This Week In Pizza: Annette Food Market

 

 

When I mysteriously lost my phone in late 2020 (think somebody on the Danforth pickpocketed me) one of the bigger "tragedies" of this misfortune was forever losing hundreds of photos I'd taken, including about a dozen of pizzas I'd tried but hadn't yet written about. Always back up your files, kiddos. 

Some of these places, such as Mamma Martino's, I'd eventually go back to and retry. But others, such as Dante's Inferno Paninoteca on Davenport, have closed forever and as such my thoughts and memories of them are likewise faded beyond recognition. (also in the ether for now is my Oakwood Pizzeria story, which may see the light of the page someday in the future). 

Annette Food Market was another one of these lost 2020 visits that had always stayed vivid in my mind for one significant reason: I recalled they were extremely good. This vague positive notion certainly became clouded in time, what with it being a half decade and many lonely pandemic lockdown drinks since... but the moment had finally come for me to venture back out to the west end and give AFM a much deserved overdue second try. Considering this turned out to be the same day I sampled Subway's septic-tank-like breakfast sandwich... surely things would at least be looking up after that revolting experience. 

 

 

I need to mention first off how Annette Street is without question one of my very favourite streets in all of Toronto. Top five, perhaps top three rather easily. Consider it's mostly residential nature, lined with old homes and trees for nearly it's entire stretch. Its walkability and proximity to both The Junction and High Park, the bicycle lane, a bunch of solid basketball hoops near the schools on Clendenan...there's a serious charming sleepiness to Annette despite it being a fairly medium thoroughfare of the area. 

Which brings us to Annette Food Market, tucked away (blink and you can easily miss it) on the north west corner of Annette and Quebec Avenue. From what I can gather, AFM opened up about a decade ago (taking over half the space of an old variety store which is still next door) and have been serving out upscale Italian fare ever since. 

Interestingly, they don't appear on a whole lot of top Toronto Pizza lists: you get the usual suspects (Badiali, North of Brooklyn, Maker, ONO etc) on pretty much all of these but AFM gets nary a mention. They have a modest enough social media following (just over 4500 followers on IG)... perhaps this is another case of the quietness of Annette quieting the restaurant's presence among Toronto's well known pizza giants. 

Do we have a hidden gem here? Will present day hold up to my vague memory of them? Time to dig in and find out. Seeing as that first visit was in 2020, truly a heyday for indoor dining... I never actually went inside the restaurant (a masked hostess came outside with my pizza box). Finally going inside this time... it's tight in there! A large wooden bar (with the pizza prep station and wood burning oven adjacent) takes up nearly two thirds of the space, with about a dozen tables wrapped around the bar or by the window counter. It is like the bar was there first and they built a little restaurant around it... not exactly cramped but it is close and cozy without question. There might be a second dining section/patio something in the back but I didn't wander off to investigate. 

The service was exceptionally friendly and were cool with me in my sweaty state (I'd shot some hoops at the basketball courts I mentioned) sitting and waiting at the bar. The evening was still sunny and warm and I found a nearby park to enjoy this particular pizza once it was ready... which hey speaking of...

 

 

Not lost to digital oblivion this time! This here is AFM's spicy soppressata: a tomato pesto, mozzarella, house sausage, nduja, and of course some thinly sliced namesake. It turns out Annette Food Market is one of those places that don't cut their pizzas for you (uncommon but they do exist, Buca is another) which for a moment complicated the logistics of actually eating this beauty. Fortunately I happened to find a random plastic knife in the deepest recesses of my knapsack. That's right... I ended up slicing this fancy high end pizza with the finest of cafeteria utensils. I swear I don't plan things this way, honest.

 

 

My expectations coming into this were quite high, don't forget. Upon my first bite, any fears that my memory had failed me on this one were completely blown away in the spring breeze. This is still a phenomenal pizza, checking every box on the list of specific things I look for in a truly elite level pie. Texture? Depth of flavour? Does it linger in the mouth? Ingredient quality? Uniqueness? It's got all that. 

 

 

This isn't a "slow subtle" kind of pizza either. The tomato and cheese and meats all come at you right away, erupting through the front door of your mouth and taking a comfortable seat on the couch. I also love when something has layers that reveal themselves: AFM pulls off an impressive feat of bringing an amazing initial taste with additional flavours that slowly unwrap as well... it's like a perfectly timed chord change in a song you really like. 

How about those flavours? This is labeled a "spicy" pizza and it indeed does bring a dose of fire: the soppressata acts like a lurking predator ready to sting the top of your mouth, while the 'nduja is much more immediate with it's fattier hot peppery heat. It's not overwhelming from a spice perspective but you definitely feel it. The globs of mozzarella and the soft, chewier nature of this crust (couldn't tell or confirm if it's a sourdough-like one but there is a touch of that kind of taste) act as a nice buffer for the heavy burn of the pork on here, with the crumbled house sausage providing a gentle loose juiciness to the affair.

Using a tomato pesto rather than a standard tomato sauce is also an interesting choice. You lose some acidity and sauciness (which is okay since the pizza is quite soft) and gain more of a bitter oiliness... it's less of a bright flavour and more of an earthier one, I quite liked it. The cheese meanwhile... it's a strong quality squeaky mozzarella (or fior di latte if you prefer, fancypants) and there's just enough of it in the right spots to be a strong foundation for everything else (rather than becoming the dominant attraction such as at Zula). 

I simply cannot see any flaws to this one. The closest thing would be the heavy speckled char of the crust, as while it didn't bother me (giving even more flavour to this fabulous pie) I could see some people not liking that presence being so constant within the crust, or having considerable dusty char residue on your fingers. Just a warning if that kind of stuff can be a dealbreaker for you. 

 

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Overall! It's a special kind of satisfaction you get when both something tastes really damn good and you were hoping/expecting it to be so. This holds up to me as one of the absolute best pizzas in all of Toronto. Exceptional flavours, tremendous quality, every bite is its own delightful adventure, does fine on the reheat test (it dries out somewhat like all wood-fired pizzas but the taste remains). 

Again I'm not sure how many fellow pizza lovers know about this place but I strongly recommend checking them out if you're in the neighbourhood, whether it be for a sit down meal or just splitting a pie in a nearby park on a sunny evening (just make sure you bring your own knife and fork). 

One of those rare pizzas I instantly knew was amazing, with the last bite still as vibrant and delicious as the first. I'm giving them an 'A' (yep) which immediately puts them somewhere in my Top 15 for all of Toronto, likely in the middle of that range. Not kidding around here, this is the real deal.