Chicago: Giodarno's Deep Dish Pizza

Location:

730 North Rush Street

Chicago, IL 60611

Pizza is definitely a weakness for me...I could eat it all day, son. All. day.

A deep dish pizza, I've never had though, and it's obviously the thing to do in Chicago.

While asking around for the BEST deep dish pizza joint, we were referred to Giordarno's FAMOUS deep dish.

Kate of

Union Jack Creative

said that a deep dish 'za is like eating a lasagna...and she was correct.

This was LIGHT cheese, you guys.

LIGHT cheese.

Deep dish pizza is not for me, but I'm glad I tried it....see the left over cheese?

Boston: Salvatore's

Location:

545 Washington Street
Boston, MA

I didn't know Salvatore's was all over this city, but I'm excited about this prospect, as I've found some mighty tasty Neapolitan style 'za in Beantown, so that means I can find a it whenever I want.

Lovely and attentive service, and the best eggplant parmesan the three of us have ever had (and that's coming from two parmesan conoisseurs!)

 Photo via my Instagram feed.

Greece: Mykonos, Catari

Location:

Aghia Anna | Old Port, Mykonos Town 84600, Greece

www.catari.gr

What a delightful and delicious find! After our sunset meal, and some window shopping and exploring of the island, we searched for dinner. Coming upon Catari and it's adorable outdoor seating and pretty lights made it an easy choice for a pizza dinner. Enough of gyros and fries, I say. As everything else in Greece, it was pricey, but the service, atmosphere and chilli flakes from home-grown chillis on a delicious pizza pie made for a wonderful evening.

New York City: Love from NYC

Heart shaped pizza? How about some breaded love?

This is how NYC does Valentine's Day.

TRAVEL: Montreal: Les 3 Brasseurs (3 Brewers )

Location(s):

A.  732 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Montreal

B.  1658, rue Saint-Denis, Montréal

www.les3brasseurs.ca

(All images photohogger)

Let me start with the pros of the restaurant:

Amazing beer-battered poutine.  Great atmosphere: loud, bustling, was fun to be there during the Stanley Cup playoffs.



The Food (pros & cons):

Everything was grease-central (could be a pro for some?).  The fish and chips came with overly battered and overly deep fried fish, so much so that the fried shell separates from the fish. 



The flatbread pizzas are so thin, which some peopel may prefer, but I say why bother! You practically have to eat the whole thing with a knife and fork which I know some prefer for eating pizza, but I like to pick it up like a pie.  Loaded with lots of veggies so it wasn't bad.  



My understanding of, and the way I make, a Nicoise salad is with tuna, hard-boiled eggs, beans, tomatoes, olives, optional artichokes, red pepper and anchovies, all on a bed of lettuce.  This one came with smoked meat instead of tuna.  Since all of us eat mostly only fish, we opted for no smoked meat.  It was alright, but would have preferred more of the original style of a nicoise salad. 



The beer-battered poutine (that we didn't order) was delish.  We ordered regular poutine and thought that what we got was regular poutine, and wondered why it was so greasy.  But as far as greasy poutine goes (which it all mostly is, anyway), it was a winner!



The cons of the restaurant:

What is with the section of the restaurant that is also part dish-clearing station/garbage take out?  Please get rid of this section!  I understand one has to clear the dishes and take out the garbage, but is there not a wall behind which this could be done?  We had to sit there and be a witness to a server scraping off the plates into the trash and worse see one of them struggle to pull out the garbage bag from the trash can - minus gloves!  Then the trash can fell over with a crash!  Not something that you want to see before (or anytime) you get your meal.

Then, we were billed for the beer battered poutine ($8.99) which we ate unknowingly as we thought we'd simply ordered the regular poutine ($5.99).  I realize it's only a difference of $3, but it was still the server's mistake which she acknowledged and insisted to correct but the manager then said couldn't be reversed.  So our server told us not to tip her instead.  How ridiculous is that?  Needless to say we DID tip her on top of their mistake.  She gave us each $5 gift cards to use back in Toronto.  Thanks but you won't see us running over there anytime soon.

