Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
[Photographs: Erin Jackson]
Pizzeria Libretto was first to bring Neapolitan-style pizza to Toronto, and now with two locations, they're busier than ever. The wood-burning oven, which was imported from a 3rd generation pizza maker in Naples, reaches a blistering 900 degrees, and pizzas made with San Marzano tomato sauce and a zero-zero flour crust spend a mere 90 seconds inside, before emerging speckled with leopard spots and a puffed up cornicione.
Pizza Margherita is the standard by which I measure any Neapolitan-style pizzeria, and Libretto's is stellar. (Read more on what to expect from a Neapolitan pizzeria here.) Ingredients are fresh and supremely flavorful, from the unadulterated San Marzano sauce to the chewy, milky mozzarella, and the fresh sprigs of basil. By default, Ontario-made mozzarella di buffalo comes on the pies, but you can upgrade to locally produced fire di latte for an additional $3.
Soft, warm, and chewy crust is speckled with leopard spots around the edge that crackle with char. Drizzle it with a little chili oil, which servers thoughtfully deliver in a generously sized vessel. While you're waiting, you'll also get a basket of exceptionally good fresh baked bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I'd say don't fill up on it, but it's so good that you should just come hungry enough to eat every slice, or find another way to make room.
Libretto is no longer the only option for VPN certified pizza in Toronto, but it's still one of the very best I've had anywhere.
See also: What Is VPN Pizza? »
Read more on Pizzeria Libretto »
Pizzeria Libretto
550 Danforth Ave., Toronto, ON M4K1P7 (map), also at 221 Ossington Ave.
416-466-0400; pizzerialibretto.com
About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax