Toronto's secret lasagna restaurant keeps selling out of food
A Toronto restaurant has become home to a new secret source for lasagna, and they keep selling out of food.
Basilio Pesce has been operating Porzia's Lasagne out of Osteria Rialto, an Italian restaurant inside a refurbished theatre where he's the executive chef.
"I make the lasagnes myself. I used to own Porzia in Parkdale and started making trays on Sundays. They were pretty popular," Pesce told blogTO.
"When the first lockdown hit and we started doing take away only I started making to-go trays. I wanted to keep it as close to what we were making during the Porzia days so I called them Porzia's Lasagne. I even drew the logo myself."
Pesce's mom is named Porzia, and her lasagna was a comfort food and treat for him growing up, though she now only makes it a couple times a year. His heaping, highly exclusive sauce bricks are inspired by her dish.
"The lasagnes, as you can see, have a lot of very thin layers of pasta, sauce, either pomodoro for the Classico or beef bolognese for the meat version, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and pecorino Romano," says Pesce.
The lasagnas serve two to four, and the Classico goes for $47, the meat version for $49. There's also bombaloni and focaccia. Each week, pre-orders open up for pickup only at Osteria Rialto.
"Last October the lasagnes really started to take off and build momentum so I built a small website with a little help. All ordering is done online," says Pesce.
"I can only make limited quantities due to space, equipment and time. Lately they've been selling out in under five minutes. The response has been humbling. People really seem to like them which makes me really happy."
