PIE

Pie (499 First Street, Collingwood)
705-293-3900
Hours: 11:30 AM - 10 PM daily.

After a great experience at the other location in Barrie, I decided to go for some more after-snowboarding (okay, so I've been holding on to these pics for a while) Pie pizza (and stein of beer).

Stein of Sapporo

It's a thinner crust type pizza, and it was delicious. Again, I added some sausage to my Kobi pie. I cannot vouch enough for the stein of beer plus Kobi pizza combo. 

Would I return? Yes! Also, Kobayashi has eaten there.

Bannock

Bannock (401 Bay Street, Toronto)
416-861-6996

Bannock: It's sort of fancy, it's part of the Oliver & Bonacini restaurants group, and it's connected to The Bay.

Went here for Summerlicious (and also the roast duck poutine pizza).

From the Summerlicious menu: Smoked salmon and salt-baked beets. Split and sweet pea hummus, grapefruit, grenadine.

Come to think of it, I don't remember grapefruit in there. Otherwise, pretty tasty. 

From the Summerlicious menu: Dredgeman's fish pie. Pacific cod, scallops, shrimp, crème fraîche, tarragon.

This was a bit heavy for my likings. Too much creaminess inside. The salad on the side was more arugula leaves over creamy sauce, both of which I could've done without.

Roast duck poutine pizza

This is the real reason that I wanted to go to Bannock. It sounds so monstrous, and the size is quite monstrous. The crust is super thin and I didn't try to see if it held up under the weight of fries and curds. The duck was a bit on the dry side, but overall, this is my kind of monstrosity. 

From the Summerlicious menu: Cortland apple fritter. Maple and cider dulce de leche

It was a bit dry inside, and was sort of like a fancy, crispier Timbit. What turned me off it was the berry sauce that was not mentioned in the menu.

Overall, I think the most exciting dish for me was the roast duck poutine pizza. The smoked salmon beet salad was okay too, if not a little skimpy on the salmon. Those flavours came together well though. Not sure if the Summerlicious "deal" was worth it, but at $25 for three courses, it wasn't terrible.

Would I return? I might when I have insane starch cravings for poutine pizza. I might give their other menu items a shot too. 

Total damage: ($25 Summerlicious dinner + $16 poutine pizza + tax + tip)/2 + $4 for fresh passion fruit juice.

Cheers to Bianca for all the pics and for joining me on this food adventure!

Pie

Pie (34 Commerce Park Drive, Barrie, Ontario)
705-725-9663

Megan and Brandan introduced us to this place, and they mention that they've never ordered anything and not liked it. Sounds good to me!

I got this after 8 p.m. special that included a stein of Sapporo (or Sleeman) for $9.50 and a Kobi 3 pizza pie that comes with it for free! 

This picture really doesn't demonstrate the sheer monstrosity that a stein of beer is. The best part was not knowing what a stein of beer was and then being pleasantly surprised at the hugeness of it. The hand-tossed,  wood-fired pizza is also quite large. It hangs over the plate a bit. Each additional topping to the pizza was $2, so I added some spicy sausage. It's good sausage.

I thought it was a pretty decent deal when I thought it was a pint of beer... then the comically large beer mug that was taller than my face came out. :D Comically large!!!! It was suggested to me that I drink it with two hands or get a straw. What made it all the better was that it was sapporo and not Coors water. The pizza crust was super thin, and it was entertaining to occasionally watch the guys at the front toss them up into the air while making the dough. Also entertaining were the random, old music videos projected on to the wall behind us. 

Would I return? YES. STEIN OF BEER. It's a really good deal. The pizza was good. I enjoyed the flavour of the sausage and the thin crust. Brandan also mentioned that their dessert pizzas and pasta dishes were good, so I will have to try those next time. 

They also sell frozen pizza pies. Each package contains two pizzas for about $14. Two packages of frozen pizzas (4 pizzas in total) is $25.

Total damage: $12.74 (pre-tip) for my Sapporo and Kobi pizza with one additional topping.

Fresh Slice

Fresh Slice Pizza (5223 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

647-346-8931

It wasn't "Festive Tuesday", so our slices weren't $1, but I did have a bogo coupon.

Our two slices were cheaper (and probably more satisfying) than a hot dog from the street vendor. Jo and I both liked the garlic flavour coming from it. They heat the slices up for you after you pick them, but I think mine could've been reheated a little longer.

Would I return? Yes. It's fast and convenient. It's also pretty cheap and flavourful. I don't always crave fast food pizza, but this will do when hunger calls.

Total damage for my slice: less than $1 thanks to my coupon.

