This Week In Pizza: Pizza North

 

 

Behold! The hardest pizza place to Google ever! Seriously, type in "Pizza North" and watch your browser have a complete conniption. Do you mean "North of Brooklyn"? Do you mean pizza in the north part of Toronto? Do you mean Santa's favourite pizza near the North Pole? (now there's one you'll definitely have to try on the reheat).  

Anyhow, Pizza North is a new-ish spot near Bathurst and Queen (filling the area's pizza void now that the Pizza Pizza right on the south-west corner is gone... which blew my mind upon seeing that). Needless to say, Pizza North is far superior to Pizza Pizza (thank god), as akin to eating a pre-packaged salad from Starbucks is superior to eating a handful of grass. 

Pizza North actually reminds me of Bitondo's as far as style goes. Heavy big time on the oily cheese (overwhelmingly so), thick crust, subtly greasy and a bit lacking on overall flavour. It just needs a little more oommph, as each bite gets fairly repetitive.

Regardless of that, Pizza North is rather decent. Solid, even. First off, these slices are huge. As you can see, I got four of them... but in fact these are their regular slices just cut in half. So you definitely get some bang for your buck. 

Second... their options weren't particularly appealing, to my tastes at least. I considered getting a full pie, as I usually do... but none of their features were, sorry, to say, all that compelling. Instead, I got a slice of pepperoni and a slice of cheese, while my dear friend/occasional pizza accomplice got a slice loaded with vegetables (and who has time for that healthiness?).

There isn't a whole lot to dissect here. As a pizza? It is tasty but not exceptionally memorable. There's some crunch, some grease, lots of cheese and that's really just it. Nothing wrong with being decent, but with more vivid flavour or variety this could really be something intriguing. I liked the thick pepperoni cups, the vague smattering of basil pesto on the cheese slice (more of that would've been awesome)... but the rest doesn't really engage the taste buds. The elements of a phenomenal pizza are there, but it just needs a lot more... creativity, sauce, something beyond simply throwing the basics together.

Overall. It might sound like I'm being more negative than positive, but this is just a very okay pizza. Just lacking so much to make it truly good. If you're drunk on Queen West near Bathurst, a slice from here will do a fine job filling that stomach hole. This is very decent! But not memorable. It's a "B--" for me, possibly closer to a "C++" considering its sparsity. It does reheat in the toaster oven quite well (the large amount of cheese doesn't dry out), and so we'll give it that nudge in the grade for that. Very solid for a big, filling slice if you're in the area. Not a must try destination... although definitely a big improvement from Pizza Pizza in the Queen/Bathurst area.            

This Week In Pizza: Junior's Pizzeria

 

 

One of the early restaurant casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic was the legendary Vesuvio Pizzeria out in the Junction neighbourhood of west Toronto. The story of Vesuvio is astonishing: a restaurant started by four brothers and a father that remained family owned for over six decades, even fighting the bizarre era of prohibition in the Junction area (for real, no establishment could serve alcohol on that stretch of Dundas Street West until the year 2000. Seriously!) By the sounds of it the Pugliese family had considered scaling back the business even before the pandemic and once that hit, the difficult decision to close down made the most sense.

It was a hell of a run, and Vesuvio will truly and forever be an original legend of Toronto pizza. However, soon after this closure, a few longtime employees of Vesuvio decided to start their own pizza joint to pay homage to the old classic spot. The place is indeed named Junior's both as a description of themselves (they were the "junior staff" of the longtime restaurant despite over a decade of working there) and as a tribute to the long time pizza chef of Vesuvio, nicknamed Junior.     

Naturally, Junior's had been on my list for a long time and I was finally able to sample them on a recent  Saturday inbetween working an Argos game and playing a baseball game (summer is my busy time, yo). The inside of the joint is rather sparse: some quirky decorations on the walls and not really anywhere to sit (it's a rather small establishment as well). To my surprise (and unlike the old Vesuvio) Junior's actually offers slices... but I was rather hungry and so elected to order an entire pie to myself.

 

One of my usual pizza "go to's" when given the opportunity, is a fairly simple one: bacon and goat cheese. It's a nice balance of tender saltiness and delicious creaminess. This is what you see above, and Junior's definitely gets it right. The bacon is maybe a tad undercooked (I'd prefer it crispier) but this is legitimate bacon (not crumble) and is plenty flavourful. Goat cheese is, of course, goat cheese... it needs to be a bigger part of anyone's life. 

