VAN HORNE PIZZERIA - PIZZA (WELL, DUH!)

STUB REVIEW:

VAN HORNE PIZZERIA - 

THICK, DELICIOUS, FILLING PIZZA

Their Urbanspoon page:  http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/723262/restaurant/Montreal/Outremont/Van-Horne-Pizzeria-Montreal

1505 Van Horne Ave, Outremont, QC H2V 1L4   
Telephone:(514) 277-5555

Their menu:  http://www.urbanspoon.com/cities/67/restaurants/723262/menu_photos/125234 

Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip  
 
*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering Favorite!  

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Ah, pizza. One of the manifold joys in life. I still remember the first pizza I ever ate. It's actually a vivid flashbulb memory. Yes, I know, most people have flashbulb memories about where they were when John F. Kennedy was shot or when Princess Diana died. Me? I have flashbulb memories for food.   ...I really do march to the beat of a different drummer, don't I?:P.  

Anyhow,  I was all of six years old, and Dad had brought home a greasy, topping-heavy all-dressed pizza with a very thick and chewy crust. In one bite, I became a demon possessed. I couldn't stop eating it, and I licked the plate so clean it glistened in the afternoon sun. I've been a pizza believer ever since (did I just make pizza sound vaguely spiritual?!). I keep on trying new pizza places - well, most pizza places. Not chain pizzerias (I'm slightly mildly snobbish about food, I know). I've come to appreciate both thick greasy pizzas and the more delicate thin-crust pizzas cooked in "authentic" ovens. Van Horne Pizzeria is an unassuming, sparsely-appointed restaurant that serves the thick greasy type of pizza. And it is GLORIOUS, and it is inexpensive, which makes it even more glorious!

On a recent visit, me and an eating companion got a 10" Sicilian pizza and a 10" Special Van Horne to share. Here are the pizzas!

Sicilian ($10.95):

Whoever came up with the idea of putting anchovies on pizza is a genius, I tell you!

This pizza has anchovies, capers, and fresh tomatoes as toppings (alongside cheese and tomato sauce, obviously). The anchovies have a(n obviously) strong impact on the flavor of the pizza, and they mesh very well with the capers. That said, the saltiness of the pizza is a little uneven - mouthfuls with heavier caper/anchovy content will definitely be considerably saltier than the other parts of the pizza. It doesn't matter though. In fact, the patchwork anchovies seem to add to the pizza by giving it a greater range of flavor. Speaking of which, the presence of the tomatoes adds a surprisingly refreshing sensation as well. 

Special Van Horne ($11.95):

Thick pizza, laden with GOODNESS.

This is the standard all-dressed pizza with added bacon, olives, anchovies, and onions. One of the things I love about this pizza is the fact that the pepperoni is sliced lengthwise. I don't know why, but I've always found that I prefer long, rectangular sheets of pepperoni to the little circular rounds. For whatever reason, sheets of pepperoni just seem to taste better than circular rounds of pepperoni. I wonder if the shape just makes it cook differently? Hm. Anyhow, the Special Van Horne is a delight. It's thick, it's flavorful, and it's positively overflowing with toppings. The bacon, olives, and anchovies all obviously have strong flavors, and they complement the standard all-dressed toppings. Oddly enough (but in a good way), the onions, while obviously good and cooked, appear (to my eyes and palate) less cooked than in other pizzas. It adds rather than takes away from the experience, however.

One thing I've noted about the pizzas at Van Horne Pizzeria in the past (and obviously, on this most recent visit), is their density, both on a crust level and on an ingredient level. Also, the cheese is good and stretchy and wonderfully sloppy.


Take a look at slices of the pizzas:

Special Van Horne

Special Van Horne from another angle - to REALLY highlight the depth!

Sicilian slices!

Thick and heavy, right? It goes a long way to explaining why most everyone I've seen eat at this restaurant has leftovers to take home, even for 10" pizzas (i.e., the small pizza). Of course, me being me, I finished everything and was happily glowing with pizza-induced contentment. Could've eaten more, but I am coming down from a summer of too much eating and so had to stop. Meanwhile, my eating companion finished his share, but was apparently stuffed. Hmph. Pansy. :P 

Anyhow, I'll obviously be coming back. Both for more pizza, and to try their subs. Despite having been here a number of times, I keep forgetting that they serve other things. When I finally give the subs a shot, I'll update this post with photos of those beasts and my assessment of their taste. In the meantime, you should all give this place a try!

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Mouthwatering Montreal - Van Horne Pizzeria is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.