She whispered: "Spanish Johnny, you can leave me tonight
but just don't leave me alone"
Another Tuesday... another Taste! My photography was seriously subpar this week (fries in front of the sandwich? Boourns) but some positive news: I'm seemingly back to my summer bar gig (in mid-late August... damn you summer last longer!)... baseball has been kind (the Red Sox can still eternally fuck off though please and thanks)... and I dunno my first vaccination? My shoulder hurts. See you in a month, needle! (ugh needles... might need emotional support next time, seriously).
This week we return to a fast food chain I've covered before, only sampling something quite different this time around. If you're in Canada and watch YouTube way too much like I do (damn you Gordon Ramsay! Red Letter Media! Cinemassacre!) you're probably bombarded by endless ads for this new Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich from A&W. Checking the actual product description, the website doesn't explain much about what specifically makes "Nashville" hot chicken especially unique (which specifically interests me the most) but they provide a thorough list of ingredients used. Cool I guess... avoid the aioli if you have a severe shellfish contact allergy.
I can get a bit deeper than that. Common consensus amongst the online, non paid content edition (you mean KFC is top ten best fried chicken in America? And Popeye's #1? Suuuuuure...) is that Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville (hey) is likely the origin of this particular brand of spicy and fried poultry.
The story actually seems rather hilarious and embarrassing enough to be at least somewhat true, even if the truth in that origin story is distorted to time and exaggeration, as mythology inevitably is. Regardless of that, Prince's is extremely well regarded (James Beard Foundation ain't recognition thrown around lightly) and their website teases a faded background photo of seriously delicious looking fried wings, then that's all you get. Even their Instagram reveals minimal food photography. Well fine! I guess I'll just have to go to Nashville to know for sure and try this for myself then...
...oh wait, I have a review to finish. Cancel that flight! I certainly can't say A&W nailed this obvious imitation, one ghoulishly designed to lure via surface intrigue over faithful homage. As an actual sandwich though: it's certainly the best fried chicken option I've reviewed on this show thus far. KFC was bland, weird in texture and barely seemed like food. Popeyes is tasty but also so excessively greasy you never feel quite okay after eating it... like your brain can't convince your stomach this was smart.
A&W here... it's acceptable, even kinda good, but a moderate let down considering the potential. The chicken does at least pull apart in tender strands like actual chicken breast, unlike the awful dry minced nature of KFC struggling to resemble meat. Popeye's at least maintains chicken texture, sorta, but again just so soaks your hands in layers of sitting oil, soaked in by heat under a hot light.
This A&W sandwich doesn't cheap on the chicken, it's a worthwhile huge chunk considering the higher price... and it hits a terrific balance between crispiness, tenderness and strategic seasoning. It needs more of the last though, since the biggest weakness here is a lack of any distinct explosive flavour. This is supposed to be based off the concept of Nashville spicy fried chicken yet this offering opts to play it safe and forgoe any memerable punch. Any sauce on this thing barely exists enough to mention, and the pickles are just pickles meant to exist.
For fast food it's a quality chicken sandwich, with enjoyable crunch and balance. The chicken is plentiful and not hidden by the breaded layer.... meanwhile the interior is tender even once cool. For a "hot" chicken though... this just... needs... more. As frustrating a 'B-' grade could be, if useful purpose erupted in distributing those.
The singular spice is in the seasoning sadly (unless their usual chipotle mayo was the second spicy element in which case... booooooo). I don't want my mouth burned off, as do most casual patrons, but just a notable something heat could being this up to the next level. Something that slowly builds with flavour, without aggression, but lets you know "here I am, adapt" by the second bite. This is more like a fried chicken fillet dipped in a watered-down Siracha sauce for colour, the excess dried off quickly and then dusted with spices. Hot fried chicken should linger, either comfortably or slowly insist upon itself if you don't notice.
I just was hoping for a bit more. Honestly this sandwich is perfectly fine, an overly accessible level of heat. Marketable, but no true introduction or promise to the Nashville title. 2022 it is then.
