While waiting for my fried chicken from Pelicana to be ready, I decided to wander around my old haunting grounds of Yonge and Bloor to kill some time. These wanderings led me inside the Manulife Centre (a favourite winter-time shortcut in junior high) and immediately my impatient hungry stomach reminded me of a place on my pizza list to try: Eataly.
To avoid precise details, Eataly is essentially a gigantic Italian food mall... they have a cafe, specialty grocery store (with seafood, butcher, cheese counter etc), a huge catering kitchen, a brewpub outpost by the excellent Indie Ale House (which was super tempting to indulge in) and of course, a pizza counter.
It's also very easy to get lost inside of this place. There are three floors filled with tonnes of anything and everything, while the pizza slice I was seeking happened to be on the very top floor tucked in the corner. Eventually, after a few escalator rides, I found the right counter (among the dozens) I was looking for... resulting in the slice you see above.
This has to be the most expensive slice of pizza I've ever purchased. Yikes. With tax it came around to nine bucks, which is pretty damn sobering I gotta say. Fer-cryin-out-loud, I know a gem of a spot near Runnymede and St. Clair where you can still get an entire medium sized pizza for cheaper than this little slice. Still, if the pizza itself is truly excellent... it's worth it, right? Well...
Eataly Toronto has commissioned a company called Rossopomodoro to spearhead their pizza operation. Rossopomodoro is an Italian restaurant chain/brand which, while successful with locations throughout Europe, isn't exactly a small organization of pizza consultants (and in fact they've been bought out by an English equity firm).
This shines through a bit with the slice you see here. There are some very nice flavours working separately here, but none of it is quite harmonious enough for this to reach the true high echelon of pizza quality that the (absurd) price suggests. The bread is the greatest weakness... it's fairly stiff and beyond a slight hint of wheatiness, there isn't really anything to it. When dipped in hummus it tasted great, but that happens to be Sunflower Kitchen hummus (the best) from my fridge so Eataly doesn't get points for that.
The rest of the elements here are definitely good, although lacking in quantity. The sausage is flavourful and juicy, the dollops of mozzarella (likely Bufala mozza) are soft and buttery, there's a wicked tangy sweetness with some caramelized onions (the website says this slice has mushrooms but there's no damn way that's accurate) and the tomato sauce tastes like it was made with high quality stuff. There just isn't enough of any of this, especially the sauce (you barely notice it) and when you have a slice of pizza like this where the crust is almost a third of the product... well I spent three bucks on boring bread.
This pizza has enough positives working for it (the onion/sausage combo especially) that it gets awarded a 'B'. At the steep price of nine bucks for a slice though... I wouldn't recommend it to anybody except the Bay Streeters nearby who can afford such nonsense. When I tried Buca back in the original Pizza Quest, I lamented the steep price of that pie also (and that was in 2018 dollars)... but at least Buca gave me an exceptional pizza that was worthy of savouring every bite. This Eataly pizza is merely solidly good but with a couple moderate warts, which leaves it well below the bar in terms of how much it costs. Even in a financial vacuum, the best flavours aren't lasting enough to tempt a second visit.
A REMINDER... THE GRADING SCALE!
A (One of the very best you'll ever have)
A- (Mind-meltingly good)
A-- (Super Stellar)
B++ (Stellar, but Lacking the extra "oomph" for an 'A')
B+ (Great)
B (Pretty Good)
B- (Good... imbalanced but still possibly worth a visit)
B-- (Solid)
C++ (Moderately Enjoyable)
C+ (Okay, Has Its Appealing Charms)
C (Decent but Flawed)
C- (Flawed)
C-- (Very Flawed)
D++ (Tastes Like Pizza At Least)
D+ (Resembles Pizza At Least)
D (Looks Like Pizza At Least)
D- (Calls Itself Pizza At Least)
D-- (Calls Itself Pizza And Is Lying)
F (That Sewer Juice Is Starting To Look Appetizing)
Another Tuesday.... another Taste! The pleasant summer months are sadly behind us now as we cling to the very end of September, butthe taste buds haven't shifted into the autumn season yet as once again the flavour of this week is some sweet fried chicken.
While last week's review was a chicken wing import from Texas, our subject this week has traveled a much farther distance to reach Toronto. According to their (Canadian) website, Pelicana Chicken was born in the early 1980s in Daejeon, South Korea (Daejeon is one of South Korea's largest cities, located in the central portion of the country and with a population roughly equivalent to Montreal. Geography! It's quite fun). In the decades since its inception, Pelicana has grown to thousands of locations throughout South Korea, and more recently have set their sights on expansion into North America... opening their first Canadian location in downtown Toronto earlier this year.
Which is where I come in. It was a very wet and cloudy Monday when I adventured back into my old, old neighbourhood of Yonge and Bloor. While I've spent the majority of my adult life in Toronto's east end now (never saw that coming, honestly), my Toronto roots are right in that very centre of town. Though I was a kid/teenager for most of these, I can vividly remember the Uptown Theatre, Stollery's clothing shop, the Hakim Optical (and the Harvey's beside it!), Roy Square (and the perpetual construction around it), House of Lords, the Duke of Gloucester (RIP)... this was my old hood for a long time! Going back there now fills me with an off-kilter nostalgia, since almost all of this area has become unrecognizable to me now. At least the Brass Rail is still there! Hah hah.... sigh.
Also, it was extremely weird seeing Yonge/Bloor station completely plastered with adverts aggressively (like, very aggressively) suggesting a move to Alberta. Just bizarre stuff going on. Yeah, Toronto is expensive but I'm good, thanks.
Turns out Pelicana Chicken opened in the spot right on the north-west corner of Charles and Yonge (beside the strip mall I bought many SNES games in), a building I remember used to be occupied by Green Mango, a Thai (I think) restaurant my mum liked. I couldn't get much of a grasp of Pelicana's menu online, so I went in blind and unsurprisingly took an extremely long time to order (despite the extreme simplicity of the options). Eventually I settled on their "Signature Fried Chicken" dish, as I wanted to sample their sauce but not a spicy one (despite the temptation) since this was my first ever visit. After twenty minutes of wandering the Manulife Centre (that's a story for another day soon) I returned and my food was ready.
We'll start off with those white cubes you see in the clear container: I had no idea what they were! Sampling one, the texture reminded me of melon... except the flavour had a slight sweet bitterness to it. Well, turns out they were pickled radishes. I genuinely had no clue... the last time I'd tasted a radish could've possibly been never. 'Radish' is one of those words that are extremely fun to say, though. Try it yourself: radish. See?
Onto the main attraction! The fried chicken. First of all, those two tube-like things you see there... once again I had no clue what they were. My knowledge of Korean cuisine is rather woeful, it seems. Anyhow, texture-wise these were like stretchy dough tubes with a bit of chewiness to them... now watch me be completely incorrect and find out they were fried carrots or something.
As for the chicken... the batter around it is extremely light, airy and crispy... reminding of a tempura type of layer except without that kind of flakiness. The crunchiness isn't overbearing or difficult on the jaw/roof of your mouth either (as you'll find with cheap chicken fingers, for instance), instead the texture is simultaneously delicate and firm enough to encompass the entirety of these chicken pieces. There's still enough of a pleasant crunch, and the batter itself tastes lightly of soy and pepper. Tasty stuff.
The chicken within is juicy and tender also... even the pieces that are completely white meat without any bones. Each bite is easily completed and there isn't a moment of dryness or stringy bits anywhere throughout. This isn't a greasy fried chicken either, as you don't get any of that oil seeping into your fingertips. Nope, that's the job of the signature sauce that you see all over this bird. It's a very sticky, very messy ordeal (especially for somebody with a beard like myself) eating this stuff, though the sauce itself is certainly enjoyable periodically. It tastes somewhat like a mix between plum sauce and honey, but with quite a bit of garlic or ginger (or both) blended lightly in for some rooty sting. Regardless what the secret recipe is (maybe mango instead of plum?) it made for both an effective covering for the crispy outer layer and a fine sweet dip for the chicken within.
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Overall! I do believe I would recommend Pelicana Chicken. It's not as heavy as your typical fried chicken thanks to the lighter batter, and the chicken within is nicely cooked, tender and tasty. I will say as a mild criticism, the strong sweetness of this sauce does get to be too much after a while and started bugging my stomach (and there was a lot of it pooled at the bottom of the box). If/when I go again, I'll definitely listen to my heart on that occasion and go for one of the spicier options. Hopefully I also know a bit more about what the heck I'm ordering also...
Burnt Ends -- Hey I actually wrote something on 'Not a Tuesday' for a change! Last week I checked out and reviewed Halal pizza joint 6ix Pizzas here in the Beaches (they also have a location near Bathurst, for you west-siders). As for future endeavors, I've got another pizza review potentially coming very soon (hey, I had to do something during the 20 minutes I was waiting for my fried chicken). Don't look now, but in these autumn months Another Pizza Quest might just be coming fast and furious.
Tuesday Tune -- This time of year is always somewhat of a sadder time in these parts and this year fits that description. The baseball seasons are over, jacket weather is creeping in, tonight (Tuesday) is the last outdoor concert I'll be working until next Spring... it's a transitional time. Considering that, it seems a good time to share this particular song that happens to be the final song on the final album of a legendary group (nobody is counting Squeeze... come on). It's a melancholy tune and a good one.
That's all for this week! We'll have some more fun stuff coming up soon.. but until then stay safe out there and don't spill that mustard.
Feels like it's been a century since I went on one of my trademark
maniac quests to explore one of my truest loves: pizza. While even
approaching the level of replicating tasting 70+ places in the span of
four months is a tad ambitious (just a tad), the fire still burns
within. Since my initial Pizza Quests in 2018 and late 2019, a bunch of
new and intriguing pizza joints have opened and as a self-determined
expert... my expertise is clearly required.
BUT FIRST... THE GRADING SCALE!
A (One of the very best you'll ever have)
A- (Mind-meltingly good)
A-- (Super Stellar)
B++ (Stellar, but Lacking the extra "oomph" for an 'A')
B+ (Great)
B (Pretty Good)
B- (Good... imbalanced but still possibly worth a visit)
B-- (Solid)
C++ (Moderately Enjoyable)
C+ (Okay, Has Its Appealing Charms)
C (Decent but Flawed)
C- (Flawed)
C-- (Very Flawed)
D++ (Tastes Like Pizza At Least)
D+ (Resembles Pizza At Least)
D (Looks Like Pizza At Least)
D- (Calls Itself Pizza At Least)
D-- (Calls Itself Pizza And Is Lying)
F (That Sewer Juice Is Starting To Look Appetizing)
6ix Pizza was initially born and operating out of various ghost kitchens before opening their first permanent storefront on Queen Street West near Bathurst a few years ago. This initial location appears to have been successful enough that the company began franchising new outposts, the second of which opened on Queen East in the Beaches earlier this summer (replacing a Pizza Hut that moved up to Kingston Road).
While this location does offer pizza by the slice, I swung by rather late in the evening and the slices available looked particularly fossilized. Besides, I was extremely hungry and wanted to choose my own toppings... which resulted in a bit of a hiccup on my part. 6ix Pizzas only use Halal meat, which limits the available options somewhat (no pork, most notably). They do offer a beef pepperoni, so I went for a medium three topping with that, pineapple and.... chopped garlic. Yeah. Whoops.
I was hungry and I panicked! Needless to say, pineapple and garlic are an atypical combination for a pizza. In other dishes I'm sure they can feature together in complimentary harmony to something else... but in this case there was definitely some clashing. The juicy sweetness did not mesh with the sharp sting. Eventually (after a few slices) I just picked all the pineapple off and ate it separately.
Diving into the pizza itself... 6ix Pizzas' tagline is "We Got The Sauce" and this pie certainly lives up to that billing. This is a very saucy pizza, and the sauce itself has a very compelling, almost nutty sweetness to it. There's little acidic bite to it, instead the consistency is thick and almost like a hearty red pasta sauce. It's really quite good, and there's plenty of it.
The rest of the basic components aren't quite as unique or memorable. The crust is especially unremarkable, lacking any definitive presence, crunch or interior texture. It's just... there. Very underwhelming. As for the cheese: it's fairly okay though extremely thin and soft... not a whole lot of flavour beyond basic "mozzarella-type cheese" taste. There isn't a whole lot of it (compared to the sauce) and aside from texture you hardly notice it for most bites. This is a very soft, doughy pizza to begin with... and while I'm not a heavy cheese on pizza type of guy, a thicker layer of the cheese they do have here would help keep these slices from being rather floppy at points.
