Bloggers’ Bites: Pizza Brain/Little Baby’s

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Bloggers’ Bites is a series of posts chronicling the foodie adventures of Penn Appétit’s blog staff. On Saturday, April 19, 2014, Penn Appétit bloggers went to Pizza Brain–the world’s first pizza museum and home to the world’s largest collection of pizza memorabilia–and the world headquarters of Little Baby’s Ice Cream.

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A sampling of the museum’s collection.

Nicole Woon: Just a short walk from the Berks MFL station brings you to the storefronts of Pizza Brain and Little Baby’s Ice Cream. The two are eclectic, cozy spots in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, bringing an artisanal touch to basic foods we hold dear. The environment is just as much a draw as the edible fare is, with Pizza Brain’s extensive pizza-themed collection sprawled throughout the space (I was particularly excited to see the Chevron Payton Pizza delivery van toy I played with growing up). Only a fraction of their objects are on display, with the rest in a warehouse ready to rotate in for viewing.

Pizza Brain sells by the slice or whole pie, and gives you the option to mix up your pies within the confines of red versus white. For one half, we opted for the Granny Divjack. Replete with mozzarella, gorgonzola, slivered almonds, transparent slices of Granny Smith apple, and curled caramelized onions, each bite brought a sweet creaminess, with the apple’s sharp tang barely there. The Lucky Waggle made up the other side, the slices heaped with mozzarella, grana padano, pine nuts, fresh thyme, sweet dates, crisped prosciutto, and a healthy hairdo of arugula. The pie overall had an excellent crust, with a yeasty chew and wood-fired taste.

No meal is complete without dessert, and Little Baby’s delivered. I can’t say I’m a fan of pizza in ice cream form, but the Red Velvet Spodee Chocolate Swirl, Goldenberg’s Original Dark Peanut Chews Vanilla Molasses, and Red Bean Rice Crisps perked up my taste buds like a puppy ready to go for a walk. I was blown away by the vegan Chocolate Salt Malt; rich and creamy, it tasted just like a dairy-based version. It tasted even more luxurious sandwiched between cookies of USA Oatmeal and Chocolate Cherry Salt (both also vegan, might I add). Suffice it to say, we were ready to sleep like a baby after our Fishtown adventure.

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A pizza museum wouldn’t be complete without a pizzeria attached.
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Half-and-half white pizza pie.

Courtney Buell: This Saturday we headed to Fishtown to experience some delicious pizza and ice cream. After a quick SEPTA ride, we were in a quieter part of Philly. A short walk along cobblestoned roads passed large murals on buildings brought us to Pizza Brain and Little Baby’s. After looking at all the pizza memorabilia consisting of pizza themed comics, buttons and even barbie dolls, we ordered a pie to split. We got a white pizza with one half having crispy prosciutto, toasted pine nuts and topped with an arugula salad with balsamic dressing. The other half had a delicious array of cheeses like mozzarella and gorgonzola along with almonds, thinly sliced green apples and caramelized onions. After successfully finishing the entire pie, we found some room in our stomachs to have some ice cream in the attached ice cream shop Little Baby’s. The day definitely reached a high point as I ended the meal with a red velvet ice cream cone, which was creamy with amazing chunks of red velvet cake.

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Little Baby’s colorful front is something out of a Dr. Seuss tale.
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Ice cream sandwiches are a popular choice if you want to up your scoop game.
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Bloggers Courtney and Andrea lick up Red Velvet Spodee Chocolate Swirl cones.

Andrea Breeden: Stepping into Pizza Brain is like venturing into an interactive, wacky pizza comic book! Their “We the Pizza” declaration perfectly sums up their mentality: to serve delicious, fresh, and unique pizzas to true Philadelphians. Tucked in the up & coming neighborhood of Fishtown, the quaint shop housed tons of pizza artifacts and had an impressive cartoon mural in the outside seating area.

This hipster shop does one thing, and one thing well: PIZZA. After one bite, many of us were thinking, “Move over cheesesteaks, there’s a new specialty in town!” We scarfed down the Granny Divjack & Lucy Waggle, and the combination of wood-fired crust, white sauce, and specialty toppings made us official members of the “Clean Plate Club”!

The neighboring Little Baby’s ice cream shop was the perfect location for a post-lunch treat. After sampling exotic flavors like Easter Basket, Earl Grey Sriracha, Thai Peanut, and even Pizza (which, I kid you not, tasted exactly like pizza!!), I settled on the Red Velvet Spodee Chocolate Swirl, smooth and creamy with plentiful chunks of delicious cake. All in all, it was a fantastic foodie adventure…keep your eyes out for Pizza Brain’s announcement of delivery to Penn’s campus (which is apparently in the works!).

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The gang chillin’ by the pizza mural in the back patio.

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