Johnny Stromboli

Closest match to Johnny's

Ever since I read about stromboli in a food article I've been on the look-out for this tasty-looking snack as I am more of  a fan of savoury treat than sweet pastry. Yet despite the presence of numerous Italian restaurants (as well as pizza joints) in Toronto, there doesn't seem to be any offerings in town. A few months ago, a Taste T.O. article lead me to Slice of New York, which has a location on Edward St.

But the fare was disappointing. First, being a primarily take-out place, the stromboli is already pre-cooked and is only re-heated in the pizza oven. This only makes the dough slightly warm and toasted, leaving the inside blandly cool. There is a decidedly lack of stuffing, probably to keep costs down. Finally, for some reason, it has a shiny sheen that you usually see on store-bought dessert pastry. It's definitely better to stick to the pizza at this place.

But last Friday before going to see Sheezer, I accidentally discovered that John's Classic Pizza at College and Clinton, a place that I have passed by hundreds of time, also offer stromboli. So exciting! The meat option came out piping hot, with that great cooked dough smell. Each piece that I sliced was filled with gooey cheese goodness, with pepperoni and italian sausage. There's also tomato-based dipping sauce on the side. It was tasty for the first half, then it palled. The problem is that unlike a similarly sized pizza slice, there's a lot more dough. And the cheese and meat didn't quite have enough flavour to balance it out. It would have been better if there was the addition of some fresh herb, or a spicy and herb-infused sausage. Alternatively, images of stromboli on the internet show it over-stuffed with ingredients, and so not so much dough - which I suppose wouldn't make business-sense.

But now I know where to go for better-quality stromboli (I'll try the veg option next time) as well as fresh calzones. The pizza made there also look good enough for a try-out on my continuing quest for the best pizza in Toronto.