As for the toppings: pineapple is pineapple (it's not overcooked or dry, which is good) and there is a generous amount of the chopped garlic bits baked throughout the pie (it's as though they knew their specific audience for this one), but the beef pepperoni is certainly different. It lacks the oily greasiness and saltiness of typical pork pepperoni, which is to its benefit and detriment. The texture is drier and slightly chewier, though not to the point of unpleasantness (similar to thinly sliced well cooked beef). Alas, there isn't a whole lot of seasoning or taste to it... this is an extremely lean cut (unsurprisingly, since it is Halal) and the pepper or juiciness is extremely lacking. Interesting texture, but kinda bland in terms of flavour.
If not for the interesting sauce, this would be a serviceable but very unremarkable pizza. The sauce is legitimately tasty, different and very good... and though it covers this thing generously the flavour of it doesn't overwhelm the other lesser elements in play here. This results in what I'd say is a 'good not great' pizza, certainly worth a try (just for the sauce alone) and with that moderate level of expectation it likely won't disappoint. I'd grade this somewhere between a 'B--' and a 'B-' myself, which by estimate places them somewhere in the 65-70 range on my big list.
Thanks for reading! Next time, we'll tackle one I've been dawdling on for far too long...
Another Tuesday, another Taste! We took a week off here at TT headquarters mostly to recover from birthday celebrations (quite fun!) and personal issues (much less fun). Regardless, we're back again and ready to chomp into another commonly found food.
This time it's chicken wings, and we're checking out a recent edition to the Toronto wing scene: Wingstop, an import from Garland, Texas that now boasts over 1500 locations. Their first ever Canadian outpost opened in late June right on the Northeast corner of Bloor Street West and Runnymede Road, taking up the old spot of a shuttered McDonalds that moved across the street.
I have to comment on some name confusion before we dive in. See, I've had Wingstop on my Tuesday list for a while now... and every time I've gone trying to look up their hours, I always end up typing in WingSpot instead, which is a totally different wing chain. This legitimately kept happening each time I Googled them... hell I even had to double check I had the right name for the title of this freaking review. Hey, I'm blaming how it's just a 't' and a 'p' switching places and not my unique brand of madness... probably. I'm sure someday soon I'll get to reviewing Wing 'Spot', and will probably type 'stop' when looking up their hours. Guaranteed.
Also... is the name supposed to be 'Wing-stop' or 'Wings-top'? At first I assumed 'stop', as in "this is the place to stop for a good wing". Then I started thinking more about it (bad idea) and thought maybe what they mean is "our wings are top! As in top notch!" So many questions...
It was a Saturday evening when I ventured down to this wing stop for wings that are top. Having arrived in the west end earlier in the day to watch the championship of my baseball league, I was aware of the Ukrainian Street Festival happening all along Bloor West. What I didn't anticipate was how much this festival would still be rocking at 9pm. It was a Saturday, I suppose... but this was as packed as Taste of the Danforth in the Beforetimes. There was a lineup to enter the nearby LCBO. Fortunately, the Runnymede Wingstop was not as hot a ticket as booze (few things are) and so I was able to grab my order and escape from the commotion to a friend's house not far away.
Speaking of that order, lets take a look at what we have here. Wingstop has a decent special where you can get ten wings, dip and fries, with half the wings tossed in two separate different sauces. They have a modest number of intriguing options, and I do like places that let you choose your own adventure. I went for the 'Hot' flavour (a measuring stick for me when it comes to wings. If you can't get hot right, hard to wager on your chances) and a Mango Habanero concoction. With their flavour options they have a spice index (out of 5) listed on a board beside the counter, with Hot registering at a '3' while the Mango Habanero sneaks up to a '4'.
Starting off with the fries... these are my kind of jam. They look a bit smushed in the header photo (they were in a comically oversized paper bag while I rode a bike for several minutes) but there is a constant light crispiness here that I endlessly enjoy when it comes to french fries. Plenty of fluffy potato flavour also, with some prominent skin taste as well (something I've personally never minded) while the seasoning has those thicker bits of salt. The only shortcoming is how once you clear the top of the portion, you get a lot of those tiny shards of fried potato that exist only as crispy slivers or entirely like potato skin (something I do mind). Still, these were surprisingly good quality fries. Might have to keep this in mind next time I'm near Runnymede station (which is a lot in the summertime).
