Pizza in Vancouver has come full circle (pardon the pun) over the past five years. What used to be nothing more than fast food take-out for a lazy night in has slowly worked itself into the Verace Napoletana ethos of places such as Nicli Antica and Via Tevere. In some cases, a focus on other regions, such as Lazio (Trilussa) or Emilia-Romagna (Campagnolo), offers some variation on the thin-crust and fior di latte mantra. But, for the most part, the more traditional American-style pizza has fallen out of favour. Until now.
Don’t Argue! Pizzeria is one of the newest additions to the ‘za scene. It comes from business and life partners Nathaniel Geary and Anna de Courcy.
Both are first-time owners, as well as industry neophytes. With no previous food service experience on either side, what drew them to the oft-crazy world of restaurant ownership in Vancouver? Previous experience in the film industry can certainly toughen one up, as can starting a family (the pair just had their first child).
“We wanted to have our own shop,” explains Geary. “We needed a career change and went for it in all our naiveté.”
Not so naïve, perhaps. Geary took the time to learn how to make pizza. He studied in San Francisco at Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza, learning how to make New York, Chicago and California styles of pizza. The school also offers instruction in Sicilian, Roman and Neapolitan styles.
The name was inspired by their first location pick on East Hastings, home to the old Don’t Argue tobacco shop. When the deal fell through, they decided to keep the name as an homage to a bit of East Van history. The Main Street room has enough seats for people to get comfortable without getting crowded, with mainly banquette seating fronted by round wooden tables.
Geary’s dough is closer to New York than anything. It’s thicker than a Napoletana (cooked in a gas-fired oven at 650°), but not as thick as a Roman. And, there’s a bit of crunch there that plays nicely with the chewiness. The sauce is minimalist in the extreme. Tomatoes, salt, that’s it. Interesting pairings like pesto ricotta ($15) work very well, with housemade basil-arugula pesto, ricotta, Santa Lucia mozza and fresh basil, all over a solid béchamel. My daughter fell in love with their cheese with mushroom added — simple, salty and tasty. Sausage and kale ($17) was delicious, but inconsistent; one night the sausage was the clear star another night it was all about the kale. And, like in any good New York shop, several are also available by the slice, although I’ve never been a fan of re-heating.
Pies come in 12- and 18-inch sizes (no half-pies).
Don’t Argue sources its meats from Windsor Meats up the street, and chef Alex Tung at La Grotta has consulted with them, as well as helping them source their cheeses.
Beers focus on local producers such as Driftwood, 33 Acres and Four Winds (Delta), but there’s also a solid Dunkelweizen on tap from Portland, as well as one red and one white on rotation.
The dessert menu consists solely of panna cotta, but it’s all you need to follow up on a pie and sleeve, and finish off a decent night out.
All ratings out of five stars.
Food: ★★★
Service: ★★★
Ambiance: ★★1/2
Overall: ★★★
Open Tuesday-Friday, 3pm-11pm; Saturday, 1pm-11pm; Sunday, 1pm-10pm.
3240 Main | 604-876-5408 |
DontArguePizzeria.com
Anya Levykh has been writing about all things ingestible for more than 10 years. Hear her every Monday on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast and find her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook.com/FoodGirlFriday.
