August 15, 2010

Speedy’s Pizzeria

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The last time we visited this place, a “pizzeria” it was not. Then known as Speedy Pizza, the restaurant was a literal hole in the wall, with little separating it from what we think a pizza place might look like in the Third World. There were so few good things about Speedy Pizza that we went as far as to say:

Canadians (honest to God, Canadians) would not find this pizza anywhere near appetizing and may God have mercy on the souls of those keeping this scourge of the earth in business.

Ouch. But that was then. Since then, the restaurant has been rechristened “Speedy’s Pizzeria.” Along with the name change (albeit slight) comes new management and a much needed overhaul of just about everything, from the staff to the food, to the waiting-room-in-the-kitchen motif. The new owner has even offered up a free small cheese pie to the countless patrons that Speedy Pizza and its horrid review scared away. We took him up on it.

IMG_4219 Establishment. Speedy’s Pizzeria has walls and a counter and floors that aren’t covered in glue from ripped up linoleum; already a pretty monumental upgrade. Also falling into the upgrade column is the repurposing of Speedy Pizza’s hardly-working, gas-fired monstrosity of an oven as box/delivery bag storage while what we initially referred to as “a non-working oven” (and what was actually a Domino’s-style conveyor oven) has been resurrected into use. They’ve decked the place out with framed prints, a flat screen TV, even some tables and a restroom. Swanky.

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While the place probably won’t seat more than 2-3 parties, it’s comparatively comfortable and has much less of the seedy, backroom vibe that put us off so effectively last year. Service was also pretty personable and energetic. Speedy’s menu includes salads, appetizers (both standard American ones like wings and fries, as well as Mexican antojitos like arepas and salchipapas), wraps, subs, calzones, and of course, a selection of traditional and specialty pizzas.

Pizza. In order to stay true to our original Pizza Tour benchmark, we ordered the very same pizza that prompted our damning original review: a large pie, half plain cheese, half sausage.

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And there it is. A departure from our last visit, the pizza’s sauce and cheese were no longer of questionable quality and origin: the sauce was bright and tangy, while the cheese had a nice snap despite being a bit oily and gummy by the time we got it home (Speedy Pizza, for reference, topped their pies with some sort of candle wax). The crust had an alright flavor as well, but the conveyor oven does the pie’s texture no favors at all. The pizza lacked the crispness that all good pies absolutely need; it was bready and floppy and more reminiscent of a pita than a pizza. It was baked rather than cooked. The texture brought this pie to a screeching halt.

You might gather from the photo that we weren’t super impressed with the sausage either (you might pick up on that gigantic, doughy blister, too). It was in short supply and it tasted like a canned breakfast sausage rather than the Italian sausage it was billed as. Some things never change. All things considered, though, we were able to finish this pie, which is something we wouldn’t dream of doing with an old Speedy Pizza.

Bottom line. Speedy’s Pizzeria is not Speedy Pizza by any means; it’s clean, friendly, and slightly more speedy with a product that was something that we can’t pin Most Improvement Needed on anymore (that’s now Michelina’s).

Establishment: 13/30
Pizza: 14/30
Hits the Spot: 4.0/10 
Large cheese: $12.99

Speedy's Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. ridgeway pizza is the way to go,dont waste your money at speedys...

    ReplyDelete
  2. To any customer feel free to come in and try a LARGE CHEESE pizza for free!

    ReplyDelete

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