Pizza you will eat with no crumbs left
There are two types of people: Those who eat an entire slice of pizza, and those who ditch the crust.
Johanna Marfil Tan is one such crust-ditcher—or at least she used to be.
Upon coming home from working corporate jobs together in Papua New Guinea, colleagues-turned-business partners Tan, her sister Jasmin Marfil, and their friend Arriane Enriquez banded together to put up Crusted with one goal in mind: to make sure diners finish their pizza in its entirety, leaving no crust behind.
The crust is arguably the most important part of a pizza. There is no pizza without the crust, which is the vessel that carries the rest of the ingredients that go into the dish. Yet that might also be the reason it has become such an overlooked component, with too little effort put into making it tasty since the flavors are going to come from everything else anyway.
It’s no wonder some people like Tan abandon the flavorless edge once they’ve consumed the parts with the toppings. “It’s not worth the calories!” she told Lifestyle, laughing.
However, her kids are the complete opposite, going only for the pizza crust. Feeling bad for her children, she was determined to make pizza that “you’ll really finish—up to the very end.”
Proper balance
For Marfil, the perfect pizza consists of “the right amount of ingredients or toppings without overpowering the flavors of the crust. It should always be balanced. And you should be able to finish the crust itself, not ditch it.”
Enriquez agreed, saying the flavors should complement each other and the pie itself should be “soft inside yet still have a crispy crust.”
“When you’re eating the pizza, you should eat the whole pizza. That’s what makes the perfect pizza,” added Tan.
Brought on by the enthusiasm of Tan’s husband for pizza making and Marfil’s lament over the lack of food options in her area that have both high quality and value for money, the trio opened Crusted in October at the Makati Curb Building in front of iAcademy on Yakal Street, San Antonio, Makati City, with a variety of interesting flavors.
Aside from margherita, burger pizza, and pesto verde, they do classic pepperoni pizza impeccably well using local Aguila pepperoni slices. The pizza is beautifully balanced, allowing each ingredient to shine.
According to Marfil, their cheese overload is a hit with the students while she herself prefers the vegetarian option. Enriquez’s favorites are shrimp marinara and humba, a sort of sweetened pulled pork (or Bisayan adobo) that her lola often cooks. Humba is one of Crusted’s signature dishes, along with their “hard-to-resist” chicken popcorn that’s made really tender so kids can eat it, too.
Delightful crunch
Tan swears by their truffle mushroom pizza and Hawaiian, which comes with a twist: Instead of pineapple chunks or slices, it’s made using pineapple chutney. “We purée the pineapple so it’s like a spread when you eat it,” she said, explaining that they made the change to keep kids from choking on pineapple strands.
But their secret really lies in their sourdough crust, which they make from their 5-year-old starter yeast bequeathed to them by chef Gino Catalon, who also helped turn their vision into reality.
Each bite is accompanied with a delightful crunch right before the teeth sink satisfyingly into a pillow of doughy goodness. Far from being flavorless, the bare crust is good enough to eat on its own. And with sourdough having the added benefit of being one of the healthier breads, indulging in Crusted pizzas also comes with much less guilt.
True enough, Tan said they have yet to see diners waste their crust.
“That’s what we always keep an eye on: Will there be leftover crust? Because that’s what our goal is: You’re going to eat our pizza up to this crust.”
