A look into our expedition through Canada’s eclectic pizza scene in Ontario.
Greetings, my fellow food enthusiasts! I must say, my journey to the land of maple syrup and hockey was an adventure like no other. Who knew that the great nation of Canada would be so bold as to banish salt from its culinary landscape? Okay fine — slight exaggeration — the sodium levels are limited by Canada’s food administration. Alas, however, my taste buds were in for quite the shock. As an American who grew up on the S.A.D–Standard American Diet — I’m accustomed to having a massive amount of salt in everything, even in desserts. But Canada’s government had other plans, and I must say, it has worked wonders for my health as I’ve drastically reduced my sodium consumption since.
Now, let us move on to the review at hand. We had the pleasure of indulging in some vegan pizza, and oh my goodness, it was quite the experience! The thin crust pizza is the star of the show, and we simply couldn’t decide on just one, so we went for two. First up, we had the Potato pizza, which featured roasted garlic purée, sliced potatoes, roasted apple, vegan cheese, and fried rosemary.
Now, I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant to try potato pizza, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I requested sweet potato and SMOKED PIRI PIRI TOFU on the side in case I wanted to spice it up. And a few slices in sure enough I decided to add the sweet potato and tofu and let me tell you, the Piri Piri tofu was a flavor explosion in my mouth! Without the crutch of salt, the chefs have mastered the art of seasoning, and each bite was bursting with deliciousness.
However, I must note that the toppings were a bit sparse for my liking. As an American, I’m used to indulgent loaded pizzas with layer upon layer of toppings, but this place was not like the usual suspects. It was more of a “less is more” approach. Nevertheless, the Daiya cheese was good, albeit not in-house made, and the crust had a good gluten content, although it was a tad too hard for my taste.
Moving on to our second pizza, the vegan Chorizo pizza, which boasted tomato sauce, spinach, roasted red pepper, vegan cheese, and their lentil and chickpea in-house made meat substitute, pickled red onion, and their vegan sumac and dill aioli. This pizza was a game-changer. The flavors were so perfectly balanced that it hit every single spot in my palate. The pickled red onions were a true highlight, and they worked wonderfully with the sauce. Again, the toppings were sparse, but the taste more than made up for it.
Overall, would I go back here if I didn’t have to? Perhaps not. But would I avoid it like the plague? Absolutely not. If you’re looking for a unique pizza experience that’s light on salt and heavy on flavor, then this is the spot for you. And who knows, you might even discover a newfound appreciation for potato pizza like I did!