Pizza Piola

Pizza Piola
Libertad, 1078 (Retiro)
Tel: 4812-0690 / 4815 – 4746
Mon thru Fri 12pm – 3am
Sat 7pm – 3am / Closed Sundays
[url]http://www.piola.it/[/url]

I've read that this is THE place to go to for pizza in BsAs and have to say that I couldn't agree more. I normally like my pizza loaded with everything, but thought that might be a bit too adventuress while in Argentina.

I decided that you can't go wrong with good 'ol pepperoni, but it was no where to be found on the menu. That’s because they don't have pepperoni in BsAs. That's right, no pepperoni... however, after describing it to my waitress, she hooked me up with their version which according to her is called ‘cantimpalo’ aka ‘chorizo colorado’.

A more common name for it that I later found out is 'calabresa'. Both cantimpalo and calabresa tasted very similar to pepperoni, but a little more tangy.

I ordered the cantimpalo topped with fresh parmesan and basil leaves(??). According to the menu I ordered the small pizza, but it was just barely smaller than a medium in the US.

The pizza and my usual bottle of San Telmo Malbec was AP $33.85. Notice that Piola charges AP $11 for a ½ bottle of Malbec. That’s a lot more practical for a 5 peso bottle of wine.

Also, be sure to bring the address with you. As popular as I thought this place was, I didn’t bring the address with me and NOBODY had any idea where it was at. After going back to my hotel and writing the address down, my taxi had me there in less than 5-minutes.

Thanks Young, for your excellent and useful reports. One small note on Pizza Piola; It is very close to the corner of Santa Fe and Libertad and would be in Barrio Norte, not Retiro, I think.

Also Pizza Piola is rumored to have the most beautiful girl in BA as a waitress (Sol). Works in the evenings. Ana the bartender makes a particularly wicked Cuba Libre.

Hey Stormy,

I changed it from Retiro to Barrio Norte and back to Retiro again. I knew this decision would fall into my "slow traffic lane" theory. Whenever traffic is building up, whichever lane that I decide to turn into will be the wrong choice. And sounds like this case is no exception.

Thanks for pointing that out and there was one thing that I left off for Piola and that is the saropino (mousse de limon and vodka). You haven't lived until you've tried one of these!

I don't remember my waitress's name, but there were several very pretty ones there.

While not exactly on point, the Piola on Miami Beach is a great spot. A huge selection of pizzas, including the "Buenos Aires" (which is basically cheese & onions, like a fugazetta) Cool interior decor as well. The bar is the best spot to hang out, but not really a full on bar scene.

Originally from Italy, this place has locations in multiple countries (Brazil has the most).

Because there is one near by where I live, I was not particularly compelled to check out its BA version (same with Novecento) and thus could only speculate about it. As such, because this board is supposed to be based on actual knowledge (as opposed to what you heard or may conjecture) I will refrain from doing so.

Some of the blogs are touting Guerrin on Corrientes as being very good.

Anyone been there?

[QUOTE=Timba8]Some of the blogs are touting Guerrin on Corrientes as being very good.

Anyone been there?[/QUOTE]Yes, it's superb, but you have to love Argentine-styles of pizza. Guerrin specializes in oily pizza of thick dough.

Andres

It is a personal choice. I hated the pizza. With so many wonderful places to eat in BA this was at the very bottom of the list. No good recommendation but try it, you just might like it. Very inexpensive. Open very late at night.