Marcello’s Pizzeria: Family style restaurant in Toronto

Good location , Group packages menus

Marcello's Pizzeria surprised me with its family oriented style. It’s the kind of place you would take your parents out for lunch/dinner on a casual event.  On the corner of Dufferin St and St. Clair Ave West, the site makes for an excellent location. They have a pleasant atmosphere, yet very simple. The staff was polite and ready to serve us promptly. 

They have a great variety in their menu such as pasta, salads, antipasti and such. They even have 4 group packages, so the place is ideal for a family meal.

Let's talk pizza now. We ordered Barese and Positano.

Barese had Italian sausages, cherry tomatoes and rapini. Apparently, we, pizza amateurs, did not know that rapini resembles broccoli quite a lot. We just thought it’s a subtle way to make us eat our veggies.

Nevertheless, Barese was a good, fresh, homemade style kind of pizza.

Positano was bursting with tomatoes and sweetness. The taste reminded me of those ripe, gorgeous garden tomatoes you only have in the summer. It was topped off with grilled chicken, although it can make for a great vegetarian pizza as well, if your family or friends prefer. 

Now…my favourite part: I think we officially found the best, largest, cheapest slices of cake in this area. I’m very curious to find out if anyone else can beat what Marcello’s Pizzeria is offering in terms of desserts.

$5 CAKE!!!

Do I have your attention now?

The cake on the left is a Milky Way Cake. Yup. That’s right. Milky Way all the way.

Does anyone remember these awesome chocolate bars from when we were kids?

It’s the first time I eat anything like this, and I think it had everything a chocolate lover could ask for: 4 layers of fluffiness, with perfect chocolate frosting in between and a caramel layer on top. It really did taste like Milky Way. Even better.  LOVED IT.  

The one on the right is a lemon cake.  I will try to describe this as well as I can: imagine eating a lemon flavoured cloud. It was fluffy to perfection; Light as air, velvety, lemony, sour, sweet, cold, so refreshing.

All in all, I would go back to Marcello’s Pizzeria when I need some sugar in my system. 

The pizza was good. The cake was phenomenal. 

Appearance: 3/5 gems; Ambiance: 4/5 gems; Service: 4/5 gems; Menu Variety: 5/5 gems; Taste & Food Quality: 3/5 gems; Price compared to Food Quality: 5/5 gems; Overall Experience: 4/5 gems; Is it the gem of the week? DEFINITELY!

Pizza Rolls Beats the Cold

Happy Hour Pizza Rolls!!!

Hey everyone, 
as the cold continues to ruin my Friday  nights shenanigans, I decided to take it upon myself to have a little party of my own at home.

so for under $10- I embarked in a journey of spicy sauces, unwanted calories and of course BACON. because life is everything, when bacon is on the table.

This week recipe is home made pizza rolls with mozzarella cheese, and grilled chicken. 
PS. Sweet & Sour Pic as a Bonus for next week.

As Always,
Enjoy!

WHAT YOU NEED
1. Homemade Pizza Dough
2. Tomato Basil Sauce
3. Grilled Chicken
4. Maple Bacon


DIRECTIONS
1. Roll the dough thin
2. divided it in 2
3. Add Sauce evenly. Do not forget the corners
4. Add that delicious mozzarella cheese
5. Alternate Grilled Chicken & Bacon
6. Add other topics if needed or wanted. Personally, I love me some Italian Sausage, wild mushroom, Jalapeno, or Pineapple.
7. Add the other layer of pizza dough. be careful, it gets tricky here. 
8. cut in stripes evenly
9. Twist or Braid stripes in pairs
10. Bake at 200 C for 20 mins
11. Let it rest for 10 Mins
12. Eat it all. #No Regrets

That is all, Until next Week
-A

MEAT LOVER FEAST!!

WHAT YOU NEED
1 lb Refrigerated Dough
1 tbs Olive Oil
Half Cup of Fresh Mozarella Cheese
Half Cup of Fresh Ricotta Cheese (Add Salt, Egg Yolk and Pepper- to make it extra sticky)
Handful of Cherry tomatoes
Fresh Basil Leaves
Cooked or Raw red Pepper
Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce
3-4 Italian Deli Sausages
Home Made Roasted Beef (Season it, Add Rosemary, Thime, Salt & Pepper, Onion, Garlic and Olive oil- Cover it, and out it in the oven in 220 for 35- 50 mins- every 15-20 mins, check on it, bath it on its own sauce and cover again, Add BBQ sauce in the last check in time)


**if you want to**
Add extra Mushroom, chili Flakes, Olives, BACON (Because its Bacon)

MAKE IT
Heat Oven at 200 C
Spread Sauce Evenly & Don't forget to add those chunks of Tomato- They will be a nice bite surprise later
Spray Oil on Pan
IF you want, you may spread butter on the bottom of the pizza dough. it will make it extra golden and cook more evenly
Add all ingredients, as shown Below

Bake for 20-25 mins
eat it all!!!

