BEST BANG FOR BUCK

OUR AWARD FOR THE BEST, TASTIEST CHEAP EATS IN TOWN

THE PIZZA BOX

ALEXANDRIA

We’ve always loved Salt Meats Cheese. With top-class produce and fun and welcoming staff, it helped transform Alexandria into the eating destination it is today. So when a pizza restaurant opened up within the shop this year, it wasn’t a question of “Why?” so much as “Why the hell wouldn’t you?” We love the mixed plates of cheeses and salumi but the wood-fired pizza oven, which they shipped over from Naples, is where the real magic happens. The Margherita is a joy, and at only $16 could feed two. But we’re happy to spend an extra $4 to make the most of the joint’s salumi and get the ‘Caramelized’. The crust here is tall, soft and bouncy, with a char and crackle that attests to the elegance of the dough. There’s a thick, melting layer of scamorza affumicata (like a smoked mozzarella) with sweet, caramelised onions and big rounds of fennel salami. It’s smoky from the cheese and herbaceous from the sausage. Don’t leave without trying the tiramisu. The chefs come in early each day to make it and it’s glorious – a big wedge of sweet, moussey mascarpone between layers of coffee-drenched savoiardi (aka ladyfingers). What we love the most about the Pizza Box is that they’re playing to their strengths. What are Salt Meats Cheese known for? Fantastic produce. What makes a great pizza, once you’ve got the base down pat? Fantastic produce. This is exactly what Salt Meats Cheese should be doing – and they’re not making you pay through the nose for the privilege. Salt Meats Cheese, 41 Bourke Rd, Alexandria 2015. 02 9319 2074. www.saltmeatscheese.com.au/the-pizza-box. Daily 6-10pm.