There are some challenges that just can't be ignored - some things that just have to be taken head on. Despite insurmountable odds and difficult obstacles, sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Enter the challengers:
JasmyneTea
Criniti's 1 Metre Pizza
Ready? Fight!
I'll admit, it wasn't a fair fight. I brought my step-mum Elain and 5 of her Tongan family members to help me out. Elain's sister Caroline booked us a table, but we were still a little delayed getting to our seats due to the sheer number of people, both dining and lining up outside.
Caprioska - $17.00
While we were waiting for Elain's cousins to arrive (45 minutes late - they run on Tongan time), we ordered a couple of drinks. Elain got the Caprioska, a refreshing concoction of lime, lychee, and strawberry vodka - 1 point to Criniti's.
This cocktail we ordered for the novelty cup, and the fact that it's meant to be for two people, but unfortunately it was a let down - it tasted like watered down red cordial.
Insalata Italiana - $16.00
We ordered a couple of salads to accompany our pizza. This Italian salad was a refreshing combination of tried and true ingredients: mixed greens, roma tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, roasted capsicum, liguaran olives and buffalo mozzarella, all tossed in aged balsamic.
Insalata di Cesare (with chicken) - $24.00
The Caesar salad was a thing of beauty - normally something I despise, the fresh lettuce, beautifully salty white anchovy and panchetta, char grilled chicken and broad slices of parmesan all won me over; Criniti's delivers a vicious right hook.
Pizza Al Metro (3 toppings) - $72.00 - 96.00 depending on toppings
And now, the main event! We ordered the whole metre, which meant we were allowed to choose three toppings. The Margherita was delectably scoffable; the thin, crispy, woodfired crust a perfect base for the sweet tomato sauce, fresh, herbaceous basil, and oozing, beautifully melted chunks of buffalo mozzarella. The Godfather was more delicious than it sounds, with chicken, creamy chunks of avocado, mozzarella, and semi-sundried tomatoes. The Calabrese was a meaty mixture of Italian sausage, salami, roasted capsicum, mozzarella, chilli and olives.
Finish him! (Who else played Mortal Kombat as a kid?)
The battle was of epic proportions, and so too were our stomachs by the end of the night, but it was official: Team JasmyneTea had won. To celebrate our victory, we did a victory lap around Church Street (which also helped us walk off some of that food). It was glorious, and we shall go down in the annals of history as those who defeated the legendary Pizza Al Metro. Win!
Criniti's
291 Church Street
Parramatta, NSW
2150
http://www.crinitis.com.au
Man, that's one LARGE pizza. I always see mega queues outside this place.
Love that your family run on Tongan time - priceless.
Posted by: Miss Piggy | Jan 15, 2012 at 05:56 PM
Good lord, a metre of pizza! Congrats on your group tackling it! Btw, I loved it when I heard "Ryu kick!" on Mortal Kombat.
Posted by: yummychunklet | Jan 16, 2012 at 06:55 AM
I'd be able to demolish the whole pizza without distractions such as drinks or salads. But I'd feel terrible the next few days, so I'd better leave it to the experts :)
Posted by: Gaby | Jan 16, 2012 at 09:42 AM
Wow, never seen such a big pizza!
Have a great week Jasmyne :-)
Posted by: Juliana | Jan 18, 2012 at 07:04 AM
OMG! That is SOME pizza. I bet there was some waddling on that victory lap afterward. LOL But I bet it was worth every calorie. ;)
Posted by: Carolyn Jung | Jan 18, 2012 at 01:15 PM
That looks awesome! What a great idea. Now I'm really starting to feel hungry!
Posted by: Hotly Spiced | Jan 18, 2012 at 02:41 PM
OMG that pizza is a monster! It looks fantastic though. Good work :D I don't think I'd be able to do it since I'm not a huge pizza fan...at most I can eat normally is around 2-3 slices. :P
Posted by: Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake | Jan 19, 2012 at 11:19 AM
The metre long pizza looks terrific!
Posted by: Angie@Angie's Recipes | Jan 19, 2012 at 09:46 PM
i tried the metre long pizza with my friends a few months back - it was epic!
Posted by: Excusemewaiter.wordpress.com | Jan 21, 2012 at 07:14 PM
I've always walked past Critinis on my lunch break, but never eaten there. I'm not sure if I could do a metre of pizza, and at that price you'd want to finish it all to get your money's worth.
I recall getting Mortal Kombat on the Genesis and my SNES friends being jealous because mine had blood. :D
Posted by: Lucas @CoverVersions | Feb 06, 2012 at 07:29 PM