Quiet and little, and just off the highway, Donini's Pizza is one of the little guys whom simply want to be doing quite well.
Going a different route than many of its competitors, there is that indication of inventiveness that ought to be showcased to the local dining scene.
Well, it was time for the big one. The yearly event that fans will talk to you about, and clear the entire day's schedule (or forgo most to all of their sleep pattern) because of it. For the WWE fans, it was none other than the show of shows - Wrestlemania! Because of it being the show of shows, and the tradition of WWE Network pay-per-views equalling delviery, that meant there was no slacking off with this sucker. Especially in retrospect with the efforts to make this the biggest show ever.
My dining buddy was all for this one, and promped and excited. Scrolling through the options, something about this simply was urging me "pizza". Well, luck behold me because I found the perfect entry to compliment this annual event. On Menulog, Donnini's was offering a whopping 40% the first order and that ended up being the best value. So, a few days notice I log that in and await the coming day. On that day, I rushed a shower after my gym session to start the event early as it was going to be a long one. He turned on the oven to cook some garlic bread as a starter. From there, it was all good.
As it can be infered from its name, the mainstay of Donini's Pizza is - well - pizza. If you'e an adamant traditionalist, just turn your tail and run because this is not like any pizza you are going to get in Italy. What they do is incorporate ingredients from around the world, and match up all kinds of ingredients to create an array that is admitedly unique. On the side are ribs, wings and salad, plus some pastas and bread top it off before it is all finished with desserts.
I will take time out to say this, if you are a vegetarian this place is going to cater to you very well. The pizzas are just as inventive in the vegetarian section as they are in the seafood section. Really, with that in mind this should start becoming more prevalent on the map with pizza takeaways.
Getting onto the meal, the lot of pizzas ordered were all done with the option of half--and-half (getting more and more bang for the buck that way). Which ones were matched up with which, I do not remember. In the end though, it was all a tasty array of deliciousness.
First off is the classic of all pizzas, the margherita. This one had the effective mixture of a roasted roma tomato sauce, topped with a trilogy of cheeses - mozzarella, parmesan and boccocini - then finished off with garlic, herbs and basil. Definitely simple in comparison to many of the other ones that are upcoming, and it could have been spoiled not being eaten first. Scaling that back, this is one that will always test a pizza place and I reckon that they did well regarding it.
One upoming next is the supremo. In comparison to the others, this was a tad on the disappointing side. It seemed focused on getting as much on it as possible, and the flavours sort of suffered as a result. They don't skimp on ingredients, however. How does a mixture of pepperoni, leg ham, fresh mushrooms, red onion, capsicum, kalamata olives, with mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, and herbs sound to you?
One of my favourites for the night was the garlic prawn. It is hard to shake bias, and I really like myself some good prawns sauteed in garlic. These were hefty prawns in a garlic mixure, plus roasted capsicum, and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce, with the sprinklings of mozzarella cheese, and lemon pepper. All of this was garnished off with fresh shallots and lemon wedges. When seafood pizzas have this presentation, it is hard to fault them. The sauce on the prawns was creamy, and strong in flavour, then the other ingredients all around it did quite well. Another good pizza.
Even shaking off my adamant meat-lovers pizza eating from being a lad, sometimes I got to revert. That might have been part of the reason to get their "Rancho" pizza a.k.a. the ultimate meat pizza. We have pepperoni, prime lean beef, leg ham, and smokey bacon on BBQ sauce - garnished with fresh herbs. Meat lovers, what else can I say, and non-meat lovers I can't convince you otherwise. Moving on.
Now this is an odd one. I have reiterated before that the three moniker items are a great combination with flavours. They work well in a salad, and each one is so unlike the other it should not be so, but it is so. What we are talking about is the pear, blue cheese and walnut pizza. Add some nuttiness from the walnuts (still retaining it after cooking), sweetness from the pear and the unmistakeable bite of blue cheese, and that is a winner right there. Pour over with some olive oil, a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and freshen it up with rocket and this is one unusual sucker. Surprisingly, this was a light entry. My dining buddy took a surprise nad liking to it himself.
Akin to the margherita, the capricosa seems to be the other classic that is hard to escape. I have always had a liking to it, since the first time I tried this variety. Ham, olives, kalamatta olives, fresh mushrooms, mozzarella, garlic and herbs-garnished with fresh parsley make for an irresistable combination, which is what happens when anchovies come into the mix (by the by, absolutely love them - bit of make or break with me). For this one, a subtle and indirect form of service was done. During the ordering process, I attempted to see if it was possible to have them put anchovies on the pizza. They had run out of it, and put an apologetic message on it. No big deal here, still a good pizza with all those fantastic, distinct items on them.
Now we go onto the Sicilian. Pepperoni, roast tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, and olives with a garnish each of garlic, fresh herbs and parmesan. Much more vegetable based than most of the others, I reckon it was lacking as well. What it really needed was a good hit of chili or something spicy to truly give it a Sicilian flavour. The pepperoni was still large and meaty, olives were sharp with flavour and all those ingredients completed it all.
Last, and I doubt it is least, we have London bake. This sounded way too good not to give it a try. What do you think about a combination of baked potatoes (soft and fluffy), bacon, mushroom, shallots, red onion, and fresh cream garnished with sour cream sauce and shallots? To me, this sounds like a wholesome meal from a pub, with robust, distinct produce used to fill up the stomach. It was the largest by far, the items all added well to it, and I recommend ordering it.
And since why the hell not? To top off all this deliciousness, I also got a dessert calzone. The one that I ordered was a pear and white chocolate calzone. Folded over, looking like a massive samosa, it was great. The crust had a bit of a thick crunch to it, added on with some icing sugar, and the chocolate was like a small bit of lava. The fruitiness of the pear, and the finish of the cream made for quite the satisfying dessert.
Rating it a 4.0, that is to indicate that while this won't be seeing an entry on any of the "best of" lists regarding pizza in Brisbane, the food was still tasty, piping hot and decided to forog the Italian route of subtlety and mingling of ingredients. Enjoyable, there was enough for a few more snacks afterwards, and it should be given much more love by the local community.
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