Campania Restaurant Southlake Texas

Bubba just finished his first month as an intern. It warrants a celebration if you put a person fresh out of medical school into the MICU and no major goof happens. If you live in the US, the worst time to get sick is during the first week of July when all the interns handling you are like chickens without heads running around. Don’t worry though, all doctors get wise beyond their years after their first intern week.

So, all’s good and Bubba survived his first month unscathed and wiser. His last day was a post-call day so, I have to cut him some slack and let him rest when he got home. After a few hours of sleep, I dragged his sleepy butt out of the bed and into the car for dinner.

We went to Campania Pizza for a hearty Italian Dinner and boy, we were not let down.

The place was subdued but not intimidating. The management reportedly flew in a lot of Italian artisans to spruce up the place and they imported Italian tiles for the structure. Italian tiles were so tiny, I mused. If you look at the picture, you will notice that at the back, there’s a collage made up of tiny Italian tiles.

I didn’t want to try something overpowering for my beverage so, I got the Italian Peach Soda and hubby had a Diet Coke (when in rome, order american food). It would have been nice to get some wine but I am a cheapskate and our coupon had a restriction on alcoholic beverage, I shall write about that coupon later. I loved my peach soda, but I have to remind the waiter next time not to fill the glass with ice. The soda tasted like water after 10minutes.

We got a Basica salad for starters. I do not eat vegetables a lot (an understatement), but when I tried their salad, I was impressed. I actually ate half of serving! Of course the other half was finished by my other half, who was surprised I actually swallowed the green leafy thing on the plate. The clincher was the house dressing. I don’t know what that is but man, that was good!

Let’s get down to business. We are in an Italian restaurant so, I shall order an Italian food. I have been preparing and we have been eating noodles for a good month now, so pasta is out of the question. Campania is known for their hand tossed wood-fire cooked pizza. Therefore, pizza it is. We ordered two types of pizza and we got the smallest pan size. May I remind you, dear reader, that everything is big in Texas. Make that humongous. Hubby wanted to order a medium but good thing I got my way and we ordered small. First up is the Capricciosa Pizza. It had italian tomato sauce, fresh basil, artichoke hearts, ham, mushrooms, black olives, Mozarella di Bufala and extra virgin olive oil. It was good but I am not a fan of raw mushrooms and that probably was the reason why I didn’t like the pizza that much. That and probably the olives, I don’t eat them too. But the pizza was topped with just the right amount of toppings and they didn’t flood the dough with sauce which makes it really good. I believe that any food must be prepared in a way that you can taste all the ingredients in it and not be overpowered by one main ingredient. Objectively, it was probably a great pizza just that I was not a fan of some of the toppings. My husband ate 4.5 out of the 6 slices (and if you do the math, yes, I ate just 1.5 slice).

The other pizza we had was Quattro Formaggi (that’s Four Quezo for you). It blew my senses. It was mmm-mmm-good! I didn’t regret listening to the waiter when he suggested we take that. It’s a must-order at Campania. How do I start? Mozzarella di Bufala, gorgonzola, provolone, shaved parmesan, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil, that’s what’s in it. Combined with that heavenly dough, I can eat this one forever. Their dough is thin with just the right balance of being doughy and crispy. It is baked in a wood fire oven and was simply heaven! The burnt starch and wood fire flavor were in harmony. Yummmmmm….. I haven’t been to Italy but my virgin palate can attest that pizza dough should only be baked in wood fire ovens. In the Philipines, it would be sinugbang pizza dough. I can go on and on but I shall stop and say that this pizza is a gold mine. One should try this if they ever go to italian restaurants.

“Leave the gun take the cannoli” and we heed the god-dada’s words. We took the cannoli, ate it and liked it. We were supposed to have the Nutella pizza for dessert, but I just bought a big bottle of Nutella and I have been eating Nutella and pan de sal at least twice a day for a good week now. So, no Nutella Pizza even if it is one of their best sellers. I would probably like my nutella pandesal even better.

One thing that would probably bring us back there is the entertainment at the rooftop. It was a sweltering 104degrees in Texas at 7pm. But what the heck, we are Filipinos. We don’t know what heat stroke is. A hundred degrees is comfy, thank you. They have live entertainment on the rooftop and that day there as a guy and his keyboards and trumpet (or something that looks like it at least). He had a good repertoire, some classics, some instrumentals, and a smattering of old but comfortably familiar songs. Kudos.

So, how much was my credit card charged in the restaurant for all these? A mere $6.50, I had to tip the waiter $3.50 for an even $10 (we did give him and the artist/singer more tips in cash). Yes, I am a tightwad but I know how to have fun. And our post-call dinner at Campania was made even sweeter by our Livingsocial deal. I got a $30 restaurant voucher for half the price. I paid 21.50 for great food, awesome entertainment and a chance to de-stress with my husband.

What was more entertaining was probably the teen agers on the rooftop of the parking lot. Five kids, 2 couples and one fifth wheel. It was funny but I feel for the kid who didn’t have a girlfriend. Don’t worry dude, you’re gonna have all the girls in the world when you become successful.