally good ovens will reach up to 700 degrees for a brick oven!! Thats New Haven style pizza baby!! Once again, back to topic, i would give Mandolino a 7/10, they do make good mozz pizza but its freaken expensive….
With most Euro style pizza’s, they are thin brick oven and not excessive with the toppings, with fresh mozzarella. Mandolino fits this bill perfectly.
What I miss is greek style pizza: overtly thick crunchy crust, shit ton of toppings, the pizza after smell and a greek dude with a stereotypical greek stash making your pie!
NYC pies are good too. But I’m from New Haven, kinda biased on that.
Chi-town pies.. YES! F’in huge and filling!!!
So yea, as Chris reiterates, there are many styles of pizza’s in America, everyone has their own bias on this topic. Nothing is ever set in stone. But if those peoples who are giving certain establishments shitty review because its not ‘pizza hot or papa john’ style pizza.. Then they need a cultural shock and explore for a bit. They are missing out on what real pizza is like.
Modern Pizza New Haven!
Modern Pizza Cheese topping.
Colony Grill Stamford.. This is called Hot Oil Pizza.. I FUCKEN MISS this pizza!!! Perfect crust, perfect dosage of olive oil and the hit of spice from the pepper makes this out of this world!!!
@ Federico Rossi: Why do you have to lie? You have never set foot in my restaurant. There are only 4 tables here and I see every customer personally, as well as make every pizza myself. If you had actually walked through my door you would know that. And there has not been a single customer who has EVER left 3/4 of their pizza on the table. If you like Pizza Mandolino that’s fine, I like it too. You are absolutely correct in saying that Italian Pizza is different from American Pizza, and I am proud to say that my pizza is definitely an American style. But that’s no reason to lie about having actually eaten in my restaurant.
@ Charlie: Thanks a lot for your kind words and support. On a side note, my wife is always very impressed with your comments on Weibo. Yeah, we just opened a new (real) location on Tongzilin Nan Lu under Singapore Garden, if you have time I’d love to see you here.
@ Stefan: FYI, I updated the prices on the website a month ago, but I gave a bit of a grace period for my regular customers, like you, and didn’t charge the new prices until now. I figured within 3 weeks people would have a chance to check out the website, but all the same, sorry for the sticker shock. In the two years since I’ve been open prices have been on a continuous uphill climb and until now I have just tried to find ways to deal with it myself, but now that I am paying real retail rent, which in Chengdu is ridiculously expensive, and am properly registering (taxes), my prices have to reflect that. Still, I have made sure that I am lower than my competition, which is still somewhat unfair since pretty much all my ingredients are imported and more expensive.
Quote:They are missing out on what real pizza is like.Dude. Why’d you have to go and put those pictures up like that? Why?! Like ordering Western food here and always being slightly disappointed isn’t causing my soul enough distress. I have to lay eyes once again upon those past objects of my obsession I have tried to corner and block out. I’ll be crying myself to sleep tonight, spooning a cardboard cut-out of Papa John I keep in my closet when times get tough. (OUTER spoon. outer.)
personally, i like the wings at mikes more than the actual pizza itself. though, some people may argue that hooters wings are better.
i normally like really saucy wings. throw in some blue cheese, etc. YUM!
I went to Pizza Mandolino the other day to re-assess after all the discussion here. In my opinion Mike’s Pizza definitely destroys this place. Here’s what I noticed:
– The pizza is way more expensive. I’m paying more for a smaller pizza with fewer toppings, and this is in their restaurant as opposed to delivered to my door
– The toppings are unevenly distributed, look at the photo below and you can probably see this. The pizza I ordered had bacon but there was barely any on it
– The entire thing is completely floppy, making it difficult to eat with your hands at all. I mentioned this to someone and was told that this is “Italian style” but if that’s true I must say that I prefer American style where you can eat pizza with your hands without folding it up like a greasy, wet napkin
– The decor in Mandolino definitely screams “date night”, between the wine glasses on every table, the waitresses wearing white gloves at 2pm in the afternoon, and the R&B music playing in there
On the upside the pizza really wasn’t bad, I didn’t regret visiting, but I don’t think I will return there.
Here’s a few photos I took:
I also ate at this establishment and would rate the pizza as “mediocre” (slightly better than Peter’s and Grandma’s ONLY because of the brick oven crust).
IMO, the top restaurants for pizza (in order) would be: Grappa’s, Peter Pan followed by Le Sud (french interpretation but still tasty)…while the next rung of restaurants would include Del Mar and maybe this place. For the record, Grappa’s absolutely destroys anything in Chengdu; pizza is tasty, pasta dishes are tasty, bread delivered to your table with olive oil, clean…the only negative is their bad location in the south.
Grappa is expensive… Though, last time i went, i got a free pizza, courtesy of the head cook 😉
And its the best in Chengdu by far!! Must be their fresh imported ingredients that makes it so special.
I’m gonna say this again. I want you people to visit A BOLUZA, it’s an Italian restaurant behind Carrefour Tongzilin, in one of the alleys nearby the indoor football field. Their little terrace in front of the restaurant is actually really cosy and peaceful. Tell me what you think.
Little bit pricy maybe, around 70-85RMB for a pizza, but really good IMO. Better than Mandolino’s at least.
Quote:Can you draw a map for us? Ill visit it tues.Yeah, I did the best I could, I think it turned out pretty well, haha.
To be honest, I’m not too keen on sharing this place, because I like how nice and quiet it is over there. But I’m afraid if not more people will go there, they might go out of business.
But don’t have too much expectations, I actually know very little about pizza.
I second @JerryS and will try it as well but please realize that saying “better than Mandolino’s at least” does not inspire a lot of confidence; you might want to work on your closing technique. 🙂
Quote:Yeah, we just opened a new (real) location on Tongzilin Nan Lu under Singapore Garden, if you have time I’d love to see you here.I will definitely come through soon.
Quote:IMO, the top restaurants for pizza (in order) would be: Grappa’s, Peter Pan followed by Le Sud (french interpretation but still tasty)…Anyone have the address for Grappa’s? I would like to check it out also to make a comparison.
Hi @Charlie, Grappa is in the Galleria shopping mall which is located next to the Auchan shopping complex (just inside the south third ring road); i believe it is on the 4th floor (?), anyway i am sure that it is located one level above the Peter’s restaurant that is also located there. This restaurant is part of a hk group that has several locations – probably the most popular being in the Pacific Place shopping mall in hk. Cheers.
Galleria Shopping Mall 4F, Chengdu
成都宜家旁凯丹广场四楼
It’s due east once you exit the elevator. Basically just go straight and its at the end of the 4th floor.
Nice map heh. I can now ‘visualize’ its location with that sweet map!!
Quote:please realize that saying “better than Mandolino’s at least” does not inspire a lot of confidence; you might want to work on your closing technique. 🙂Actually I just want you to go there with no real expectations 🙂 If I would start preaching they’ll serve the sickest pizza you’ll ever have in Chengdu, you can obviously only get disappointed.
If we’re talking pizza, I just think it’s a place definitely worth visiting. I only like sitting outside though. Let me know what you guys think!
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