Papa Giuseppes: Perfect Pizza Smothered in Pomodoro Sauce
Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
We found a snug little Italian pizzeria in Port Credit, Mississauga. It reminded me so much of Nook in Vancouver’s West End that I immediately got homesick when we walked in.
The small and intimate dining area was filled with rich aromas of baking pizzas. We started with a small appetizer of funghi ripieni, which is listed as one of Papa Giuseppe’s signature dishes: portabello mushrooms stuffed with prosciutto and fontina cheese. I was truly getting my fill of stuffed portabello mushrooms after having feasted on The Burger’s Priest’s signature burger earlier.
Funghi ripieni, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
The portabello mushrooms were still sizzling hot as the dish was placed on our table. Each mushroom was drizzled generously with sweet and sticky balsamic vinegar glaze.
Funghi ripieni, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
Funghi ripieni, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
They didn’t skimp on the stuffing either, each mushroom was crammed full with lots of filling, the cheese, gooey, stretchy and creamy, gluing the salty prosciutto to the mushroom. The mushroom cap was baked perfectly, tender and filled with flavour, having absorbed all the saltiness from the meat and cheese. I loved this dish. I can see why it’s a signature dish.
Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
I even like the soft flat bread served with olive oil and tapenade. The bread had some bite to it but still soaked up the dipping sauces wonderfully.
Tre Porcelini pizza, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
Our pizza: Tre Porcelini was served with a pair of scissors. It’s because they don’t slice their pizzas here. The pizzas are that fresh – literally straight from oven to the table.
Tre Porcelini pizza, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
The Tre Porcelini was topped with Italian sausage, spicy sopressata, pancetta, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce. What’s pomodoro sauce? I was wondering that too. Our server told us it’s tomato sauce, similar to marinara sauce. We found out that pomodoro sauce is slightly thicker than marinara sauce since it is simmered longer in the pot. It was perfect for the pizza and really stood up to all the heavy meats and extremely rich and gooey cheese.
Tre Porcelini pizza, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
The pizza crust was also amazingly crispy and stayed that way until the last slice.
I found the sopressata a little on the spicy side but totally manageable with so much cheese to offset the spices. The pancetta was wonderfully crispy and salty and the sausage was moist and fatty. It was a perfect pizza. It really hit the spot for my pizza craving.
Tre Porcelini pizza, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
We also ordered the gnocchi to share. The scrumptious little potato dumplings (stuffed with cheese and ricotta) were drenched in a quattro formaggio cream sauce that included gorgonzola, ementhal, parmigiano and buffalo mozzarella. Each plump little dumpling was like a little packaged heart attack.
Gnocchi, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
The gnocchi were soft and chewy, each dumpling smothered with very rich and creamy sauce. Even though the sauce was so thick and rich, it was easy to pick out the different dimensions, the smooth buffalo mozzarella, edge from the gorgonzola and the sharp saltiness from the parmigiano.
Gnocchi, Papa Giuseppe’s, 26 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit, Mississauga, ON
We were stuffed by the end of our meal (must have been all that cheese!). I will gladly return to Papa Giuseppe’s any day of the week.
A notable and sweet gesture from our server was that she offered us spare umbrellas when we left. It had started to rain while we were eating. Toronto rain is totally random. Since we passed Papa Giuseppe’s on the way back from our after dinner walk, we returned the umbrellas and dashed to our car. It was thoughtful of our server to let us use the umbrellas and the gesture adds to the small town charm of the little community of Port Credit.