Ladies and gentlemen, the gentrification of the pizza pocket continues.
From the greasy, doughy freezer-case junk food that populates dorm-room mini-fridges across the continent, to the much-more-adult, respectable calzone, pocket pizza comes in many varieties.
Yet another curious high-brow variant? Aunt Trudy’s cheese and tomato pizza fillo pocket sandwich. It’s like spanakopita crossed with pizza, and it’s sold at Planet Organic, the place where people go to get away from stuff like Pizza Pops.
The Packaging: Interesting. The fillo pocket comes packaged in a foil-plastic pouch, which you slice open a tad before microwaving on a plate for a couple of minutes. The package acts as the pocket’s own steaming-oven chamber. It’s damned hot when you remove it from the microwave, and the cheese spills out of the packaging when zapped, spattering all over the place. I wouldn’t recommend this for an office lunch, unless you have a plate, cutlery at your desk, and a desire to scrub down the break-room microwave.
Hands vs. Knife/Fork: You could probably get away with eating this using your hands if you wait for it to cool down, but I find it too sloppy and flaky to make this easy. Use a knife and fork.
The Taste: Salty, with the fillo texture competing with the flavour of the filling. Reasonably cheesy, with a serviceable tomato sauce. The fillo is only so-so. Why am I getting a hint of cinnamon/nutmeg in the fillo? A bit greasy, but not too much. It doesn’t feel substantial enough, given the caloric/sodium damage.
The Texture: The texture is flaky and mushy, without any of the awesome stretchy cheese that makes pizza great. The fillo isn’t as filling as other types of dough, so it feels airy, not hunger-busting.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: About $3.99 at Planet Organic. They come on sale from time to time.
Value for cash money: Meh. A bit much for a snack.
Availability: Planet Organic. Check other organic and/or health food shops.
Nutrition?: Per fillo pizza sammich: 320 calories, 17 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, 430 mg of sodium. Also, 25% daily value of calcium and 10% daily value of iron. A mixed bag, nutritionally.
Vegetarian friendly?: Yes.
The verdict: I love fillo pastry, and I love pizza, but the combination doesn’t do much for me.
