UPDATED July 4, 2010

Pizza is truly globalized food: I have eaten simple pizze margherita in Naples, meat-laden deep dish pizza in Chicago, octopus and corn pizza in Taipei and  thin crust pizza topped with allumette frites in Lisbon. Most people tend to like pizza made in a particular style and tend to be pretty vocal about their opinions. The worst are the traditionalists who don’t seem to understand that not many people in North America are trying to emulate Naples with their pies. I like to think of different styles as completely different dishes. American-style pizza might have a lot in common with Neapolitan-style pizza but they’re not the same thing, so a side by side comparison is pretty much useless.

Most of the pizza in Montreal is American-style pizza: round with a thick crust and lots of sauce, cheese and everything else. Some people will tell you there is such a thing as Montreal-style pizza, but pepperoni, green pepper and mushroom on a heavy crust isn’t exactly a local story. Apart from the odd habit of calling sausage as thick as baloney pepperoni (aka Quebeckeroni) there isn’t much of a distinct pizza culture in Quebec. There is also an increasing amount of Neapolitan-style or Neapolitan-influenced pizza in Montreal. These are often described as “thin crust” but the best of them are cooked very quickly at very high temperatures, have a pliable but crispy crust and are dressed sparingly. Most pizza in Montreal, like most pizza everywhere, is not very good. Here are a few places I like.

Vinizza

150 Jean-Talon E.
514.904.2250
http://www.vinizza.com/

There is a lot Neapolitan-style pizza in Little Italy. From the laughably bad Pizza Napoletana and Pomodoro to the average pizza at Cafe International to the often excellent pizza at Bottega. But the place that most consistently makes a good pizza in the neighbourhood these days is Vinizza, which uses a hybrid gas and wood fired oven. The crust is more often than not that perfect balance of give and resistance (crispy, yet pliable), the sauce is flavorful and the ingredients of a  good quality. While it doesn’t beat Bottega at its best, it beats Bottega most nights. Vinizza also offers a wide range of apps, a suite of pasta dishes and a few simple mains, but the pizza is the best thing at this friendly spot.

Bottega

65 St. Zotique E.
514.277.8104
http://www.bottega.ca/

I used to think very highly of Bottega. When it first opened, it made Neapolitan-style pizza like no other restaurant in Montreal. The wood-fired oven (imported from Naples) produced crust that was crispy on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside, the tomato sauce was intense and the judicious use of a few toppings accentuated the quality of the ingredients. Over time I have found the pizza a little hit and miss. I’ve had one that was a bit soggy and another with a crust that started to sag before I had even eaten a quarter of it. But I’ve also hit those early highs again, although I usually order the tronchetto now (a rolled pizza stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto cotto and topped with aragula and parmesan).  Bottega also has a top notch selection of sfizi (small appetizers) including arancini and lamb scottaditto and serves solid desserts. On the downside, the service is often uneven and a pizza here costs about twice as much as it does anywhere else.

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Amelio’s

201 Milton
514.845.8396

Amelio’s is a McGill ghetto institution and a regular on my dance card (I lived two blocks away for about 7 years). This is as good as American-style pizza gets in Montreal and the only joint that sells it that I frequent. The crust is thick but light and the toppings go on heavy. The 5-cheese white pizza and the italian sausage are both crowd pleasers while a good vegetarian pizza also makes Amelio’s stand out from the crowd. Amelio’s is  a BYOW which makes it a pretty affordable place to get a good slice and one of the better BYOW options in my book. True story: in my university days I used to go to Amelio’s with a group of friends every week (what we called the “Diner des Cons”, although we never invited anybody else) and the objective was always to bring the funniest wine (name, origin or combination thereof) under $13/liter. Three of us once drank a box of wine over dinner. Classy! I’m pretty sure they hated us, but they were always nice. The downside is that they don’t take reservations and you can pretty much always expect to stand in line listening to McGill sociology majors drone on until you want to hit them in the head with a hammer.