Praising french fries is all good and well, but this is a chicken wing place after all... it's in the darn name. I thought it smart to work my way up the heat scale, and so started by trying the 'hot' flavour. Maybe my spice tolerance has built up over the years since reviewing food (probably by a lot) but there just wasn't much to this flavour. A bit of a mix taste and texture-wise between Buffalo and the vinegariness of Frank's, with about the same level of heat. Some sting, I suppose, but nothing that sinks deeper into the senses. Very forgettable.
The wings themselves are fine, I suppose. The texture is tougher on the outside than preferable but nothing that'll make your jaw hurt after a couple. Tastes like chicken, not overly juicy, not overtly greasy either. As a wing, very average overall. The 'hot' sauce itself was more disappointing, as the lack of distinctive flavour pushed me towards utilizing the dip frequently (more on the dip later).
My objective expectations had shifted to modest upon moving onto the Mango Habanero flavour (the ones on the left, for the record), which are a notch higher on their spice scale don't forget. This time, however, the flavour actually had some prominence to it. A nice mix of different sweetness: a bright hint of mango with the more grounded hot pepper taste. The sauce had a bit of syrup stickiness to it, reminding of Honey Garlic, except with a more persistent element of sweet... and then later heat (incidental rhyme!).
Speaking of said heat, it is actually a presence here. Never overwhelming, but a nice slow builder that eases in once the sweetness has faded. Like a headline act performing a different style of music than the opener, but both make perfect sense on the bill (yeah I've worked a lot of concerts this summer). I quite liked this... it's a very good sauce with subtle dimensions that would be a killer hit on a superior chicken wing than the average-ness we have here.
A quick note on the dip you see in the photo. Wingstop offer three options and between ranch, blue cheese and some kind of "cheese sauce" I had to go for the wildcard. Well... as a shameless lover of the amazing Pizza Nova garlic parmesan dip... I gotta say this Wingstop cheese dip might've been the best thing they offered. More soupy than creamy, but this had a real nice mix of parm sting, slight salt-pepper and some subtle richness that meshed well with (especially) their 'hot' wings. Imagine a liquidy caesar dressing without the garlic or specific saltiness of anchovies and more cheesiness to it... that sounds pretty weird but anyhow! This dip was quite enjoyable.
Overall! Wingstop! Recommendation? Yeah.... not really. The wings themselves just aren't anything special. I've tried way, way worse this year... but as wings these are fairly ordinary and I think, at this price, there are plenty of places already in Toronto you can find something of this level or slightly better (not to mention far superior). The items that stood out the most to me were the fries (legit good) and the side cheese dip. Those are definite positives, but they don't call themselves "Cheesedipstop" or "Friestop", as though exclaiming their fries are truly the top. Had to do that bit one more time!
Burnt Ends -- It's been a ghost town here the past couple weeks. Hurts me to say I haven't been writing anything lately, but haven't been writing anything.
Village Pizza People -- Obviously unaware of the whole story, but was saddened to hear of the sudden recent closing of a pizza spot I'd quite liked. That's even them as the lead photo of this latter part of the first Pizza Quest I did. Damn... at this rate my list of 105 will have 1/4 of them closed by the time I try enough new places to update it. Hopefully not!
Empires That Rise And Fall -- On a Blue Jays off day (currently locked in a tight battle for Wildcard positioning... if you're not into baseball don't ask, it's weird and complicated)... my dad penned this historical baseball piece that draws a poetic symmetry between an ancient empire at its greatest height (described in a famous Romantic era poem by Percy Shelley) and the fall of the New York Yankees in the mid-1960s.
While the Yankees haven't exactly been starved for success in the past half-century or so, their dominance of the league from the early 1920s up to 1964 is simply absurd. Similar to the kind of stuff that happens in Dynasty Mode in a baseball video game and you've created all your own players. Seriously, from 1947-1964, 18 seasons, the New York Yankees appeared in the World Series fifteen times and won ten of them. One of those rare years they didn't make the playoffs (1954) they went 103-51. Insanity.
Anyhow this re-telling of their mid-60s collapse (heh heh) is a great and informative read, though one that relishes the results rather than the circumstances of how it fell apart. Even if you're not a baseball fan, you won't lose the plot via excessive lingo.
Tuesday Tune -- I worked the John Fogerty show this past Sunday here in Toronto, and was quite impressed the old fella still has a lot of his (vocal) pipes intact. Dude is 77 and the power of his voice is diminished somewhat, but he still can hit some of those wailing notes he did in his late 60s/early 70s heyday. It was a darn good concert anyhow, and so I had to make the song of the week something CCR related. Here is:
That's it for this week. Until next time... don't spill that mustard.
