Pizza and Aperol Spritz in the Summer Time
I love pizza. Cheese, tomatoes, an excuse to put bacon on bread, there is nothing wrong with pizza. With this in mind I simply had to check out Forza Win, an event I missed last summer and was determined not to miss again.
I collected some good friends, and a very dear friend visiting from foreign climes, and we ventured East. Now i'm going to be upfront here, I am in no way edgy enough to make East London my stomping ground, this was again reinforced to me as we got off the tube near Aldgate and went to find the Forza team's new rooftop. However, all personal inadequacies about my lack of an undercut were swept aside when we saw the view from the roof...
Isn't London gorgeous? Now we were lucky because all day it had been bucketing down with rain, we came equipped with umbrellas, extra layers, and a sprinkling of hope. Thankfully we were treated with a clear night, if a little chilly.
Now this is the second year in a row that the lovely Forza win have invaded rooftops in collaboration with the much lauded boys over at Pizza Pilgrims. Once you've tramped up more stairs you can count a beverage waiting in the form of an Aperol Spritz, current darling of the London drinks scene.
Just what you need to get this pizza-fest on a roll, delicious, refreshing and way too drinkable! I was bloody starving by the time the starters arrived, and I wasn't disappointed, I think that the starter was actually one of my favourite parts of the meal.
Delicious, vibrant courgette carpaccio was paired with creamy english ricotta and E5 Bakehouse sourdough bread, accompanied by frutti di mostarda a tasty sweet yet spicy topping, was a really satisfying start to the meal, flavours you want to savour. The crunchy bread offset the smooth ricotta in the best way possible. There was a lovely convival nature to this event that made the food even more enjoyable, and we're not even onto the pizza yet!
The main event was equally scoffable. Dough was kneaded to perfection and topped with a deep tomato sauce. Normally i'm not one for my pizza missing, what I view as the integral component, oozey, gooey cheese, yet it had a really fresh taste and made a great start.
After it began the pizza came thick and fast, we were treat to the infamous spicy nduja pizza, smokey with sausage it left a devilishly hot afterburn which was more than a bit addictive. The other meaty additions were pancetta and fig (my personal fave), and Napoli Salami. Veggies were in for a good time too with artichoke and scarmoza cheese, portabello mushroom and smoked garlic, pizza bianco with courgettes and lemon and classic margarita offerings. The courgette pizza still lingers in my dreams.
Being intensely English the initial akwardness of sitting with people you don't know is overcome by Forza's drink offerings, wine is given 'good', 'better' and 'best' categories. One niggle for me would be what is on offer for people who aren't wine nuts, we may have brought up a few contraband G&T's from the downstairs pub, only to be rapped on the knuckles by the staff. Maybe it would be an idea to expand the bar options by a little more, but that would be me being picky.
Dessert was by the wonderful Gelupo, based in Soho but we all agreed that the flavour was a bit too far left of field for us. It was a mustard and apple flavour that was a bit too much about the mustard, but we were all so deep in a pizza hole that I don't think we minded too much.
Tickets are £30 and include entertainment, the tickets are all sold out for general purchase but 10 are released each week. Also just released are tickets to CUTS in partnership with the superior butcher The Ginger Pig are now on sale, and definitely high on my list of places to eat this summer. Check it out while you can.
