Bufad
Posted by Sam Bloch on May 28th, 2013
Craig Laban enjoys Bufad, but he says he would have appreciated it more if there weren’t so many other great new pizza spots opening up around town.
I enjoyed many of the salads here, like the antipasto with remolata-topped roasted beets and sweet carrots paired with salsa verde. But the plain dough triangles of “pizza bianca” served alongside were so hard, we could barely bite through them. Ditto for the otherwise tasty ricotta panna cotta with tangy broccoli rabe and toasted almonds.
My biggest hesitation is that the pizzas – usually so appealing in their toppings – also often seemed to be missing the kind of subtle touch that can elevate one cool new pizzeria above the rest. Bufad’s Neapolitan crust itself is good, complex, chewy, and leopard-ed with char marks. But the classic Margherita lacks the flavor pop of a brighter sauce. Broccoli rabe, prosciutto, and mustard-spiked white beans are a smart combination. But the pureed beans were layered too thickly on the bottom. The mortadella pie would have been better with less sweetness from the rhubarb mostarda.
Two Bells – Very Good
Bufad [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Bufad [Official Site]
Related: Reviews, Bufad, Craig LaBan, Italian, Pizza, Poplar, Two Bells
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Posted by Foobooz on May 10th, 2013
Apertivo is an Italian tradition where bars and restaurants offer small free buffets while they sell drinks at full price. Apertivo at Bufad is how a Philadelphia BYOB makes the event work for them.
This sunday night, the 13th and Spring Garden pizzeria is offering a $10, all-you-can-eat buffet that includes antipasti (beets, carrots, pickled fennel, boiled eggs, roasted olives), chicken liver pate, Roman slices of pizza and roast pork. You bring the apertif of your choice and Bufad will provide the non-alcoholic mixers. The mixers will include grapefruit and mint, strawberry and basil, and lemon and tarragon.
Apertivo runs from 8 p.m. to close on Sunday, May 12th. Salute!
Bufad [Official Site]
Related: Deals, Drink, Events, Bufad, Cocktails, Italian, Poplar, Spirits
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Posted by Foobooz on May 2nd, 2013
Yesterday Bufad Pizzeria rolled out their spring menu. The pizzeria at 13th and Spring Garden has tweaked some menu items to coincide with what is seasonal for spring.For instance, the burrata is still on the menu but the winter brussels sprouts have been replaced with spring asparagus.
On the pizza side of the menu there are several new pizzas to consider. A southern Italian style Merguez (made down the street at Prohibition Taproom) with English peas and mint is now on the menu. And if you really want to go out there, Bufad is now offering a sweet and savory Mortadella pie, made with a bechamel and a rhubarb mostarda, finished with pistachios and arugula.
Bufad has been enjoying working with Greensgrow Farms in Fishtown to source local ingredients in order to make the menu Italian, seasonal and local.
More photos and the full menu »
Related: News, Bufad, Italian, Pizza, Poplar
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Posted by Alex Tewfik on April 13th, 2013
City Paper’s Adam Erace reviews Bufad, the BYOB pizza joint a stone’s throw away from Prohibition Taproom. Erace apparently experienced a different Bufad than what we’ve encountered here at Foobooz. Here’s what he had to say:
I tried two of Bufad’s pies and, sad to say, the excellent crusts couldn’t rescue either one. The “porcini cream” spread across a nightly special was more like condensed mushroom soup that liquefied in the 860-degree oven. Greensgrow watercress was a smart idea, but the past-prime leaves lacked their token zip, and piled on the wet, brown surface, gave the pizza the look of a muddy freshwater swamp. I didn’t know whether to eat it or look for beavers.
Alas, the second pizza was worse, combining two ingredients that are a logistical juggernaut to cook simultaneously: potatoes and eggs. Buried under fontina and gobs of pushy prosciutto, the former, sliced into thin rounds, had no chance of turning creamy or crisp. Cracked on top, the latter emerged with a properly runny yolk surrounded by whites so raw they should have been called clears.
Crust Fallen [City Paper]
Bufad [Official Site]
Related: Reviews, Adam Erace, Bufad, BYOB, Pizza, Poplar, Reviewed
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Posted by Foobooz on April 4th, 2013
Michael and Jeniphur Pasquarello already ran two outposts in Poplar—Cafe Lift and Prohibition Taproom. But when crowds at Prohibition became so thick that they were turning people away, it occurred to Michael that the vacant space on the corner of 13th and Spring Garden might be the perfect place to send them—with growlers in hand, of course. Here’s how the menu at his new Bufad Pizza came together.
