Il Fornello - King and Simcoe

I spend a lot of time on Twitter these days (go follow @SaucedTO!).  I follow every pizzeria and restaurant that makes pizza in this city that I can find.  One of them being Il Fornello.  For about a month now I’ve read their tweets about their ‘all pies for $10’ deal on Tuesdays.  I like pizza.  I’m also a 24 year old assistant audio engineer which translates to:  poor.  Seemed like a match made in heaven so my friends Cam (@CamHudson) and Meghan met me downtown, in the rain, for pie and beer.  Carrie was off playing floor hockey so it kinda felt like pizza adultery.  It’s ok though, she lets me freely explore my pizza desires and I love her for it.  Also, for the record, when Google maps tells you there’s an Il Fornello at Elm and Yonge... it’s effing lying right to your face.  Also, don’t walk there in the rain with running shoes made out of what is essentially mesh.  Because you’ll regret it.  And be wet.  And then you’ll have to pay for a $13 cab ride to get to a location that actually exists which will also suck.  Oh, also, the King and Simcoe location doesn’t do the $10 Tuesdays so... ya.

Before I go on I just want to address what I think Il Fornello is.  In my eyes there are 3 types of chains.  You’ve got your fast food chains: your Pizza Hut’s, McDick’s, etc.  Then you’ve got your Kelsey’s, your East Side Mario’s, etc.  And then, at the top of the chain of chains you’ve got places like Il Fornello.  They stretch themselves around the city with 7 locations (with one in Oakville and one in Richmond Hill) but still manage to keep some semblance of authenticity.  I’m told the menus change throughout all the locations which is nice.  And it’s actually for that reason I didn’t file this under ‘Chain Gang’.  It’s not a cookie cutter menu like you’d find at some more national chains.  And you won’t find a BBQ sauce laden meat dish beside a chicken teriyaki salad.  Good god I hate places like Kelsey’s and Montana’s, etc.  They also claim to be the home of Toronto’s first wood fired pizzas but I can’t testify to that (if anyone knows please leave me a comment below).     

As per ushe I went with friends not for delightful, engaging conversation but so I can try their pizza.  And that I did.  I ordered the ‘Pizza Di Buffala’ which was essentially a Margherita with buffalo mozzarella.  Meghan ordered the ‘Diavolo’ which had mozzarella, spicy salami (I believe it was Soppressata to be exact), basil, chillis and black olives.  And Cam got the ‘Pesto Mozzarella Fresca’; pesto, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil (he added prosciutto).  I enjoyed the toppings on all of the pies.  My Buffala pie had a nice, bright tomato sauce.  The mozzarella melded into the sauce and cheese to the point where it wasn’t it’s own thing anymore but rather a part of the dough.  So I wasn’t able to appreciate the texture and flavour of the buffalo mozzarella which was a bummer.  The cooked basil really helped me get into the pie providing that nice bit of brightness.  Meghan’s Diavolo was my favourite of the night.  The salty black olives were a great compliment to the spice provided by the chilis and soppressata.  Definitely a pie I’ll be recreating at home.  Cams Pesto pie was also pretty good.  The pesto was nice and garlicky but for me personally, the addition of the prosciutto made it a bit busy flavour wise.  He will likely call me out for writing this as he repeated my sentiments back to me in a squeaky, sarcastic voice when I mentioned this yesterday.  To recap, topping wise the flavours were nice.  No real complaints.  However...

I wasn’t a big fan of the crumb.  Crumb isn’t a term I’ve used much on this blog but refers to the cooked dough itself.  It wasn’t bad flavour wise but wasn’t anything special.  It was very thin and borderline crackery underneath though there was a little bit of rise in the very thin end crust.  This is something I personally can’t wrap my head around when we’re talking about a wood fired oven.  Why you wouldn’t want to take advantage of that high heat and create a dough recipe that gives you a bit more lift in the oven is beyond me.  However, they aren’t stupid so I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s calculated.  But here’s another calculation:  Erik + crackery thin pizza = sad faces.  Again, the dough while being thin and crackery had a bit of meat to it in the end crust.  However, it’s gluten development fell a little short as the mouth feel felt almost like a biscuit; dry and crumbly with very little chew.  The bottom had decent char markings but was quite dry and cracked in half when folded.  There was no char on any of the end crusts and they too were quite stiff (and mine had enough stray flour that my fingers were lightly dusted as I ate, not a pleasing flavour).  All in all, obviously, not a huge fan of the dough.  Little crackery for my taste and just a little thin all around for me. But as always, this is my personal opinion. If this sounds like your thing it certainly wasn't bad.  

To wrap things up quick - honestly, not too bad.  If you’re near an Il Fornello before a show at Roy Thomson or Mirvish and you’re in the mood for pizza you won’t be disappointed.  You won’t be knocked out of your chair but it certainly will be far from the worst pizza you’ve ever had.  I just wouldn’t search one out specifically for the pizza.  Wow, that sounded way ruder than I intended... but my point remains valid.

ps
Again, flavour wise it worked so... anyone ever had the pasta?  I wonder...

pps
A quick story that didn’t seem relevant when talking about food but is hugely relevant when it comes to service.  We had a very nice server who did a great job.  We finished, got up and walked into the rain, down a block east and jumped on a streetcar.  The doors were about to close when we hear some commotion in the front.  Long story short Cam, who obviously doesn’t hold expensive personal possessions in high regard had left his bag with his computer at the table!  Our waitress not only left the building, ran a block in the rain but actually found us and followed us onto the streetcar!  Now THAT is service!