Making Cents Off Bad Pizza

If the dining options across from University of Toronto on College Street were a representation of the student body, U of T would be the most generic school in the country world universe. From Beverly to McCaul, the blandness ranges from Subway sandwichs to Pita Pit - which essentially tastes, costs and digests the same. For this reason, the two-week (and still going?) grand opening of the the Steak & Cheese Factory, Quick Pita and Maro's All-Italian Pizza was welcomed event.

The three-in-one fast-food restaurant was feted with a 99-cent pizza offering, enticing one hungry little Torontoist in on a Wednesday afternoon. Expectations weren't soaring too high, but there is a certain art to a 99-cent pizza. Three issues right off the bat: Firstly, the sign had the "cheese only" warning, yet showed a voluptuous pepperoni on the sign. Fine, we like cheese better anyway. But then it was only half-a-slice (a full slice, we should all be able to agree, is at least 12 cm with a 45 degree angle). And then there was the matter of the facitious "All Italian" promise; the first pizza was labeled 'Hawaiian.' Lucky this cultural oversight didn't happen a little further west on College - the Italian community would be up in arms. The final insult was that the pizza tasted like cafeteria barf.

Still, we must encourage more Montreal-style 99 cent pizza joints, for better or worse. Maro's is no Madonna, but it's a start. Provided this special price remains, we'll have no problem slapping down 114 cents in the future.