Pizzeria Prima Strada
230 Cook Street
Cook Street Village
Victoria, BC
(250) 590 – 8595

E: If I recall correctly, Prima Strada began their operation in Cook Street Village and that place has been one that I’ve been meaning to hit. James and I have been to the Bridge Street location before, and I’ve gone back a few times since. Although the Bridge location is buried in an industrial side of town, the feel, as James once said, was like that of entering a garage. The wide open space was accommodating, but we also craved a change in the form of a very inviting diner over in the Village.

Yes, you can cue the theme of The Prisoner now.

J: I have no clue where Ed’s imagination is going, but obviously, he’s stuck in nerd land. At least I understood his enthusiasm. I was paying for the whole damn thing. Actually in truth this was a Christmas gift in the form of a gift card from my sister and her husband. But in the end I was sacrificing my gift in the name of friendship. Now that I think upon it, friendships can be expensive.

E: But I can see James eat his weight in gold given that he wanted to hit another place, like Rosie’s Diner afterwards, for dessert. I was pretty much full on the quattro stagioni that I had.

I didn’t have to know Italian to know that it would come to be with the ingredients separated out into its own little quadrants on the pizza pie. The cross hatch design was really neat, and I tore into this huge morsel not with my fingers, but with the scissors I provided for myself. I could have been weird and divided up the portions with a mix of anchovy and sausage, or anchovy and onions.

The combinations could be endless but I went for a straight up sampling of a pure mushroom pizza in one moment and all fish in another. The bread was a tad burnt but it had that lovely crust that I’ve come to associate with how Strada makes their pie. And I feel it’s best eaten fast while everything is toasty warm. Once that’s gone, part of the flavour is missing.

At least the Blueberry Basil Soda I had certainly hit the spot! It had a soothing quality which made my day.

J: Or wait until the pizza goes cold and wilted. I made the mistake of twittering more than eating and I paid for my tardiness in finishing what was a nicely baked pizza. If not for the pizza being slightly burnt (as Ed mentioned) my fungi pizza was rich with fresh mozzarella, pecorino and porcini mushrooms but lacking in thyme. The onions could’ve been a thicker cut to prevent them from becoming all soggy. In taste I couldn’t tell the onions from the mushrooms. What I wouldn’t give to have thick cut onions with a kick.

E: That’s what James gets when he’s glued to Twitter like a mad twit, er tweeter that he is. I wolfed down half my pizza while he was plugging our antics out to the world. Other than using standard mushrooms that any operation can get, I’d say what I ate had about three-quarters of my approval. I still want to see some places offer a seasonal wild mushroom delight. Any of those autumn flavours — lobster, chanterelle or morel — can be put on a pizza, I’m sure. I’ve made a pizza topped with girolles at home before and it’s tasty. I’m not sure why operations have not considered these alternative delights.

J: The Prima Strada village location is just as desirable as their Bridge Street counterpart. While the Bridge street operation feels more like a tavern out of The Lord of the Rings, Cook Street has more to offer those looking for a cozy intimate dining experience.

4 Blokes out of 5