Oh yeah, the fries. They were unimpressive and also fairly cold once I got home, then my attempt to pan reheat wasn't successful enough to salvage them. I'll have to review again (let's say... Tuesday Taste #60) but for now they're just very meh fast food fries lacking texture, with very unseasoned flavour. Far better than McDonald's or Burger King (both revoltingly fake) but a serious notch below Burger's Priest or GG's.
Burnt Ends -- Apparently I'm reviewing burger joints lately. Left hand trying to find the other, etc. My latest was checking out GG's near Woodbine Beach, an attempt at a retro American style burger joint with 60s vibes the dominant theme. Definitely give it a read, I wasn't disappointed.
Tuesday Thought -- The possibility of going back to a job realistically looming for the first time in a year and a half, like being on a payroll, taxes and everything... the mind wanders in directions wondering what the hell I've been doing this past significant span of "free time" in my life.
Much of that wasn't remotely pleasant... what with the thousands sick, fear of being outside, accelerated depression, boredom, isolation, uncertainty of life ever seeming "real" again, then millions sick... well I think you get what I mean.
I can't medal myself with any kind of pandemic achievement story, but truly one of the best decisions I made was at least to focus some of my sporadic creative energy into writing these food reviews. First the local East End Eat ones and now these. It's given me something to do, a concept fun to focus on, and even as we slowly approach some new kind of reality (it still ain't gonna be the same, sorry) I do intend on continuing this weekly because... well fuck it's my show and as long as yall read it I'll keep doin' it, ya jerks! Stay tuned next week for more insults! Seriously, love ya all.
Tuesday Tune -- Shout out to my dad. I love these busy drums that keep the melody steadily moving, speeding up right when the emotion builds... the lovely piano touches adding to a cinematic sense... these tunes remind me of the sweet innocent energy on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, just with more band. I like more band when they're subtle and smoothly tight like this.
That's it for me this week. Hope you get out and do something you truly love (I hear Baseball is fun... some friend told me). Until next time, enjoy the summer when it's not weirdly smoky outside, be kind to people, be kind to yourself and don't spill that mustard.
We're back again, and quickly! Needless to say I was eager to get the nastiness of my last review out of the way... even if it meant going back close to the scene of the culinary crime.
GG's is a recent addition to the mini-plaza right off Lakeshore East and Northern Dancer Blvd, next to the Tim Horton's I always forget exists, a Booster Juice I never go to (blech) and a cursed restaurant location (currently the also new Toronto Beach Club, but was previously Carter's Landing and before that some lounge that began with an 'N' or something).
The schtick of this new burger joint is "Good Burger Vibes" (I'll be the judge of vibes, damnit) and the aesthetic certainly attempts to capture some positivity. There's a very faux-retro feel to everything, with colourfully funky artwork of burgers, fries and shakes that could be posters for a 60s psychedelia concert. When talking about classic American style cheeseburgers, going for retro style branding isn't a bad move, and in fact seems rather common when you think about Five Guys, In-N-Out, Sonic etc.
All the style in the world won't save the food if it's crummy, though. Thankfully, it's not! It's rather good in fact. The cheeseburger (which had cheese on it! Sorry but I'm never forgiving BnC for that) really gives an enjoyable soft texture, with the lightly toasted sesame seed bun, juicy patty (though slightly undercooked and mushy for my liking) and melted American cheese... it's just that classic combination executed with skill and care. While eating it I was trying to think what burger this reminded me of... maybe like a Big Mac except good?
GG's sauce is more of a mustardy relish though, which gives a nice little sweet tang to the heaviness of everything else. The beef itself might be the weakest link, as while it gives agreeable texture I would've liked a bit more distinct flavour from it. Ah well, this is still a terrific burger regardless.
