After a day of shopping at Vaughan Mills, we stopped by Marcello's Pizzeria for dinner. There was quite a crowd of people at the door waiting for seats, but luckily we only had to wait for 20 minutes. Shopping makes me extremely hungry!
In addition to the usual olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Marcello's also provides chili oil, which made me very, very happy. I love spicy food, so I was literally pouring chili oil onto everything I was eating that night. Perhaps not the healthiest thing to do...
Now onto the food!
Fried calamari (frittura di calamari) with a side Caesar salad. I enjoyed this immensely. The calamari was lightly battered and nicely seasoned, which was good since it wasn't accompanied with any dips. We ended up using the Caesar dressing as a dip, and that also worked really well. The portion was also quite generous, perfect for sharing.
Barese: white pizza with mozzarella, Italian sausage, rapini, and hot peppers. I enjoyed the thin crust and the general cheesiness of the pizza, but I wasn't crazy about the rapini. Overall, a pretty good pizza.
Penne alla Vodka: penna pasta with leeks and pancetta served in a vodka tomato cream sauce. This was absolutely delicious! My boyfriend, in particular, was so in love with it that he craved it for the rest of the week. The pasta was cooked al dente, and that vodka tomato cream sauce was simply delectable! I wanted to smother everything in the sauce, including the bread and pizza crust. A drizzle of chili oil and a spoonful of Parmesan cheese were the perfect additions.
Tiramisu- the cake was a little too soft and soggy for my liking, but I was told that authentic tiramisu tends to be on the softer side. I actually prefer a firmer cake, but did appreciate that it wasn't overly sweet.
Caramel crunch- I recognize this as a Dufflet creation. I particularly enjoyed the combination of crunchy and creamy textures. It was a fantastic end to the meal.
All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Marcello's Pizzeria. I highly recommend this restaurant as a great affordable dining option near Vaughan Mills.