All around, trees have just begun shedding their autumn leaves, giving a brown tinge to black paved roads. The leaves rustled under the feet of a throng of commuters.
I was in Milan, Italy on assignment. It was lunchtime and the group I was with briskly walked looking for a place to eat. We were not looking for anything fancy, and what we had in mind was a place where we can taste the local flavors.
We finally found one. At first glance, the place is nothing special. There were no fancy signs, and the entrance is a gate made with wrought iron. The two-storey house typifies a ‘townhouse.’
We smiled and said the customary ‘bon journo’ to a young lady who appeared to be one of the waitresses.
This was a pizzeria which was already buzzing with activities as throngs of people go in and out.
We took our place and ordered the house specialty. Pizza, of course.
The pizzas were home-made, with very thin crust, and even thinner toppings. The appearance of the pizza was far simpler than the usual pizza I often see.
The waiter slash chef was quick on his feet delivering the pizzas, which were often stacked high up. I immediately noticed that a single customer often orders one or two of the very thin, but very wide pizza, often gulping down and finishing one in just a few mouthfuls.
‘Do as the Romans do,’ they say, and we ordered our pizza.
But we gave in to the Filipino way, and we had not so few curious glances as we began sharing the pizzas.
The pies tasted great. I gave in to temptation and ordered a mug of a nice dark brew to wash down the pizza. I was actually mimicking a customer I saw.
It was quite a gustatory experience. Home-made pizza and a home-made brew.
I would have wanted to stay longer, but after finishing the pizzas and my Italian brew, we said ‘grazie’ to the young lady and left satisfied.
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