Toronto Underground Market: Bonfire Catering

I was lucky enough to find myself at the Toronto Underground Market this weekend.  A Saturday full of amazing food and great beer.  Both of which we indulged in well beyond the limits of what a normal person should.  We arrived an hour early so as not to be at the back of line and ended up having trouble finding said line... BECAUSE THERE WASN’T ONE YET!  Carrie, our friend Tanya and I had first pick of vendors (we split up of course).  Also, being first in line we made it on the TUM twitter feed.  Check the photo of my stupid mug and my “I feel awkward trying to pose excitedly in front of 300 strangers” body language here.  We had some mind blowing tacos at La Carnita.  Awesome grilled cheese from Gorilla Cheese.  Super cool pepperoni and smoked mozzarella arancini with salsa verde from Paese’s among a host of others who’s memory is clouded by the awesome beers we had.  But this ain’t no food blog this is a PIZZA blog so that’s what we’re talking about.  Bonfire catering has a super badass wood fired oven food truck and yours truly had the first pie of the day!  Or rather, the first slice of the first 3 pies of the day!

Bonfire Catering is Ontario’s first fully mobile Mugnani Italian pizza oven.  I waited excitedly for them to throw in the first pie of the day as people gawked/stared daggers through the fence from the back of the line.  I had a great vantage point to see right into the oven and watch the pies cook.  They cooked quickly and evenly and looked awesome.  

The first thing I noticed when looking at the menu was they were definitely not afraid to be bold in topping choices.  The first I tried was an olive oil base with red onion and bacon jam.  Now, I’m biased as I’m not one for sweets.  In fact, I’m routinely chirped at my girlfriends family events for not eating cake and frankly, desert in general.  The idea was cool and as more of a dessert pie I think it would work.  If you like sweet, savoury dishes you would have loved this.  Next was the creamy garlic base with onion marmalade, olives, mozzarella and feta.  Same deal - too sweet for me.  Also, the sheer amount of ingredients weighed the pie down and released too much moisture into the dough just sort of making it a big mess. The flavours were interesting together... but not for me, personally.  Lastly was the house made chorizo pie.  THIS is a pie I can get behind.  Totally outside of the Neapolitan box and a lot of fun.  They don’t mention the cheese on the board but I believe it was mozzarella with a little bit of shredded cheddar tossed on.  The pie reminded me a lot of the taco nights of my childhood.  Loved it.

The dough itself was a highlight for me.  It was moist and had a great, elastic chew.  Almost underdone but not.  I feel by the look of the char on the end crust that it was an overnight ferment.  That being said it had a lot of flavour and was more complex than I would have expected. Regardless, loved it.  

The pie was great, the truck is cool and it’s not something you see in Ontario very often (or in my case ever).  If a god damn wood fired pizza truck showed up at my birthday/work event/Bat Mitzvah/frisbee golf semi final/basket weaving conference or... god damn ANYWHERE I’d likely die.  My point being - if you’re looking for a funky catering service I’d look into Bonfire Catering.  And if you don’t invite me you can go to hell.  You can go STRAIGHT to hell.

xoxo