Appearances can be deceiving. While oftentimes an attractive looking spot will offer up a likewise quality product... I've encountered many sleek spots where all the effort went into the flash and none into the actual pizza.
District Pizza is a rather swanky spot in the Distillery District neighbourhood of Toronto. With it's large glass windows it looks more like an art gallery from the outside than a pizza joint. Heck, there is even art inside:
Those are indeed painted pizza boxes, which I cannot recall ever seeing displayed in such a way at any other pizza joint. It's a nice touch, and definitely supports my "art gallery" comment above.
It's an appealing interior, but that said what really matters most is the flavour and quality of your pizza. How does District grade out on that front? I ordered two different slices to answer this very question: their version of a meat-lovers, and a special of the day/week/month with pulled chicken, chorizo, cilantro and pickled onions. The two slices came in around twenty dollars, which is awful steep even by today's standards. The Distillery District is a touristy destination, and clearly there's a touristy price markup in play here.
Looks decent enough. But flavour? Alas, this is where it all falls apart, my friends. The chicken is fine and nicely seasoned, the pickled onions a nice addition of sweetness... but dear lord this slice is way, way too damn oily/greasy. Like, to the point your fingers still smell and feel of it hours later. You could lubricate a bicycle chain with this stuff.
The culprit is mostly the chorizo, which is rather unpleasant in its excessive fattiness (and sadly prominent on the other slice as well), and that flavour bleeds into every bite of this sorry pie. A shame, because the rest is rather okay... but that greasiness dominates the entire non-crust aspect of this pizza. It quickly becomes tiresome and slightly stomach-turning.
For the record, I have to mention here that an overtly oily pizza need not be a bad thing. Fresca on College is one of the oiliest, dirtiest (in a good way) slices you'll find, but it works better for them because that oil doesn't dominate the other flavours as it does here. Plus, that Fresca oil is garlicky so... checkmate.
This Meat Lovers one (officially named "Pleased To Meat You", yeah) is a bit more tolerable on the oily front, though not by much. Strangely, this pizza reminds me a lot of the chain Pizzaiolo: there's a sort of herby, olive oil taste to things, in the crust especially. There's a similar hint of light wheat in there as well.
Both of these District Pizza slices tasted rather undercooked as well: an undeniable doughiness that I usually don't mind, but a greasy slice like this really needs more crunch and crisp to counter-act it. Un-surprisingly, on the reheat (in the pan) was an improvement for this very reason. More crisp and it cooked out some of the excessive oil and grease. You could still taste it and the flavour domination sadly wasn't avoidable... but it wasn't nearly as unbearable as when fresh. Another disappointment: there are red chilis on this slice, but is it spicy? Nope. Barely taste em. What a shame.
Overall... I went into this one with what I'd call "curious expectations". Most of the reviews I've found regarding this place have been negative and I see why. It's way too expensive for what you're getting, and while there is some modest quality... even without that awful oily sausage taste this would be far below a must try pizza place. It's never good when your pizza reminds me of a prominent Toronto chain, and I'd frankly much prefer what the chain offers (they're also much cheaper).
There's enough 'good' hidden away in here to save it from being completely terrible, but I cannot recommend trying District Pizza... not even out of curiousity. Maybe if it wasn't ten bucks a slice? Give me a break. Giving them a "C+", and even that might be generous. I like the cool style, but the substance is flawed.
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