Quick Bites: Sovily, Misfit Ice Cream, Little Baba

Pizza from Sovily
Pizza from Sovily

I had a slice of the Sovily Rosé (“Rosé Sauce, Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Parmesan”) from this place, and it was totally fine.  The fluffy crust was kind of lacking in substance or flavour (it’s reportedly sourdough, though there’s zero sourdough flavour), but it had a nice exterior crispiness and was generally pleasant enough.  The sauce tasted canned and was a bit too generously applied, but the combo of mozzarella and parmesan was nice.  I can’t say I’m in a huge rush to come back here, but it got the job done.

Soy Boy at Misfit Ice Cream
Soy Boy at Misfit Ice Cream

I was extremely intrigued by the Soy Boy flavour at Misfit Ice Cream, which the menu describes as “tofu fa, brown sugar ginger syrup.”  Tofu fa is a really tasty dessert made with silken tofu, and I’m certainly on board for an ice cream version of it (but then I’m on board for an ice cream version of basically any dessert).  The version here does a pretty solid job of capturing the flavour of that dessert, though I’ll admit that the texture — which was icy and dense — left a bit to be desired.  The whole point of tofu fa is its luxurious ultra-silky texture; if you lose that, it does kinda put a damper on things.

Chicken Tawook Baba Box from Little Baba
Chicken Tawook Baba Box from Little Baba

I was a pretty big fan of Little Baba when I tried a couple of their wraps; well, I just tried their namesake Baba Box, and yeah, they know what they’re doing.  The one I tried came with chicken tawook, a zippy fattoush salad, basil hummus, some pickles, and a generous amount of garlicky toum (which their menu calls “garlic cream”).  Everything here was quite tasty, particularly the perfectly grilled chicken and the basil hummus.  I’ve never heard of adding basil to hummus, and I was afraid its distinctive flavour would be overwhelming.  But they add just enough of the stuff to bring a nice herbal zip that perfectly complements the other flavours, and the ultra-creamy texture is a thing of beauty (it might be one of the silkiest versions of this dish that I’ve ever had).

Tasty Cold Cut Sandwiches at Bevi Birra

Bevi Birra
Location
: 3072 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://bevi-birra.com/

Though Bevi Birra seems like yet another place serving Italian cold cut sandwiches because that’s the trend, they’ve actually been around since 2020.  Props to them for doing this purely because that’s what they want to serve — not to jump on a bandwagon.

And you know what?  That level of passion makes a difference.  The sandwiches here are very, very good.

Bevi Birra

I tried a couple.  First up: the Anna Rosaria (“Prosciutto, provolone, rosemary aioli, olive tapenade, arugula”).

Bevi Birra

They make their sourdough bread in-house, and it’s absolutely fantastic.  It’s got a great crispy (but not overly crunchy) exterior, a chewy interior, and a nice sourdough flavour.  I could have just eaten the bread alone and walked away satisfied.

Bevi Birra

But everything else here was thoroughly tasty as well, with a nice hit of saltiness from the cold cuts and the tapenade, a creaminess from the aioli, and with the pepperiness of the arugula balancing it all out.

Bevi Birra

I also tried the Giovanna (“Hot sopressata, garlic ricotta, pepperoncino, honey, arugula.”

Bevi Birra

Both sandwiches were very good, but this one might have been my favourite.  In particular, the salty/sweet combo from the sopressata and the honey is kinda irresistible, and the sandwich’s spicy kick is very satisfying.  It’s seriously delicious.

Amazing Pizza at Tony’s Sourdough Pizzeria

Tony's Sourdough Pizzeria
Location
: 45 Mill Street West, Elora
Website: https://tonyssourdoughpizzeria.com/

Tony’s Sourdough Pizzeria opened a few months ago with a decent amount of hype.  That’s despite the fact that it’s way out in Elora, which is a bit of a trek from the GTA, putting it mildly (it’s about an 80 minute drive for me).  So when I found myself in the area?  Yeah, of course.

Tony's Sourdough Pizzeria

It’s a popular place.  I showed up right when they opened at 11:30, and it was already pretty packed.  Reportedly, they only make 100 pizzas a day before they sell out, so showing up early seems advisable, particularly if you’re making the trek from Toronto.

I kinda wanted to try every pizza on the menu, but I only have so much stomach space, so I went with the meatball and onion: “Fior di Latte Mozzarella | Italian Meatball | Caramelized Onion | Pecorino Romano | Fresh Basil.”