The best thing about this pizza is the diversity of textures. It's buttery soft and wonderful in the center, with some nice crunch in the crust. A tad on the chewier side, but never to the point of overstaying it's welcome in the mouth. This is a thin crust pie, unlike Vesuvio which was a bit thicker, but you can definitely taste some similarity to the departed legend, mostly in the cheese.

 

 

Frankly, I like this a little more than I did Vesuvio (which was very good!). This is a vibrant tomato sauce as well, with a hint of sweetness and most importantly, is a consistent presence throughout the pie. There's just terrific balance here: not too much or too little of anything and that buttery dough really blends pleasantly into every bite. It might not be the most filling pizza, due to its thinness, but aside from that this is just very tasty stuff.

 

Overall! Colour me impressed. This is fantastic stuff and I liked it pretty much instantly. Can't really find any faults in it, and while it didn't completely blow me away enough to earn one of my highest grades, this has to be at least a "B++" for me. Really, really good, and worth a visit.   

   

This Week In Pizza: GATTO

 

 

GATTO (Italian for "cat") is a homey restaurant nestled in on the rather hip stretch of Bloor Street West between Runnymede and Jane. It isn't the cheapest area to frequent, and I still miss the now long departed Yellow Griffin pub that had about 100 different burgers... but it's a nice stretch to take a stroll on a sunny summer Saturday.

This occasion was only two of those three descriptors. I was set to play some Saturday hardball but them lousy rain clouds washed us out, and alas I was already in the west end when the notification came. Already at Runnymede and Bloor with nothing to do, a rumble in my stomach... seemed a good time for some pizza and to finally sample GATTO. Despite having opened in 2018, they aren't a place I've seen or heard a lot of hubbub about... in fact I only discovered them via Google Map search. 

Well, as they say, when on Bloor West...

I went in and the decor very much fits a "Italian family restaurant" vibe, with tablecloths, curtains, and a modestly sized front patio even. Checking the menu, I opted for a pizza they call the "Asiago", named for the hometown of GATTO's head chef. Asiago is also, of course, a type of cheese featured on this very pizza... along with spicy soppressata, fior di latte, shallots and San Marzano tomato sauce. 

Sigh. Full disclosure... I completely confused "shallots" with "scallions" when ordering this, because my knowledge of onions is clearly terrible. Naturally, I was quite surprised to see these red thin strings of onion instead of a smattering of tasty green ones. I generally don't like non-green onions (unless crispy or deliciously caramelized) and so my first thought upon opening the box was "ohhhhhh crap".

Still... this pizza was not cheap and at this point I was already committed to reviewing it, and now that I've sufficiently cursed my own idiocy lets get into that.

 

 

As you can see, GATTO is a wood-fired style of pizza and those specific elements are strongly on display. Decent char on the crust with a nice balance of chewy and soft, nice droopiness at the beginning tip of each slice (always a good sign the dough is freshly prepared) necessitating some slight folding of the slice lest the toppings drip onto the ground. There's the firm and buttery fior de latte cheese, and that sweetly acidic San Marzano tomato sauce bringing it all home. 

Perhaps in large thanks to the Pizzeria Librettos and Queen Margheritas (RIP Queen East location) of the Toronto world, this style of pizza has become much more prevalent over the past decade and a half. Which is good! It is a very delicious style of pizza, one very delicate to execute properly (the dough prep and temperature have to be fairly exact considering the high heat of the wood burning oven) but when cooked just right... it's nearly impossible to encounter a truly bad pie in this style. 

The drawback of this type of pie becoming more common, at least from the perspective of a reviewer/crazy pizza critique man? A lot of them tend to blend together, taste and quality-wise. I've gotten some flack for keeping Libretto high on my pizza lists (and I will have to re-evaluate them again soon it's been a while) but they've always had an extra "oomph" to their flavours that impressed me everytime... compared to say Terroni, which I found very good but didn't leave that same lasting effect, or conversely Bello... which completely blew me away on every level and I would consider a better pizza than Libretto now. 

What I'm saying is: there are a lot of places doing the wood-fired thing now and many of them fall into that range of "very good" but lacking distinction from one another. GATTO is closer to that group than anything particularly outstanding. And this is a very good pizza indeed: the asiago cheese adds some dry gritty taste atop the creamier fior de latte base (texture-wise it's very nicely melted) while the infamous shallots (not scallions) thankfully don't overpower my onion-adverse tongue and instead provide some pleasant sweetness to the affair. The real star topping, however, is the spicy soppressata. Thinly sliced, but that flavour and heat packs a presence indeed. A gently slow building heat that isn't quite as gentle when it peaks... entirely manageable for those who like their spice, but even so the "spicy" description of it is no falsehood.

