Gastronomic Inventions of Joey Pepperoni

Joey Pepperoni opened to the public on December 2005 at the G/F RFM Corporate Center, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City. This is where they have invited me and their other guests to try out their new menu.

(Top L-R) The facade of Joey Pepperoni. Its interiors in black and grey colors with their lamp covered in their brown paper bag. (Bottom L-R) Joey Pepperoni's Marketing Manager Carla. Pizza. Salad. Joey Pepperoni's Chef Anna.

Over the years, Joey Pepperoni has invested with the New York mafia image with the colors black, grey and red which was also their main colors for their previous menu however, since Filipinos are very festive and love colorful things, they have decided to change the look of their menu.

Joey Pepperoni's Marketing Manager Carla presents the new colorful menu and explains the items.

Spearheaded by their marketing team together with their chef, Anna, the team created new variants of delicious pizzas, appetizer, gelato and lunch meal in their delectable Italian-American inspired menu.

Joey Pepperoni's Chef Anna G. tells us the ingredients of the food being served.

Chef Anna explains to us the first dish that they're serving us which is the Baked Cheesy Fries. It's made out of rusette fries with their house special meat sauce (the same sauce they use for their pizzas), sprinkled with chili flakes to give that spicy kick, white onion, cheddar cheese and their special cheese sauce. Despite being topped with so many sauce and toppings, the fries remains crisp on the outside.

Baked Cheesy Fries

Another starter was introduced to us called Shrimp Fresh Salad. True to its name, the ingredients in the salad are really fresh like the light pinkish-red shrimp has the right amount of firmness and the green Romaine lettuce maintained its crunch in every bite. Other ingredients in this salad includes its honey mustard dressing, parmasan cheese and croutons to give additional crunch to the salad.

Shrimp Fresh Salad

Before the pizzas come in, they introduced another meal to us that is one of the all-time Filipino favorite, Barbecue Chicken Wings! Yes, you heard it right. Joey Pepperoni wants to satisfy every Filipino by bringing to Filipinos their favorite chicken with rice so that you don't have to worry about lunch when you're on a rush. The deep fried chicken is tossed with Joey Pepperoni's special barbecue blend at the right temperature and served at the exact correct time to maintain the chicken's crunch mixed with the mouth-watering sauce to give the crunchy and saucy satisfaction Filipinos love in their chicken. Having a bite will surely make you want more.

Barbecue Chicken Wings with rice

The pizzas in Joey Pepperoni have always been in thin crust but this did not limit them in putting more toppings in their pizzas which their crust can handle. The dough of Joey Pepperoni is always freshly made so it takes some time for the pizza to come out but the good thing is that it's guaranteed fresh which will not disappoint you.

Carla explains the difference of their pizza from other pizzas.

Their flavorful pizza lies heavily on their dough because of their secret ingredient as said by Joey Pepperoni's Marketing Head Carla. Their new collection of pizzas called Double Tops Pizza consists of four amazing flavors.

The first Double Tops Pizza served to us is the 3-cheese and Mushroom Pizza. The combination of three cheeses - mozzarella, white cheese and cheddar - gave the pizza a perfectly salty taste. These cheeses were mixed with bechamel sauce to make it a little bit creamy, anchovies, mushroom and caramelized onion. The toppings of the pizza created its mixture of salty, creamy and sweet taste.

3-Cheese and Mushroom Pizza

The next pizza is their Beefy Mushroom Pizza. If you love meat, cheese and mushroom, this is the pizza for you! The first layer of the pizza consists of a bed of mushroom topped with mozzarella, cheddar, toasted bacon bits and white onion. This is for those who would like to go on a diet without depriving themselves of good food. I personally love this pizza because it's a lighter alternative to a bacon with mushroom and cheese burger. Just a slice of this is enough to satisfy that burger craving.

