STELLA SHINES
Pizzeria gets a lot right
The past two years have seen a definite surge in one category of restaurant: the pizzeria.
If I were to open a restaurant, I would consider this genre seriously because an excellent pizzeria checks off so many elements people want in a restaurant.
The appetizer list would all but write itself with the usual suspects — Caesar salad, caprese salad, carpaccio, calamari and possibly a minestrone or prosciutto/melon.
A pizza-friendly, but not necessarily complex, wine list would be a pleasure to pull together, and dessert could be limited to Italian faves, such as tiramisu, cannoli and gelato.
The real challenge would be finding a gifted pizzaiolo (pizza chef ), but eager pizza beavers are always keen to learn. And if you hire the right staff and find the winning formula, you can even venture out into low-rent neighbourhoods for a locale because people will travel for something special.
On top of that, pizza’s not an expensive menu item, so food cost would be reasonable.
So you see, this pizza surge isn’t so much surprising as give-thepeople-what-they-want smart. Looking at the crowds at Montreal’s pizza restaurants these days, it seems we were all clamouring for good pizza.
Stella Pizzeria opened on Sept. 1 and has already generated quite the foodie buzz. It’s located on Laurier Ave. E. on a stretch known for its food shops, chief among them the fabulous bakery Le Fromentier, and terrific ice cream parlour Bo-Bec. Stella will be familiar to some as a former Starbucks café. This is deep Plateau territory, and I am told the Starbucks went belly up because of a lack of patronage from the locals.
Stella co-owner Nathalie Côté, a longtime resident of the area, had her eye on the locale and swept in with partners Sara Belley and chef Alessandro Bleve. Having shunned the corporate coffee shop, residents now have a super, 50-seat pizzeria to call their own. Seriously, how cool is that?
Côté is also a co-owner of the swank Brasserie Bernard and obviously knows a thing or two about creating a winning dining space. Stella’s decor is vastly appealing in that laid-back, tablecloth-free, blondey-wood sort of way. As with so many new restaurants, the lighting scheme is a key player in the design and the open kitchen and bar seating give it that cosy neighbourhood restaurant feel.
I dined at Stella twice over the past few weeks and on both occasions was left wishing, as many of us do after frequenting a great neighbourhood restaurant, that it was in my own backyard.
Beyond the warm ambience, the service is wonderful. My first visit was on the day after a certain, shall we say, controversial election south of the border, so
a little cheering up was in order. Somehow, without hovering or being overly friendly, Belley did just that.
With a smile and a calm demeanour in a busy room, she offered menu descriptions and kept the service going at just the right pace. I have a weakness for great service staff, and Belley is a real pro who also knows her wines, recommending a fine Tuscan red from a short, but well crafted and affordable list.
Cocktail lovers will also be happy, especially with the Stella cocktail, a refreshing mix of Aperol, gin, lemon, pink grapefruit and basil. Yum!
As for the food, appetizers started out strong. I enjoyed their take on Caesar salad, starring kale instead of the usual romaine. Now before you kale haters roll your eyes, give this one a try, as the leaves weren’t bitter or tough, and the caper dressing was potent without being overwhelming. Add some croutons, grated Crotonese cheese (made with Italian sheep’s milk) and fried pancetta to the mix and you have a great take on this all-to-often ill-crafted classic.
The roasted beet salad is a little less impressive, as the alreadysweet beets are topped with caramelized orange zest and a pomegranate reduction, making the whole thing a little cloying. Thank heavens for the feta cheese to add a salty contrast.
The beef carpaccio is a better bet. Yeah, we all know the drill here: a plate covered with thin slices of raw beef, with an arugula salad plunked in the middle and Parmesan curls overtop. Bo-ring. But not so this dish, as the meat had a nice fresh flavour (carpaccio
can sometimes taste stale and, um, bloody), well enhanced with a subtle truffle vinaigrette as well as caper berries and slivers of sun-dried tomato. We scarfed it back in seconds.
However, the best appetizer was yet to come. Described simply as a tuna salad on the menu, what arrived was a glistening round of red (sustainable) tuna cubes, mixed with apples, red onion, cherry tomatoes, black olives, capers and pine nuts. One bite and — wow! — I’m in love. What a perfect salad, with the ingredients bouncing off each other and a fine vinaigrette to boost the flavours. I’m yearning for the recipe.
Of course, the main event at Stella is the pizza, and there, alas, I’m divided. Of the 11 on offer, I sampled four: loved one, enjoyed two, and found the fourth forgettable.
The crust on these pizzas is more crisp than the pouffy and blister-crusted Neapolitan-style pie we’re seeing more of around town. The colour is on the light side rather than deep golden. Chef Bleve, who hails from a family of pizza makers, obviously has his style, but I prefer my pizza crust a little softer and less pallid.
Crust aside, the toppings are nicely varied, from classic margherita to the “Italian” enhanced with sausage, mushrooms and a truffled tapenade. My top pick was a nightly special, garnished with porchetta, tomato, arugula and smoked provolone. I loved the saltiness of the pork, which boosted the all-around taste of the pie, and the provolone was delicious.
But that same night a vegetarian
pizza — the “Laurier” — fell flat because the flavours were bland, especially the canned artichokes and soggy spinach. But you can’t go wrong with the “Coquine,” a pizza featuring spiced pancetta, caramelized onions, olives and mozzarella on a tomato-sauce base. A bit sweeter, but also very nice, is the “Montagnarde” topped with prosciutto, goat’s cheese, caramelized figs, fresh mozzarella and tomato.
And yet, as much as I enjoyed the best of these pies, that crust never won me over. There’s no denying, though, it could be a matter of personal taste.
For dessert, there’s a perfectly acceptable tiramisu, which would benefit from a lighter dusting of cocoa and a generous shot of booze (this is a family restaurant, though, so maybe they prefer to omit the alcohol). There was a simple bowl of strawberries and vanilla ice cream, too, and a saffron crème brûlée with just the right silky texture.
Nabbing a same-day reservation was not a problem either time. Yet remembering how quickly the room filled up during both my meals, I would recommend booking a table in advance. Though open just close to three months, this neighbourhood restaurant is already packing ’em in. Just imagine if all the city’s chain coffee houses were replaced with dynamic local businesses like this.