More Pizza by the Sea - Gold Coast, Australia

Up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know there was a place called Gold Coast. I had heard the term before, but always assumed it was a nickname for the beaches of Australia. But now I know it is an actual city. And what a lovely city it is. The beaches go on forever, the sand is super clean, as is the water. No wonder it is also the location of Surfer’s Paradise. With the number and type of tourists that go there, it comes to no surprise to me that there is an abundance of places to get pizza. All kinds of pizza. I wish the selection were this big back in Seattle. In any case, I spent a few days in Gold Coast and visited two fine dining establishments, side by side, each offering a wide array of gourmet pizzas. It turns out that the two restaurants are owned by the same people.

The first night I went to Mario’s Italian Restaurant in Broadbeach, which is was where I was staying and is about a 30 minute walk to all that is Surfer’s Paradise. Seeking a more quiet and less touristy location, I wanted to eat close by the hotel. I got there at 6 and the place was pretty much empty. By the time I left at 8, the place was packed and people were waiting to get in. And no wonder – the food is really good in this joint.

I had seen a sign the previous day that they had a brick-oven pizza, so I knew this place would have something to sink my teeth into and be happy with. And with a selection of sizes and over 20 varieties, it was a good indication that they knew what they were doing. However, with such a large selection, it does become difficult to choose the right pizza. So many options, so little time. What happens if I choose the wrong one and I’m not happy with it? Sadly, it was happened before. But perusing the menu, there was one option that caught my eye and I had to have it on name alone: the Firestarter!

Now normally I would not pick these options for a pizza, but given the combination of the ingredients together and the name, I had to have it. So I ordered the medium Firestarter and the menu stated that it contained spicy marinated beef, Spanish onions, roasted capsicum (hot pepper), hot pepperoni, and jalapeno chutney. How fantastic does that sound? I normally would have ditched the onions, but I was travelling alone, so I went for it. I also ordered one of the more expensive red wine they sold by the glass, a local cab sav, but I can’t remember the name.

The pizza was brought out on a silver serving tray and placed in front of me. Since I had no side plate, I ate it right off the tray. And it was incredible. Not just in the “I haven’t had a good brick oven gourmet pizza” kind of way, but in the “holy crap, these flavors are amazing and I have never tasted this in a pizza before” kind of way. I took my time eating little pieces of it, soaking in all the flavors, washing it down with wine. It was probably the longest time it took me ever to finish a pizza, but by the time I left the restaurant, I was feeling most excellent about my life. No doubt the few glasses of wine helped with that feeling.

Too bad I did not have my camera with me. It was a pizza not to forget. The marinated beef was superb and the jalapeno chutney was divine. This is the kind of pizza I want to learn to make so I can serve to my special guests when they come a visit and drink 100 dollar bottles of wine with.

Summary: Marios - At $22 Australian for a medium Firestarter, it seems pricey when you order it, but a truly a deal after you taste it. This one is for the peeps who like it hot and spicy. Hands down 10 out of 10. They just don’t make them better than this.

So the next night, feeling bullish on my chances of recreating a similar feeling, I tried the restaurant next door to Mario’s called the Alto Cucina & Bar. With over a dozen pizzas on their menu, I felt my chances were pretty good. Since they are owned by the same people, or at least it seems that way to me, I assumed they would have the same attention to detail. But something should have me that things might be different when I let the waiter select a glass of wine for me and it wasn’t that good. It wasn’t good at all. He said it was a cab sav, but I begged to differ. It tasted like they opened some bottles yesterday, never sold them and needed to get rid of them today. The service was pretty slow there, so it was easier for me to finish the glass so they would see that I needed another one, rather than wait for them to come by and see if everything was alright. Of course I ordered something else, a pinot this time. The second sign I should have picked up on was the lack of names for the pizzas. They had numbers rather than names. I know lots of places do that, but I prefer names.

I ordered the #8, which was peppered chicken, bacon, onions, mozzarella, and “Kick Arse” BBQ Sauce. It was the closest thing they had one the menu that resembled the Firestarter from the night before. My expectations were too high. The pizza was the same size, but a completely different crust. Not as thin as the one from Mario’s. It was tasty, and the BBQ sauce added a nice touch to it that reminded me of some of the pizza places back on the east coast, but it lacked the spicy depth and sophistication that I was looking for. Nothing about this pizza was going to make me sweat. It was still a good pizza, but not a great pizza. If I didn’t have the Firestarter the night before, I probably would have ranked this one higher. But I was spoiled. So much so that I didn’t finish the whole thing, and I had no desire to take the remaining slices with me back to the hotel.

Like the night before, this place gets packed. By the time I left, slightly after 8, the place was hopping with people. Alto has a bar and I guess is a place to go before you go out clubbing, so it has more atmosphere for partying than it does for eating.

Summary: Alto – A pretty good pizza for $21 Australian, but at this place, you are paying more for the atmosphere than you are for the food. I don’t think you can go wrong here, but if you had to choose, go to Mario’s next door and get a pizza created with true craftsmanship. 8 out of 10.