Brooklyn Pizza

Rating:

The Philippine pizza market, about 10 years ago was probably dominated by Pizza Hut and Shakey's. You had the thick crust camp on the Pizza Hut side, and the Shakey's thin crust lovers on the other. And then you would have the more pinoy pizzas like Magoo's, 3M, your highschool cafeteria's ham and cheese pie heated in an oventoaster (pinoy pizza is going to a new level with Greenwich's sisig pizza, I was hoping it would come with egg).

Lately, there's been a move towards "New York" style pizzas, which have shown up one way or another on Pizza Hut and Shakey's (American Style pizzas, etc.). For this, I guess we have Yellow Cab to thank for. (another parenthetical aside, don't you notice, that especially with food, Manila food tends to copy and overcopy to death.. take Zagu and the other pearl shakes that followed it, most notably Shakes Bomb.. or Shawarma, or Lechon Manok..)

Anyway I had read about Brooklyn Pizza in the newspaper the other week, so I decided to give it a try myself. Securing a pie was not easy, as they only deliver to limited areas in Alabang and Makati. But after much haggling I was able to convince the Makati branch to deliver to Malabon. (By delivering to someone I knew in Makati who was going to Malabon..)


Delivery took 45 minutes for two pies. Pies are 18 inches wide, and here's the flyer so I don't have to type out the rest of the info:
The pizzas. I had one slice deluxe (which has all the toppings) and one slice white cheese (which is not kesong puti, as my sister believed it to be.). The taste is closest to S and R, not really Yellow Cab, and so is the size.

Those two slices are making me consider skipping dinner right now. Of course, the travel time from Makati to Malabon must've affected the quality, so I guess I'll have to wait when they open in Ortigas.

At around Php480 for a whole pie, and about 8 slices per pie the price is about 60 per slice. Not bad value considering Pizza Hut sells theirs at about same price with lesser diameter (then again, thicker crust plus stuffing, etcetera).


I guess Brooklyn Pizza's approach is less frills. Limited selection of flavors, and limited delivery area, with no guaranteed delivery time (they tell you over the phone how long they think it will take). Looks like they're targeting a niche, and choosing to avoid the 800 pound gorillas. With Yellow Cab expanding rapidly (they've got branches everywhere, but it doesn't look like many are doing extremely well), it'll be interesting to see how this strategy pans out (no pun intended).

Overall, the tag "we make New York pizzas, not New York-style pizzas" made me have expectations that were hard to live up to.

New York size yes, but I'm not sure about the New York flavor. Put it in the office rotation, for variety, and should be good for lunchtime blowouts as the carbs tend to be filling.