Via Mercanti, 188 Augusta Ave.

Ahhhh, finally, a pizzeria owned and run by Neapolitans. I'm excited.  And even better, our server is from the same quarter where I lived in Naples--Vomero.  It should be a good night for pizza.

The space for the restaurant is really nice--open concept. The music has been kept to a low level, as the noise in the space from everyone talking is really loud and bounces every where. I actually couldn't hear my dining companions.

My companions had the house greens salad, which consisted of radicchio, tomatoes, oranges and lettuce.  It was lightly dressed with olive oil and vinegar, and quite refreshing.

The bread was wonderful--warm, covered in rosemary and flavourful.  So far, so good!

The pizza arrived, and sadly was auctioned off at the table. I opted for the classic Margarita pizza. And was disappointed.  The crust was so soggy from the mozzarella, (not Bufala, but fiore di latte, which tends to be wetter), and what was sopping wet was hard (the actual crust of the pizza was like lead).  I couldn't roll the slice into a funnel to eat it in the traditional style.

No oil had been poured onto the pizza.

But worse, oh much worse, was the fact that the sauce had no flavour. Zilch.  It was like having cheese and bread for supper.  Some salt might have fixed this situation, but I was too scared to offend anyone by asking.

I hate to say it, but I give this place a 4/10.

Queen Margherita Pizza, 1402 Queen St. East

This shop is in my 'hood, and we've been several times, but not since I started to write this blog.  At first, I was hesitant to go, the pizza had slipped in quality, and there was never enough sauce on the 'za.  What's the point in paying over $12 for bread and cheese? I thought.

Of all the pizzerias I've been to, I have to say that the interior of Queen M is the nicest. The bar is down stairs, the upstairs is the main seating area, which has beautiful windows and an industrial feel. It's just damn cold in there, but the building is old, so that can be excused.

The Italian boyfriend and I arrived before 7 PM, so no reservation was needed, but I recommend them.  Usually, the line up is out the door (literally), and wait times can be over an hour.  It's nice that the staff usually looks after you by offering drinks if you wait too long.  Tonight, we found that we waited at our table for a while before the waitress came, but since she was also working the bar, this can be excused. 

I ordered the Doppio, which comes standard with Bufala mozzarella, and the Italian had the Extra Margherita, which had fiore di latte and fresh cherry tomatoes. 

The usual food auctioning happens when the pizza arrives, but I can only chalk this up to the fact that the food runner was not the bartender who took our order.

My pizza was excellent.  The sauce was fresh and tasty, the mozzarella was earthy. The Parmesan  cheese added a touch of salt, which made the flavours pop.  Finally, there was enough sauce, not just a cheap daub that seems to evaporate once the pizza hits the oven. Italian boyfriend's pizza had the added extra sweetness of the cherry tomatoes and from the left over evidence (that means there wasn't a speck of food on our plate after eating), I have to say, Queen M is back to making excellent pies.  I just wish they would put a swirl of olive oil on the pizza, like back in ol' Napoli.

Consensus? 10/10!