Any guesses what style or region this place is going for? Ah? Anyone? I know, it's really quite a mystery...
Detroit (both the city and this pizzeria) have been on my list to visit for quite some time. Detroit Pizzeria (in Toronto) opened up a few years ago just off of Bathurst and Dupont Avenue, an intersection best known as the home of iconic ancient diner Vesta Lunch (probably worth its own review someday, methinks). D-Pizz (geez that sounds dumb I'm not gonna use that again) took over the space of another classic Annex diner, Apollo Eleven, which closed down late in 2020 after just over half a century serving locals.
The narrow inside with the large open kitchen stretching the length of the restaurant... that's a very 'old school' diner thing. Vesta Lunch, Coach House, you name em. What is strange about this design though (aside from the very wallpapery "brick wall" here) is how obscured this open kitchen actually is. Take a closer look! I'm quite tall and I still can't see over the top of those barricades. What's going on back there? This isn't rocket science... is it? Pizza rocket science? Better let them work on that without leering eyes, I suppose.
A place called Detroit Pizzeria, doing a Detroit deep dish style... with a specialty pizza named "Motor City?" Buy me a Tigers hat because sheesh am I already there? Actually the toppings here did intrigue me: pepperoni, wood smoked bacon, mushrooms, tomato sauce on top of mozzarella, green pepper and a buttermilk ranch drizzle. Their "Cancun" was a close runner up for consideration, with it's play on a spicy Hawaiian with sausage and lime sour cream... but surprisingly I wasn't feeling the spice this day.
While everything on here is generally good and tasty, there's no real aspect that jumps up as outstanding. The tomato sauce, itself hearty and loose, tends to drown out a lot of the other flavours for a lot of it. It's quite cheesy and gooey, the dough is quite soft in the middle (the charred cheese edges more tough than crunchy) and every bite does bring a pleasant dose of pepperoni or bacon flavour. The green pepper (in quite small bits) retain some juice and provide an occasional tang of bitterness, while the buttermilk ranch drizzle pops in here and there as a bit of unneeded but not unwanted creamy decadence.
Like a lot of these rectangular deep dish pies at this level of quality, all of this is simultaneously very tasty and yet somewhat forgettable. There's a baseline of goodness that this definitely meets... but doesn't really surpass in any way. The pepperoni tastes like your typical good pepperoni, the cheese melts nicely and doesn't dry out once the pizza goes cold, the veggies taste freshly prepared and they're using real fried bacon on here. I like it! Yet I don't love it... there's no additional charm or touch that really burns a mark in my memory.
Sneakily filling, though I suppose two slices of this is similar to eating two large squares of lasagna... at least in terms of volume. Decent on the reheat as well (toaster oven for sure) although the edges only become more rubbery at that point.
A quick note on the dip you may have saw, a black truffle concoction. Probably the star of the show, if I'm being honest. A marvelous dip... rich and creamy, the perfect consistency for dunking or dabbing... plus a subtle hint of garlic to it as well. I'd buy that stuff again gladly, it's a perfect accompaniment for a much more crust-heavy pizza than this.
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Overall...? Detroit Pizzeria (aside from their black truffle dip) is a bit below the level of pizza I'd absolutely recommend... but keep in mind I'm a tough judge sometimes. For me, a "B" grade (which is what I'm going to give this) means I did like this a heck of a lot more than I disliked it. It's good... just not "wow" good. I'd gladly frequent a place like this if I lived closeby... but I wouldn't travel across the city to visit it again just for its own sake. It's a "B"! Which is no slight or insult.
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