The fries though... they steal the show. Maybe shoestring fries aren't for everyone (and I definitely recommend a fork here) but these were exceptional. Crispy, strategically salty, oily but not drenching your fingers... actually tasting like potatoes... genuinely some of the best fries I've ever reviewed. If GG's ever developed some kind of chili-cheese fries offering... look out. Seriously, I hope someone who works there somehow reads this and considers this idea. You guys are right by the beach and very few things just scream summer to me more than chili fries with a sunset by the beach. If you capitalize here though I do expect some credit. Just call the item "Mercurial Blogger Chili-Cheese Fries" or something (especially if it's a spicy chili!).
One last thing before I go: the dip. It's basically just mayo whipped up with malt vinegar, which I've never even seen before so originality points there I guess. As a dip it is a bit too "mayoey" for my taste, so I did the French thing of mixing it with ketchup (which always works like a charm). Solo it is interesting, but just needing one more element or texture to really work.
Anyhow, if you're down by Woodbine Beach and craving a burger or some fries... I again strongly suggest you avoid this place and check out GG's instead. They're somewhat hidden if you're on the boardwalk but just take a detour around the expensive patio lounge (yeah I ain't reviewing Beach Club) and you'll find a burger joint that is honestly very, very good.
Hoping for a better day to hear what she's got to say
All about that personality crisis
you got it while it was hot
But now frustration and heartache
is what you got
Hey we're back, in a non-pizza edition even! This time we're tackling a classic greasy dish I've never reviewed before, a personal favourite of this particular fastidious UK chef lad... Fish and Chips!
I'm not confident Chef Ramsay would be particularly impressed by this week's offering, but I'm a bit more forgiving in these matters than a world class chef would be (unless it's Pizza Pizza or Beaches N'Cream... then you shall feel my ghastly wraith).
Fish and chips isn't a dish I have much experience with. When I was a kid my dad would get frozen battered cod and bake it in the oven. A true quality fish and chip though? It likely wasn't until I first had Chippy's across from Trinity Bellwoods, which is that even still there? Long gone?? I'm not on Queen West ever anymore.
For badness sake, in my Drake Hotel days I tried Harbord Fish and Chips and did not enjoy that. The fish tasted like it was caked in thick grease and the newspaper holding it was drenched and dripping. Once I moved to the east end of Toronto in 2012 I tried Duckworth's near Main and Danforth and found a similar issue with the greasiness, although that fish at least was still very tasty beyond the excessive lubrication. I have to wonder if the Kingston Road location is better... maybe worth an attempt and review some day. Honestly, as long as it isn't this.
Anyway enough backstory (if you've been reading my reviews for a while you know I love the self-indulgence) so let's talk about Halibut House. Founded in 2004 by a refugee couple from Cambodia, Halibut House now has 32 locations throughout southern Ontario, most of them beyond the GTA. Their website excited me at first with a FAQ section, but unfortunately some of the potentially helpful questions for a seafood non-expert like myself ("What's the difference between Halibut, Cod and Haddock?") aren't directly answered. That said, the website is useful in terms of providing information about their own products, such as mentioning their batter doesn't contain eggs, dairy or beer (which I assume makes it vegan beyond any meat residue/contact trace in the frying oil), and also that their coleslaw is vinegar based.
Going into a place called "Halibut House", I obviously got the haddock. Duh. There are two very good reasons for this: first is again as a seafood non-expert I really can't tell much of a difference. Second: they have a Monday special on haddock and I'm a cheap-ass mostly unemployed dude. The fish itself... quite nice! As I've said before there is a special circle in hell for those who serve dry breaded fish (it's right above people who blast dubstep on the subway) and Halibut House thankfully provides a tender, slightly flaky fillet with a nice thin encasement of light crispy batter. It's cooked in (according to their website) soy bean oil and while I'm even less of an expert on that than maybe anything else that has ever existed... the results are an oily but not heavy texture and taste. There's no lard-like aftertaste or gross coating on the roof of your mouth (my biggest problem when I tried Harbord Fish and Chips 12 years ago).
