Every few
months our ‘gang of three’ merrily trot off for a long afternoon meal. This
time, the place chosen for our luncheon was Baked & Wired. This is a small
pizzeria opposite Nagarvala School at Kalyani Nagar. Once you reach Nagarvala
School I suggest you slow down your vehicle or you just may miss it. The place
is quite tiny. It’s actually a shop with a mezzanine floor that serves as a
small restaurant. They also have a couple of tables placed outside. The place
though tiny, serves the most amazing monster-sized pizzas: their largest being
a 28 incher! They serve a chef’s special ‘pasta of the day’ as well and have
some delectable desserts on their menu.
We
began our meal with a cheesy Garlic Bread. They make their bread in-house and
the quality of the loaf comes across at the very first bite. It was filled with
bits of garlic and ample amount of stringy cheese.
If I did not have my eyes on
that pizza menu, I could have just made an entire meal of these babies. How
many of them? Gosh, don’t ask! :P :D My bestie found the raw bits of garlic a
tad too strong for her liking but my other friend and I, loved the robust flavour
of garlic and felt it complemented the cheese and bread perfectly.
As only
two of us were non-vegetarians we could not opt for the 28 inch monster pizza.
We chose one 12 inch, half and half: Piggy Delight and Cajun Chicken and a Pepperoni
8 inch pizza.
Our vegetarian friend tried their Deep Dish Mushroom Magic pizza
with an add-on of onions and an 8 inch Roast Garlic and Onion pizza with an
add-on of capsicum.
The
Cajun Chicken and Piggy Delight, both, were delightfully delicious. Thin crust
base which was smothered with yummy pizza sauce and topped with spicy chicken ham,
bacon, pepperoni and a superb amount of cheese (thank you guys for not being
stingy with the cheese). How can anything that has bacon and cheese not taste
good? It was excellent!
The Pepperoni pizza was a tad too salty. The Pepperoni (Baked
& Wired uses an imported Italian variety) is salty, so is the cheese and since the pizza has
no other toppings, the palate experiences a continuous hit of salt. A wee bit
of a vegetarian topping over this pizza (onion, maybe) would help to balance
the flavours.
I did
try a bite from each of the vegetarian pizzas. The Roast Garlic and Onion was
beautifully done, I could find no fault with it. As for the deep dish, it was
more like a hard-crusted pie. The crust is quite hard, probably because it has
to hold the fillings without breaking down. I would have preferred a lighter
crust which was less hard, but still retained the capacity to hold its
fillings. In addition, I felt the add-on of onion that my friend asked for marred the taste. This however, was not the fault of the restaurant. Some
things should not be toyed with at first try. Would I order this again?
Probably, yes, if they work to achieve a thinner crust.
We were
quite stuffed by the time we finished the pizzas but nothing would deter us from
trying the desserts. We did behave ourselves, though, and opted for only two,
to be shared by the three of us. We chose the Flaky Apple Pie with Chantilly
Cream and the Panna Cotta with Papaya Coulis and Toasted Desiccated Coconut.
The
Panna Cotta and the Apple Pie were easily the very best I have ever had in the
city of Pune.
The
Panna Cotta merrily jiggled on the plate which made us very happy puppies. It
was smooth and silken. The Papaya Coulis, though, was another thing altogether.
The combination of the coulis and the Panna Cotta just did not work. The
beautiful golden coloured coulis that humbly lay at the feet of that royal
Panna Cotta did not do justice to it. I do know that combination is the
signature of the restaurant, but, where the Papaya Coulis is concerned, I’m
sorry, Team Baked & Wired, the signature was a forgery; the cheque bounced.
Feel free to retain the Papaya Coulis but for those patrons, who feel this
combination does not work, do give us an option of another sauce. Any berry
coulis (raspberry, strawberry, blue berry – real fruit please, not the
synthetic one made from a jam bottle) will do just fine. The dessert in
entirety could have gotten a standing ovation from us had the coulis been
different. But, I will still give that jiggly Panna Cotta a veryyyyyy well deserved
10/10!
As for
the Apple Pie, the pastry crust was the lightest and flakiest I have ever had and
the cinnamon-y apple filling within was to die for. The Chantilly Cream served
with the Apple Pie, was delish but the Pie, by itself, was so perfectly made
that it could have done without the Chantilly Cream and yet been a success on
the plate and palate. (Team Baked & Wired, please retain the Chantilly
Cream; I’m merely trying to convey to the readers the perfectness of that pie.)
If ever
there is a dessert heaven on earth, this would be it! Sigh!! Team Baked &
Wired, please, please, do not, EVER, alter the recipe of that Panna Cotta and
the Apple Pie. They are ‘winners’ in every sense of the word.
My
friends tried a cup of Latte each. I’m not really a ‘coffee person’ but I took
a sip of the coffee, made an ‘urgghh’ face and left it at that. Both the coffee
aficionados, however, sipped away with a smile.
The
only thing that I need to bitch about is that the only drinks they serve are Thums
up and coffee. Due to space restraints they do not stock any other beverage.
They definitely need to have a better variety of drinks made available to their
customers.
Someday
I hope to go there with a bigger gang of friends so as to lay my eyes and my greedy
paws on that monstrosity (the 28 incher). :D Until then, sweet dreams of that
cheesy bacon-ham pizza, the Panna Cotta and that Apple Pie will have to
suffice.
Food:
4/5
Service:
5/5
Ambiance:
3/5
Address:
Shop No 3, Saniara Apartments, Opposite Nagarvala School, Kalyani Nagar, Pune
411 014
Tel: +91 8055394394
Tel: +91 8055394394
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