Another Montreal Pizza Disappointment- Pizzeria No. 900, 2049 Peel
It is with great sadness that I must report another Montreal pizza disappointment. It seems like I am like 0 for 10 in Montreal on my quest for pizza greatness. I am striking out at a very alarming rate that would make Aaron Judge seem like a contact hitter.
Before I get to the review, I should admit up front that I am a spoiled American pizza brat. A total snob. I was weaned from babyhood on the New Haven style thin crust mozzarella pies, a style I favor over all other pizza styles. In my young adulthood I managed an extremely successful pizzeria for 3 years, which was making a different thicker crust style of mozzarella pie. Now I work at an office that regularly holds pizza parties, usually ordering from a different place each time, but almost always New Haven style.
I had noticed Pizzeria No. 900 while walking on Peel and saw they were doing a good business. I checked out the Yelp reviews, which were good. I was in the mood for pizza so I decided to give them a try. Big mistake. First of all, they are not New Haven style nor are they even making mozzarella based pies. They are making a thicker crust pie, but the one I ordered was doughy and insufficiently cooked to a proper crispness. The pie I ordered was one advertised as "prosciutto pizza", with buffalo mozzarella and arugula. Second problem was that the pie bubbled and had burn spots, while being unevenly undercooked in other spots. The bubbling is due to laziness of the manager in not making sure the dough was taken out of the cooler sufficiently ahead of time to bring it to room temperature. When you see bubbles on a pizza it's due to the dough being too cold when put in the oven. It doesn't happen if the dough is allowed to come to room temperature.
Third problem: the prosciutto isn't on the pizza. They give you 2 small slices with arugula in a small box. You are left to put it on the pizza on your own. I have never seen a prosciutto pizza or flatbread made this way.
Last, as I had ordered takeout, they did not have take out bags for the pizza and salad I had ordered. So I was left to walk to my hotel down Peel juggling two boxes and my utensils on top of the pizza box.
I can't even fathom how it is that they are successful, except that they have a very good location which has a lot of foot traffic, as it is across the street from the Peel Metro and within a block of 3 different hotels with hungry guests wandering the streets. Pizzeria No. 900 is making an absolute bastardization of pizza, such that I would not even call what they are making pizza. I would call it cooked dough with toppings. Their "pizza" sucks donkey balls.
At this point I am just giving up on Montreal pizza. I am going to stick with Crepes, Bagels and Deville Dinerbar, which again came through with great meals for me and has never disappointed me.