Pizzeria Libretto

For our 3rd anniversary, Scott got me tickets to see Strictly Ballroom at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. The show was great, I love a good musical! Before the show, we had to have lunch nearby at Pizzeria Libretto. We have been casually stalking this place on Instagram, so we were pretty excited. We knew we had to try to Ricotta Gnocchi Fritti, and it did not disappoint. These little potato pillows were so delicate and wonderful. The tomato sauce was really, really impressive. Every single bite was so tasty, my mouth is watering remembering it.

Ricotta Gnocchi Fritti - San Marzano Tomato, Nduja Sausage, Stracciatella

I ordered off the Pizza Bianca menu, opting for the House-made Sausage pizza. It was sweet and spicy, but the crust is the really impressive part. It was amazingly thin and light, but not crisp.

House-Made Sausage Pizza Bianca - Caramelized Onion, Mozzarella, Chili Oil

Scott decided on the Diavola from the Pizza Rossa menu. It was really tasty when you managed to wrangle a bite, but it was the greasiest thing I've eaten in a while. The crust wasn't really interested in doing it's job, so we decided it was really a fork & knife pizza.

Diavola Pizza Rossa - Tomato, Spicy Salami, Mozzarella Di Bufala, Chili, Onion, Kalamata Olives

While we waited, we had some of the best focaccia I have ever tasted. It was with tasting oils, and definitely got us excited for our little gnocchis to come. Our service was great, but we were one of the only tables there for lunch on a Sunday. The gnocchi was great, the pizzas were good. There are so many places in Toronto I want to try and haven't this just wasn't all that impressive.

Likes: Focaccia & Gnocchi
Dislikes: Greasy pizza paired with a cloth napkin
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: Probably not, this area is filled with great looking food!

Rico's Pizzeria

Yesterday we snuck in a lunchtime pizza date at Rico's Pizzeria. It was somewhere we had never tried, and it was close to where we needed to be, so we tried it. I ordered the Balsamic Marinated Mushroom Pizza with some added prosciutto. It was huge! The crust was thin and crispy (maybe a little too crispy on one side). The mushrooms were delicious, and the prosciutto was definitely the right choice.

Balsamic Marinated Mushroom Pizza - thin, crispy crust smeared with roasted garlic and organic olive oil, covered with seasonal balsamic marinated mushrooms, onions and goat cheese, topped with fresh rosemary and prosciutto

Scott ordered the Farmer's Sausage 'Za, and we can safely say I was the winner this round. His pizza was good, but a little boring. It was so cheesy, with the right amount of pull. The house made tomato sauce was really tasty. Mine was so good though, I couldn't stop eating it.

Farmer's Sausage 'Za - thin crust topped with house made tomato sauce, fresh Fieldgate Farm sausage, locally sourced bacon, and mozzarella

Overall we were pretty satisfied with this little pick, and while they seemed a little overwhelmed with customers heading into the holidays, they managed to keep everyone happy and well fed. Their attention to locally sourced ingredients (including beers) and options for everyone, including vegan and gluten-free fare, makes it really worth recommending. From the outside you can't tell they care as much as they do about the experience - it looks like it could be any 2-4-1 location.

Likes: The crust was very thin and crispy, the toppings were delicious!
Dislikes: The sausage pizza was boring.
Food: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Would I go again?: Maybe. It was great, but for $17 and $16 they weren't outstanding.

Wooden Heads

This weekend I was at United Empire Loyalist Heritage Centre and Park for the Alberry Family Reunion in Adolphustown, On. First, I had to pick up my little brother in Kingston, ON, where we decided to get some delicious lunch at Wooden Heads. This downtown restaurant features a brick oven in the middle of the room where gourmet pizzas are fired. After scanning a pretty tasty looking menu, we decided to get 2 pizzas to share:

Meraviglioso - lobster curry, brie, caramelized onions, fresh basil

I ordered the Meraviglioso, not quite sure what to expect. This pizza was really sweet, and if it didn't say lobster on the menu, I wouldn't have known it was there. The 'lobster curry' seems to be a sauce, with very few pieces of lobster involved. The taste was pretty good - it is hard to go wrong with brie! The real star of the show was the pizza my brother chose:

Arrabbiata - superdynamite, pomodoro sauce, mozzarella, calabrese salami, banana peppers

This pizza was perfect. It was greasy and cheesy, so if that isn't your thing then maybe it isn't for you. Calabrese salami is one of my favourites, and the banana peppers were an amazing choice I would not have expected to work as well as it did. We didn't figure out what 'superdynamite' was and forgot to ask, but I am guessing it is a sauce that was involved...maybe? It was hard to tell where all the spice was coming from, but each bite packed some heat. We also ordered the Calamari Mumbai off the 'Tapas' menu and I failed to take a picture of it. I was more annoyed at the gratuitous use of tapas than anything else all day. It was a list of Appetizers, not really what you would picture as tapas, but sure, go ahead. The calamari was almost all cooked well, I got a piece that was overdone and too chewy. The sauce was tasty, but the naan felt cheap and I have had better from the grocery store, never mind an actual restaurant.

Likes: The atmosphere was nice and relaxing and the Arrabbiata pizza was delicious
Dislikes: The lobster curry was a bit of a miss for me. Restaurants should only do naan if you are going to be serious about it, it was a disappointment.
Food: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: Maybe. I am not in Kingston very often and there are other places I would like to try. A couple other pizzas on the menu might make it worth another visit.