This is a very light main attraction... at least within the context of eating a deep fried and battered thing. My only complaint is I wish there were more fish within that dish! It's not exactly all batter or anything, just that the tasty stuff within is a bit thin. Geez, I gotta stop rhyming.
As for the chips... they're fine. Somewhat stiff at points and crispy in others, as though they were cooked unevenly, but they taste like potatoes, are huge (as they should be for fish and chips), you get a ton of them, and aren't overly greasy beyond the oil of the fish seeping into them. They don't season their fries at all and are proud of it, as per their website "we want our guests to enjoy the great potato flavour and salt them at their own discretion". This makes them somewhat bland when solo, but they're not lying when they say that rooty earthy potato flavour is there.
I also went for a side of coleslaw, which like the fries was a portion I had to save the majority of for another meal. Creamy coleslaw is my usual preference, but this vinegary one genuinely won me over. It's simple, slightly sweet with a hint of acidity and enjoyably crunchy. A terrific compliment.
The biggest disappointment is the tartar sauce, in my opinion a crucial component for any fish and chip. The disappointment is simply that they don't have an in-house tartar sauce... instead offering packets from Ventura Foods Canada. Ugh fine, I don't expect a place like Wendy's or A&W to mix their own ketchup at every location... but tartar sauce is so damn easy and cheap to make. Get some mayo, some relish, some lemon and you're basically there (though there are far better recipes, obviously).
Overall... this was a modestly pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect since I'd never tried Halibut House before and these kinds of things can break badly and fast. When I tried a Big Mac a couple months back I seriously didn't think it would be that bad. Frankly though, Halibut House was good enough that I'd consider going back some day. As I said earlier: the light batter, lack of heaviness to the fish and consistent soft texture of the fillet speaks to a solid level of quality. The fries aren't amazing (Chippy's, RIP I assume, really had supremely good fries) but at least here they taste real and if they are actually pre-frozen, implicating their website as an underwater cauldron of lies!!!! ...well then they fooled me. A genuinely decent fish and chip chain in Ontario.
Burnt Ends -- Hey I'm finally up to things again! If you missed it, check out my review of local food truck/stall/van/nightmare box by the boardwalk Beaches N'Cream. It's a fun and different review than usual because (spoilers!) I did not, would not, on train or on a plane ever ever go back there, Sam I Am. Hoo boy would I not. It was a fun write-up for all the wrong reasons.
Otherwise... I have another article queued up for either tomorrow or Thursday, it depends how much editing I feel like doing when I get home Tuesday night. I'm also starting a look at The Smiths discography, a band I have a growing attachment to but is a hard one to write because I was already in my 30s once I started listening closely to their records. Artists like Beck, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Spoon, Zeppelin, The Strokes, QoTSA... for me they go back to those formative late teenage years and so always hold that unique place in the heart. I'll try my best, but it likely won't quite have the same kind of passion.
Speaking of records and artists that capture us at such a precious young age in such precise moments of time, my dear dad wrote a fabulous look at the catalogue of Bruce Springsteen. I still don't quite "get" Springsteen myself. I respect the obvious talent and showmanship but the music has never reached me at that certain level... but however you feel about The Boss this article is worth a read just for his opening tale of listening to Springsteen's second album for the first time when it came out and being so enraptured by it. That is the unshakeable power of music... oftentimes we (me) can't remember what freaking day it is, but we all have certain bands or albums or songs to which we can vividly recall those moments of being introduced to something that just changes everything. Now this exists within my own existence, and everything is better for it. Definitely give it a read.
Tuesday Tune -- Oh man... it would've been so easy and fitting for the song this week to be "Fish and Chip Paper" by Elvis Costello, a terrific song on his great semi-overlooked album Trust. Nah. Instead...after talking British New Wave and Bruce Springsteen... lets have some early 70s American glam rock/proto punk because it's my show damnit!
