Fat Friday - Pizzeria Libretto

This week, Fat Friday is brought to you by the letter P - for Pizza! We are always on the hunt for new pizzerias, and even better if they are rated tops in the city! Matt came across Pizzeria Libretto, which specializes in true Italian style pizzas, so that's where we headed! We were warned that this place gets busy, and busy fast. So, instead of fighting the crowds on Friday night, we headed out for an early Sunday dinner. It's a good thing we did; we arrived just after 4, when the restaurant opens on Sundays, and there was no wait for a table. But by 5 o'clock, however, you would have been looking at a wait time of at least 20 -30 minutes. And since we had only had croissants for breakfast that day (look for a post on that later this week...), we were ready for dinner by 4. But good news: if you have a craving one of these pizzas, they do offer take-out. 

Ok, on to the food. Please indulge my elaborate details, as this really was one of the best meals we've enjoyed out, probably since our meal at Jump. I think you'll be hungry just looking at the photos... so enjoy!   

The restaurant itself is very cool and modern, and has a great atmosphere, which I think only added to the meal. They were also hosting a Fixed Menu, similar to winterlicious, so that only expanded our options to choose from. In the end, Matt settled on the Fixed Price menu, which included 4 courses, and I had settled on a spicy sausage pizza and an order of bruschetta. Of course, while we awaited our meal, they brought fresh bread with olive oil and spices, and just the presentation alone of the oil was enough to set the tone for the rest of the food that night.

My bruschetta was not just any old bruschetta. I was expecting the usual flavours of tomatoes, onions, and basil, but was pleasantly surprised when three very different variations arrived: goat cheese with roasted red pepper; ricotta cheese with proscuitto; and apple with mustard. The latter seemed a bit odd at first, but to be honest, it was probably one of my favourites! Who would have thought to combine coarse mustard with apple slices on grilled garlic bread? Not me, that's for sure, but thanks to Libretto, my eyes have been opened!

Matt's starter for the night was a very simple but delicious salad of greens. The croutons were homemade, soft and perfectly seasoned with garlic, and a great compliment to the simple greens. The dressing was a slightly sweet and salty oil and vinegar combo, and when drizzled over the greens and croutons, it actually is a little piece of heaven (who would have thought a simple salad could be so good?). Only a bit of goat cheese could have improved this dish!

Next came the Antipasti course, consisting of an Italian meatball and pickled eggplant with goat cheese. While neither of us are big on eggplants, combining a bite with the meatball proved to be delectable (look at us stepping outside our comfort zone!). And this course was a surprise, as it was the Chef's Daily Special that would be served up. We were hopeful that it might have been either a meat or cheese dish, typical antipasti dishes,

When the main course arrived, a pizza for each of us, we were sure that we would be taking leftovers home with us to enjoy the next day for lunch, but to our surprise, we each finished our plates! The traditional thin crust made this pizza easy to finish, but the crust at the edges was perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, so even I finished the edges (I usually leave the crust and fill up on the insides...). Plus, we shared each of our pizzas with each other, so by the end of the night, including dessert, we had tried 7 different items on the menu.

As for dessert, the two options that Matt had were either Tiramisu or Panna Cotta. We opted for the Tiramisu, and we were NOT disappointed! The creamy vanilla custard was amazing, and the bite of liquor-soaked cookie was the prefect little surprise. It was served in just a small water glass, and with two spoons, it was the perfect way to top off our dining experience at Pizzeria Libretto. I know we'll be heading back there again; its too bad they are not a little closer, because they might just replace our local pizza place, Pizza Rustica. But it's hard to compete with that one, since it really is just a matter of taking the elevator down 9 stories to the lobby; Pizza Rustica is just next door!

Wow, I'm still full just thinking about everything we ate!