Sitting next to the kitchen on visit number two (St. Denis location), we had a clear view of all the cooks in the kitchen, all the orders given, all the plates being served, and all the accidents, such as the dropping of a plate of salad near our end of the table.  A hearty dose of salad dressing landed on four of us and what did they do to make up for it?  "2 beers on us!" Thanks fellas...we were only a group of fifty!  And the group menu they gave us was crap.  Four options for dinner included: some flatbread with chicken dish, some sausage and sauerkraut dish, some veg lasagna and some chicken skewer dish with fries.  I had the veg lasagna and it was soggy, covered in cheese and tasteless. 

Besides that, the restaurant is so cramped (why else would we have been right beside the kitchen?) that our server(s) kept squeezing their ar*** between our two tables to get to another section of the restaurant. This happened all night long and I received several scrapes to my back from their pens!  Definitely not a good dining experience.

I don't know who the three brewers are but they need to get their act together.  The beer they brew?  Not one of them did I fancy...but I'll let Beerhogger review them for you. 



Overall, A had slightly better food and service, whilst B is somewhere I never wish to dine again. 

One can hope that Toronto's location is better, but I'm not holding my breath.

A.

B.

TRAVEL: Quebec City, Carlo's Pizza

Location:

117, Rte Principale E RR 2, Sainte-Cécile-de-Masham, QC J0X 2W0, 819-456-4545

Not only does Carlo do pizza, and amazingly well (the veggie one we got was chock-full of tasty veggies and not very greasy), he does the best poutine I've ever tasted in Quebec!  Mighty squishy curds and a not-too-salty gravy that's just the right consistency.  The pan fried tilapia was amazing with the poutine!  They don't skimp out on quantity either, check out the amount of cheese on this caesar salad!  Now, if only Carlo's was closer....



 

The Magic Oven

Location:

6 Wellesley

When green chillies underly an innocent tandoori chicken pizza, you KNOW the chef knows his biniss.

As he should at THESE pizza prices!!

Smelt flour or no smelt flour...I hope these pizzas have some magic in 'em 'cause they're expensive!

Not a fan of the Liberty Village location as I got sick twice as a result of their lunch time slices, but the Wellesley location made for a wonderful dinner with friends. Very cosy atmosphere, we had almost the whole (tiny) restaurant to ourselves. And those hidden green chillies? We were in tears 'cause the menu made no mention of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to see green chillies in anything, so they were tears of joy.

We've also had MO pizzas ordered into work, and as delish as they are, the four pizzas we ordered came to something outrageous as $100 and there still wasn't enough to go around. Sometimes, you just need a bunch o' $9.99 pepperoni pizzas.

O&B Canteen NOW OPEN + O&B Cafe, Oakville

Locations:

O&B Canteen: 330 King St. West, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto

O&B Cafe & Grill: 240 Leighland Avenue #235, Oakville

The new TIFF building's restaurant is now open - here's their menu online. It seems to always be packed in there and one day I will try it.

Not too long ago, we dined at the O&B cafe & grill at Oakville Place. Here, some shots.

The bread was delicious! So cutely packaged in a little metal box with little covered butter pots (reminded me of the packaging we used to get on airplanes back in the day).

This location of O&B has a really nice, quiet patio, designed in sleek woods and metals and clean lines.

Okay, but back to the bread. MMM MM mmm....warm, soft, and with a dab of butter...melted right in the mouth.

Did I mention the bread? It was soooooooooooo good!

To start us off we got the popcorn shrimp, which was AMAZING!  Very greasy though, but they'd already thought of that, placing the deep fried shrimp on a bed of crunchy filler crispy noddles which soaked up all the excess oil avoiding making the plate look slick.

Didn't really need the miso mayo it arrived with, the shrimp was just perfect on it's own.

We enjoyed a glass of Lillypilly Shiraz and a local beer.

Okay, so now, after quite some time had passed (and much bread had been consumed) another server arrived at our table with someone elses order: a plate of mac and cheese and a beef burger.  We noted to ourselves that our own server was too busy chatting it up with the couple (who appeared to be regulars) next to our table to notice this mistake on their part.

We send the food back and finally our server comes over and to compensate asks us if we want soup or salad...we chose salad and received a delicious spinach salad with sugar-coated pecans and thinly sliced pears...mMMmmmm MMM! Not exactly a healthy salad, I  assure you, but welcomed nonetheless!

Finally our meal arrives:  a chicken burger with fries and a margarita pizza. Boy, was the burger ever tasty! Usually when one orders a chicken burger, one gets a bland hunk of chicken breast with sorry looking grill marks on either side. Am I right? This, however was actual ground chicken, like we make at home. Very moist and juicy; I'd get it again in a heartbeat. Did I mention it came with bacon? Yesssssss!

