Argentina , Buenos Aires, Pizza → Pizzeria Ugi’s
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It seems like in every country, some local brandnames have grown up to a point where they hold the monopoly over a given economic sector. Usually they are not exported to foreign countries, except if they come from economic superpowers such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, Europe and so forth. Brandnames such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mitsubishi, Daewoo, etc. will easily make their way through all over the world. Yet in smaller countries, the situation is different. In Buenos Aires, for instance, there is a chain of pizzerias that seems to hold the monopoly over all the pizzeria market of the city. Its brandname is Ugi’s. They are simply everywhere in the capital city of Argentina. But once you get past the city limit, you never get to see one Ugi’s again…
In a Ugi’s, the menu is pretty simple. Actually the only choice you have is whether you want a quarter of a pizza, the half or the whole. The pizza in itself is always the same, you have no choice over the ingredients that are put in it. Well, actually, you can choose whether or not to put salt or oregano, once the pizza is served to you, but I would not consider these seasonings as ingredients. So you decide the size of the portion you want and the drink. Note that the price of a soft drink (gaseosa) is the same as that of a beer (cerveza). 3 argentinian pesos = 0,90 dollars.
So, you now know there is only one choice of pizza in a Ugi’s. But what kind of pizza is it? Is it pepperoni? All-dressed? Mexican?… Actually none of these. The only kind of pizza that is prepared in a Ugi’s is mozzarrella pizza. But the interesting thing about it, is the way the cook actually puts the cheese on the pizza. They do not use grated cheese as I believed was the only way of making a pizza. They put two or three whole pieces of cheese on the pizza. The following sequence describes how pizzas are made in a Ugi’s. On this first photo, the tomato sauce is being spread after having been poured on the crust. Let’s see what happens next…
As described in the last paragraph, whole pieces of cheese are put on the pizza, instead of grated cheese as one would expect.
The pizza is put in the oven.
When the pizza is ready, the crust is crounchy and the cheese has melted. Then, the pizza is removed from the oven. A cook then spreads the melted cheese all over the surface of the crust with a ladle. (This step is avoided when using grated cheese).
Voilà! The pizza is ready to be served! It is cut in eighths to facilitate its handling and consumption.
Just to make sure their customers don’t fall in the hell of drugs, a slogan says it all on the cover of their packages: “say no to drugs, but yes to pizza!”. Thank you Ugi’s, you saved my life!