 

Overall! Yes I would recommend GATTO. It's a high quality pie, although not (in my mind) a "must try" destination here in Toronto. Reminds me a lot of Goodfellas (the pizza chain not the film, although I hope I amuse you) in just being a very good wood-fired pizza joint (GATTO is probably a little better than Goodfellas, the flavours have just a bit more punch). Nothing that'll completely blow your mind, just a tasty flavourful pizza with on point ingredients (the San Marzano sauce really does make a difference, just wish there was a bit more of it on here). I'd say it's in the low "B+" range... a strong outing, sure, but there are others with that grade that have impressed me more with their uniqueness.     

 

This Week In Pizza: Ambassador Pizza Co.

 

 

 

 

Trying three different pizzas in one day? It sounds like a tall task, but it is also a labour of love. Delicious, delicious love...

Recently I wandered out to the Bloorcourt neighbourhood of Toronto (I'm an east-ender so it was a minor trek) and after trying the other local pizza joints Levant and Mac's Pizza... it was time to complete the trilogy with Ambassador.  

Ambassador Pizza Co. is one of the more unusual styles of pizza you will find. While it looks fairly standard on appearance, it is a Windsor style pie and there are details that make a Windsor pizza what it is... most notably the preparation of specific toppings. 

A friend I play softball with (who grew up in Windsor) raves about this type of pizza, and this being my first foray into it... my curiousity was high. Ambassador doesn't have a lot of options (most are simple variations on pepperoni and mushrooms, some with peppers) so I kept it simple and went for a pie with... yep, just mushrooms and pepperoni. 

 

 

Distinctive Element of Windsor Pizza Number One! The pepperoni. Instead of using your typical sliced pepp cups, the pepperoni you see here is shredded. Strange! But effective. You sort of lose a bit of the oiliness of the pork, but the distribution of the pepperoni is more total and consistent in every bite. It does give the pizza a constant saltiness, although not to the point of ruining the other flavours... and having that enjoyable texture of the shredded pepp all throughout the pie is definitely a positive. Kind of like a slightly more aggressive ham, flavour-wise.

Distinctive Element Number Two! And probably the most unique: the mushrooms. Here's the thing, I love mushrooms on pizza. When done right, especially on white creamy pizzas... truly a divine experience. Problem is... most places throw their pre-chopped mushrooms on top of a pizza (so they've already been exposed to air and lost some moisture anyhow) and after fifteen minutes exposed in a hot oven... you get dried out, withered slices of mushrooms that often taste like dust. Wood-fired pizzas can avoid this somewhat since even in the higher oven temperature, the exposure to heat (and thus drying out) isn't as pronounced... but regardless this is a very finicky topping that rarely turns out optimally. Thus why I usually avoid them.

Windsor pizza, however, uses canned mushrooms (or bagged, seeing into Ambassador's fridge while ordering)... which on first thought sounds extremely odd and possibly gross. Having now tried this though... it makes a lot of sense! There's a certain juiciness and meatiness in these mushrooms that is nearly impossible to find any other way on a pizza. While they are somewhat watery, it isn't to the point that it makes the rest of the pie soggy in any way. Indeed, the cheese itself seems to absorb a lot of that and you get a hint of mushroom taste in the cheese as well. It's really quite delightful. 

There are layers to this pizza, both flavour-wise and texturally (it's a word now, damnit!) that are unlike anything I've tried before. It really took me a long time to figure out how I felt about this pizza... it was tricky to determine how much I liked it, because this was truly a curveball to me. For the record, this rarely happens... usually after a slice I have a pretty clear idea how I generally feel about a pie (and clearly I've tried a few). This one? Threw me a genuine loop. The simplicity of it, yet being so different and honestly quirky enough... it took me a while.

Overall! Ambassador is good. Very good, in fact... even though it took me a while to definitively reach that conclusion. I'm not quite as big a fan of the shredded pepperoni as I am the canned/bagged mushrooms. You sort of lose that distinctive crispy, oily slice texture, and having that salty pork seeping into every bite of this pizza was just a little too much, for me anyway. The mushrooms are awesome though, even on a reheat (aside from the crust going stiff, this translates well on the reheat) and the entire pizza is just very excellent on every level. Good, firm mozzarella cheese also, a nice level of char on the crust, and the sauce holds it together (nothing special but also far from generic). 

