11.196
19 (Sun) July 2020
Friarielli & Sausage Pizza
3.0
at Vera
-Hannam, Yongsan, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with the Family, Mom and Dad
Friarielli, as it is called in Naples, is a vegetable. Also known elsewhere in the world as rapini or broccoli rabe. Flavor and appearance somewhere between broccoli and kale. Popular in Italian and Italian-American cuisines, often sautéed in olive oil with garlic, or added to pastas, soups, or sandwiches.
As soon as I saw it on the menu, I couldn’t resist. In fact, it was my first time seeing the vegetable anywhere in Korea, as far as I could recall.
The pizza was good. The friarielli was overcooked and entirely tasteless except for a slight trace of bitterness, which did contribute a bit to balance against the saltiness of the sausage, but I would’ve preferred to taste more of the vegetable per se.
Anyway, we had already celebrated my father’s birthday last weekend (see 11.189 1++ Hanwoo Sirloin Strip Steak), but, I don’t know, my mother wanted to meet up again on the actual day, today, so we did. We had dinner at Vera a couple years back on the same occasion (see 9.192 Tuna Pizza) – my father likes the place because they don’t charge corkage.
In my casual observation of Korean food blogs, I’ve noted 3 stylistic trends that would seem common to virtually all of them, as if by strict regulation (see for example blog):
- The text is always centered, and very short in length, making it look like song lyrics.
- A given dish will be shown in multiple shots from slightly different angles, but pretty much the exact same thing.
- A small portion of the food will also be depicted in a person’s hand and/or on a spoon/fork/chopsticks, as if to show what it would look like just before taking a bite.
(For more details about the food, see WHAT)
(For more details about the venue, see WHERE IN KOREA)