Another Tuesday... another Taste! It's a Labour Day special here in these food reviewing parts of town... as you, dear reader, get two reviews for the price of none! You know, the usual... except doubled! It's the first ever Panzerotti Punch Out.
Full disclosure: to be honest I had no idea what to review this week, no idea what would be open on Monday (it being a holiday and all) not to mention this all fell upon a rare day off for me... so adventuring out into the opposite reaches of Toronto quickly became the kind of idea that sounds good until you wake up still tired that particular morning and just say "Nope."
This in mind, I was watching the Blue Jays play the first game of a crucial doubleheader in Baltimore (the Orioles are hot on the Jays' behinds for a final playoff spot) and a thought occurred to me: "If the Jays lose this first game, I'll just go review A&W's Whistle Dog. I've teased it already. But if the Jays hold on and win... well I've been craving a calzone for a while, I'll go review one of those!".
The Blue Jays indeed held on to win that first game, and then for good measure smoked Baltimore in the second game of the day as well. Hey, two wins? Two calzones. That's just math. Duh.
Lets forgo the usual backstory shenanigans (I've reviewed both of Pizza Nova and Pizzaville multiple times before) and jump into these calzones. Or rather, panzerotti. What is the difference, you may ask? I've looked into this many times and honestly have no idea... beyond size (calzones are typically larger I believe) both can be either baked or fried and both contain their precious toppings/flavours within.
Whatever... either one is a gigantic pizza pocket anyhow, so lets judge and compare them accordingly within that criteria. Also, in the interest of fairness both these panzos have the exact same two toppings: bacon and green peppers. As tempting as it would be to make roasted garlic one of those toppings, I know Nova has an unfair advantage in such matters.
Starting with Pizzaville... you can definitely see this is the flatter of the two entries. However, this is far from a detriment. Instead, this results in a very condensed and loaded affair. There are few (if any) pockets of air inside this panzerotto... the dough is a light crisp layer (almost quesadilla-like) while the filling is dense to the point that the thinner juices within ooze out upon the first sight of freedom, each bite overwhelming with its fillings.
It's genuinely quite tasty. There's a lot of acidic sting with the abundant tomato sauce (a pleasant surprise as I usually find their pizzas rather stingy sauce-wise) and the peppers, sliced very thin, are enough of a presence to add some slight bitterness. The cheese definitely has the taste of mozzarella, although one-dimensionally so... like it exists more as a texture than a flavour. I think Pizzaville pizza is pretty okay but their cheese (while plentiful) is rather generic and a definite weakness, which translates into this. As for the bread... definitely a very cooked, wheaty smell and taste. By itself it might be difficult to finish because of its simplicity, but fortunately Pizzaville are not horrible monsters and provide a complimentary side of marinara sauce with the panzerotto.
The marinara sauce is an absolute must. Even just for the sake of temperature contrast, a chilled sauce combined with a warm baked good. At first, in my younger days of foolishness, I did not understand the appeal of marinara sauce with a calzone/panzo. "There's already tomato sauce in there! Why do I need more of that?" said younger me aloud in an assuredly annoying voice. Well... marinara sauce is much different than typical pizza sauce, or at least different enough so for an excuse to make one of my trademark diversions on the topic.
Pizza sauce tends to be pureed to the point it often bleeds into the cheese and dough of a pizza while baking, as it did with the cheese here in this panzo. Marinara is more finely blended and as such is chunkier... usually resulting in a more textured sauce while the thinner parts pool like a flavourful thin tomato juice. It also smells delightful. When not overly watery (which this marinara thankfully wasn't) a marinara sauce makes for a excellent compliment to a panzerotto, especially one such as this: dense on toppings and cheese in the centre but then a whole lot of thin bubbled dough around the edges.
Moving onwards to the Pizza Nova panzerotto. As can be plainly seen, this one has a thicker bread exterior but also significantly more air in the pocket within. The result? The individual ingredients do shine a bit more independently, rather than as part of a collective (We Are The Calzone. Resistance Is Futile). These peppers have notably more crunch than their Pizzaville counterparts, the bacon carrying more distinctive texture and saltiness (it's also in slices here instead of bits)... while the mozzarella cheese is just completely superior. This has that light buttery taste and denser, slightly chewy texture you want out of a mozzarella... unlike Pizzaville which tends to just layer the shredded cheese on heavy so to hide its shortcomings.