Hey that's it for me. I've been light on the political rants lately because so much of that stuff is frankly exhausting. Combined with my own personal difficulties it is an endless hill to climb and gather the energy to fight the glaringly obvious injustices or willful ignorance and infinite stupidity that populates nearly every moment of every day. I'll have my moments of wanting the microphone on serious issues, but regardless I still encourage anyone reading this to have more fortitude than I... we can protest against an unfair system while also recognizing we are individual human beings and as long as most of us are at least willing to listen and acknowledge something true and uncomfortable... there can be hope for a better future. Just don't spill that mustard though.
Something like this was inevitable. Last year I started these east end reviews during the early days of the pandemic as a way of shouting out some local restaurants, maybe giving them some publicity in my own minor way. Thus far it has been a win-win, with me getting to enjoy some restaurants I might not have tried otherwise while the engagement on these articles has been very positive.
I also can't lie to you, dear reader, since as much as I want to promote these small businesses there still needs to be a fair, objective perspective when sampling these places. Otherwise I might as well just be writing a wordy advertisement in the Beaches Metro paper.
So indeed believe me when I say that this food from Beaches N'Cream, pictured above, was bloody awful.
Seriously, this is the worst thing I've ever reviewed. Worse than Scaddabush pizza, worse than Subway, worse than KFC... a Whopper is heaven compared to this. This BnC burger is just pathetic. And expensive! 9.50 for a cheeseburger ain't exactly a bargain, and the dude forgot to put cheese on it anyway!
I mean, it's not like I was expecting much... it's a food box right by the boardwalk off the beach... but you also never know. Sometimes a random place that doesn't look like much might have a skilled cook who makes patties from scratch and knows/cares about what they're doing. But this... this makes the greasy food trucks outside of Toronto City Hall look like gourmet offerings. This burger and fries is the beach equivalent of stumbling downtown wasted drunk at 1am and anything you eat is gonna taste like tequila shots anyway so why not.
The taste is... what taste? All I taste is char and a lot of it, like a backyard BBQ at a cheap friend's place who didn't clean their grill and doesn't really know what they're doing. It's not juicy, not seasoned, an obviously frozen patty that split in half after my third bite. The lettuce isn't crisp, isn't fresh, the bun flavourless and stale... the freaking pickles were the best thing about this grotesque excuse for a burger. Maybe if it cost five bucks... well it would still be awful but at least somewhat excusable. 9... freaking... 50. Did I mention it also took twenty minutes to make? And there was nobody else around? And the guy still forgot the cheese? How? This is beyond "so bad it's funny".
As for the fries, they're passable but still not very good. They remind me of Pizza Pizza fries: slightly enjoyable via crispness alone but tasting like absolutely nothing, well except frozen. I couldn't even finish them. Six bucks. That's now sixteen dollars I could've spent on basically anything else, though burying it in the sand would've been a better use of it. Perhaps a dog would've found it and bought some fancy dog food! I would be jealous of that dog.
You know when you eat a very delicious meal, that pleasant sensation afterwards you often feel? This is the opposite of that: I was in a good mood beforehand and after this I felt queasy and started questioning my purpose in life. There was a nearby seagull pulling worms from a dirty puddle and I wondered how much worse that tasted compared to what I'd just eaten. It's probably closer than you think. Do..... NOT.... go to this place. It is horrific, suspiciously expensive trash. Ugh... I need something to scrub that memory from my brain.
Another Tuesday, another Taste! And this here is a big one, something fun I've wanted to do since I started writing these (almost) every week back in February. Special ideas need a special occasion, and with this being the 20th edition... the time has come for this one.
It's a pepperoni pizza party! Cue 90s dance music, confetti, warm Presidents Choice cola, a McCain's Deep'n Delicious cake and a huge bowl of Cheetos.
In the spirit of the Tuesday Taste, I wanted to compare the major prominent players in Toronto's pizza slice scene in a single sitting. This is why I'm not including spots like Superpoint, King Slice, Fourth Man etc... because those are all superior options sure... but I want to measure the chains you see everywhere against one another. Domino's, Papa John's and Pizza Hut are not included here because they typically don't offer slices (and are American companies, and I swear I didn't plan this out that the ones I tried are all Canadian chains). I also didn't include Panago, because I'm pretty sure they also don't offer slices, there isn't a location anywhere near me, and they're terrible.
