Viva Italia Viva Edmonton (VIVE) - Pizza

Viva Italia Viva Edmonton (VIVE), a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Viva Italia Viva Edmonton (VIVE) was the final event of the East meets West festival, a week-long celebration of the cultures in McCauley. Since this was an Italian festival, food was a central component of VIVE.

Pizza and steakhouse Santos on 95 Street and 108 Avenue was selling pizza by the slice. Santo's is a popular neighbourhood hangout - prices are low and the food is excellent. The atmosphere is more like a bar than a restaurant and there is betting on horse races that takes place within the premises, but if you are looking for a solid meal and great service instead of a family restaurant, Santo's is a place with a lot of colourful local culture.

I eagerly got a slice of vegetarian pizza. At only $3.50 it was a bargain - it was around a quarter of the size of one of their pizzas (their pizzas only come in one size) and loaded with toppings. There is just enough pizza sauce to make everything nice and moist without compromising the compusre of the crust. Someone also pointed out to me once that a great thing about a Santo's pizza is that the topping go all the way to the edge of the crust - there is no huge wedge of dough there.

This formidable slice of pizza was the only thing I ate at East meets West, because it filled me so much! I am going to have to head to Santo's again soon, because just writing about it is making me crave their pizza again. However, I will have to bring someone to share it with.