Read the rest of this entry »
Related: From the Magazine, Annotated Menus, Bufad, Italian, Jeniphur Pasquarello, Michael Pasquarello, Pizza, Poplar
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Posted by Foobooz on March 15th, 2013
Show up at Bufad today and show the fine folk there that you are following the pizza spot on Facebook or Instagram and they will give you a piece of Roman pizza to celebrate the Ides of March. The promotion runs today till the dough runs out.
Bufad Pizza [Official Site]
Related: Deals, Food, Bufad, Pizza, Poplar
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Posted by Jason Sheehan on February 7th, 2013
Bufad Pizza made it through their opening last week, but before they opened the doors to the public, owners Mike and Jeniphur Pasquarello and their crew let us drop by for an early preview. We already showed off a bunch of photos from our afternoon in their care, but now we also have a video which, honestly, is really more about the food porn than showing off what the rather tiny storefront looks like.
Still, there were two important things we learned while hanging out at Bufad. First, the Pasquarellos now have a near-perfect binary restaurant arrangement with Bufad and their Prohibition Taproom right down the block. Bufad is BYOB. Prohibition sells growlers. Both places can regularly draw big crowds, causing waits at one place or the other, so the smart bet now is to work as a team. If there’s a line at Bufad, have half your party get a spot in it while someone else runs down the street for a growler at Prohibition to drink while you eat your pizza. Alternately, if Prohibition is too full, there are worse places to wait while the crowd thins out than Bufad. Have a couple slices of their Roman pizza while you wait and maybe an affogato to keep the energy up.
Here’s the deal with B-Side Social Club
Related: Food, News, Opening Soon, B-Side Social Club, Bufad, Pizza In Philadelphia, Prohibition Taproom, Spring Garden Restaurants
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Posted by Foobooz on February 1st, 2013
Today serves as the grand opening of Bufad Pizza at the corner of 13th and Spring Garden. The pizzeria is owned by Mike and Jeniphur Pasquarello (the tandem behind Cafe Lift and Prohibition Taproom) and they are turning out Neapolitan-style pizzas that rival the best in the city.
Check out the drool-worthy photo gallery below. And if you go, stop off at Prohibition first and grab a growler.
Pizza pics and the menu »
Related: News, Opening Soon, Bufad, BYOB, Growlers, Pizza, Poplar
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Posted by Jason Sheehan on January 25th, 2013
Bufad Pizza at the corner of 13th and Spring Garden has just one more hurdle to clear before their planned 6pm soft opening tonight: a final health inspection scheduled for just 2 hours before they unlock the doors. And while owners Mike and Jeniphur Pasquarello (the team behind Cafe Lift and Prohibition Taproom) are ready, they’re also a little nervous.
“We’re going to be a little crazy until that’s done,” Mike told me when I got him on the phone this morning.
But nerves aside, he also told me a little bit about the 30-seat Neapolitan-style pizzeria that he and his wife are bringing to the neighborhood. He bragged a little about his oven (a traditional firebox that cooks at about 900 degrees and can blister a pie in mere seconds) and talked about how he’ll handle take-away slices at the eat-in joint the same way they do in Rome–by cooking up long, rectangular pizzas and cutting them to order with scissors. The sliceable pies will include everything from the potato and provolone, Pizza Rosa with hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes and traditional olive-oil-and-rosemary Pizza Bianco pictured above, to odder combinations like butternut squash, sage, parmesan cheese and crushed amaretti cookies–which Mike swears is delicious.
You can check out the full eat-in menu after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Related: Food, News, Opening Soon, Bufad, Cafe-Lift, Pizza, Poplar, Prohibition Taproom
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Posted by Foobooz on January 7th, 2013
Bufad Pizza, from the team behind Cafe Lift and Prohibition Taproom have circled February 1st on the calendar as their opening date for their Spring Garden pizzeria. And with the facade coming along nicely (pictured above) and this recent photo of them testing out their pizza oven, it looks like they’re right on schedule.
Bufad Pizza [Facebook]
Related: Food, News, Opening Soon, Bufad, Jeniphur Pasquarello, Pizza, Poplar
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