This has to be a "B++" for me. Didn't completely blow me away... but I was mighty impressed and really hadn't ever encountered a pizza quite like this before. And yet, all the flavours blended together seamlessly. Definitely worth checking out. Neat stuff.           

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.  

This Week In Pizza: Levant

 

 

 

One recent Wednesday I happened not to be working any of my three jobs, or scheduled to play for any of my three baseball teams (summers are the busy season, baby). Faced with such an opportunity of free time... well there was only one true choice: pizza field trip!

I went out to the Bloorcourt neighbourhood here in Toronto with the intention of trying three pizza spots that all happen to be within of a few blocks of each other, the first being Levant. Levant is a tiny little restaurant that has received many accolades since opening in 2021, notably appearing 7th on BlogTo's "Best Toronto Pizza" list (take that particular ranking as you like... all good places on there but not having Napoli Centrale, Defina or Bello on there certainly raises an eyebrow from me).  

Anyhow, for a pizza place to be considered among such excellent company definitely grabs my attention, and so Levant is a place I'd been intrigued to try for quite some time. They open at 4pm on mid-weekdays so I killed some time at the nearby Long & McQuade (I needed guitar picks) before heading in. 

The interior is quite nice: small and cozy, colourful tiled walls, wooden tables and shelves... almost like a middle eastern restaurant meets a living room, meets a cafe. Levant is indeed a fusion of Sicilian and Palestinian cuisines, and the aesthetic matches the mission. 

While their full size pizza options are intriguing (two different options on the same pie is a cool idea), they offer slices and so I elected to try two of those. The pizza I really wanted to try, their Crispy and Creme, sadly wasn't available... so I went for their shawarma slice (their most popular apparently) and their take on a pepperoni slice. 

Starting with the shawarma slice... it definitely tastes like a shawarma all right. You've got the tender slow roasted meat (a mix of brisket and lamb according to the menu), sweet pickled shallots, a couple cherry tomatoes and a parsley pesto as your base sauce. It's a bit odd to eat this combination of flavours in this format: the style of this pizza is, as you can see, a thicker square... and so this is more like an open-faced foccacia sandwich with shawarma fillings. It is quite tasty and interesting, although the pickled sweetness dominates the overall flavour. There isn't much of the meat (on this slice anyhow) and it is a very bready pizza. The bread is soft and enjoyable at least.

Moving onto the pepperoni slice. Well... again this is a tasty slice and there's a good mix of gooey cheese, tiny pepperoni cups and the drizzle of honey does provide some syrupy sweetness. The tomato sauce here really is where the fusion of middle eastern and Sicilian food happens... there are hints of earthy spice and very muted acidity. 

Throughout the many pizzas I've reviewed I've always mentioned how I value creativity in a pie, whether that be with topping combinations or overall composition. Levant definitely gets points in that department, as I haven't ever tasted a pizza quite like this before. The meeting of cuisines is indeed a successful one. However, while the flavours are unique there just isn't quite enough of them. Aside from a dominant element (the sweetness of one slice, the cheese in the other), the tastes of both slices seem muted to me... there isn't anything truly vivid or absolutely delicious. 

Overall... this is good pizza but a Top 8 in Toronto? Not remotely close. It's extremely interesting and both slices were enjoyable, it's just that it feels like there's something missing to truly elevate it into the territory of fantastic. They get a point docked as well for not translating well on the reheat... it got very stale despite the best efforts of my toaster oven. 

I wouldn't say "you have to try them!" but if you're in the area and craving a slice, definitely visit Levant instead of the Pizza Hut across the street. The uniqueness of the flavour fusion and overall tastiness of the slice (when fresh) gives Levant a solid "B" from me, probably enough to land them on the fringes of my Top 50 in Toronto.             

 

This Week In Pizza: Blue River

 

 

 

We are back onboard the pizza reviewing train with a relatively obscure option, very inconspicuously located near the slanted intersection (it's like standing on a teeter-totter in the middle of two diverging inclines) of Gerrard and Woodbine. 

