Danforth Pizza, Danforth Street, 3/16/10
After a busy day which started with Little Belly meeting her heroes, the Yo Gabba Gabba crew in person, followed by a brisk run through the Toronto Necropolis and Riverdale Park (a zoo right in the same park as the cemetary. Bellyman loves Toronto!), Belly Family needed food. When hungry, worn down and ready to collapse, what better food than pizza to restore a family and fuel Belly Family for a night of sightseeing?
Bellyman can't think of one...
Yelp once again provided the answer in the form of Danforth Pizza. Bellyman has had pizza in cities all around North America, and has to say: Danforth Pizza is THE most unique place he's ever been to. First, there's the owner. Bellyman thinks he's about 80 years old. He works alone most nights, churning out pizzas one at a time. For some reason, he leaves the lights off, so it's tough to know if he's open (Belly Family thought he was closed when we passed by, but the Yelp reviews said to give it a shot anyway). He makes pizza, and that's it. Small, medium and large with about 10 toppings. Bellyman was surprised to see pineapple on the list, but Canada's a liberal country. Maybe it's rubbed off on this crusty old Italian.
The pizza, though, is the star of the place. The owner might just be an odd fellow, but he knows how to make one hell of a pizza. He's obviously been doing it forever and is a master of his craft. Bellyman has worked in a pizza place, and has never seen a person man an oven so perfectly. Every pizza came out with the consistency of a machine. But, Bellyman digresses...one day, when in Philly, Bellyman will review for you Charlie's Pizza. Bellyman grew up on Charlie's Pizza, and always makes sure to visit at least once when there. Bellyman misses Charlie's Pizza a whole lot, and if he moved to Toronto with Belly Family, would miss it more.
Danforth Pizza would fill that void.
The pizza was a masterpiece of the trade. The crust was crispy, but risen. It wasn't limp and flat, it had heft to it. It could stand on its own, so Mrs. Bellyman didn't need to embarrass Bellyman by folding it (even though she still did). The cheese...how does Bellyman describe it? It was some odd extruded variety, it looked in the bin like packing peanuts! But, when it melted, it was gooey and crispy on top and....the sauce was just about the right amount of sweet and spicy, although a LITTLE over on the sweeter side. Noticeable, but not distracting.
About the only thing Belly Family did not like was the pepperoni. That, however, was not the fault of Danforth. Canadians have a weird thing about pork products in that they have no idea what they're doing with them. :) I still love them, though! The pepperoni was thin and floppy, not thick and greasy and fattening like Americans like it. Oddly enough, though, that wasn't enough to stop Belly Family from finishing off a whole medium in about 15 minutes.
Verdict: Stop what you're doing right now, get your passport (go get one if you haven't got one) head to Toronto and try this pizza. Bellyman knows you won't be disappointed! Make sure you have cash, though. Bellyman doesn't think the owner knows what credit cards are, let alone would he take them. His cash register? Bellyman can only describe it thusly: click, click, click, KACHUNK, wizzzz, BING! read more