Customize your pizza at Project Pie

MILLIE: Karla and I are always on the lookout for something new to try.

Recently, in our area, we noticed something going on and before we knew it, a pizza place called Project Pie was open. It is located right next to Starbucks along Shaw Blvd. where the former Laurel Mansion was. Curious as we were, we decided to drop by one evening and were surprised to see the place packed with young and old pizza lovers. To think they had just opened and it was only their second day of operations! It’s a whole new concept wherein you order by number or build your own pizza to your liking.

The place is very casual and the staff well-trained, super friendly and accommodating so you become instant fans. Unfamiliar with the system, the staff assists and takes pains to explain how things go.  Service is brisk and the wait isn’t long. The seats are simple but comfy and there is even a photo booth station to record one’s visit. The focal point is the workstation, a huge counter where all the pizza toppings are showcased and a big oven from which the freshly baked pizzas emerge.

The only thing that bothered me is that the acoustics of the place isn’t quite right, so you can’t hear your order being called out when the noise level reaches a certain high, especially when the place is fully packed.

KARLA: The whole concept of Project Pie is to be able to customize your own pizza, from ordinary pizza ingredients to fancy ones like prosciutto and gorgonzola. It is set up in a way that you will have to go through an assembly line to be able to order your pizza. There are actually two ways to get your order in: you can either order by number or build your own pizza. By building your own pizza, you will have to start from scratch and choose between red sauce or white pizza with only olive oil on the dough.

The next step would be to choose the cheese: gorgonzola, ricotta, parmesan, feta and mozzarella. For the meats, the choices are pepperoni, crumbled meatballs, chicken, prosciutto, Italian sausage, bacon and Canadian bacon. Then comes the other toppings, including some vegetables and herbs such as green bell peppers, jalapeños, roasted red peppers, red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, black olives, garlic, pesto, pineapple, cilantro, fresh chopped basil, artichokes, rosemary and sea salt. The ordering line is very interactive since you can tell the crew on the spot what ingredients you would like to add.

Ordering by number you get the tried and tested pizza toppings created by Project Pie. If you don’t know what to order, check out the seven diverse flavors they have assembled.  No. 1 is the classic cheese pie, which I am sure kids who like plain pizzas will appreciate. No. 2 is a red sauce pizza that has pepperoni, Italian sausage, crumbled meatballs, mozzarella, and garlic, which is what mom and I shared our first time there.  No. 3 is a white pizza with tomato, artichoke, red onion, pesto, feta and mozzarella. No. 4 is kind of like a Margherita pizza with sliced tomatoes, fresh chopped basil, mozzarella, parmesan and garlic.

MILLIE: On another occasion, after watching the movie Red 2, Karla and I, together with my nephew Benjo Guingona, dropped by for a late dinner. I let them do the ordering and thought we were just going to share a pizza. To my great surprise, they ordered a pizza for each of us! Karla had the No. 5, which consists of mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola, parmesan, cracked black pepper, olive oil, garlic and fresh chopped pizza. Since everything was pretty much just cheese, I had them add pepperoni and crumbled meatballs. I had the No. 6 with grilled chicken, sliced red onion, cilantro, mozzarella and gorgonzola topped with BBQ sauce. I wanted to have the gorgonzola changed since she felt that it would leave a very strong taste on the pizza, so I had it changed to feta instead.

Benjo had his own No. 6 with prosciutto, caramelized onions, mozzarella and parmesan. I was amused and said to myself, “Ah, for sure Benjo will take home the leftovers for his baon the next day.” What leftovers? We finished it off!

KARLA: Aside from pizza, they also have salads, including a classic Caesar salad and mixed greens, but what intrigues me is their pizza salad, which I have yet to try. If I had been with friends, I would have definitely ordered a beer or some wine to go with the pizza, but I figured it wouldn’t be fun to drink alone.

For dessert, they have cinnamon sticks, which I wanted to try but then I saw the banana and Nutella dessert pizza and thought, “Can’t go wrong with Nutella!” And just because we shared a pizza during our first visit, we had another second dessert pizza, peanut butter and Nutella. In the end, we were only able to consume half of each dessert pizza so we had it boxed up. We hand-delivered the leftover pizza to Benjo’s doorstep and made sure we left with a big “tip” or rather, a promise that he would go back with us.

The taste of your pizza will rely solely on your choice of toppings and therefore choose wisely. If you need some help, the well-trained and enthusiastic crew are friendly enough and excited to help out and answer your questions. There is a certain thrill from watching the crew behind the counter prepare your pizza that leaves you salivating in anticipation, and that is the Project Pie experience.

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Project Pie is located at 515 Shaw Blvd., 1555 Laurel Street corner Shaw Blvd., Wack Wack, Mandaluyong.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.