High quality ingredients and creative combinations place this pizza joint firmly on the map
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Lil Zs Pizza
45 Clarence St., 613-860-3333, lilzpizza.com
Business hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 3 pm to 10 pm Closed on Mondays
Price: $ 15 to $ 20 pizza
Access: Step to the front door
At the end of last year, King Eddie Diner co-owner A new but unspecified business will replace it with an address on Clarence Street, I would have speculated that newcomers would be a pizza community.
Common wisdom tells us that pizza and pandemic (despite many hopeful thoughts, not yet over) go together like a lockdown and takeout dinner. .. In addition, Pizzeria running at the right overhead is said to be able to make significant profits by ensuring that the cost of materials and labor is not too high.
Last week, I greeted the recently opened Lil Z pizza at the place where my sister restaurant King Eddie was. King Eddie moved next to a space that was shared until early 2020 and was famous for almost 20 years as the Empire Grill, the cornerstone of the Byward Market.
Lil Z ’s are now available for take-out, delivery and patio meals. In my two takeout orders, the pizza shop consistently made a unique and fun crust pizza that was thin but durable, chewy, low in Napolitan and high in North America.
How chewy was the LilZ pizza we brought home?
"The crust was training my jaw. I'm tired," said one of his colleagues.
"It was worth it," I asked.
"Yes," he said. Then he joked that Otawa Hospital would soon diagnose people with Pizza Joe.
That's an exaggeration. But it's no exaggeration to say that the Lil Z pizzas we enjoyed the most (basically 4 out of 5) were very good.
The basics were done correctly. The high quality ingredients of Marguerite Pizza ($ 16) were shining. Similarly, Peperoni Pizza ($ 18.50) seemed and tasted to feature a top draw Peperoni that curls up in a small cup, as if it contained the goodness of hardened meat.
Among the more creative pizzas, ricotta, garlic, red onions, chili flakes, basil, lemon zest, and zucchini are the hot honey decorations of today's pizza. To the "all bagels" crust that was also a hit. My only question is to request more ricotters. But apart from that, Lil Z was a pizza that later created a thirst.
The "Pro" pizza ($ 20) was named after the smoked Proboron, but shattered sausages, especially the medley of various mushrooms, fascinated us.
I don't remember if I've been involved in the pineapple-on-pizza controversy. If I had been asked, I would have been sitting on the fence quite indifferently. The Lil Z version ($ 20) caramelizes pineapple and chooses bacon instead of ham. The other two tasters were disbelievers in the first place, but I'll just say that all three of us didn't really care about it.
The famous Otawa chef says that if I just go to what I call the big Canadian pizza chain X, I should stick to pizza instead of choosing roast, for example. I have told you beef sandwiches. I don't know if that wisdom is universally applicable, but I can say that Lil Z's Algra Salad was okay. Caesar salad was heavy on bacon and would have contained anchovies if consulted.
The Lil Z website states that drinks will be available soon, but clover.com's online ordering system allows you to use mirror beer and hard cider. Snob where we are, we are waiting for the words of wine and cocktails.
Over the last few years, quite a few valuable pizza starters have arrived in Otawa. Each offers everything from Heartbreakers Pizza on Parkdale Avenue to Julia, Farinella and Paiko locations on Elgin Street. You can add LilZ ’s Pizza to this prominent list.
phum@postmedia.com
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