Sometimes the seemingly simplest names are the ones I struggle with the most to properly pronounce. Or at least, overthink exactly how to pronounce. Little Ese is (I'm still assuming) said the same way "Essy" would leave your mouth... but if you think about it, you see what I mean as far as how many other ways it can be said.
Maybe there's more emphasis on the initial "E", making it sound more like "Little E-cee". Maybe the first "e" is totally silent, making it "Little Se".. or the last/both "e's" are silent and the place is actually pronounced "Little S". But wait, there's more! What if the "s" is more like a "z", making it sound like "Little Ease". None of these are all that crazy when you think about it, right?
Anyhow, it was a somewhat cloudy but pleasant afternoon when I went off to try Little Esso (put a pizza in your tank!) just across the street from Trinity Bellwoods Park. My dear friend and longtime occasional pizza try-er with-er had informed me of their quite attractive mid-afternoon Happy Hour specials... and since they had already been on my pizza radar (pizzdar) not too long before hearing that, we resolved to make a lunch of it one day when I'd have to go work a nearby outdoor concert anyhow.
My friend happens to live maybe a dozen short blocks from Little Ese, but I arrived first (maybe seven minutes after our agreed upon time) and after a stroll up the block to fulfill some curiosity (I'm rarely in this area anymore) I got us a table on the patio and began my waiting in seated earnest.
I immediately noticed the rather boxy and wooden nature of this patio setup, giving both an enclosed and secure vantage point to observe the happenings of the always eventful Queen Street West, yet also enough sense of closeness to feel engaged and a part of said happenings.
Fifteen minutes in now, I was certainly daydreaming while my server (kind fellow he was) would occasionally ask the awkward question of if I wanted to order something before my friend showed up. You see (and I know you're probably reading this), I adore this particular friend of mine dearly and her poignant and invaluable insight has appeared in many of these pizza reviews. However... she is also notoriously late for, well... basically everything and it's really one of those things we've all grown to accept over the many years of knowing her. I really only mention this because I've always found it way more impressive than annoying, in circumstances like this, when she can be so late to meet up somewhere that's at most a ten minute walk from where she lives. It's honestly like a bizarre superpower. Maybe a supervillain power? Damn you, Tardiella! Damn youuuuu!!!
Plus hey, this delayed punctuality is also far more forgivable now that she has a toddler running around causing all kinds of havoc... I can only imagine the roadblocks that would create when trying to leave the house for any reason.
I was starting to get hungry though and with a fairly limited time window before my shift, I was getting close to the "screw this I'm ordering without you" point. However, a bandmate had sent me a recording this same afternoon and I figured, surely, once I started listening to it that my dear friend would now show up within thirty seconds... which is exactly what happened. I'm certain I said/awkwardly joked something to our server along the lines of "See? I do have a friend! They exist!"
Pizza rolls? Uh-oh...
Little Ese's Happy Hour menu happens to include a few food items at a discount, including their pepperoni pizza for just ten bucks! Score. As there were two of us (and I was doubly hungry) we ordered both this ten dollar pepperoni as well as their Al Pastor pizza, which looked very unusual and intriguing.
You see, Little Ese is hardly a standalone venture. Pnut Gallery Hospitality is the creation of husband and wife team Nathan Godin and Elena Arsenov, who began their mini-restaurant empire with Greek & Co over a decade ago (damn accidental rhyme) and have since branched out further with the latin inspired snack bar Papi Chulos, Greek spot Aleria, Nonna's Italian Catering, and spinoff Papi & Rosita... with all of these places pretty much within a couple kilometers of each other. The plan initially was for Little Ese to also open on Ossington, though Godin and Arsenov realized the glut of restaurants on that stretch (including their own) and decided instead to take over the space on Queen West once occupied by the very popular Italian spot Noce.
All right, we've covered the backstory and the arrival of my friend... time for some pizza. Here is that discounted happy hour pepperoni pie, which is far from a discounted size.
If your first thought upon seeing this pizza is: "damn, that looks very cheesy"... well your eyes are not lying to you. Considering the near absence of any kind of traditional crust, it's hard to discern where the bread ends and the cheesy goodness begins! That said, there is a solid layer of baked dough underneath that, while entirely fine when fresh, does get semi-chewy and tough some the pie cools off a bit. Likewise with the cheese, as it loses a lot of that gooeyness. Probably the weakest element of this pizza.
