Leslieville gets Toronto’s first taste of Detroit-style pizza
No need to cross the border to get your hands on authentic deep-dish pizza from the Rust Belt: Descendant, a new 20-seat spot in Leslieville, cranks out cheese-heavy Detroit pies from brick-lined Montague Hearthbake gas ovens. Like Chicago-style pies, these pizzas are fodder for nutritionists’ nightmares. A thick layer of dough is pressed into a well-oiled square pan before being loaded with toppings and smothered in tomato sauce. The resulting pies taste like they’ve been deep fried. Descendant’s menu includes by-the-book combos (classic cheese with tomato sauce), but there are some experimental ones, too. The Soppressata Marmalade, for example, includes mozzarella with smoked caciocavallo (a stretched-curd cheese), Calabrian chilies, basil, Mike’s Hot Honey and, of course, soppressata.
1168 Queen St. E., 647-347-1168, @DescendantPizza
Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.