However... this panzo does fall short in multiple ways against Pizzaville in this particular (and apparent) duel, apparently. As a thicker shell, the bread is more of a presence and while certainly not lacking freshness... it is also frankly rather bland and dry in parts. A taste of flour is all you really get beyond typical "bread" flavour, there isn't much depth to it and the thick texture of that exterior becomes fairly unremarkable on particularly airy bites. Just the tiniest drizzle of something... olive oil with a bit of chives... a rub of butter... even flakes of salt... could make all the difference to this. King Slice on Bloor West (although not as mighty as they once were) would always ask if you wanted their pesto-garlic oil brushed on your slice or calzone, to which the correct answer is always an enthusiastic "yes". Alas, this bread is as is... and as is, is rather boring and unremarkable, isn't it? Do I win the "is" award for that sentence? You're saying that award doesn't actually exist? What 'is' up with that? Okay I'll stop.
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Overall... this is a hard one to properly judge. Nova gets higher marks for internal quality, but Pizzaville gets the win as far as composition goes. It's like Nova is trying to make something at an authentic restaurant level, except failing at that because they're missing crucial additional elements and their ingredients at hand aren't quite up to covering that difference. The configuration of this Nova panzo almost invites a knife and fork, it's odd. Pizzaville, on the other side, knows exactly what they're working with and doesn't try to hide the fact this is a flat, greasy (despite being baked) panzo stuffed with cheap stringy cheese. The oiliness perfect to sink into your fingers and then transfer over onto a nearby arcade joystick.
I love that kind of old-school approach to a greasy pizza (there's a reason Bitondo's has existed for all these decades) and so in the spirit of that... in a stunning "upset" Pizzaville wins this one! The Re-Heat Test was the clincher... on a low heat pan fry, Pizzaville kept most of it's softness while Nova stiffened up more just a bit. Hopefully you all wagered accordingly and won't have to make an awkward call to your bookie now... fingers crossed I didn't lose anybody their thumbs (see what I did there).
For the record I would recommend both these panzerotti (and for two toppings they are about the same price) but especially the Pizzaville one. It's greasy, cheesy and surprisingly delightful.
Burnt Ends -- I have a few nights off this week (an unfamiliar feeling) before working a crazy music festival that is sandwiched around my birthday. I have a fun idea for a little something I could write later this week if the energy catches me, so keep an eye out for that potentially. It'll likely come out on Thursday if it indeed happens.
Kentucky Fried Crossover -- Rather unexpectedly, I managed to find this in my possession:
My first thought whenever I see chicken potato chips always drifts into this scene:
However, I'm a kinda sorta food reviewing professional, sorta kinda damnit! So I'm going to try these after I finish writing this sentence.
First off, these really smell like that classic thick peppery gravy that KFC uses. Taking a bite of the first chip... well I'll be damned. These actually taste like breaded popcorn chicken dipped in gravy... it's bizarrely enjoyable. I mean, I've rarely met a potato chip I didn't like... but this flavour is genuinely interesting. It's fairly subtle, but not repetitive either... unlike say a Zesty Cheese Dorito that begins as the best thing ever, but wears out your taste buds after ten chips. Not that I'd rush out to go buy twenty bags of these KFC Ruffles before the limited run ends... I'll still give it 6.5 crunches out of 10.
Tuesday Tune -- It's a sentimental one this week (from me? Never). It's a Petty (I mean pretty, see what I did there) famous song but one that takes me back to a very precise autumn a few years back. I was playing pickup hardball games Saturday mornings in Etobicoke, and that entire fall I would get a lift via a couple other players who also lived in the Beaches. We would enjoy some, um, "herbal refreshment" before the trip, and every time we drove up Scarlett Road, my buddy driving and talking about how he felt good about maybe hitting a dinger this week (in my affected state of mind I was happy with a single, heh)... approaching the park this song would pop on without fail. On the way home from a shift this past week, I listened to it for the first time since those Saturday afternoons and was instantly teleported back to those times and feelings, a pleasant place in my memory I'd nearly forgotten.
Pretty cool how music can do that, eh. Anyhow, here's the song. One more time to kill the pain.
That's it for this week! Until next time, stay safe, be well, enjoy these remaining warm days and don't spill that mustard.
