BJ Pizza Wars V: Vineyard Cafe vs Alba
Calling all twitterati, fixed-wheel cyclists, jazz cats and denizens of the Drum and Bell Towers. Get out of bed already, ‘cos this Pizza Wars is for you. And going on the assumption that folk who erect wind farms or re-house stray Gobi sheep for a living are probably meat-free, we’ve decided to pit veggies versus veggies. The Vineyard Café, its couches long indented by the bums of bohemians, against Alba, who are so chilled out they’ve only just got round to making pizza after two years of salad. But, which is the best? Let’s find out!
In the red corner:, Roast Vegetables and Pesto, The Vineyard Cafe, RMB 68 (small)
Style Umm, Anglo-Californian. The scattering of la-de-da toppings like basil leaves and baby asparagus is very West Coast, but there’s a distinctively English Cheddar-y tang, and, well, boss Will is a Brit.
Crust Crispy and crunchy, with a nigh-on perfect thickness. A good effort.
Cheese 'n sauce Bronze colored cheese is rather oily and bears the sharp-ish tang of a cheddar rather than a mozzarella. Love the blobs of sun-dried tomato paste scattered about.
Toppings Enviable array of fresh ‘n colorful toppers including broccoli, ‘shrooms, black olives, onion and mixed peppers, plus a sort of sundried tomato paste and a basil pesto. Best of all – torn shreds of basil leaves.
Satisfaction? Indubitably. The small is still a fair size and will satisfy a single hungry diner. The weekday lunch deal (pizza, salad and a drink) makes it all the more affordable, too.
Morning after Fine if you eat it from the centre out, but the outer crust has turned to wood.
Next up...
In the blue corner: Vegetarian Pizza, Alba, RMB 58
Style I’m taking the liberty of coining a brand new pizza genre for this … quiche-za. Yes, it’s less pie, more flat quiche or flan. This is not surprising since it appears they bake it in a pan.
Crust Crust isn’t the right word. It’s like an oil-soaked pastry. Without insufficient heat and air circulation, this pie has steamed itself soft in the oven.
Cheese n sauce No noticeable sauce, which would make this a white pizza. Cheese coverage is rich and generous, and not too plastic-y.
Toppings A nice selection of mushrooms, grilled onions, spinach, peppers and a strong-tasting pesto sauce. In fact, one diner, in between guffawing about the non-crust, said the toppings were some of the tastiest he’s tried in Beijing.
Satisfaction? If you’re of the (correct) view that the crust is the most important part of a pizza, then this is a FAIL. But the toppings are tasty and balanced.
Morning after Well, at least this pie has no chance of drying out, but it's a bit like an oil-soaked sponge.
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Vineyard has long impressed with their pizzas, which are made with care and quality ingredients (some with smoked mozzarella, chorizo, proper prosciutto etc). Alba has shown that if they re-sit Baking 101 then they might be on to something. And at least they’re already a better bet than Cat’s Eye across the street.
Verdict? The Vineyard Café walks it.
Not sick of pizza yet? Neither are we. Come back next Thursday for more 'za. In the mean time, revisit previous battles here:
Episode IV: Tavola v Pizza by LMPlus
Episode III: The Den v Pizza Buona
Episode II: Eatalia v Pyro Pizza
Episode I: Hutong Pizza v Pass-by Bar
Follow the BJ Pizza Wars as we pit 24 of the city's best pies head to head here: http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/BJ-Pizza-Wars. Each Monday at 2 Tom O'Malley takes a look at two Beijing pizza joints while Thursdays at 2 Susan Sheng pits pie vs pie.
