TOMATO a simple pleasure

[nanbanane]

Sometimes we forget to talk wbout the simpler pleasures of eating. Like a really good pizza with fresh toppings.

Thursday night I went to TOMATO with a friend to chat and share pizzas. It was a great discover for both of us. I had seen this little IKEA designed pizzeria for the past few months and was hoping it wouldn't be all show and no go. The staff is helpful and fast on their toes, the pizzas have a great crispy crust.

We shared a Parma ham, arugula pizza and a chévre, sun-dried tomatoe, red onion. I was most impressed by the prosciutto one as they did not make the error of sticking the ham under the oven's heat rendering it to leather-like quality (which I've exprienced in pizzas and other dishes elsewhere) The hot pizza was topped with a generous amount of crispy arugula and 3 or 4 slices of paper thin, melt in your mouth prosciutto, a filet of olive oil... mmmm.

We sat at one of two communal tables and they brought us olives and celery sticks while we waited for our pizzas, nice touch.

They also deliver. So no more donini!

They have one pasta dish on the menu, strangely. Meat tortellini and pesto. And one desert: Chocolate-orange cake. In the end, what more does one need?

My friend told me she had tried a similar place on Bernard at about the same distance from St-Laurent and that, even though the Bernard place was good, this one topped it. Or maybe it was just that she was in my presence

TOMATO

15 rue St-Viateur

514 678-4430

[iharrison]

Thanks for the report ... I have seen this place countless times and been curious about it. Excellent!

[Lesley C]

OK, I don't want to be a bitch here but.....

I just ordered this pizza based on this report and IMO it was pretty awful. The crust is thick and appears to be commercially produced. My crust was also burnt on two of my three pizzas. Funnily enough, it reminded me of Dominos, the crust that is. The toppings were the best part. I enjoyed both the goat's cheese and red onion, and the arugula and parma ham. But the pepperoni is greasy, I thought.

We also tried the pasta, which was truly terrible, and maybe even rotten.

For me a thumbs down compared to places like Pizzaoile.

[nanbanane]

OK, I don't want to be a bitch here but.....

I just ordered this pizza based on this report and IMO it was pretty awful. The crust is thick and appears to be commercially produced. My crust was also burnt on two of my three pizzas. Funnily enough, it reminded me of Dominos, the crust that is. The toppings were the best part. I enjoyed both the goat's cheese and red onion, and the arugula and parma ham. But the pepperoni is greasy, I thought.

We also tried the pasta, which was truly terrible, and maybe even rotten.

For me a thumbs down compared to places like Pizzaoile.

←

Sorry about that. I guess we lucked out the night we went and ordered the two toppings that were best. I personaly don't like pepperoni on my pizza. As for the crust I liked it over pizzaiole and mine wasn't burnt or big and fluffy like dominos. Just goes to prove that all tastes are in nature! As for the pasta I'll steer clear of it, rotten is not what I look for in tortellini!

[Lesley C]

Also, don't forget mine was delivery so it wasn't as fresh which means a lot in the world of pizza.

BTW, the owners of Il Mulino will be opening up a pizza place soon in Little Italy, with flour imported from Italy, I'm told.

Maybe it's already open?

[cook-em-all]

Please, please, please explain to me why we would need to import flour from Italy.

Which probably is made from Canadian wheat.

[Lesley C]

Beats me. After one discussion with James MacGuire about flour, I now know that everything I learned inb my ITHQ baking class about flour was bullshit.

I'll ask James and report back.

Wait, maybe it was Italian water they use....

[maxanon]

Please, please, please explain to me why we would need to import flour from Italy.

Which probably is made from Canadian wheat.

←

To charge 20% more of course.

[iharrison]

I'd love to know. According to Bill Buford in Heat, it's all about the eggs, not the flour. But he was talking about pasta of course.