TIPS
I recommend adding a sunny side egg on top of your slice after- the runny egg yolk is very tasty with the saltiness of the meat and veggie toppings

Pair it up with your favorite Cold Beer or Sparkling Lemonade, and you will have a Feast worth it of its own Instagram Post- I Guarantee it!

Enjoy, and don't forget to Share & Comment down Below.
See You Soon

-A

Hawaiian Pizza- What I Had During The Super Bowl.

WHAT YOU NEED!
1 lb Refrigerated Pizza Dough (Add sesame oil and Basil for Additional Yummy Flavor)
1/2 Home Made Tomato Sauce ---> 3 Fresh Ontario Tomatoes, Half a finely chopped red onion, Mashed Garlic, Pinch of Salt and Pepper, Freshly Squeezed Lime. Stir at Medium to Low heat for 5 minutes, Add Flour slowly until you get the consistency you want.. It TASTE AMAZING
150-200 grams of Organic (Preferably Farmers Market) Mozarella Cheese (Don't shread it, just break apart with your fingers)
1 cup of Diced Pineapple
5 or 6 strips of Maple Bacon.. Got to Keep it Canadian!- You can cut it in small stripes or keep it whole
1 cup of Mixed Ham diced in small pieces.

 Additional-
You may also put your own spin to it
Add Caramelized Onion, Shitaki Mushroom, Roaster Pepper, Jalapeno, Maple or Honey Syrup. :)

MAKING MAGIC HAPPEN!
Heat oven to 200 C. Pat and stretch dough on top of a round baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray- then smear that delicious sauce Top with Cheese, Ham, Pineapple & Bacon Bake for 15- 20 mins, or until cheese is melted and crust is crispy/ golden brown.

That is what I call a MONEY SHOT $$ 
Most Importantly, EAT IT ALL. No Judgement Here

 SERVING SUGGESTIONS!
Cold Beer
ICE COLD COCA COLA
Lemonade with Cucumber Slices, and Mint + Ice
Mixed Green Salad with sesame oil dressing

TOTAL SERVINGS
6-8 Slices,  Under 450 Cal

Don't Forget to Rate it & Share it COMMENT DOWN BELOW- Any suggestions for what I should cook Next- 

Let me know - All the Best & Enjoy

-A

Best Pizza in Toronto - Pizzeria Defina Review

If you live in Toronto and you've been looking to try out some of the best pizzerias in town, here is our suggestion. Pizzeria Defina is great for a Friday evening date. The first thing that impressed me right after entering the restaurant was its cozy and welcoming atmosphere, with a view over the wood-fired pizza oven.

The lights were dim, but not too dim, and the music was just at the right volume. The little candles on the table gave everything a very intimate touch. Service was flawless from start to finish, which is something pretty hard to find in Toronto nowadays. The variety in the menu was great and it took us a while to figure out what we want but we eventually went with Defina Sausage. And we did not regret it at all.

This will be difficult to describe…but let me give it a shot. Every bite had a different taste and it surprised me every time. I don’t want to make this sound too cheesy but all of the ingredients were working together in a perfect harmony. Oh… and by the way… speaking of cheese. That gorgonzola cheese rocked my world. It was that thing that brought all of the other ingredients together and blended them perfectly, making it the best combination. Now… let me share a little fun fact with you guys. I NEVER eat the crust. Yes. I am THAT person. The crust for me is a simple handle from which you hold the pizza and then you dispose of it when you are done. I’ll just say that I ate the crust this time. And it was beautiful.

All in all, I was really impressed with Pizzeria Defina. I know that restaurants in Toronto are facing huge competition, that's why I think that their main advantage lays in that wood-fired oven which gives the pizza an authentic taste and really makes it the best. Next time, I will definitely go back with my date there. They have an amazing variety of wines that I want to try.

Appearance: 4/5 gems; Ambiance: 5/5 gems; Service: 5/5 gems; Menu Variety: 5/5 gems; Taste & Food Quality: 5/5 gems; Price compared to Food Quality: 5/5 gems; Overall Experience: 5/5 gems; Is it the gem of the week? DEFINITELY! -Irina All photos courtesy of Pizzeria Defina