Anyway You Slice It

With my yoga class ending at 2 pm, I've been wanting to try the new by-the-slice Pizzeria Badiali (formerly Good Neighbour café). Sadly, the odd opening hours at 2:30 pm and the long line-up that immediately forms had deterred me. After 2 aborted attempts, I decided that Sunday will be my last try. I guess 3rd time's a charm because I arrived with no line (though it filled up right behind me) and only a few people already in the shop.

Looking over the 4 options, I chose a classic Margherita ($5.25). This was an excellent slice: thin but crispy with a tasty blistered edge. The addition of grated cheese and basil after your order added freshness and flavour. Having had some recent semi-disappointments at new restaurants, Badiali was an immediate hit.

But I'd probably won't return for several reasons. First, the weird hour makes it a non-choice for a quick lunch. Second, this was a small slice for $7 ($5.25 + tax and tip). One of my pet peeves are take-out businesses that don't disable the tip option on their tap machines. Finally, this was New York-style pizza. Nothing against NY but everyone imports pizza from abroad to Toronto: Chicago-style, Detroit-style, the ubiquitous Neapolitan, plus the less familiar Milano, Romana, and Sicilian. Even Windsor-style, with its canned mushrooms, has made an appearance. But nobody does Toronto-style pizza except for its original purveyors. They're heading for retirement soon and I'm looking for joints (especially by-the-slice) that carry on the tradition. Because otherwise, Toronto will be a place with lots of good food from elsewhere but nothing home-grown.