The Other Critics

Pizza Brain ‘More Than a Hipster Prank’; Catelli Duo a ‘Whole Lot Younger and Hipper’ Than Its Predecessor

• Craig LaBan checks out the Frankford Ave. pizza memorabilia museum and pizzeria known as Pizza Brain and realizes it’s much more than a “funky slice shop” and “North Philly hipster prank.” From the “delicately roasty” crusts, “bright sauce,” and “basil plume flickering with garden freshness,” he finds “there is substance behind the counters,” and in the “worthy variations on the classic crispy American genre.” The “too acidic” red sauce on the vegan Tom pie, and the “funky” and “off-balance” blue cheese on a Granny Smiths, almond and onion pie both “need tweaking.” The “butterfat-rich confections” offered at Little Baby’s Ice Cream (also under the same roof) are “as well-crafted as they are bold.” [Inquirer]

• In Vorhees, Adam Erace reports back that Catelli Duo is “a whole lot younger and hipper than its predecessor ever was”, and was “very obviously” inspired by Philly restaurants Osteria, Barbuzzo, Zavino and Pizzeria Stella. “Rosemary-rubbed” Osteria wings were “awesome,” while “soft scamorza-stuffed meatballs” left him thinking Mar Vetri ought to “watch his back” when he opens in Moorestown. The “tumble of clunky” calamari “tasted bright and fiery,” but “looked like something not fit for print.” A “floppy” crusted mushroom pizza “should have been cooked harder and seasoned stronger.” Fortunately, an order of “rich braised” beef short ribs proved “satisfying.” [Courier-Post]

Pizza Brain ‘More Than a Hipster Prank’; Catelli Duo a ‘Whole