The pizza had a super thin crust and was very light and non-greasy. Great tasting and a nice change from the burger.

The food was fantastic, our server was not.  Even by the time we were ready for the bill, he was still chatting it up with the regulars.  We didn't even get water refills once or asked how our food was.  When he finally did bring us our bill, it was the wrong one!  Yay!

Still, I'd go back for that shrimp.

Bar Wellington

Location:

520 Wellington St W, Toronto

Oh, Bar Wellie, how you've changed.

View

Okay, not to be quite so dramatic, but we really had some good times Bar Wellie and I. Once upon a time, when the service was nice and friendly, and I had my first taste of Leffe beer. Let me tell you, it was something else.  Now it really IS something else.

The service is sloooooooooooooow and rude and the food is, well, okay, so the food was never really THAT good.  The club sandwich, really dry and the pizza bland.

Club Sandwich

Pizza



It does have a big outdoor patio though, but size isn't all that matters.

I guess we will always have Leffe Beer.

Pizza Libretto & Golden Turtle

Location:

PL 221 Ossington Ave,. Toronto

GT 125 Ossington Ave., Toronto

It all started with an image of Chocolate Affogato on A's FB page which then sent us on a taste-test-excursion to Pizza Libretto as they are one of the (maybe few?) restos in TO who serve it.

Excitedly, I arrived at said location, looking for my friend, only to be  stopped by the hostess who demanded I tell her what I was doing.  Surprised, I quickly told her I was looking for a friend who may already be seated somewhere in the depths of the crowded (and loud!) restaurant.  She looked at me incredulously and stated that there was no way anyone could be waiting for me since her waiting list was 2 pages long (!) (and they don't take reservations - another !). Now it was my turn to be confused, so I gave her my friend's name to which she confirmed with much finality that A was not on the list.

Shrugging I decided to wait for A, who within minutes bounded up to me with as much enthusiasm as I had had a few seconds ago myself .  Together we tackled Hostess and put our names on the 2 page long list.  Hostess told us we could enjoy a drink and then she'd call us.  We thought she meant hang out at the bar and then she'd call upon us, but she literally meant go out and have a drink somewhere else and then she'd call my cell phone.  In 40 minutes.  40 minutes!!!

Hungry and deflated, was I, not to say annoyed with the abruptness of the Hostess.  A, still in good spirits suggested Golden Turtle just down the street.  We decided to check out their menu and then decide whether we wanted to eat there or wait the 40 minutes.  The menu was not posted outside, so we had to go inside and ask.  By doing so, we were waved to have a seat, to which we lamely protested that we simply wanted to see the menu.  Too late.  We'd just been seated and handed menus.  And we were rather liking this kinder hospitality.

So be it.  We'd wait for PL to call and then go back for dessert, which was what we had originally scouted it out for.

Golden Turtle is one of those brightly lit, bustling, no-nonsense Vietnamese joints where the pho keeps pho'ing and the well, you get the drift.

A was reminded why she loves a good photo to go with the menu options, as we couldn't tell what a damn thing was on there.  Finally, we opted for the beef cold rolls, the chicken vermicelli with shrimp on a bamboo stick, and beef vermicelli.

Beef Vermicelli

The cold beef rolls were hearty and refreshing, and we both agreed, a perfect start to the meal.

Cold Rolls

My shrimp on a bamboo stick (highly recommended by A and looking mighty tasty on all the dishes being served around me) looked amazing in my bowl...until I turned it over with my chopsticks.  *Cue the waah waah's*

A solid strand of hair was coiled around it in the worst way.

Definitely, not a good start to the meal.

We showed it to our waitress who simply said, 'Okay' and brought me another bowl of my order.

I have to admit, once I'd gotten over the image of the hair out of my head, I fully enjoyed that bamboo shrimp stick.  Gnawing on that that stick until the rest of my dish went cold.

Chicken Vermicelli



Besides the hair, we did have a nice meal.   During our meal, my phone shrilled twice; PL calling with our "reservations" (why don't they just take reservations in the first place?).  We took our time finishing up at GT and sauntered over to PL for our dessert.

So a little more than 40 minutes later we were back at PL where the Hostess, as much as she wasn't pleased with us for not answering her calls, was more concerned with her waiting list and adding more helpless patrons to it.   I must admit, at that point, it was nice to be instantly whisked away to our reserved seats.

