Destination Toronto: Ohio Valley pizza

I'm being chided on the Toronto In Focus message boards for not having mentioned the pizza. Normally, this would sound weird ... and it may to those not familiar with the area. Doesn't every town have pizza? Not like Toronto and its surrounding towns.

Welcome to the world of square pizza.

There are a million mom-and-pop pizza shops in and around Toronto: Iggy's, DiCarlo's, Dicesare's, Dan's, Giannamore's and many, many more. Basically, if you've got an Italian-sounding last name, chance's are you've got a pizza joint. At least that's how it appears. No matter where you go, the pizza is basically the same. Pizza there isn't round, it's square. A sheet of pizza is prepared (think crust, sauce and seasonings) and, when it's nearly ready, cheese and toppings are added. Not added at the beginning, but the end. It may sound weird, but it doesn't taste weird. The crust is very crispy, the sauce tangy and the mixture of warm (crust/sauce) and cool (cheese and toppings) is second-to-none.

This style of pizza necessitates a couple of trends, I've found. Pizza there is best as close to when it's made as possible. Reheating it really doesn't do it justice. In fact, Casey's mom and her friend recommend eating a slice in the parking lot. Plus, always ask for extra cheese, which is placed, uncooked, in a plastic sack. Put as much on your hot pizza as you want, it'll only make it better. Plus, I can't think of any other kind of pizza where the "basic" slice isn't plain cheese, it's cheese and pepperoni. You've got to love that. Unless you're on a diet, of course.

Here's an apocryphal story I heard from my friend Mike, whose grandparents hail from Toronto. His grandfather left Toronto for Kansas City on his way to fight in World War II. In Kansas City, he went to a new Pizza Hut. The waitress was shocked to hear him say, "I"ll take eight with pepperoni." You see, in Toronto when you say that, you get eight little squares (perhaps about half of a large pizza). He was shocked when the waitress brought out eight large pepperoni pizzas. Only in Toronto.