This Week In Pizza: Mac's Pizza

 

 

 

Strange, can't shake the feeling I've been here before...

Mac's Pizza began as a pandemic venture by former line cook Josh McIlwane. Much like the origins of One Night Only, Mac's Pizza initially only churned out a limited number of pies on Saturday nights... although unlike ONO (who sold pizzas out of their own backyard at first) Mac's operated more like a ghost kitchen in the back of Century Park Tavern.

Eventually the demand grew to the point that a full time location was feasible, and so Mac's took over the space once occupied by the now shuttered Village Pizza and... man I really feel like I've been here before? 

Indeed I have. I first reviewed Village way back in 2018 during my first pizza quest (back when my overall goal was to try just 30 pizza places... clearly I was able to rein myself in, har har har). Village Pizza was a briefly successful joint that even had a second location on Dundas West for a time, but shuttered well over a year ago for reasons that are unclear (at least via my lazy level of research). The interior of Mac's Pizza resembles the old Dovercourt Village Pizza setup nearly exactly: the long wooden counter where you order, the ovens and drink fridge are in the exact same spots... even the self-serve water station. I suppose if you're a pizza business moving into a space where the last tenant was also a pizza place, there probably isn't a necessity to completely overhaul the entire thing... but it was still weird I tells ya! 

This might've also affected my perception of the pizza itself, subconsciously thinking this was just Village Pizza rebranded... but again it was almost exactly the same! The super thin, crunchy crust, the cheese dollops... it actually shocked me to learn that McIlwane has no professional connection at all to this departed pizza joint that Mac's took over. Even if so, Village Pizza was excellent and certainly not a bad model and style of pie to emulate.

Anyhow, lets take a proper look at Vill-I mean Mac's Pizza! Starting with the vodka sauce slice you see below.

 

  

So the thing with super thin slices like this is: super crunchy. There are air bubbles in the dough as you can see, and so you're going to get a few bites that are just nothing except a thin collapsing layer of char. Not really a fan of overcooked pizzas to begin with (*cough* Domino's *cough*) and when a quarter of the bites you take of a slice are just wispy burnt bread... I'm less than impressed. You don't really taste any of the creamy vodka sauce either (can you even see it?) and the saltiness of the sausage dominates much of the flavour. 

All that said, when actually getting a bite of the pizza and not air... this was a solid slice. Strangely enough, I enjoyed it more on reheating the last half of it in my frying pan at home... doing so really brought the base mozzarella back to life and softened the overall texture. This is the type of pizza you really have to eat while warm/hot to enjoy it... when cold it's a chewy, dry, crumbly slog and the flavours numb far too much. Lets move on.         

I wasn't planning on trying this particular slice, the Lemonhead as it is called... but when I arrived at Mac's an entire pizza of this was just coming out of the oven and, seeing the dry condition of the other slices, well I had to experience something fresh.

This was a terrific decision.

Wow. This is some impressive stuff. It reminds me a lot of the cheese and jam slice Big Trouble (now on Geary Avenue) used to offer at their old location. Very cheesy, creamy, there's an underlying citrusy sweetness, and juuuust enough black pepper to act as a subtle counterpoint. I'm not a dessert person at all (always liked salty over sweet) but to me this is kind of like a dessert pizza, and it was simply marvelous. Decadent indeed, considering how intensely creamy the sauce beneath the cheese is (especially on a bite with the ricotta dollops) and that tiny hint of lemon in the back of your mouth. If it sounds like your thing, I highly recommend this slice. This is genuinely one of the more unique pizza concoctions I've tried and they executed it very well. 

 

Overall! Mac's is pretty darn good I'd say. The biggest weakness, at least with the non-Lemonhead slice, is how dry and crispy it gets when not fresh. It's a problem I have to dock them points for, but beyond that there's a good mix of quality and creativity here. Probably a nudge better than old Village Pizza, but they still get a similar grade of "B+". But you have to try them quick out of the oven.