Pizzeria Cardamomo: Food from the heart
Love and food are so deeply intertwined, both nourishing us in profound ways. Sharing a meal can be an act of intimacy, a way to connect and create memories. The flavors, aromas, and textures of food evoke feelings of comfort and nostalgia. Such is the love story of Mohamed “Momo” Farouq and Sarika Batra, owners of Pizzeria Cardamomo in Redwood City. The couple met in Italy in 2018, when Batra, a California native, went on holiday with a friend. The two happened to be dining at the same restaurant and were sitting next to each other when they struck up a conversation. Batra was dining with her friend, who started peppering Farouq with questions and learned that he was born in Morocco and moved to Italy when he was 16, lived in Lake Como and owned a restaurant nearby called Pizzeria Cardamomo.
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Batra was single and so her friend kept urging her to talk to “this cute guy,” and even told her to go freshen up and apply lipstick! She took her friend’s advice and as the saying goes, one thing led to another. Batra and Farouq kept in touch and started a long-distance friendship even though they didn’t share a common language. Farouq speaks Arabic, French and Italian, and Batra speaks English and Hindi. As their relationship progressed, they met up in Switzerland, and then two more times when Batra went to Lake Como to be with him and when Momo came to San Francisco. Then the pandemic hit and Farouq had to close his pizzeria temporarily, so they decided to spend a month together in Baja California, Mexico. That sealed the deal for them and they decided to get married.
After the pandemic, Farouq moved back to Lake Como to continue running his pizzeria, and the couple had a long-distance marriage for a while. But Farouq decided that he wanted to be closer to his love, so, after being in the business for 35 years, he permanently closed his Lake Como restaurant and moved to San Francisco. The couple decided to open a restaurant together, following the same Lake Como concept in Redwood City. “He wants to do the best job possible. He puts his heart and soul in every single thing,” says Batra.
A passion for the perfect pizza & pasta
When I visited the pizzeria in Redwood City, Farouq insisted I call him Momo. He has a very inviting and loving way of making you feel right at home and his English is excellent! Batra has a full-time job as a showrunner and director of Meet the Drapers, a VC pitch show featuring generations of the legendary Draper family. She is at Cardamomo Friday through Sunday, in her signature red lipstick, personally greeting everyone and making sure the operation runs smoothly.
The food is excellent, everything is made from scratch; not a can or jar in sight. Everything is made fresh and simple, with Momo passionately spending days perfecting his pizza crust, meticulously checking the yeast temperature along the way. Chef Momo is famous for his crust where he uses a natural yeast which is light on the stomach and has that perfect crunch.
Pizzeria Cardamomo features a seasonally changing menu of organic, scratch-made sourdough pizzas, including unique creations like the Moroccan pizza with sausage and dried plums, as well as classics like Margherita, and Batra’s favorite roasted tomatoes and stracciatella cheese. If you go you must have the Arancini Cacio E Pepe, the perfect crispy risotto fritter with pecorino and parmigiano reggiano. The pastas are made to perfection, and Momo’s Carbonara with fior di latte, guanciale, poached egg, pecorino romano is a must have. I love desserts and the tiramisu here is wonderful. But what blew me away was the Panna Cotta with fresh raspberry sauce.
I saw how much the two of them shared a passion for the same thing; their unspoken glances were a nod to the days when they didn’t need words to express their love. Food is their love language, a way to express tenderness and create a shared sensory world, deepening their connection with every delicious moment.
Chef Momo also has his signature “secret” chili oil in a dark dropper on every table and it is addictive! He sent me home with a vial, and I drizzle it on everything, from pizza to popcorn.
Here’s my attempt at emulating the Chili Oil, Indianized.
Homemade Chili Oil
INGREDIENTS
6 Kashmiri chilies dried
1-2 boriya round chilies
¼ tsp ajmo (carom) seed
½ tsp salt or to taste
⅛ tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)
⅓ cup oil avocado or olive
PREPARATION
- Deseed the chilies by removing the stems and shaking or scraping the seeds out. Using gloves makes it way easier. Cut them into 1/2 inch-sized pieces and crush them in a coffee grinder that is reserved just for spices.
- Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the chili mixture and salt. Stir well and watch the oil closely. When the oil starts to bubble around the edges, add the amchur. Stir and remove from heat. Let cool.
- The chilies will continue to crisp in the hot oil.
- Transfer to a jar or dropper bottle and store in the refrigerator.
Pizzeria Cardamomo is at 2053 Broadway, Redwood City, California