Our declaration to our server about us only being there for dessert and not dinner didn't go over well, at all.  Neither did our request for two hot waters.  We did look over at the tables beside us and salivated at what we saw everyone tucking into.  Also, it turned out, my yoga instructor and her friend were sitting beside us;  they'd endured the 40 minute wait and it seemed it had been worth it.  A and I looked at each other, semi-kicking ourselves for not waiting and vowing to come back soon and try the pies.  The pies and maybe the tiramisu again, but certainly not the affogato which was disappointing and nothing like the image burned onto my brain.  (See first image below, borrowed from this site) and then see the chocolate affogato at Pizza Libretto.

That was the image I had in mind.

Cold Rolls

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="332" caption="Chocolate Affogato"]
[/caption]

This is what we got:

Pizza Libretto

Pizza Libretto

The tiramisu looked a bit better, and A loved it (and for someone who doesn't like tiramisu, that said a lot). I thought it didn't taste like tiramisu, which, perhaps, also says a lot.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="384" caption="Tiramisu"]
[/caption]

A few hours later, with sore throats from having screamed over the din of the restaurant, and after many cutting glances from our server, we called it a night.   They seemed to want our table to seat the staff for their dinner.  How long did they have to wait for it, I wonder?

Before all you PL fanatics jump on this review with your rants on how it serves us right and that we should have waited yada yada, note that we are right this moment, planning our return to PL.

Will keep you posted.

TRAVEL: Palm Beach, Pizza Girls

Location:

114 S Clematis St
West Palm Beach, FL

www.pizzagirls.com

Probably the best. pizza. I've ever had.













We craved this pizza, not days later, but hours later.....honestly. Go.

San Francisco: Zachary's Pizza

Location:

5801 College Ave., Oakland, CA

www.zacharys.com



Zachary's pizza is the BEST!!!



Or, so I've heard from everyone who lives or has ever lived in SF, but alas, it was closed due to the Easter holiday.

Boo urns....I will have to wait until next time I'm in SF to try the famous deep-dish pizza!

Panago Pizza

Location:

44 Gerrard Street, Unit E, Toronto

Cost: $32 (incl. tip) for 2 small pizzas

www.panago.com

Everyone has a favourite pizza place, right? And the first time we tried Panago Pizza we swore we wouldn't ever order anything else. Unlike Pizza Pizza, Pizza Hut, Mama's and even Pizzaiolo's pizza, Panago's is truly bursting with flavours and crisp, fresh toppings. I can't remember which pizza we ordered that first time, but I remember it being the. best. thing. ever. (Note: The Magic Oven at 6 Wellesley St West is the only other place competing for number one spot on our favourite list....review to follow soon).

Last night we ordered from Panago's again. Unable to decide how much pizza we wanted we opted for 2 smalls after learning that one small proffered six slices. We got the 'garden veggie' with extra jalapenos and the 'tropical chicken', again, with extra jalapenos. For dips, the chipotle cilantro sounded swell and the 3-chlili shaker seemed appropriate 'cause we like it hot.

45 minutes later our pizzas arrived.



I think part of the appeal is the packaging.



Admittedly, the 'small' really was quite small, but we ended up with enough left over for work the next day. And even though the pizza looks home-made (and we actually do make pizza that looks like this), maybe that's what makes it so great because it's not like extra-large, greasy, pepperoni-filled corner shop pizza.

The garden veggie was brimming with black olives, sauteed mushroms, roasted garlic, pineapple, green peppers, fire-roasted tomatoes, red onions, jalapenos and mozarella. We got the THICK multigrain crust for the veggie and it was quite good - not very flavourful as far as crusts go, but we really enjoyed the thick as opposed to the thin crust which we got on our other pizza.



The meaty one had a sweet and smoky "tropical" sauce, grilled chicken, pineapple, green peppers, caramelized onions, cheddar and mozarella with jalapenos to top it all off. The THIN multigrain crust is new at Panago's and didn't really do much for us. It wasn't terrible by any means, but next time I'd go with the thick for sure.



Not as good as the first time, but still very good (and great the next day!), but at $15 per small pizza, it's a tad bit too pricey. It's not something we'll be ordering all the time. Oh, and don't get the chipotle cilantro dipping sauce, as delicious as it sounds, it was quite revolting.