You can tell the story from different angles, but it's more important to do it while eating pizza and drinking beer at friendly prices because these are the key points of the story.
Pizza X was born under legendary circumstances in a young home in Modiin. Admit it, it's a promising start—how many legends start in Modiin?
Omer Simon, a goalkeeper in the Premier Handball League, found himself alone at home during the COVID-19 pandemic when sports activities were halted, and his wife, Chelsea (a name straight out of a fairy tale), went on a trip abroad.
The extraordinary conditions, a passion for culinary arts, and excess energy led him to do what he had never done before and what any reasonable person would do: knead dough, let it rise, and start a series of home pizza-baking experiments.
From there, the pizzas began to be sold in semi-secret deliveries during the pandemic, and when this succeeded beyond expectations, a pizzeria was opened in the city's shopping center a year later.
Recently, about a month ago, Pizza X opened its first branch outside of Modiin. And not just anywhere, but on Dizengoff Street, a stone's throw from Dizengoff Center, in the one and only Tel Aviv.
This Isn't ModiinPizza X on Dizengoff is a small and modest pizzeria with a few simple tables on the sidewalk and only a counter for orders inside. It is much more than just a pizzeria.
It offers a full menu, mostly Italian-style or inspired, including starters, pastas, and desserts. And of course, alcohol, which we will get to soon. But the main attraction is the Neapolitan pizzas.
These beauties are large, thin, entirely handmade from start to finish, with dough that rises for 96 hours and other well-chosen ingredients without preservatives.
Interesting topping combinations create different encounters of salty, sweet, and spicy. The enthusiasm of the creators, a welcome and delightful aspect, spills over into some of the names: "Beet It," "The Four Crazy Ones," and such.
Nevertheless, the selection is vast, and when you have so many pizzas with so many combinations, choosing the names stretches the imagination to the limit.
Who Are You Calling a Crazy Pig?The flavors, as mentioned, are diverse, but generally, the pizzas are very tasty, meticulously made, with soft and tender dough, delicate sauces, and toppings that indeed work in harmony, even though the combinations seem likely to clash.
The meat pizzas particularly spoke to me, especially the one miraculously named after me, "The Crazy Pig" (cream sauce and bacon jam, pepperoni, bacon, Saint-Maure and Parmesan cheeses. NIS 88).
The sweeter ones were also good and original, like "Don't Get Confused" (pesto cream sauce, onion jam, mozzarella and Saint-Maure cheeses, and pineapple. NIS 74).
What to Drink?With all the indulgence and gluttony, the alcoholic purpose of our visit to Pizza X was not forgotten. The X team keeps a commendable restraint, even below that, in the prices of the drinks they serve.
The beer section includes three Belgian draft beers (details soon) at NIS 24-28 per half-liter, and several bottled beers (NIS 19-24).
Shots in a nice selection are mostly offered at NIS 12 each, and the cocktail department (only NIS 38) is active and still developing. Wine in a small scale and reasonably priced is the next planned step.
Great Feast at Great PricesFrom personal experience, draft beers pair well with the pizzas here. The Vedett Pilsner, light and pleasant with a twist of bitterness, was my favorite.
Surprisingly, the Liefmans, fermented with red berries and aged in barrels, was a great match for the pizzas.
The cute alcoholic raspberry juice was served, as it should be, on ice, and worked as a charming companion. Fans of richer ales can go for the Chouffe Blonde.
In any case, the choice of these three beers is right and wise, in my opinion, and which is the best fit is, as always, a matter of taste.
As the drinks menu, especially in wine and cocktails, takes shape and develops, and as the heat on Dizengoff's sidewalk lessens, I have a feeling that we will be able to have a great feast alongside Pizza X's pizzas.
Especially if the glass prices continue to go down smoothly.
Pizza X. Dizengoff 70, Tel Aviv; Emek Hahula 76, Modiin