Introducing: Village Pizza, a place to get Spam-topped pies and Wild Turkey shots
Name: Dovercourt Village Pizza Company
Neighbourhood: Wallace-Emerson
Contact: 750 Dovercourt Rd., 647-748-7737, villagepizzato.com
Owners: Jake Holton, Asher Miller (co-owners of Hub Coffee House) and Yauca de Almeida (Churrasqueira Nova Lisboa)
Chef: Cale Elliot-Armstrong (Canoe, Terroni, Splendido)
The food
A short menu of classic pizzas (margherita, pepperoni) and a few specialty ones like the Thanks, Obama!, a tweaked Hawaiian that swaps out ham for barbecued Spam, and the Hungry Vegan—lots of veg on a cheese-less, tomato-sauced crust. The thin-crust pies (which fall on the spectrum somewhere between New York–style and floppy Neapolitan) are available whole (12-inch small, 18-inch large) and by the slice. There are a couple of salads, too.
A large Mushroom Triad topped with porcini, enoki and button mushrooms, garlic chips, mozzarella and gorgonzola. $26.
A small Hungry Vegan topped with grilled red pepper, zucchini, eggplant, caramelized onion and arugula. $16.
A small Thanks, Obama! with barbecued Spam, pineapple, mozzarella and parm. $18.
Caesar salad topped with white anchovies, capers, bacon and parm. $8.
Beet salad with candied walnuts, radish, goat cheese and orange vinaigrette. $7.
Chef Cale Elliot-Armstrong, mid slice.
The drinks
Ontario craft beers including cans from Side Launch, Left Field and Nickel Brook. There are two wines on offer (house red, house white), and the only hard liquors available are Wild Turkey and Fernet Branca—and no, they don’t come in cocktail form. “People come in to grab a slice of pizza and a shot of bourbon—it’s perfect,” says co-owner Asher Miller.
The space
The pizzeria is located in the old Churrasqueira Nova Lisboa space. A ladder braided with exposed bulbs lights up the four-table room, and local artist Kizmet did the space-themed graffiti mural that runs the length of one wall.
The pizza joint is counter-service only.
Owners (from left to right): Asher Miller, Yauca de Almeida and Jake Holton.
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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.