I'd first heard of Blue River from a co-worker during a typically not-busy Argos game last fall. She lived around the corner from there and said it was much better than any nearby option, especially the eastbound Domino's up the Gerrard hill (going up a hill for Domino's? That's no way to live, people). Hilariously, for whatever reason I began thinking the name of the place was "Blue Wave", and ironically I also cannot remember the name of this particular co-worker either. Yes indeed, mine is a very precise type of foolishness.

Anyhow, I'd forgotten about this pizza joint completely until talking with a couple of my softball buddies one recent evening, who also live in that area (once again I kept calling it Blue Wave despite being corrected at least once). At this point, with multiple in-person recommendations, the time had come to actually try them. On a rare day off I took a long walk out to Gerrard and Woodbine, looked around and there they were on the south-side very close to the corner.

The thing with Blue Wa-I mean River, is that from the outside this looks as little like a pizza place as you can imagine. I mean sure, it looks more like a pizza place than say, a hot dog stand or a shoe store... but picture in your mind what a typical pizza joint looks like. It's probably going to be something like a greasy spot with old white tiles, an elegant looking Italian restaurant, or something that looks faux-retro and hipstery (or possibly some combination of all three). Instead, from the outside Blue River looks like a dive bar you could pass by a thousand times without a second thought (and not one of those "faux dives" somewhere like Dundas West would have)... with dim yellow windows, not much obvious signage or decoration, and an awkward entrance.   

Well appearances can be deceiving! Never judge a book by its cover, because Blue River on the inside... looks exactly like a dive bar. You've got the generic tables, no carpets, not a lot of colour to the place, a pair of older regulars sitting at the bar drunkenly rambling incoherently (it was 6:30pm!)... but hey it was quite bright in there at least! 

None of this matters, obviously. If anything what threw me off the most was the inside part of the entrance being roped off by stanchions, like this was still the sad scary days of 2020-2021. Regardless, I was very hungry so I ordered a pizza and some chicken wings (there was a 10 dollar special for the wings), then watched those (frustrating) Blue Jays on the television until my order was ready.

 

  
I'll be brief with reviewing the wings, since this is a pizza article and there isn't much to say here anyhow. They're serviceable. A bit on the smaller side, chewy, less juicy and or crunchy than is preferred... but they are plentiful, the 40 Creek BBQ sauce (they have plenty of other options also) is very smokey and tangy, and despite the chewiness they are nicely cooked throughout. You could definitely do worse for ten bucks, and I've much worse at much higher prices. Decent-ish.  

So yeah, I definitely like my spicy Hawaiian pizzas. Salt and Tobacco out in Cabbagetown is probably the best version of this style I've encountered, but this here by Blue River provided a fresh take on it. Topping-wise this was a very loaded choice. You've got the typical Hawaiian pizza elements: ham, pineapple, then the spicy element with the jalapenos... but in addition here you've got a bit of bacon (its crumble but ah whatever) and the real unusual element: a drizzle of BBQ sauce cooked in with the pizza.

There are a lot of flavours and textures here and they're all fighting for control here, despite a natural harmoniousness between the theories of those flavours (pineapple and BBQ for sweet, bacon and ham for salty and pepper for spice). Add in the heavy dough and cheese of this pizza and those individual flavours do all fade into the blend of this aggressive mix.  

That said, this is still a perfectly solid pie. It reminds me of Pizza On Fire just in terms of the thick and low-key composition (and way less oily), only a couple of steps below that very impressive level and combination of flavours. The BBQ drizzle is a nice touch and does work, but it completely overshadows the actual tomato sauce to the point I can't even recall its taste beyond the sweetness of that BBQ. This definitely isn't a greasy pizza, the bread has some nice soft crunch to it when fresh (definitely needs a dip once cold or on a reheat) and it's basically just a simple (despite all the ingredients on this particular featured pie) standard thick-ish pizza executed with good skill and care.

Overall! Yeah... I probably don't like this as much as those who recommended it to me, but that could very well be a result of having tried so many superb pizzas in the past few years... and this particular thicker style isn't usually my preference (I do love deep dish, which is much different than this of course). I'd genuinely say Blue River is a lot like Domino's except done well, with better taste, lasting flavours, actual reheatibility, and not overcooked to hell (this River pie was a bit overdone but not to the point of the cheese being tough or dry to chew through). 

Grade-wise... on my scale it's somewhere between a B-- and B- ... I'm sure I'll try them again soon and have a more definitive conclusion (especially on a pizza with more minimal toppings)... but as it stands this isn't a "you simply must try this" destination but I was impressed enough to look forward to my second visit.