pepperoni – Michael Eats

Thin Crust Pizza at Burattino Brick Oven Pizza

Published on April 9, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3109 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.burattinopizza.ca/

Burattino is an LA pizza chain specializing in thin-crust pizzas that opened their first location in Toronto a couple of years ago.

They have a handful of fairly unique pizzas on their menu, though the black garlic 120 pepperoni caught my eye — it comes topped with black-garlic-infused marinara, along with a whole bunch of pepperoni (120 refers to the amount of pepperoni slices on the large version of pizza).

For the unfamiliar, black garlic is made by roasting garlic at a very low temperature over the course of several days, giving it a unique jet-black colour and a mild, sweet flavour.

It’s a solid pizza. The black garlic sauce gives the pie a tasty roasted garlic flavour, which contrasts nicely with the salty pepperoni. The thin crust is a bit boring (it’s comparable to chains like Pizza Nova or Dominos rather than the better pizza joints in the GTA), but it gets the job done.

Tasty New York Pizza at Prince Street Pizza

Published on November 16, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 472 Front Street West, Toronto
Website: https://princestreetpizza.ca/

Prince Street Pizza is a New York pizza joint that specializes in square, Sicilian-style slices that recently opened in Toronto with a whole bunch of hype. The lines were reportedly around the block.

Thankfully, things seem to have settled down a bit (there was a short line when I went, but nothing too bad). The place is takeout only, but if you go around the corner to the shopping area at The Well, there are some outdoor tables to be had.

It turns out the excitement over the place is quite warranted; it’s very good.

They have a variety of more traditional slices, along with the square ones they’re known for. I went with the Spicy Spring, which is their signature slice.

This particular pizza is basically just no-frills pepperoni, but every element is right where it should be: the slightly spicy pepperoni is thoroughly tasty (and it’s the type that curls up into little grease goblets — the king of pepperoni), the quality of the sauce and the cheese is top notch, and the crust is great.

The crust here is greasy enough that it essentially fries on the bottom, and yeah. Yeah, that’s the way to do it. It’s crispy, chewy, and has a great flavour.

While I liked that the slice wasn’t too overloaded with cheese, my only real complaint is that this meant that a lot of the pepperoni didn’t have anything to stick to, and fell off as soon as I picked up the slice. But if that’s the biggest complaint about a slice of pizza, you know you’re in good shape.

A Genius Sandwich at Vilda’s

Published on January 1, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 209 Dovercourt Road, Toronto
Website: https://www.vildastoronto.com/

I think the word “genius” is frequently misused. A lot of people given that label are probably very good at what they do, but not necessarily a genius.

That being said, they’re serving a sandwich called “The Caesaroni” at Vilda’s, and whoever invented it is a genius. That’s just a fact.

The Casaroni, as per the menu: “Pepperoni pizza and caesar salad living in harmony inside a bun. Tomato Sauce, shredded mozzarella, pepperoni and romaine tossed in caesar dressing. Delicioso!”

It’s the type of thing that seems so obvious in retrospect. But would I have come up with it myself? Doubtful! Because I’m not a genius.

And it’s just as great as you’d hope, with an absolutely delightful combo of gooey cheese, flavourful sauce, meaty pepperoni, and zippy Caesar-dressed romaine. It’s like you’re eating a slice of pepperoni pizza and a Caesar salad at the same time. I could see a lesser version of this sandwich coming off as gimmicky, but this is legitimately delicious.

I also tried the latkes, which comes with an order of five brick-like latke rectangles. It’s far from traditional, but it features an outstandingly crispy exterior and a creamy interior; it’s great.

Pizza Perfection at Descendant

Published on June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1168 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: http://descendantdsp.com/

Is the pizza at Descendant the best in the city? I don’t know. It’s not not the best pizza in the city. It’s a contender, that’s for sure.

It’s so different from the Neopolitan-style pies that you’ll find throughout the GTA that it almost tastes like a completely separate dish.

Descendant serves Detroit-style pizza, which is cooked in a square pan and features a thick, substantial crust that’s delightfully crispy and greasy on the bottom. It’s kinda like the pan pizza from Pizza Hut, but a million times better.

This was my second time at Descendant; I liked it a lot on my first visit, but I liked it even better this time. It’s just so satisfying.

The thing that’s so impressive about this place is that the pizza itself is so good that they could easily phone it in with the toppings and just offer the usual suspects. But a lot of the flavours here are surprisingly bold and interesting, and it all works so well.

Take, for example, the Electric Avenue: “jerk chicken, fresh pineapple, curried lime aioli, green onion, Mama Lil’s Peppers, Diablo’s Fuego hot sauce.” It’s sweet and spicy, with flavours that are about as far from a traditional pizza as you can get. But it’s so good.

We also tried the special, which on this visit was the Mexican: “chorizo, pickled peppers, lime-pickled red onion, sour cream, tomato sauce, fresh cilantro.” This was probably my favourite pizza of the day — but they were all delicious. The flavours were so well balanced, with the brightness of the pickles balancing out the rich sausage and cheese.

The last pizza was the pepperoni, which was more traditional, but no less delicious.

One of the great things about this style of pizza is that you get such a great contrast between the crispy exterior and the soft interior of the crust. Plus, there’s a ring of cheese on the edges of the pizza that’s dark and crispy and amazing, and it’s just the best.

Mediocre Pizza at Papa John’s

Published on May 17, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1706 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: http://www.papajohns.ca/

Papa John’s seems to be slowly but surely expanding around Toronto; I guess they must be doing okay, because they opened their first location a few years ago, and they’re still opening new ones.

I have fond memories of eating Papa John’s during my childhood trips to Florida, so I guess there’s always going to be a nostalgia-fueled spot in my heart for the place. Because the pizza from Papa John’s was pretty bad, but I still kind of enjoyed it.

The crust is tasteless and vaguely gummy, the cheese is rubbery, and the toppings are mostly what you’d expect (except for the sausage — I can’t even sugar-coat that one, the sausage is flat-out gross). But there’s still something inexplicably appealing about it. It’s junk, and yet you find yourself compelled to take another slice.

There’s that old saying about how even when pizza is bad, it’s still pretty good. That’s Papa John’s in a nutshell: it’s bad, but… it’s also kinda good?

This definitely also applies to the dipping sauce, which is basically just a tiny tub of garlic-powder-flavoured grease. I enjoyed it in the same way that I enjoyed the pizza: with a furrowed brow and a not-insubstantial hit to my self-respect.