Dinner @ Marcello's Pizzeria

After a day of shopping, we stopped by Marcello's Pizzeria for dinner. One of my boyfriend's friend had highly recommended this restaurant. Since I love Italian food, I was quite excited to try it out. 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!

We were given a bread basket while we studied the extensive menu. The bread was not extraordinary by any means, but sufficient to tie me over to the actual meal.

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...

We split a plate of 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.

Of course, we couldn't really go to a pizzeria without trying a pizza! My sister and I were determined to have a white pizza, and we opted for the 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. I actually found the other white pizza (pizza di parma) more appealing, but unfortunately, my boyfriend isn't a fan of prosciutto or arugula. Maybe next time!

We also ordered one pasta to share- 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. 

We deliberately ordered less to save room for desserts! Since we were seated right beside the dessert display counter, we knew exactly what we wanted! First up- 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.

I immediately recognized the caramel crunch as a Dufflet creation, so of course we had to get a slice! I had a similar cake for my birthday this year (a cappuccino dacquoise) and absolutely loved it! The caramel version was very good as well, and 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.