That said, the thinness of this pizza is endlessly charming and I do love when a place can pull off crispy cheese edges like this. A very unconventional touch that often falls flat but they nail it here.
Flavour-wise... it's a very typical greasy, cheesy pepperoni pizza. Picture yourself being a kid again at your friend's 9th birthday party and they had a bunch of pizzas for everyone to help themselves to. This Little Ese pizza tastes pretty much how you'd look back and imagine that pizza would be (when in reality it was probably flavourless and cardboard-like but you're an eight year old kid and don't care because pizza!). This is a pepperoni pizza that makes you nostalgic for an ideal that may have never existed, yet is actually right in front of you and you're eating it that very moment. Chew on that one, philosophy majors...
I'd say it's a pretty good pizza but also exceptionally simple. You get a bit of sauce here and there (solid tomato sauce too) but the cheese is really the thing hogging the spotlight. Great for sharing (especially at ten bucks) but not all that interesting once you're into a second slice. Entirely solid but not mindblowing.
Fortunately, this 'Al Pastor' pizza promised something much more intriguing and I have to say, this is one of the more unique pizza creations I've encountered recently. And yes, before you in that obsessed militant faction pipe up yes that is indeed pineapple on this pizza blah blah blah deal with it.
This is kind of like a Hawaiian pizza meets a Mexican taco. You get the Al Pastor pork on here, a consistent drizzle of jalapeno puree (which my associate argued was more of a tomatillo salsa and on that particular type of sting and spice I'd tend to agree) the hunks of pineapple, some shavings of dry pecorino cheese along with your standard sauce and mozzarella (not nearly as heavy a touch as on the pepperoni pie).
There's really one key thing that makes this pizza work so brilliantly and it's that Al Pastor pork. It's fantastic: loaded with immediate marinated, biting flavour with a texture that seems to melt in your mouth (impressive considering it is baked in addition to being, presumably, slow cooked). While pork is a common pizza topping (pepperoni, ham, bacon, to name a few from this wonderful, magical animal) rarely do you encounter it in this particular form, with less focus on its saltier aspects and more on a flavour its been slowly roasted in.
For me, this fusion of cuisines on here really works. You get some sharp, reasonably spicy sting from that jalapeno/tomatillo drizzle (just a tiny touch is all it needs). Meanwhile, the pineapple (yeah yeah) chunks here help balance out that acid and vinegar hint to the pork with some invaluable and juicy sweetness. I've said it before (at point when it comes to pizza I've said almost everything before) but fresh sliced pineapple makes such a difference compared to the canned stuff. That juiciness, a more firm exterior (locking in said juiciness) and much less artificial sweetness/sugar. It would've been a shame for a cheap pineapple chunk to lessen the excellent flavours all around here and thankfully that is not the case.
You could argue that this maybe doesn't taste or feel like a proper "pizza", which sure I suppose these particular flavours do make more common sense on a taco or crunchy tortilla (surely Papi Chulo's being a sister restaurant has some influence here). Yet, that softer, doughier give of a pizza, the lightly crispier edges, the layer of baked cheese... to me this still works in this capacity. Plus, when the flavours are this vivid and enjoyable... who really cares anyhow?
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Overall! Very intriguing stuff here from Little Ese. I will repeat that the chewier texture of the dough is an issue... there are certain bites when the pizza has cooled off where you feel like your teeth are pulling and gnawing. It is a pizza that, despite its objective thin shape, has deceptive thickness in the mouth (sigh... there really has to be a better way of phrasing that). Plus that pepperoni pizza, while charming, is very, very basic. Not a criticism but a fact that must be noted.
That said, their Al Pastor pie is an absolute winner and is definitely one I highly suggest seeking out. I love the creativity, the innovation on a typical Hawaiian pizza and the little touches (spicy drizzle) do wonders to elevate the robust flavours. That pork is damn tasty and they don't hoard it either, you get a good helping in nearly every section of the pizza.
Seeing as I sampled two pizzas here of very different levels, I'll have to split the difference. The Al Pastor pizza was in the 'A--' range for me, with the pepperoni one more along the lines of a 'B'. I think this results in a strong "B+" for Little Ese as an overall grade. Definitely a place worth checking out and one I'd say juuust sneaks into the top 75 in all of Toronto.
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