Daddyo's

Daddyos is an understated, tiny lil pizza joint on Staunton Street with a somewhat lame name that claims to serve New York pizza and other American favorites. While what they have going isn't exactly New York style I do think what's they've got going is good.

With only about 20 seats, I wouldn't recommend bringing your extended family here on a Saturday night (especially if you are a Duggar). On the other hand, the small size means (a) the entire place smells of fabulous pizza deliciousness, (b) there can never be many pizzas ahead of you so service is quick and (c) your waitress is never out of shouting distance if service isn't quick. While we're on the topic of ambiance, this place has very little, unfortunately...I do give them extra points for having Connect 4 and Uno available, however.

As I've been here many times before this visit was quick and dirty...we skipped the salad and just went for a Pizza Mexicana, which I highly recommend. Since Mexican-related food that is, as they say, sabrosa, is in my experience impossible to obtain outside of the NAFTA free trade zone, that this pizza is in fact sabrosa makes me feliz.

We went with the "crispy New York" crust (which, as I mentioned, has nothing to do with New York pizza). Wheat crust is also available, but, eff that. The crust is crispy and thin and bubbly and light. I actually really like it, however if you let the pizza get cold or if you have a Hong Kong delivery service deliver it to your house (aka, if you hire someone to pick up your pizza and drive it around Hong Kong on a motorbike for 2 hours until its cold and covered in condensed humidity), the crust deteriorates into a chewy disaster. As Snoop would say, best to drop/eat it like/while its hot, or whatever.

The toppings at Daddyos are always fresh and tasty. In particular, the beef on the Mexicana has a delightful nutmeggy flavor that sort of reminds me of Greek moussaka (speaking of which - the Classic Greek pizza is also, as they say, εύγευστος). Also, the folks at Daddyos DO NOT skimp on cheese, which as you know is a common Hong Kong pizza shortcoming. The sauce amount is good - not too much, not too little. I thought it tasted a little too sweet on this visit and that it generally has the consistency of a can of tomato paste. My dining companion, on the other hand, said that although it was a bit sweeter than a classic American pie sauce, it was still delicious and the consistency was good. Agree to disagree?

Their menu has a good range of pizzas, including pre-conceived so-called specialty pizzas and do-it-yourself toppings. The specialty pizzas include both classic American favorites as well of disgusting sounding concoctions which I would not be caught dead eating such as Spicy Thai with Shrimp, Thousand Island Seafood and Clam Chowder (yes, seriously). For non-pizza options, Daddyos offers poutine (its a Canadian invention involving french fries with gravy, eh), salads, wings, onion rings, ribs, etc. I've never tried any of them except salad, and even if I did, this blog is about pizza, so once again, eff it. I should also note while we're on the topic of non-pizza that the drink list is quite limited - featuring only four beers, soda/juice and one type of red wine.

All in all, I think Daddyos is a great everyday pizza place that's dependable for a delicious weeknight 'za while you're traveling up the escalator.

Crust: 8

Sauce: 5

Toppings: 7

Ambiance: 5

VFM: 7

Overall: 7

Daddyos Pizza

29 Staunton Street

Tel: 2526-8668

Vivo

For 28 years of my life, I had never met a pizza I didn't like. This was before I went to Vivo in Soho.

This overly pretentious yuppy magnet was rumored to have classic neopolitan pizza, so I thought I'd give it a try. As I've been trying to put this dining experience out of my mind so that the nightmares will stop, I'm not sure what I ordered. It had something to do with mushrooms, ten times more truffle oil than should be on any food in the universe I don't care what food it is, and garlic.

Oh, pizza from Vivo, how do I hate you?

Let me count the ways:

Crust: Three words for you...salty, thin, not much better tasting than 3 month old hardtack. Ok that was three concepts, but saying "three concepts for you" is lame. 0/10

Sauce: I don't think there was any, but as I mentioned the amount of truffle oil on this p.o.s. was insane. If I had a truffle oil allergy, I would have been dead just smelling this thing. N/A

Toppings: See previous comments re truffle oil. The mushrooms were good but as I don't think its very hard to procure decent tasting mushrooms I give no credit for this. 4/10

Ambiance: I do no speak Italian and we are not in Italy. Therefore please don't send out your too bold of a pinstrip suited man to speak to me in Italian before my meal. I must say though, that the decor in this place is nice - its dark without feeling like a basement gangster steak house and has hip lighting and shrubbery on the walls (a must). 8/10

VFM: Although the pizza was priced at about what you would expect for an Elgin Street place the wine list was egregiously expensive. I saw wines on this list that I've bought for USD10 at Surdyk's in Minneapolis for USD60 at this place. 2/10

I've never eaten anything else on the menu at Vivo however I absolutely cannot recommend this restaurant to any pizza lover with a soul.

Overall Pizzaliciousness: 0/10

Vivo
41-43 Elgin Street
Tel: 3106 2526