Beefy Mushroom Pizza

For a Mexican twist, meet the Taco Pizza. It's an amazing pizza with all the taco fillings on top of it - beef, mozzarella, tomatoes, white onion, cheddar cheese and taco seasoning for the tickling spicyness. Unlike the real taco whose shell breaks and create a mess when you take a bite, this naked taco is not difficult to eat. The toppings stay on top as you bite into the dough. It's a wonderful way to eat a taco without creating a mess! It is a very convenient way to enjoy this Mexican treat! What more can you ask for?

Taco Pizza

The fourth and the last one for this season's Double Tops Pizza series is their Mushroom Alfredo. The dough of this pizza is smothered with bechamel sauce topped with mozzarella, ham, garlic, mushroom, red onions and bacon bits. It's alfredo less the pasta. Another choice for those on a less-carbs-diet. It's less sinful because there's no overflowing pasta and just a slice can already make one happy.

Mushroom Alfredo

As per Carla, it is true that their dough is flavorful. The dough tastes like a crunchy thin bread which absolutely fits their toppings! I can't wait going back to this place and have another pizza after this taste test!

Any sumptuous meal would not be complete without sweet endings under the name of dessert. So when the Cookie Dough with Vanilla Ice Cream came, I was really amazed that the cookie dough is shaped like a slice of pizza which fits into their theme. The cookie dough is soft and crumbly which holds the vanilla ice cream well as one digs into it.

Cookie Dough with Vanilla Ice Cream

The last dessert is another favorite of mine. Oh yes, it's Gelato! A lot of people are confused with the difference of gelato and ice cream. They might look the same but their taste is quite different. Gelato are creamier and softer than ice cream. It has less fat. Also, after you freeze a gelato that has melt, it still becomes a gelato unlike ice cream which becomes ice! The gelato in Joey Pepperoni is made from scratch so it's fresh and creamy. The price of the gelato is amazingly lower than other gelatos in the market which is a wonderful reason why one must have dessert here!

Gelato in cups: Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate and Pistachio flavors.

The only downside in having this el cheapo gelato is that it's not available in all Joey Pepperoni branches since it's specially made. Even though the price of the gelato is inexpensive, as you can see on the picture above, the serving is generous at 100 grams per cup! So better hunt the closest Joey Pepperoni to try it out!

At present, Joey Pepperoni has 21 branches. Half of it is company owned and half is franchise however, the quality of their products are the same everywhere since Carla and her team really goes to each store to try the food and check. The branches of Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria can be found at the following places: Robinsons Place Ermita, SM Mall of Asia, Fairways Tower at The Fort, SM Mezza Residences in Araneta Ave, SM North Edsa Annex, Eugenia Arcade in Iloilo City, SM Center Las Pinas, SM Cubao, The Columns in Ayala Ave, SM City Manila, Graceland Mall in Malolos, SM City Dasmarinas, DBP Bldg in Makati, SM City Lipa, SM City Tarlac, SM City Baguio, One E-Com in Mall of Asia, SM Calamba and SM Masinag.

Aside from the new menu, Joey Pepperoni still offers their Awesome Twosome! with either Pizza! Pizza! or Pasta! Pasta! combo for only P199. For those who might have heard this combo and are wondering, yes, you've heard it before. Joey Pepperoni was in charge of Little Caesar years ago. The group has reorganized itself and created the new Joey Pepperoni but they still have the rights on using the Pizza! Pizza! and Pasta! Pasta! combo which will forever stay. The only thing that will change is the choices of pizza and pasta. It is truly affordable and easy on the pocket for those who are working on their office and would like to have good food during their lunch breaks!

Awesome Twosome! poster inside Joey Pepperoni-Pioneer.

Before we left the restaurant, I was surprised that we were given packs of Kornados. Joey Pepperoni's gastronomic inventions does not only stop in their restaurants but they also make snack foods under the name of Kettle Foods Corporation (the makers of Kettle Korn popcorn). There are three variants of Kornados which is the original flavor, cheese and barbecue. It's a 3D shaped corn snack that's bubbly and crunchy. The bubbly texture is helpful for the flavors to stick on the snack and not on one's fingers. Kornados is now available in all grocery stores.

Kornados 3D-Shaped Corn Snack