Also I had fully intended to include a slice from Mamma's Pizza in here, but with the recent unpleasantness of the corporation locking out its staff at the Beaches location (essentially making them unemployed) with dubious notice (it is more complicated but I just feel for the workers)... Mamma's gets disqualified and doesn't get to join in this rock and rolling pizza party.
So here are the four we've got! In no particular order, lets roll:
We have much history, you and I. Way back in summer 2006, my very first days working at the Drake Hotel and being about as green and social as a tree in that situation... 18 year old me was delighted a Pizza Pizza location was right on the corner of Lisgar and Queen. I ate there almost every damn shift for the first few months I worked there and tried almost everything they had to offer, a grotesque error I feel personally obligated to apologize to Chef Anthony Rose for.
Eventually I got tired of this and rarely ever went back even when craving pizza on shift (thankfully more palatable food options eventually popped up around the Drake). This review was the first time I'd even been inside a Pizza Pizza since 2019 (a strange Saturday night on Queen West that ended with a severe anxiety episode... good times). This Pizza Pizza location though (Vic Park and Kingston Road) I have a pleasant memory of: showing up once at 2am a few years ago for just a dipping sauce and getting two slices on the house. Thumbs up there.
Enough nostalgia though! (I'm sure that's why you all tune in, right). Pizza Pizza just isn't very good. It's not! That should surprise no one to hear me declare such a thing. The flavour is all surface, as you find with D-quality food. Initially it tastes kinda okay, the texture is agreeable, the pepperoni adds some saltiness and there isn't anything glaringly gross about it... but the peak of this experience is how merely (and surprisingly) okay it tastes when still warm.
There's no aftertaste at all, no lingering sense of anything beyond just a substance being chewed in your mouth (and oh boy does it get chewy). When cold? It's completely untenable. The pepperoni exists merely for texture and a slight hint of grease. Beyond that, the flavour is simply cheap tasting cheese (lots of that) and rubbery dough.
What else can I say? It defines the type of food you consume when you just want to put something in your stomach because you're at a concert (remember those?), you've had a few overpriced beers and wanna be semi-functional when the headliner takes the stage.
I have to mention the classic dipping sauce of course, the creamy garlic that many people I know call the "crack" sauce. It's easily the best thing here, with it's whipped-like texture (you can't pour it or anything) and immediate sensation of creamy garlic taste on first contact. Yeah, it's fine... and I can't judge because when younger I often would go to Pizza Pizza just to buy that sauce with a pizza from somewhere else in tow. But like the pizza itself, there's little beyond those introductory sensations... it's creamy, slightly garlicky... it has the consistently of mayonnaise but that's it. It's addictive because the shot of flavour fades so quick that you want it to repeat, again and again.
Overall... I'm not at all a fan, addictive dip included. Maybe for Tuesday Taste #120 I'll go back for something else (but don't get your hopes up).
Pizza Nova
Over the past couple years of reviewing pizza, I've come across somewhat more forgiving of Pizza Nova than others perhaps would be. Much of that is because of my hack of ordering their cheap walk-in special and substituting the pepperoni with roasted garlic, which they're 99/100 times happy to do (garlic must be cheaper than pepperoni, food cost wise). Oh yes, they cover that beast generously.
How does their pepperoni (non garlic replacement edition) hold up here? Well after cardboard (I mean Pizza Pizza) it kicks ass. Overall though... I'm fairly unchanged in my opinion. Pizza Nova is perfectly decent: there's some depth of flavour, the cheese tastes more like cheese and not Chemically Engineered Cheese Product(TM), the tiny pepperoni cups have little pools of oil in them, there's some genuine crisp to the slice and I quite like their pulpy, sometimes chunky tomato sauce.
