Cotto Enoteca - 84%

Cotto Enoteca

http://cotto.ca/

Pizza Cotto and Pizza Polpetti

Cotto Enoteca is located in an unsuspecting part of town – on the far east end of Hastings Street, in north east Burnaby. My first impression was the sign out front that reads loud and orange, ‘Cotto’- serving as a beacon on this cold rainy night. Well, that… along with their boastfully gourmet pizza menu with some very appetising toppings, had this place up there on my list.

One word pretty much sums it up - Delicious! The crust was great, the pizza size was nice and large, the toppings were incredible, and the service was excellent! I ordered the chef’s signature ‘Pizza Cotto’ – potato, pancetta, fried brussel sprouts, gorgozola and fonduta. I know… brussel sprouts sound odd and I scrunched up my nose too! But I warn you, you have probably never had brussel sprouts that taste so good! They were such a great compliment to the other flavours on this pizza. Absolutely yum! My partner’s pizza, the ‘Pizza Polpetti’, was also delicious, but I think we both agreed that my pizza was far superior. Not to take away from the Polpetti, as the meatballs, ricotta, grana padano, spinach and basil on a tomato sauce, worked beautifully! Overall, we were very satisfied with this place. Eating the other half of our pizza for leftovers the next night also made it great value. I certainly recommend the trip down to Cotto… or stop by if you’re in the area. Can’t wait to go back myself! 

Me-n-Ed's - 74%

Me-n-Ed's

http://www.me-n-eds.ca/

Rainy days and Mondays always make me crave pizza. And since it was both rainy and a Monday (not so uncommon in Vancouver!), it was the perfect opportunity to try a new pizza delivery restaurant! This time I chose to give Me-n-Ed’s in south Burnaby a try, particularly because on Mondays they provide their large pepperoni and mushroom pizza for just $18.50+tax, ordinarily $22.70. Perfect!

I must say that the Me-n-Ed’s pizza experience was very satisfying! Delivery time was approximately 45 minutes. The pizza crust was tasty and fluffy, not too thin or too thick. There was a generous amount of sauce to go around, probably not the tastiest I’ve ever had, but tangy enough to add a bit of bite to the pizza. I must confess that I’m still recovering from the lack lustre pizza sauce at Ragazzi’s. There were generous amounts of the toppings and the pizza was not too cheesy – just the way I like it! Overall, not too shabby at all! All the flavours worked perfectly.

Now I must add here that I generally expect more from dine-in pizza – my particular choice being somewhere between a Neopolitan and a New York style pizza. But for home delivery, I understand that these thin, designer pizzas don’t travel too well. A home delivered pizza has to be robust enough to still hold its flavour an hour after it leaves the oven, and I think Me-n-Ed’s have figured out how to do just that.

Be sure to check out their daily specials. They also have 4 other locations around the Greater Vancouver Area. 

Ragazzi Pizza - 60%

Ragazzi Pizza
http://www.ragazzipizza.com/

The Ragazzi menu has some interesting pizza options, and we decided to go for a half and half (extra dollar) of the Pepperonata (pepperoni, capsicum and mushrooms) and Rustica (salami, bacon, potato and onions). The pizza crust, toppings and cheese were all pretty standard, but I found the pizza to be lacking in the sauce department. For me, the sauce can make-or-break a pizza, and I felt that in this case, it made the pizza taste a little dry and over-cheesy.

We happen to be just outside their free delivery zone which cost us an extra $2.99. Nevertheless, at $30 (including tip), this pizza was pretty good value sufficing us for two dinners. I think I’ll give these guys another go sometime…maybe they were just super busy with it being the first night of the NHL back on the tele! 

Moki's Pizza - 72%

Moki's Pizza
http://www.mokispizza.com/

Before we moved to Burnaby recently, Moki’s, in Kerrisdale, was our local pizzeria.

I was initially skeptical about trying Moki’s pizza. The little hole in the wall that offers pickup or delivery only, with pizza chefs of Asian descent, doesn’t really fit my stereotype of a Mediterranean chef flipping pizza dough high in the air, in slow motion of course, while opera plays dramatically in the background. But I’m here to find the perfect pizza… and I can’t let stereotypes slow me down.. And boy, was I pleasantly surprised! Moki’s pizzas are delicious!

My favourite was a custom pepperoni and mushroom pizza. The owners were always happy to accommodate my request for less cheese on only half the pizza (I happen to have been recently diagnosed with lactose intolerance), and the pizza quality has been consistently good. A large pizza was plenty for dinner for two, and with scrumptious left-overs for lunch the next day, I’d say this is pretty good value at around $20. Nowadays you pay about the same for Dominos or Pizza Hut delivered to your doorstep, so why not instead give Moki’s a go? 

Pepperoni pizza at Trattoria - 48%

Trattoria Italian Kitchen, Vancouver, BC
http://www.glowbalgroup.com/trattoria/


I'm not one for food chain places. They're usually not locally owned and rarely provide local produce. Having said that, the perfect pizza can be found in the most unlikely of places, and so I decided to give Trattoria Italian Kitchen 'a fair go'. Sadly, I wish I hadn't.

The vibe was great and the waiter was super attentive. It was their busy Pasta Tuesday (all pastas for $11), so the joint was buzzing as early as 5.30pm. I ordered their pepperoni pizza and I have to say that I was pretty disappointed overall. The pizza, enough for a single person's meal, was uber cheesy (not my style) and the pizza sauce had large pieces of uncooked garlic in it. Very unpleasant! On a positive note, the pizza was reasonably priced between $13-16 before tax, which makes for a decent feed if you like lots of cheese and lots of garlic.

And so the search continues...