My pick of the day from the vegetarian creations (actually this fought a very valiant battle with the fig and ruccola pizza and toppled the earlier one over!) was the Braccio Di Ferro. Now the fact that I’m a sucker for caramelized onions in no way pumped this to the top slot. What did slowly but surely push it there, was the combination of baby spinach sautéed in garlic and the feta. The sweetness of the onion was balanced by the salty feta and the creamy texture also played a good supporting role. Every time I took a bite – the salty feta would hit my tongue first and then as my mouth savored the creaminess, the caramelized onions would add to the surprise and just when the pairing became too decadent, the garlicky spinach held it all together without overwhelming the taste buds. Really.Great.Pizza! We were told that because all the elements on the pizza were double cooked (carmalizing the onions, sautéing the spinach and then baking the pie) it would go very well with the full bodied flavor of Templi.

The next pizza from Genoa – Pizza Genovase, was a revelation. One that I assume will hit the popularity button very soon. Smoked chicken with basil pesto and roasted pine nuts. And the fontina cheese gave it the right amount of pomp! The roasted pine nuts were a very interesting addition, providing some crunch to every bite. Even though this was paired with the Templi, I much preferred the white Le Vele with it. The fresh pesto and crunchy pine nuts somehow tasted much nicer with the fruitier white.

There are some people who like to see their pizzas loaded with all the goodies in the world. In the vegetarian space that would be the Contadina. This is apparently a product of the Napoli region and all I could think of was that it is a veritable vegetable market in there! Grilled Artichokes (yes!), roasted zucchini, roasted bell peppers and mushrooms topped with sun dried tomatoes and fresh herbs! Did it work? – Hell yes!