Fresh Slice

Fresh Slice (2nd floor food court, Pacific Mall, 4300 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, Ontario)

905-604-2791

I don't know what the middle flavour was; I just kind of pointed at it. The pizza isn't bad. Compared to Pizza Pizza, it's gourmet. The crust isn't super thick, but it holds up okay. It also isn't bland. I think the white sauce on the middle slice tasted like ranch dressing. 

Would I return? Yup. It's cheap and fast. It's hard to find a complete meal for $5 these days, but they managed to make it work. 

Total damage: $5 for three slices and a pop. 

Alice Fazooli's

Alice Fazooli's (155A York Boulevard, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-709-4280

Hours:

Mon - Wed 11:30 a.m. - 12 a.m.

Thurs 11:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Fri - Sat 11:30 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Sun 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.

I don't remember what these drinks were... but they were citrus-flavoured, and they had apple chunks.

I think they were pretty good... if I remember correctly.

Deep-fried ravioli.

Andrew loves these. Probably because they're deep fried.

Pizza.

I don't remember what this tasted like. It had a thin crust, and all I remember is that they have a visible wood oven that made me want to order pizza.

I honestly can't remember much from this particular visit as it was so long ago. It was before they became just Fazooli's.

Total damage: can't remember.

Boston Pizza

Boston Pizza (157 York Boulevard, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-707-9300

Hours:

Mon - Thurs 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Fri - Sat 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Sun 11 a.m. - 12 a.m.

Nachos

The fixings weren't bad, but the salsa on the side was a bit watery. For almost $10, it seemed a bit on the expensive side for what it was.

Nooner pepperoni pizza.

It was nothing special. 

Would I return? Maybe. It's a chain and it's not terrible.

Total damage: Maybe about $20 for my pizza, nachos, and a pop?

Pizzeria Libretto

Pizzeria Libretto (221 Ossington Avenue, Toronto)

416-532-8000

Hours: 

Mon - Sat 12 - 11 p.m.

Sun 4 - 11 p.m.

Wild mushroom pizza (Friday).

There are daily pizza selections and at $19, Friday's and Monday's seem to be the most expensive. The mushroom flavour is intense and the pizza is a bit on the salty side. I liked the taste that came through, but the crust was rather flimsy and a bit doughy at the edges. I'm not sure if real Neapolitan pizza is supposed to be like that, but I don't think it's my preference. Also, I had trouble keeping up with Andrew's eating speed because his food came out a good few minutes before mine (and he eats really fast).

Hot peppers, sausage, and mozzarella pizza.

I tried a bit of the meat, and it had a slight tingle on my tongue, but Andrew said that the hot peppers on the pizza made his mouth feel like burning. He enjoyed his meal, but had the same issues with the crust as I did.

Would I return? Maybe. Service is friendly. Place has good amount of people, and it is loud (during a Friday lunch around 1 p.m.). I like the ingredients that they use, but the pizza crust is a bit of a turn off.

Total damage for two: $45.

Richtree Market Restaurants

Richtree Market Restaurants (Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place), 42 Yonge Street, Toronto)

416-366-8986

Mon - Thurs: 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Fri - Sat: 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Sun - 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

How it works:

They give you a card when you enter. You go around the food stations swiping your card for things you want to eat. When you're done eating, you give your card to the staff at one of the exits and pay. It may look like an all you can eat buffet, but it's not. They include a service charge on the bill.

BBQ chicken pizza:
I thought it wasn't bad. The chicken wasn't particularly moist, but I didn't really notice it. Ed thought it tasted like Indian food.

Chocolate pecan pie:
Maybe I read the sign wrong. Maybe it was really chocolate pecan cake because that's what it tasted like. The size was pretty massive and it wasn't crazy sweet. I actually got this while waiting for my pizza to bake. I only didn't like the fact that it came on a giant plate because it made eating my pizza and my dessert at the same time a little difficult.

Total damage: $19.44.

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut

Medium pan pizza:

I think it was Supreme. I like pan pizza, but this one was kind of doughy.

Pitcher of 7Up:
Looks like a mini pitcher. I prefer Sprite anyway.

Total damage: $15 for half the pizza and half the pitcher.

Pizza Hut Buffet Lunch

Vegetables!
The mess I made on the table:
I accidentally deleted one of the pictures, which was just more pasta and a slice of pizza. I think I prefer Pizza Hut over most pizza chain varieties. Also, that cherry dessert pizza looked pretty gross.

Damage: $8.95 and a $2-something refillable 7 Up. Tax and tip on top of that.