Tony's Sourdough Pizzeria

Wow, it was good.  It’s that crust.  A lot of places advertise that their pizzas are made with sourdough, and if you really concentrate, you can kinda identify a mild sourdough flavour.  Here, on the other hand, the sourdough flavour is front and centre, with a noticeable tang that gives the pizza a whole bunch of personality.

Tony's Sourdough Pizzeria

And it’s perfectly cooked.  The pizza is Neapolitan-adjacent, with a perfect leopard-spotted crust and a great balance between its light exterior crispiness and the chewiness within.  It has a bit more heft than your typical Neapolitan pizza, which totally works with the generously-topped pie.

Tony's Sourdough Pizzeria

And yeah, the toppings are stellar, too — the meatballs, in particular, are absolutely packed with flavour and have a great tender texture.  I could eat a million of these just on their own, but combined with everything else here, it was profoundly delicious.

It’s a ridiculously long drive for a pizza, so… is it worth it?  Yes.  Yes it is.  It legitimately might be among the 10 best pizzas I’ve ever had.

Tasty Pastries at Bartholomew Bakery

Bartholomew Bakery
Location
: 467 Edgeley Boulevard, Vaughan
Website: https://www.bartholomewbakery.com/

Bartholomew Bakery does well.  I showed up early on a Saturday afternoon and the place was absolutely packed, with a line out the door and a huge crowd inside.  I almost left when I saw how busy it was, but there’s something about a line for food that calls out to me.  What do those people know that I don’t??  I need to find out.

Bartholomew Bakery

Anyway, it didn’t take much longer than 15 minutes to get to the front of the line, so it wasn’t too bad.

Bartholomew specializes in various croissants, along with sourdough bread.  I got a pistachio croissant along with a loaf of sliced sourdough.

Bartholomew Bakery

I neglected to take a photo of the bread, which is a shame because that was probably the highlight.  All they had when I visited was the honey oat; I almost didn’t order this, because I was afraid it would be too sweet, but I’m glad I did.  It is indeed a bit too sweet, but it’s nicely balanced out by the tang of the sourdough.  The bread is dense, but not overly so, with a satisfying level of heft and chewiness.  It’s a solid loaf of bread.

Bartholomew Bakery

The pistachio croissant was quite good, but not on the level of the bread.

Bartholomew Bakery

The pistachio filling had an eggy flavour that I wasn’t particularly crazy about, but otherwise had a great level of sweetness and was absolutely crammed with pistachio flavour.  I wish they weren’t so generous with it, though; there’s just way, way too much of it, and it completely overwhelms the croissant itself.  I think it was a good-quality croissant (albeit slightly lacking in its crisp-factor), but the deluge of pistachio filling makes it impossible to tell.

Tasty (and Unique) Ice Cream at Good Gang Ice Cream

Good Gang Ice Cream
Location
: 656 Annette Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.goodgangicecream.com/

Good Gang’s been scooping up ice cream for a few years now, though they’ve only just moved to their new location on the west end in the last few months.  Judging by the pretty serious line when I showed up on a recent Sunday afternoon, it’s a hit.

I should note that their hours are currently a bit odd (they’re open from Friday to Sunday, 3:00pm to 8:00pm), but they’ll presumably be expanding a bit in the coming weeks and months.

Good Gang Ice Cream

When I visited, they had an assortment of 19 flavours — most of it interesting, oddball stuff like black currant leaf, majicha brownie, and salted yuzu.

(I should also note that the format of the menu is quite similar to the one at Bang Bang, which makes me wonder if maybe the owners here used to work there?  I will very strongly advise you to not try to look into this by googling “Good Gang Bang Bang,” however.  No ice cream facts to be found there, that’s for sure.)

Good Gang Ice Cream

I got a scoop of the toast flavour (“sourdough bread base, haskap jam”), and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

They’re clearly starting with very good quality ice cream — it’s thoroughly rich and creamy, and based on this one scoop, seems to be up there with the best stuff in the city.

And the flavour is quite satisfying.  I don’t know if there’s any particular sourdough flavour, but the bread — broken down into soft, fine crumbs — adds a pretty distinct personality to the scoop, and the jam adds a nice fruity sweetness (without being overly sweet).  It’s really tasty.