The problems are how just "okay" it is. You're not really blown away by it, like watching a sitcom you've already seen which only makes you chuckle once or twice an episode anyway. I've never much cared for their crusts (they get stiff fast) and I'd love way, way more of that legitimately good tomato sauce. It can get a bit crusty on the reheat as well (more on that later) as when the edge of the slice is thin it'll just get hard and crunchy, compromising a significant portion of the slice. This is also on the greasier side of pizzas (it's the cheese) and sometimes that doesn't sit well in the ol' tummy.
Again I have to mention a garlic dip. To me, this is the "crack dip" among pizza joints. Only the Blondies black garlic sauce (which I recently reviewed) comfortably exceeds the Nova garlic sauce in my mind, because I can never get enough. This could just be my personal preference, because I'm not sure at any point in my life I've ever said anything has had too much garlic (frankly it seems like a scientific impossibility to me) but I just love that initial sting of rich garlic and something like parmesan cheese you get from the Nova dip... and the taste lingers longer than two seconds. The sauce is more of an actual sauce (rather like a thin caesar salad dressing) than the congealed "whatever" the Pizza Pizza garlic dip is, as in you can actually pour it onto things! Remarkable.
Overall... the pepperoni slice from Nova doesn't overly impress this jaded food reviewer, but there's enough to not disappoint. If it's 1am, I'm starving and there's nowhere else to go, at least here's a reliable go-to, even when it's not even your Plan D.
Pizzaiolo
Here's just what you want... more backstory! Mostly just that when I was going to UofT sixteen centuries ago, oftentimes my lunch between classes would be a slice from a Pizzaiolo location near Yonge and Bloor. I also vaguely remember biking with a full Pizzaiolo pizza from Jane and Bloor to the Drake Hotel for a shift one evening. Hey, I'm good at riding a bicycle with a pizza box (a fact which surely surprises no one).
Speaking of surprises, here's one right here: this slice is excellent. Maybe in the past I'd fallen into a habit of constantly getting the same thing whenever I went to Pizzaiolo, and so eventually wrote them off once sick of that particular option. Or, as they rapidly grew from like four locations to thirty seemingly in one summer, the quality seemed stretched thin at certain outposts.
Everything here works well though: the dough is soft and contained by a nice crisp floor, different flavours (like the buttery bread, oily cheese, seasoned pepperoni, baked cheese bun-like crust) work in tandem to allow each element to pop in on each bite. I always knew their slices weren't bland but the texture eventually turned me off of them, as I increasingly found it dry and some wheat in the dough left a lingering bad impression.
Here, I'm not really sure what to complain about. This is also by far the biggest slice of the four you see in the picture, in both height and overall real estate, and the most generous with the pepperoni. It's a bit oily, and once again please just give me more sauce underneath everything else (you can tell I like my deep dish pies). The garlic dip is meh? It is, but Heinz makes it, not Pizzaiolo. It's like a cross between the Pizza Pizza and Nova ones, very mayo like, but lacks the particulars that give those two their respective charms.
This here is a level of pizza without a glaring weakness and so its flaws are merely dictated by its modest ceiling. I'd personally say this is above average, but only just. They pile on the pepperoni generously, the seasonings show more than they give to enhance the cheese which is good, enjoyable texture... it's just now we're in the realm where the difference between good and exceptional lie within the margins and Pizzaiolo lacks any one element to push it into greatness. Eating this wasn't a transcendent food experience and I'm certainly not putting this in my Top 40 pizzas in Toronto anytime soon. But... everything here is good, the solid quality of ingredients noticeable, the toppings plentiful... they (at least this location) seem like they care and put some work into making what they have into a quality product. Well done. But get the lab on developing a better dip, please.
Pizzaville
Our final guest to the pizza party is Pizzaville, and an okay one to depart the shindig on. In terms of quality, it's closer to Nova... just with less distinct flavour but more enjoyable texture.
