Toronto: Pizzeria Libretto "The Real Thing"

Last Thursday, I left work and hopped on the highway for a weekend in Toronto. We literally pulled off the Gardiner Expressway and arrived at Pizzeria Libretto around 9:30 p.m. I feel fortunate that we were immediately seated. The joint was packed -- much to the dismay of one of the "locals" sitting next to us. I guess before the reviews starting pouring in, he was able to get a table earlier in the evening. whatever!

Menu choices were really tough because there were only two of us and there were a million menu items calling my name. We took our time and began the evening with a bottle of 13th Street 2008 Cabernet Rose which is absolutely perfect for summer pizza.

Buttermilk Calamari, Romesco (a red pepper almond sauce)

Brushette (three kinds: roasted red pepper with cheese, prosciutto, grilled mushrooms)

Pizza: Sardines, Tomato, Citrus Olives, Herbs, Chili Oil

Pingue Prosciutto, Tomato, Basil, Ontario Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella

Pizzeria Libretto is loyal to real Neapolitan pizza, cooked in a wood-fired oven at extremely high heat to achieve a charred, blistered crust (quite honestly, the crust is delightful...I mopped up loads of olive oil with any leftover pieces). They use San Marzano tomatoes and Fiore di Latte Mozzarella, brought in fresh daily. Their pizza dough is made from 100% organic stone ground flour and leavened naturally. Best of all, your pizza bakes in less than 90 seconds in a 900 degrees wood-burning oven, hand built for the restaurant by a 3rd generation pizza oven maker in Naples. In addition, the restaurant is doing their part for mother earth by converting kitchen grease into biodiesel fuel and only serving purified Toronto water and carbonated filtered water.

Sold yet? We will be back! If you're in Toronto this summer, check out the four-course $25 prix fixe menu. It sounds divine.