Heartbreakers Pizza
March 22 note: A little while ago before our city and country were dealing with a global pandemic, before the province declared a state of emergency, I visited Heartbreakers Pizza, a newly opened spot churning out New York style pies. I wrote this blog post but I didn't feel it was an appropriate time to share it. Too much was going on as the virus continued to spread and officials stressed how important it was to stay at home. A week has passed, though it feels more like a month, and I think it's time to help Heartbreakers in any way I can.
Can you imagine opening your own small business and just days later you're forced to close indefinitely? Right now, as with all restaurants in Ontario, they are permitted to operate as take out only. If you can help them survive these terrible times by ordering some pizzas to go, please do. If you're not comfortable with that, please consider pencilling in a visit as soon as this is all over, as I assure you, this is quite possibly Ottawa's best pizza. Here's the review:
We walked in about 5:45 pm and the place was already full. It really is quite small - maybe about 8 tables plus a few extra spots at the bar. The staff were so friendly and welcoming so we were happy to stand around the bar for about 15 minutes until a table was ready.
I don't often order an appetizer but my husband was pushing for the burrata as it turns out he'd never tried it before. It came on a bed of peas and herbs (basil and mint, I think), with smashed black olives and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Two pieces of focaccia accompanied it. The flavours were fantastic and I fell in love with the super soft focaccia I personally used to sop up the olive oil at the end. It also got me giddy in anticipation of the pizza since a pillowy crust is my kryptonite.
The show stopping pizzas showed up not long after. When it comes to build-your-own, topping choices are limited to just a handful, and I'm okay with it, because we all know more toppings does not necessarily make for a better pizza. I went with the cheese base to which I added jalapenos.
I'm not 100% sure what types of cheese they use as their base, but there's definitely some shredded (mozzarella?), some globs (buffalo mozza?) and a hard cheese like parm. Basil leaves come on each pizza as well, and I was glad to find the jalapenos, not pickled by the way, were sliced super thin and did not taste raw either.
Let's get right down to it. This pizza was awesome! The server asked if we wanted dipping sauces - some sort of creamy garlic and chive dip and Calabrian chilli oil - to which we said hell yes. I put the oil on the pizza and used the creamy dip for the crust. But as far as flavour goes, neither were necessary, they just enhanced the amazingness. Getting to the crust was a moment of awe for me. Like I said, pillowy crust is my everything, and this one was so incredibly soft I found myself closing my eyes and drifting off into a pizza dream world.
There's one thing I should note and that's this pizza is not really NY style, nor is it Neapolitan. It definitely borrows from both. Although it's not wood fired, the gorgeous crust is very Neapolitan, as is the basil incorporated into every slice. The cheese coverage and topping choices are more NY style than Italian. This is not a greasy, stiff NY slice (we tried to fold, it was only possible on one or two stiffer slices). But that by no means is a complaint. I enthusiastically loved everything about this pizza.
For build your own, a small base is only $15 with toppings $2 each, which is a great price compared to similar spots. Drink prices were reasonable too! All around this is easily one of my top two pizzas in Ottawa.
With Covid-19 hitting the city in the past few days, things are a bit crazy now and continue escalating as each day passes. City officials are urging for people to take "social distancing" seriously to stop the spread. As tempting as it is to drop everything and run to Heartbreakers, remember that good things come to those who wait. When things return to normal, this place will have a line-up out the door every Friday and Saturday night.
I've rated Heartbreakers Pizza eight out of eight slices.
Leave a comment with your opinion, or your thoughts on Heartbreakers, and let me know where I should hit up next!
Ciao,
Pizza Lover
Can you imagine opening your own small business and just days later you're forced to close indefinitely? Right now, as with all restaurants in Ontario, they are permitted to operate as take out only. If you can help them survive these terrible times by ordering some pizzas to go, please do. If you're not comfortable with that, please consider pencilling in a visit as soon as this is all over, as I assure you, this is quite possibly Ottawa's best pizza. Here's the review:
We walked in about 5:45 pm and the place was already full. It really is quite small - maybe about 8 tables plus a few extra spots at the bar. The staff were so friendly and welcoming so we were happy to stand around the bar for about 15 minutes until a table was ready.
 |
| Burrata appetizer looking sexy |
I don't often order an appetizer but my husband was pushing for the burrata as it turns out he'd never tried it before. It came on a bed of peas and herbs (basil and mint, I think), with smashed black olives and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Two pieces of focaccia accompanied it. The flavours were fantastic and I fell in love with the super soft focaccia I personally used to sop up the olive oil at the end. It also got me giddy in anticipation of the pizza since a pillowy crust is my kryptonite.
The show stopping pizzas showed up not long after. When it comes to build-your-own, topping choices are limited to just a handful, and I'm okay with it, because we all know more toppings does not necessarily make for a better pizza. I went with the cheese base to which I added jalapenos.
I'm not 100% sure what types of cheese they use as their base, but there's definitely some shredded (mozzarella?), some globs (buffalo mozza?) and a hard cheese like parm. Basil leaves come on each pizza as well, and I was glad to find the jalapenos, not pickled by the way, were sliced super thin and did not taste raw either.
 |
| Pepperoni and Calabrian chilli pepper pizza |
Let's get right down to it. This pizza was awesome! The server asked if we wanted dipping sauces - some sort of creamy garlic and chive dip and Calabrian chilli oil - to which we said hell yes. I put the oil on the pizza and used the creamy dip for the crust. But as far as flavour goes, neither were necessary, they just enhanced the amazingness. Getting to the crust was a moment of awe for me. Like I said, pillowy crust is my everything, and this one was so incredibly soft I found myself closing my eyes and drifting off into a pizza dream world.
There's one thing I should note and that's this pizza is not really NY style, nor is it Neapolitan. It definitely borrows from both. Although it's not wood fired, the gorgeous crust is very Neapolitan, as is the basil incorporated into every slice. The cheese coverage and topping choices are more NY style than Italian. This is not a greasy, stiff NY slice (we tried to fold, it was only possible on one or two stiffer slices). But that by no means is a complaint. I enthusiastically loved everything about this pizza.
For build your own, a small base is only $15 with toppings $2 each, which is a great price compared to similar spots. Drink prices were reasonable too! All around this is easily one of my top two pizzas in Ottawa.
With Covid-19 hitting the city in the past few days, things are a bit crazy now and continue escalating as each day passes. City officials are urging for people to take "social distancing" seriously to stop the spread. As tempting as it is to drop everything and run to Heartbreakers, remember that good things come to those who wait. When things return to normal, this place will have a line-up out the door every Friday and Saturday night.
I've rated Heartbreakers Pizza eight out of eight slices.
Leave a comment with your opinion, or your thoughts on Heartbreakers, and let me know where I should hit up next!
Ciao,
Pizza Lover
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