Restaurants
Vinny Massimo's Pizza & Pasta
Massimo's has been getting a lot of press lately. First, there was the whole sanitation and rats issue that forced the popular late night pizzeria to close temporarily. And then there was a large fire that effectively closed the place for good. But then last month we received word that co-owner Tony DeBartolo mas moving Massimo's south - to Queen and Dovercourt - and rechristening it Vinny Massimo's Pizza & Pasta. After a few weeks of renovations it's now open and once again serving the hot slices that made the original location famous.
The new location is bare bones, channeling classic take-out minimalism and a certain je ne sais I don't give a f***. I can appreciate the sentiment: pizza is one of those dishes that, if made well, requires no adornment. The slices in the takeout display certainly look good when I arrive, so I order a piece of margherita, plus a tiramisu and an Italian salad.
With its thin crust, snapping-crisp edges and brown-baked cheese top, my slice puts on a good show, promising flavour and texture tasty enough to put an end to the neighbourhood's skinny jeans phase. But, like a girl with Spanx under her pants, my pizza is hiding a secret: it's old. Sweet tomatoey sauce, thin crust and delectable clusters of parsley oil all indicate that this was once a masterfully crafted pie, but too much chew and un-stretchy cheese also tell a tale of display-case neglect.
Even stale, the pizza is pretty good: I just lament that I didn't get to it earlier, when I'm sure it would've been sublime. Too bad I can't say the same about the tiramisu, which is dominated by two distinct flavours: espresso and refrigerator. Unlike my pizza, which tastes like it's been sitting around for hours, the tiramisu seems to have been stagnating for days. Lucky I have a crisp, fresh Italian salad to chase it down (yes, I ate my dessert first).
The thing about the salad is that it too is misrepresented: instead of the advertised artichokes, one of my favourite toppings, it's covered in black olives. Vinny Massimo's is pretty small, and I could actually hear how this happened. It went something along the lines of Hey, do you know where the artichokes are? followed by a No, just put olives on it. Now, in this era of rampant allergies, not to mention food preferences and consistency standards, substituting explicitly listed ingredients without customer consent is just not cool.
Torontonians are pretty sophisticated when it comes to pizza, and Massimo's delivers enough flavour to show me that once again it could emerge to be among our city's top pizzerias. But if Massimo's is going to impress me, they're going to have to step up their game. I hope they will take advantage of this fresh start to clean up their act and concentrate on delivering what they clearly know how to make: super-tasty pizza pies.
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I would prefer a little more selection, but if this is the tradeoff to be made for freshness, I think I can deal. The pizza was excellent.
I was underwhelmed to say the least.
The margherita was good. But not *great* as it once was.
No oven in the front, which was one of their hallmarks.
I was a huge fan of their pepperoni slices as well - but one look at the sad slices and it was quite obvious it's not the same anymore... they're using pathetic tiny slices of pepperoni instead of their big slices that get that nice little crispy edge to it like they had on College Street.
They've got a LONNNNNNNNG way to go if they wish to reclaim their lost glory. :(
Expert-tip: Always request garlic oil.
We live around the corner and detest Pizza Pizza, so we were looking forward to Massimo's being our 'go to' za. Now, the pizza was the kind of tasty that only a long overdue dinner can be, but it was much too oily and the selection shallow: pepperoni and margherita. On a second occasion, this time around lunch, I peeked in the window to see if the offerings had improved and moved on when I realized they had not.
Also off-putting was the atmosphere of the place. A man, whom we took to be the owner, stood around loudly jawing with a business associate about a deal that had given them heartburn. While we waited to pay for our slices, the owner boomed admonishments at the other over and through us, treating the pizza shop like his living room. While he laundered private affairs in public, we felt like unwelcome house guests.
I have higher hopes for my neighbourhood pizza joint, but until Vinny deigns to offer more and different pies and saves his business affairs for the back office, I'll hop on my bike and head to Pizzaiola's at Queen and Markham instead.
Something positive to consider though, Libretto has become hugely popular, so Torontonians know what real pizza is, we just can't buy it anywhere.
Papa Ceo is my master now.
The first time I went they had one nasty cold slice (I think it was pepperoni) ... so I left.
The second time I went I was ignored. There were two fellas in the kitchen and they did see me ... so I left.
Libretto and Terroni make fine pizza, but there is nothing wrong with many other pizza places around the city, including Pizzaiaola, Papa Ceo's and it's neighbour (whose name I always forget), Amato used to be good, etc., etc. Pizza, more than many other foods, is a creative experience to make and to eat. There's no one right way.
Also, please clarify what aspect of Toronto pizza you find funny, as the subject does not seem prima facie humourous and your humour is lost on me.
Finally, is it true that your ex, who cheated on you so ignominously, was, in fact, a pizza delivery person employed by a Toronto 'pizzaria' and this may be the root cause of your loathing of the Toronto pizza scene?
In the meantime, all this talk of real, good pizza has made me hungry.
How does anyone expect pizza to stay hot and fresh all day long? People please don't compare brick oven pizza (like Terroni and Libretto)to gas oven pizza. Two completely different products! Just trying having one of those types of 'za delivered and you'll see how crappy they turn out......Duh thats why those joints don't deliver!!!! Granted pizza is the best served when hot, but hell so is baked bread and I don't hear any complaints about bakeries not serving hot bread all day long. Massimo's pizza is made with natural ingredients, nothing is pre baked and is all from scratch. I think they are just having a rough start, though the place may be a little bare in the beginning, it's clean and it's nice to see Tony the owner there at all times. Welcome back Massimo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For my money, Massimo's continues to have the best tasting pizza in the city regardless if it's in a display case or not.
That said, if there is a way to get the oven to the store front, do it. That's the Massimo's way.
Keep it up, Tony!
vinney massimo has worst pizza of alll
u know the coook who is alwys caughing and stuff on the pizzza while he is making it he coughs on it i have him video tape and the fat guy who is pizza maker aswell he is alwys sweating on pizza wipes his hand with his hairs then starts making pizza thats nasty ....... i would never ever eat thier pizza again ... if u need more info contact me by email i ll be happy to show u videos....
You sound like a disgruntled employee to me, dude learn to spell
Called to get a delivery. Guy who answered said two words then I could hear what sounded like a cell phone ringing. He said "hold please" and dropped phone on counter. Then for several minutes I heard him loudly screaming at someone who sounded like an employee that was calling in. Eventually I hung up. Ok no biggie they're entitled to an off night especially if there's staffing troubles.
So couple of weeks later I'm heading to see a band at the ElMo and stop in for a quick slice. Short line up, guy making pizza is snapping at two employees, one of whom looks like a very nervous older man. Nervous old man says something about change. Angry guy making pizza stops spreading out dough, reaches into his pocket and hands him a wass of $5s, then goes right back into the dough without any sort of hand wash happening. This was in full view of 6 strangers who audibly gasped and left. That was the end of Massimo's for me. This was after the initial shut down for sanitation issues...so they obviously could care less. Possibly that's why it tasted good? :)
havent seen here for a bit, i turn around when she's not there and i see the rest of the pigpens in there..wtf...is that place even legal?
and left the placeee.. he was pickin ghis nose and making pizza with same hand ewwww nasty
CHANGE IT BACK
Why do we think we're so great?
Also, don't use your debit card here... I did once and the next day my account had been compromised and was missing a few hundred dollars.