Pizza Nation: 10 delicious moments in Canadian pizza

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Pizza has come a long way in Canada since it started going mainstream after the Second World War. Here’s a look at 10 key dates in its evolution, including foundational food inventions such as Hawaiian pizza and Pizza Pops.

CANADA’S FIRST PIZZERIA

In 1948, Pizzeria Napoletana opened in Montreal’s Little Italy, and Canada’s first pizzeria still makes pies today. In the early days, the pizzeria was a cultural hub for newly arrived Italian immigrants, serving two types of pizza: Margherita and marinara. Today, there are 41 pizzas on the menu. If everything goes according to plan, a rocket will take a slice of historic Pizzeria Napoletana to space by the end of the year — the first such launch from Canada in 30 years. Linda Girolamo, operations manager, partnered with family friend and rocket engineer George Defo, a PhD student in Space Concordia’s rocketry division. The engineers will place a slice of her new creation, The Rocket, in a special compartment: topped with potatoes (one of the first vegetables to travel the world), agrodolce caramelized onions and Italian sausage (to represent Italians), and a garnish of sun-dried and fried crusco peppers from Matera, a town in Basilicata, Italy.

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HAMILTON SLAB PIZZA

In 1952, Roma Bakery & Deli opened in Hamilton, Ont., offering door-to-door bread delivery. Philip DiFilippo and his wife, Pauline DiFilippo, gained a cult following for their slab pizza, a rectangular pan pizza that couldn’t be simpler. Roma’s most popular pie is plain, topped with tomato sauce and nothing else — and Hamiltonians don’t seem to mind. As the Redditor mimeographed posted, “Bread and sauce is all you need.” Today, Philip DiFilippo and his son Anthony continue the legacy. For less minimalist customers, there’s the option to add pepperoni, pepperoni and mushroom, oil and garlic, and make it hot and spicy.

WINDSOR-STYLE PIZZA

In 1957, cousins Gino Manza and Frank Gualtieri opened Volcano in Windsor. According to local legend, the Italian diner was the birthplace of a regional style. Today, the Southern Ontario city has more pizzerias per capita than any other city in the country. Postmedia readers voted Windsor the country’s top pizza destination and Antonino’s, Capri, Naples, Armando’s and Arcata their five favourite pizzerias. The Super is the city’s preferred order, featuring shredded pepperoni, bacon, canned mushrooms and green peppers on a medium-thin, cornmeal-dusted crust and locally made mozzarella from Galati Cheese.

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HAWAIIAN PIZZA

In 1962, Sotirios “Sam” Panopoulos, a Greek immigrant from the village of Vourvoura, invented Hawaiian pizza at Satellite in Chatham, Ont. It’s since sparked international incidents, and this summer, Hong Kongers used it as a counter-protest at the Olympics after a fencing match with Italy. When he created it, pizza was relatively unknown, Panopoulos told Atlas Obscura in 2015. “Even Toronto didn’t know anything about pizza in those days. The only place you could have pizza was in Detroit.” Today, Hawaiian is a controversial classic — and, according to Postmedia’s great Canadian pizza poll, Canada’s greatest pizza invention.

PIZZA POPS

This made-in-Manitoba creation is similar to a panzerotti but unique in its own way. In 1964, Paul Faraci invented the Pizza Pop in Winnipeg, reportedly inspired by a disappointing panzerotti he tried at a local restaurant. Paul made the crust thinner, added pepperoni and mushrooms, and fine-tuned the recipe for almost seven years before trying to sell it in stores. In 1987, Pillsbury bought the Pizza Pops brand, which General Mills later acquired. According to Manitoba Food History, many locals have noticed a change with the mass-produced version. You can still taste the original at Winnipeg’s Faraci Foods, a food truck owned by Paul’s great-nephew, Anthony Faraci — though you’ll have to ask for a “Paul’s Original Pizza Snack.”

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BOSTON PIZZA

In 1964, Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis opened Boston Pizza in Edmonton. Today, it serves more guests than any other casual restaurant in the country — over 40 million people at 365-plus locations.

PIZZA PIZZA

In 1967, businessperson Michael Overs founded the first Pizza Pizza in Toronto. The chain now has more than 750 outlets across the country and reached a “significant milestone” in 2023, expanding internationally with PZA Pizzeria locations in Guadalajara and Ajijic, Mexico.

PICTOU COUNTY PIZZA

In the 1960s, brothers Demetre “Jim” Kouyas and George Kouyas opened the first pizzeria in Pictou County, N.S., Sam’s Pizza, where another of Canada’s regional styles originated. Pictou County pizza is known for its plentiful cheese — on top of the generous toppings — and brown sauce, though “it’s really a reddish-brown colour,” says Doug Bonvie, who owns Pictou County Pizza Inc. in New Glasgow with his wife, Angela Bonvie, Jim’s daughter. Jim and George’s nephew, Andre, went on to run another Pictou County pizza landmark, the four-location Acropole, while George’s children, Spyro Kouyas, Yota Kouyas and Maria Walsh, run the original Sam’s location in Stellarton. Pictou County pizza features a brown sauce with a kick, a medium-thick chewy crust, and often pepperoni from Brothers Meats in Halifax. The ingredients of brown sauce are a closely guarded secret. At Sam’s, they make it the same way George did, says Walsh: “We have it down to a T, so it’s consistent and delicious, like he made it.”

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GARLIC FINGERS

An East Coast staple, garlic fingers have “fuzzy” roots, according to The Hungry Historian blog, though they appear to have originated in the 1960s and ’70s in Halifax. While not precisely pizza, they’re undeniably pizza-like — and many pizzerias serve them. “It is a ‘pizza’ made without sauce, just garlic, butter, cheese and maybe some parsley. Rather than cut this particular pizza into wedges, the chef instead slices this pizza into narrow strips for easy consumption,” says Steven Laffoley, author of 13 books, including Dulse to Donairs: An Irreverent History of Food in Nova Scotia (Pottersfield Press, 2022). Bringing two Maritime classics together in one bite, connoisseurs dip their slices into donair sauce — “truly the best complementary condiment.”

REGINA-STYLE PIZZA

In 1970, the Kolitsas brothers (George, Gus, John and Tony) opened the first Houston Pizza in Regina, where they created a distinct regional style. Hailing from Andros, Greece, the brothers took a generous approach to building their pizza. The thick and hearty pies are loaded with toppings and covered with golden-brown melted cheese, cut into squares for easy eating. All-dressed is the top-seller at many Regina-style pizzerias, piled high with mushroom, pepperoni, sausage, salami, onion, ham, back bacon, green pepper and pineapple.

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