Absent for a time? Most definitely and quite frequently... but in these parts, the pizza reviews never fully die...
We're back to look at a Californian pizza import that has been open in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto for about a couple of years now. Burratino began in the mid 2010s as a pizza joint in the San Pedro area of southern greater Los Angeles, founded by a Korean-born immigrant from Uzbekistan (he claims to have never even tried pizza until making one while applying for a pizzeria job). Much like Dave's Hot Chicken (similarly of an LA origin), Burratino quickly became such a success that additional locations opened within a few years... leading to one landing here in Toronto in 2021.
The Junction area is adjacent to my old apartment in Toronto and likewise close to where I play baseball on Saturdays (a former teammate has even been telling me to try Burattino since they opened). Unfortunately, it's been over ten years ago since I lived there... I'm now on the complete opposite side of town and summer Saturdays are really the only time I'm anywhere near that area. Needless to say, I'd been putting this one off for some time.
But no longer. On one of those very same baseball Saturdays, I gave myself a sliver of extra time to call in an order so to pick it up on my way to the park from the subway station. Once picking it up, I sat in a nearby parkette at Clendenan and Dundas West to take a photo, eat a couple of pre-game slices... when something rather funny happened.
The instant I opened the box, a dude (and he was a "dude" in every definition) carrying a six-pack immediately started chatting me up about the pizza. He found out I was doing a review and offered to video record me taking the first bite ("not my style" I replied and chuckled). He inquired what platform I shared these reviews on (the answer being a written medium also surprised/confused him) and well, to wrap up the story of this encounter... I ended up trading him one of my slices for one of his beers (his idea, for the record!). It was a Kronenbourg Blanc, so you can decide who got the better end of that bargain.
Lets discuss the other end of the bargain. Burratino is perhaps most known in pizza circles for their utilization of black garlic on one of their signature pies... certainly intriguing to the likes of garlic-loving me. If you're unfamiliar (I certainly was foggy on it), black garlic is just regular garlic aged several weeks at a particular level of humidity and temperature (typically 60-80 degrees Celsius, according to Wikipedia).
I of course ordered this black garlic (and pepperoni) pizza, with a creamy white garlic dip you see on the side. Rather than as chopped bits or cloves, the black garlic is mixed/spread into the tomato sauce of the pie, lending its unusual flavour rather evenly into every bite. Speaking of that unusual flavour: it really isn't very similar to normal garlic at all... there's more of a jam/pastey texture to it, the sharp garlicky sting is entirely gone, and the taste at first reminded me of an earthier type of pesto, with a tiny bit of sweet bitterness. Very interesting stuff, and the flavour still has a bit of a pleasant lingering "roasted garlic" feel in the back of the mouth. Took some getting used to, but I definitely approve.
Now for the pizza itself: beyond the headliner ingredient, this is a standard pepperoni pie... and done so excellently. Particularly the dough and texture: the crust is on the thinner side and indeed has some pleasant crunch to it, but the rest of each slice is entirely soft, there isn't a whole lot of gooeyness nor is there an excess of chewiness either. Very good balance. This is good pepperoni also... not A+ level stuff but flavourful enough, salty and greasy enough to be what you'd expect. There is also a damn lot of it (they sell T-shirts advertising this, so glad to see it is legit) and it's perfectly cooked to be crispy on the edges, greasy/soft in the center.
Despite the black garlic effect mixed into it (and there was a lot, as the picture above shows), the tomato sauce is still an occasional presence, mixes nicely with that garlic and gives a nice little tap-on-the-shoulder when prominent. The cheese is the most unremarkable element here: nothing particularly wrong, probably overshadowed in this unusual pizza but I honestly can't recall anything notable about it.
Overall! Burratino is pretty darn good, even beyond the black garlic gimmick. Strong foundation and it's just an enjoyable pizza to eat thanks to that balance, differing textures, appealing flavour quality and an extremely tasty thin crust (you actually wish there was more of it). The creamy garlic dip was good also... not as assertive as the black garlic and far more on the "creamy" than "garlicky" side. Possibly best used as a chicken wing dip, to be completely honest. The biggest downside is the price: a medium eight slice pie will run you over at least twenty-five buckaroos and they don't offer slices, so this is far from a budget pick. Still, highly recommend trying them at least once. They get a "B++" grade from me, placing them somewhere in the Top 25 or 30 active best places in Toronto.
....and because it's been a while.... The West Collier Street Pizza Grading Scale!*
*I also would like to add... basically anything in the B+ range and above would be a place I highly recommend people seek out to try.
A (One of the very best you'll ever have)
A- (Mind-meltingly good)
A-- (Super Stellar)
B++ (Stellar, but lacking the seamless "oomph" for an 'A')
B+ (Great)
B (Pretty Good)
B- (Good... imbalanced but still possibly worth a visit)
B-- (Solid)
C++ (Mostly Enjoyable)
C+ (Okay, has some charm and is still pizza)
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)
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