Italian food – Michael Eats

General Tao Pizza at Martino Pizza & Asian Kitchen

Published on November 19, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 178 Dupont Street, Toronto
Website: https://martinokitchen.com/

General Tao pizza. I’m going to say that again, just for emphasis. General Tao Pizza. If you can hear that combination of words and not immediately want to try that pizza, you and I are very different people.

Martino Pizza & Asian Kitchen is the unlikely combo of pizza joint and Chinese restaurant, which makes them uniquely equipped to serve the aforementioned fusion concoction.

The pizza comes topped with green peppers, red peppers, onions (which I skipped on my half of the pizza), and — of course — General Tao chicken (more commonly spelled “General Tso’s chicken”).

It’s… pretty good? The pizza itself is nothing special (it’s slightly better than Pizza Pizza, but it’s definitely along the lines of chain pizza in that vein), but the very generous amount of chicken on top is as delightful as you’d hope.

The General Tao chicken is fresh, with a nice crunchy exterior and tender chicken within. The sauce is very, very, very sweet, but of course, that’s what General Tao chicken is supposed to be. The contrast between the salty pizza and the sweet, tangy chicken actually works quite well.

Would I get this again? Probably not! But it’s fun, and I’m glad that I tried it.

Shawarma/Calzone Fusion at Keko Shawarma

Published on November 16, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3128 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://kekoshawarmaon.com/

As soon as I found out that Keko Shawarma sells a shawarma calzone, I was sold. I had zero follow-up questions. Shawarma calzone? Yes please.

It’s actually pretty basic. It’s filled with beef or chicken shawarma, a whole bunch of gooey cheese, and… that’s it. It comes with a salad on the side, along with a couple of little cups of hot sauce and garlic sauce.

I went with the chicken shawarma, which is definitely above average. It’s a tiny bit on the dry side, but it’s got a bunch of the crispy bits you’re looking for and is nicely spiced. It’s quite tasty.

The calzone was made to order and was hot and fresh, with a generous amount of chicken shawarma and melty cheese, and a thin crust that was mostly just a vehicle for the chicken and cheese.

The hot sauce could have been hotter (it was barely spicy at all), but the creamy garlic sauce was seriously tasty and quite addictive.

I’m glad I tried it, but I think I’d get the normal shawarma wrap if I found myself back here. Shawarma + calzone is a fun combo, but I think there’s a reason it’s not really a thing. The calzone wasn’t really better than the bread you’d normally get in a shawarma wrap, and the abundant cheese — while tasty — makes this taste more like a novelty than something you’d want to eat on the regular.

Tasty Roman Pizza at Ciao Roma

Published on August 9, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 28 Roytec Road, Woodbridge
Website: https://crpizza.ca/

Ciao Roma is a delightful take-out joint (though they have a couple of tables) that specializes in Roman-style pizza (which features a thick crust cooked in a square pan, also known as pizza al taglio).

I tried a couple of slices: margherita, and another one featuring salami, mushrooms, olives, and peppers.

Both were quite tasty. In particular, the crust is great, with a delicate crispiness on the bottom and a good balance of chewiness and fluffiness within.

As for the slices themselves, the margherita was tasty for all the usual reasons that margherita is tasty, and the other one was salty, meaty, and satisfying. This place has been around for several years (I originally discovered it thanks to an episode of You’ve Gotta Eat Here from 2014), and I can definitely see why.

Stellar Pizza at Cowabunga+ in Hamilton

Published on January 30, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Vine Street, Hamilton
Website: https://www.cowabungapizzeria.ca/

Apparently, Cowabunga+ serves the best slice of cheese pizza in the world. Well, okay, I’m listening.

When I found myself in Hamilton recently, a stop was a must.

They have a few different pizzas available by the slice, but obviously, I had to go with the award winning, best-in-the-world cheese.

The cheese pizza, per their menu: “marinara, mozzarella blend, fior di latte, oregano.”

It’s a very tasty slice of pizza. Is it the best in the world? No, but I’d be shocked if it weren’t the best in Hamilton, and it’s up there with the better slices in the GTA.

The crust has a bit more heft than the norm, with a good level of exterior crispiness, a satisfying dense chewiness, and a very pronounced sourdough flavour that’s actually quite delightful.

It’s very, very cheesy, but that substantial crust mostly holds up to it (though it was buckling and tearing a bit under the weight of the deluge of cheese). It might have been too much cheese on a different slice of pizza, but here, there was a good balance between the crust and cheese.

Unique Pizza at Venga Cucina

Published on December 27, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3076 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.vengacucina.ca/

Venga Cucina is a really unique pizza place in the Junction that serves a style of pizza called pinsa, which their menu describes as a cross between focaccia and pizza.

The menu also features a variety of antipasti and pasta, but clearly the pinsa is where it’s at. I tried a couple: the margherita (“pomodoro, mozzarella, basil”) and the gino picante (“calabrian nduja, cured hot sausage, pepperonata, fior di latte, sundried tomatoes”).

Apparently the crust here is made with a combination of rice and soya flour along with regular flour, and is fermented for 96 hours. This gives it a texture that’s actually quite different from any pizza I’ve had before, with a very crispy exterior and a super light and fluffy interior.

I wouldn’t want this to replace normal pizza (I did miss the chewiness you get from a more traditional dough), but as something that’s almost in a category of its own, it’s quite tasty.

Both pinsas were very good, though as usual, the tasty simplicity of the margherita won out. Still, both featured a really satisfying contrast between the good quality toppings and the crispy/airy crust, and both were kicked up a notch by the tasty chili oil they had on the table.