Since I lived in Napoli, I've been searching for the perfect
Nepolitan pizza here in Toronto. I miss the soft crust, the sauce, the
mozzarella. Every time I find a place that's close, I would tell my friend
Nunzio about it. He finally asked me why
I don't blog my finds. So here I am.
For those of you who are wondering what I mean by a
Neapolitan pizza, here's a link to the certification process for a Verace
Napoletana. http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/
As you can see, the pizzaioli of Napoli take their craft very seriously,
even hosting pizza Olympics each July (I've been there--a better night of
dining a person could not ask for).
The first place I'm reviewing is actually not a certified
Vera pizza, but since it's been the latest place I've even, I decided to start
here.
Defina is in Roncesvalles, and since the chef has taken
lessons from 11 time world champion pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani, I'm
hopeful. I just also hope it's more
substance than style, because Gemignani has won world pizza aerobatics. I never
saw any actually toss a pizza in Italy.
I'm not going to concentrate too much on the interior of a
place, it's the pizza I'm reviewing, but for those who find aesthetics
important, this place isn't bad. Bit
narrow, but it is an old neighborhood, and a tich on the loud side.
The restaurant offers a choice of crust, Roman, which should
be thin and crispy, or Neapolitan, which should be soft. I prefer the soft, so I choose a quattro
fromaggi as well as crostini and arugula salad.
My friend Phil orders sardines. My Italian boyfriend asks for the
burrata and tomato salad.
When our food appetizers arrive, I'm not impressed with the
fact that the food is "auctioned" off (a personal pet peeve of mine.
How hard can it be to remember who ordered the salad?) and our drinks are
passed over the top of our heads, as well as the plates, which means I get a
good whack from a large salad plate on my head.
The sardines are excellent, crispy and salty. The crostini
is inedible--too much garlic, which overwhelms the palate and there is no other
flavor. The dressing on the salad is MIA, so I feel like we're eating grass.
While the burrata is excellent, the dish is too early, as the tomatoes are not
flavorful. Or perhaps the chef doesn't
take the time to select the produce him/herself and instead relies on a
restaurant supply company.
When the pizzas arrive, I am disappointed. My crust is not
Neapolitan at all. It's too hard, far
too Roman--I can't understand why the restaurant offers both styles of crust if
they are incapable of producing them. A
Neapolian style crust should be soft, and I should be able to roll the pizza
slice into a funnel and eat. The edges are like a cracker crust. The sauce, however, is excellent. It's tasty, and doesn't require any dash of
olive oil on top. I can only assume here
the chef has not skimped and has ordered San Marzano tomatoes.
Out of 10? I give Defina a 7.
