Meat Lover's Pizza @ Fresco, Haifa

Last Thursday I visited the city of Haifa, to attend a show by local band Ke$$ef, opening for the Italian trio Psychofagist.

After the sound-check we got quite hungry so we went about town, searching for a place to dine.

Since time was scarce, we stopped at the first open venue - a pizzeria called Fresco. 

Meat Lover's Pizza @ Fresco, Haifa : pepperoni. ham, bacon

Most of the other diners were vegetarian, however I really wanted the taste of death on my tongue so I ordered a pizza all for myself.

A pizza named "sausage pizza" caught my eye, bacon, ham and pepperoni seemed like a great idea for toppings so the choice wasn't difficult for me.

The pizza was quite greasy - but in an amazing pork-fat and bacon-juice way. This actually made up for the lacking tomato \ pizza sauce which I like so much, but as I said, it was juicy and delicious enough for me to not care.

The pizza itself was quite basic, simplistic even, by far not the most impressive I've had but still, somehow it was pretty good - must have been the hunger.

Bottom line:

Price: 38nis

Location: clean, well lit, nicely designed

Staff: courteous

Improvement points: not enough beverage options

Verdict: will gladly return

Click here to read this post in Hebrew

Vitrina | Sausage (and Burger) Fest

Problematic eating habits a hard thing, especially for a foodie.
I have various issues, textures being just one of them. Never been a fan of ground or thinly minced meat; on top of that there's my growing dislike for meat in general.
It's not easy being me; it's also uncomfortable for my food companions.
Now, imagine what it's like when I'm invited to a place specializing in sausages.

pork and roquefort sausage in a soft bun, with fries, pickles, aioli and beet ketchup

I'm not a hater of charcuterie, but I do prefer my sausages dry, my hot dogs industrial, and I keep away from hamburgers due to the texture.
Vitrina offer over a dozen types of sausages and one sort of burger.
I ordered the pork and roquefort sausage, it was one of many interesting variations on the menu; with a side of 50/50 fries, an interesting take on your dull french fries in the form of potato and sweet potato fries, with parsley and lemon zest.
I ordered my sausage neat, it was my mortal fear of onions speaking - everyone around us were chewing tons of onions and that made me paranoid.
My order was accompanied by a ladle with an aioli of some sort and a delicious home-made beet based ketchup.
After exploring what others ate - I asked for their take on relish; just big slices of pickled cucumbers. They had the distinctive taste of a vinegar brine, and the yellowish shade suggested turmeric. They were divine.

sweet and regular potato 50/50 fries, with parsley and lemon zest

The sausage was delicious, although it was a bit hard for me to enjoy it's grainy inner texture.
The fries and pickles helped me drown my sorrow, that and the fact that the friends and I were having a great Friday afternoon, laughs in the sun included.
The missus called to say that she just finished her shift and that she's on the way to join us.
I ordered a basket of fries in the meanwhile.
Seriously, their fries are amazing.

I've been told that this hamburger is amazing

Several people at our table claimed this to be one of the best hamburgers they ever had.
I read that they use a smoked cut of beef neck as one of the ingredients; one blogger mentioned cheese being added to the mix (the hamburger in the photo above had some cheese under it).
My girlfriend didn't argue, in fact she wanted to go back for it several times since this visit, and she wasn't the only one.
Vitrina's unique and original twists on food and condiments are a winning ticket.
Another advantage was the background music - rock and metal; not everyone's cup of tea but we really enjoyed it.

Bottom line: great food, affordable pricing; even the fries, pickles and beet ketchup are well worth a visit on their own.

My Breakfast Sandwich: Cervelat

Pan seared slices of smoked cervelat, on whole grain dutch bread, with yellow mustard and HP sauce.

This is the stuff that delicious heart attacks are made of.

Don't judge me, I ate some vegetables afterwards.

Have a good day.