I went to high school somewhat near a Pizzaville (now long gone I'm sure) and remember really liking their crust. That memory held true: the crust has a nice softness to it, there's little chewiness to it even once the pie isn't hot from the oven. The cheese is fine, a bit heavy in quantity but at least tastes better than the pizza-cheese-substitute #8753 you get with Pizza Pizza. I like the tomato sauce (and again wish there was more of it), it has an agreeable sweet acidity but with an earthier texture than Nova's.
The pepperoni is... there. Not much flavour at all but there is a hint of that cured meat saltiness towards the end. This pie is definitely dominated by cheese and doughiness, which I'm fine with but can get boring after a while. Overall... very, very ok. Their pizzas are better when you pile on more toppings, but for the purpose of a pepperoni slice it just needs more to it, especially when the pepperoni is on the bland side.
As for the dip, Pizzaville is the only one that didn't offer a garlic sauce so I went for a cheddar habanero. It's very much like a nacho cheese sauce you'd buy from a supermarket, or drizzle on corn chips from one of those condiment pump stations you find in a 7/11 (haven't we all been there before...). It might be slightly better than that, with a nice enough hint of that chili pepper within the zesty cheesiness... not quite my thing either way.
The Judge's Results!
AND THE WINNER IS.... come on it's Pizzaiolo this shouldn't even be a surprise. That slice was genuinely good. How about some rankings:
Pizzaiolo:B-
Pizza Nova:C+ (reliable, but the reheat value docks it some points)
Pizzaville:C (competent but bland at points, better with more toppings)
Pizza Pizza:D (I've had worse, but not many)
Oh, and sauces:
Pizza Nova: A-
Pizza Pizza: B- (like a classic rock band playing the hits)
Pizzaville: D+ (nacho cheese just doesn't work with pizza)
Pizzaiolo: N/A (or a C, whatever)
One last bit that surprised me... all of these slices + dips were within a dollar of each other after tax. Pizzaville was the cheapest at five bucks even, Pizzaiolo the priciest at 6.08, with Nova closer to that and Pizza Pizza closer to five if you round it. Neat.
Burnt Ends -- I write about baseball sometimes too, don't ya know. So here's a piece I posted on BattersBox.ca on Monday, mostly just a few observations (good and bad) about the Toronto Blue Jays and some other things happening in MLB this season. If that's your thing, go check it out.
reHeat Value -- I talk about this a lot with pizza because I think it's a very underrated aspect when gauging the quality of a certain pie. Dominos when fresh... is pretty all right, I admit. But once it gets cold there's no saving it.
Now I used to always be a toaster oven guy for reheating pizza, which is effective but can leave your slice overly crunchy around the edges. If your go-to is the microwave... I have to seriously ask you what you're doing with your life (is everything okay? I get asked that a lot so now it's my turn, heh). All the microwave does is goofy up the cheese, make the bottom soggy and dry out the crust to hell. Pizza should not be steamy like that!
Option three, which I've experimented with before... frying pan on low heat. I like this with thin crust pizzas, but I found with thicker slices it would just become too crisp on the bottom and still cool on top. Solution: place a baking sheet over top the pan, just so some air can escape but the heat mostly stays in and warms up everything more evenly. It really works well, and I did it with the slices you see above (I had a softball practice and wasn't gonna eat everything you see in the picture beforehand). Anyhow give the technique a try and let me know what you think.
20 Tastes -- How about a retrospective? This being the 20th edition of these, I'm rather curious to put the previous 19 here in a list and see what I've tried thus far (clearly I'm keeping excellent track of this). Lets take a look:
All right, now every song I've ever featured! Hey, where is everybody going...
Tuesday Tune -- Not a band I know a whole lot about, but I do absolutely adore this song. For another week, thanks to all of you who have been reading since the beginning or are just checking in for the first time... all the support and knowing people actually read this stuff definitely keeps me going with this. Don't worry, plenty of interesting stuff in the future here on the Tuesday review, but for now stay safe, be well and don't spill the mustard. Take it away:
