31.3.07

getting it off my chest- al rifugio or sizzlers

i ve mentioned this place before so here goes
before al rifugio was given birth as a thriving pizza place by two(?) sicilian guys it was a run off the mill turkish kebab place in paceville
i don't go out a lot anymore
paceville has become a place for young people with questionable musical tastes
and a vanguard, forward-thinker, hip trendsetter like me cannot mingle about like a cheap man-whore
however when i do
i either get shitfaced in coconut (grove) on vodka-redbull shooter trays or else i pass through after watching a film at the cinema
(by the way you ve got to watch hot fuzz, cos i watched it yesterday and its nothing short of mind blowingly spectacular[even if you read this from like the future or something, look for it or for a Multi-sense-media enhanced release of the film and love life for at least another day{you ll know what i mean}])
what i always do however if i m in town
is to pass by this al rifugio place
dont look for al rifugio as the sicilian guys in there dont seem to have been too arsed about changing the sign that says sizzlers in highlighter neon style
ok basically without cluttering this blog post any further i must prescribe
this pizza to anyone that has ever eaten.
i dont usually use a fullstop to punctuate but that seemed appropriate
what is so special about these guys' pizza is that its magnificent simplicity is like that perfect wistful song or that uniquely attractive woman you see walking by who you ll never meet again
the experince is full of presence yet a little fantastic and fleeting and out of reach...
its difficult to put to words why basic pizza crust, tomato puree, cheese and salame piccante can be so out of this world
"una al salame piccante"
that is my favorite version
my second favorite would have to be the parma ham one
i really have nothing else to say
eat this pizza
and dont feel guilty over harbouring thoughts of pizza dedicated shrine-building endeavors
i know i won't
(i ll post photographs when the project is finished)

getting it off my chest - chinese place in mosta and turkish kebab in general

ok so i havent been a good blogger lately
so i m going to round up quickly anything i have to say for the time being
and hopefully this will lead to prolific blogging in the future

Da hua chinese restaurant in mosta:

if i had written this a week ago i would have completely shunned this place
however i must say that at least the sweet and sour pork is ok
chicken is bad though so stay away
only try if you want that dodgy chinese food experience
but the sweet and sour pork is good
i also had tried frog legs two weeks back
they re ok
much like tender moist chicken
except they really look like half a frog

Sofra Msida:
since i ve been working in hamrun
many a night whilst driving back home from work
i stop by this turkish diner
and they really do have some decent food
so far my turkish diner picks would be Sofra, both the one in msida and the one in bugibba,
and the doner place in naxxar
maybe its called naxxar kebab house or something like that
anyway
sofra in msida have this really good qarabali salad
qarabali is marrow
i think
anyway i usually take salads
to trick myself into thinking that i m working on my weight problem
however it is dawning on me that when nutritionists recommend salads they do not mean couscous, mayo-ed coleslaw, creamy potato salad, sweetcorn and fried qarabali
i think they think of green leafy shit when they do so
back to sofra
sofra also have very good pizza
you know... good enough
better than most places
but not better than al rifugio's in paceville
not by a kick in the nuts or a week's walk in a scorching desert
the kebab house in naxxar
have a cajun burger which is really the thing
big, filling, and with a layer of bacon and beef cutlets straight form the slowly spinning meat wheel
and you dont really need to take the side plate of chips
but hey its customary
here i also really like the istanbul special
a pastizz shaped, 17 inch, pizza pie , with an assortment of tasty kebab meats
what is also really good from these places is when they have a chicken meat wheel on the go and it is brown on the oustide
a chicken doner wrap with coleslaw and couscous inside is really something out of this world
i don't know why but the chicken open baked in that way gets glazed in its own fat so beautifully
that well ... it does....

i always accompany these meals witha peach juice in a glass bottle
i dont know the name but maybe its turkish too
the product is also available in cans
but i always find that food and drink taste better when eaten from glass or ceramic rather plastic or metal