Pizzeria Ludica & Game Room

Generally, eating out with a bunch of friends can be loads of fun.  Imagine the combination of great food, entertaining company and a lively atmosphere, what can be better?  Well, I guess if we were in Vegas or something it would be atmosphere x 10.  Well, what happens when you've run out of things to talk about when an awkward silence comes over the table?  Make some dirty jokes?  Well, that doesn't really work on Gadget Girl...  But how about some board games and Neapolitan-style pizza?  Yes, that is much more of her fancy.

We ended up going to Pizzeria Ludica and their selection of board games for our team year-ender. During our first attempt at playing a game, we were "hosted" by one of the staff, who gave tips and even got us going.  She came back to check on us every now and then.  We started with some simple items including an order of Olives.  Pretty standard with a mixture of green and black olives that were a nice snack.  We also got the Caprese Salad that was somewhat overdressed and looked murky.  Despite this, it didn't taste overdressed as the balsamic was not overpowering and in fact, a bit sweet.

With the perfect amount of 3, Milhouse, Emilicious and I shared the Meatballs.  These were moist and meaty with very little filler.  They were mildly seasoned, where the tomato sauce did all the heavy lifting.  Tart and acidic, the sauce was spiked with fresh basil.  Although the sauce was not particularly rich, it had enough fresh-tomato flavour to make up for it.  Next, we got the Italian Sausage Linguine.  Not completely evident in the picture, there was a good amount of sliced Italian sausage on the other side of the plate.  Combined with green peas and a zesty tomato sauce, this dish was not longing for impact.  It was a touch salty though.

Of course we couldn't ignore the pizza, so we ordered the basic Margherita.  With a decent amount of leoparding, the pizza crust did exhibited some nuttiness and smokiness.  The crust was pretty crispy throughout and chewy and tender in the middle.  I found the tomato sauce to be somewhat tangy while well-seasoned.  Not a bad effort.  We were able to sample Sweet Tooth's Spinach and Ricotta Pizza because she left without it.  This was not bad with plenty of spinach and creamy ricotta.  With a smattering of artichokes, there was a certain tanginess.  Due to the ingredients, the crust was a bit more wet in the middle.

For dessert, Milhouse and I shared the Tiramisu.  Unfortunately, this was not a very good version of the Italian dessert.  First of all, the ladyfingers were a bit dry and lacking coffee flavour.  Inexplicably, on the bottom, there was a super sweet layer of caramel that totally threw the flavour profile of the dessert off.  The creamy and light marscapone cream was good though. Dessert withstanding, the rest of our eats was serviceable enough, especially while enjoying some cool board games at the same time.

The Good:
- Lotsa fun games to play
- Serviceable food
- Solid service

The Bad:
- Food is serviceable but not remarkable
- Eating and playing games can get messy