Abruzzo Pizza

Date: July 12, 2014
Location: 9010 Yonge St (just south of 16th Ave), Richmond Hill
Website: http://abruzzopizza.com/
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here tonight with my coworkers. Being the event organizer for this outing, I wanted to choose something that would satisfy even those hardest to please that is situated someplace central for all of us.

After extensive research, I decided on this place. Judging from the very simple and unpretentious-looking storefront and menu (I saw pictures on their website), I was expecting a very no frills type of mom and pop shop with decent, affordable food.

Well, affordable it was. Decent it was not - it was amazing! I had to fight hard not to gloat as to how good of a recommendation it was I made. Everyone was thoroughly impressed.

Here's a rundown of what we had:

FRIED CALAMARI ($13): Fresh calamari rings coated in a light and crispy batter and deep-fried. This came with a sauce that resembled bruschetta. Whatever it was, it was good and complemented the calamari very well.

SMALL THIN-CRUST PIZZA ($9 + $1.20 for each additional topping): For toppings, we got extra cheese, mushrooms, eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes, so our pizza came to $13.80. In a nutshell, it was love at first bite. It was the perfect amount of cheese (and I'm a cheese lover), the crust was thin and crispy, and the pizza well-seasoned. The vegetable toppings were a perfect marriage atop the pizza (of course, they were our choosing). This was my favourite of the evening. A real winner.

LARGE THICK-CRUST PIZZA ($14 + $1.75 for each additional topping): We got pineapple and Italian sausage, the latter which counted as two toppings, so our pizza came to $19.25. We unanimously agreed that the thin crust was better. Even those who generally prefer thick crust agreed. We found the thick crust to be rather dry. This was probably the only complaint that night. Still a winner.

PANZEROTTO ($8 + $1 for each additional topping): The "basic" panzerotto comes with pizza/tomato sauce and cheese. We added broccoli and chicken strips, the latter which counted as two toppings, so ours came to $11. I'm glad we didn't ask for extra cheese on this. I'm a cheese lover and I found it plenty cheesy as is. We decided to be health conscious and had this baked rather than friend, and it was still plenty tasty. A winner!

TIRAMISU ($3): I wasn't sure what to expect for a $3 piece of dessert, but as it turned out, this was not only a real steal but also really tasty! This was about 4 inches in diameter and enough to share amongst 6 ladies. The crust was also partially frozen, something I'd never had before, and it served as a nice contrast to the creamy topping.

Also, apparently this business's website needs some updating. The place shown on the website has now become a takeout establishment (same business but strictly does takeout). The restaurant (where we ate) is two doors down. It is renovated very nicely. Still unpretentious, but nice enough for a casual date and very family friendly. Even more points because the service was awesome - prompt, friendly and efficient (which seems to be a rarity these days, or is it just me?)

I'm so, soooo glad we came here. We all had a great time and were very impressed with the food. It has definitely reignited my love for Italian fare. I will be coming back, and soon!