The Tuesday Taste: Blondies Pizza's 'Drake Was Here'

 

The next time I caught my own reflection

It was on it's way to meet you

Thinking of excuses to postpone

 

Another Tuesday, another Taste. This week, I clearly had a heart of glass while my taste buds were in rapture. Ah? Ah???

Ah. Well, at least it's an easy review this week. Why? Because I've had Blondies before and it was awesome. That was three years ago. This time? It's still pretty awesome.

I'll admit that this wasn't my first choice for the review this week, and that I also didn't know that Blondies had enough locations to qualify for my (vague) standards to qualify for a Tuesday review. I think I said at least four? It's fine since Blondies has five now.

On both visits I've been to the original outpost, a little pale boxy one floor station on the quiet corner of Dundas East and Hastings... directly across from a park I play softball at. How have I only been here twice? Actually, my softball team would always go for pizzas after games... pizzas from Stratengers on Queen near Jones... which sadly is no more since the spring. 

As for Blondies' pizza, there is something to say about a certain level of quality when it comes to a truly exceptional pie. This is not the best pizza I've ever had, but it is damn good: each element (sauce, cheese, dough, toppings) hit a high enough level to make each bite uniquely enjoyable. Even when cold it doesn't lose much taste.

 

 

It is a bit of a hybrid between wood fired and thicker pizzas, in that you get the pillowy crust with a bit of char but the rest of the pie is quite thin. The dough has a hint of buttery taste, as does the mozzarella, while the tomato sauce forgoes sweet acidity in favour of an earthy, semi-herby sensation. This isn't a particularly saucy pizza and while I do love those, the lesser presence of tomato sauce is pulled off here just because that minimal presence still impacts the greater result... adding occasional sharpness to the sweeter, saltier bites.

Yes, "Drake Was Here" is a Hawaiian style pizza so yes, there is pineapple on it (also, I don't get and will not get any musical reference this pizza may refer to. Way over my head). Situationally I'm extremely okay with pineapple on pizza, mostly because I don't see what the big damn deal is (I've had pears on pizza, and that was awesome too). 

The weakest element of this particular pie is... that it's trying to be a funky take on a Hawaiian style and juuust missing the bullseye. Of the toppings, the bacon is really darn great and steals the show (tender as peameal bacon, but soft and fatty also)... but the rest is merely good. The pineapple bits certainly aren't canned (the juiciness is contained instead of leaky) and the green peppers add a bit of bitterness in a right amount... but the drizzle of BBQ sauce is a notch (just a notch) too far. As a BBQ sauce it's fine, the brown sugary sweetness of it meshes well with the pineapple, but here it's just a little too much already with the buttery dough and cheese, tomato sauce, salty tender bacon, pineapple doing pineapple things, and green peppers... all pretty good but ahhhhh just a little too ambitious. 

Nevertheless it's still tasty, and I haven't even mentioned the best part yet. As I was giving my order over the phone, the brilliant thought of getting a dipping sauce occurred (seemingly obvious, but these things can slip the mind sometimes). Dips from pizza places (that aren't huge chains) can vary from the likes of generic nacho cheese or Frank's Red Hot sauce... to sublime levels that make you want to buy a jar of the stuff and put it on every sandwich you ever eat for the rest of your life. This dip you see here is a creamy black garlic concoction and... yowza. It combines the addictive creaminess of Pizza Pizza's garlic dip (admittedly a past guilty pleasure) but far transcends that with more genuine lingering garlicky taste. It's a mighty pungent flavour and overwhelms the slice itself so it's better with crusts only, but this truly is one of the best dips I've ever had for anything ever. Creamy, garlicky, somewhat peppery, lasting flavour... purely delightful. Apply in limited amounts.

 

I think I gave Blondies an A--(?) in the first pizza quest. I'd slip it down to a B++ now only because this particular pie, while equally strong in quality, misses that higher peak because of those secondary toppings. Still a Top 20 Toronto pizza in my view though, especially with that black garlic sauce. Just hook it to my veins. 

 

Burnt Ends -- Wish I had more to say here... I'm meaning to write more I swear! Life problems always get in the way of consistency...

That said, I'm thinking of brewing up another look at a discography of another band I quite like, so stay tuned friends, fiends, fellas and fellers. 

 

Canada Day Celebrations -- Definitely not in the mood right now for that stuff. Do whatever you please, if it's a family/friend tradition then do enjoy yourselves... but also do be aware of what this country you are celebrating really is. 

20th Taste -- Next week will be the twentieth edition of the Tuesday Taste, not counting the bonus episode I shared a few weeks ago (bonus episodes don't count! They're like the Japanese Mario Bros 2, only for the hardcore gamers). I have something really fun and large planned so be sure to check it out, it's an idea I've had since nearly the beginning of the Taste and I'm quite eager and excited to pull it off. 

 

Tuesday Tune -- While I totally have the damn catchy bassline from Blondie's 'Rapture' stuck in my head (sorry not sorry), have one of these* instead: 

*plus one of my favourite music dudes ever produced this album

 

 

That's it for me. I dunno... despite the great pizza and good tunes this was not a fun week... what with the growing historical heartbreak and overly aggressive evictions. There's nothing else here really to say to that... so be kind, listen to each other, take care and don't spill that mustard.