Voulez-vous a slice of Superpoint avec moi? If you studied in Quebec, you’ve been invited out for a slice of pizza or two. There, “superpoint” is slang for the tip of a slice of pizza.
It is also the name of Jesse Fader and Jonathan Poon’s new wine bar on Ossington. The pair, of course, own Bar Fancy, famed for its fried chicken and neon tiger sign — a few reminders of the connection appear in the form of tiger pictures and art strewn across the room.
While Ossington is known for cocktail and beer-heavy joints, Superpoint has chosen to “focus on a wine program which will please wine geeks,” says their front-of-house manager.
At the bar (IMAGE: YVONNE TSUI)
There is a healthy list of natural and biodynamic wines. Fader wants this to be a place “where people can order a bottle of champagne and grab a pizza.”
For instance, those looking for their fill of bubbly can sip on a glass of Italian Lambrusco.
The room is reminiscent of a frat house. On the one particular night I’m there, you can almost discern the different cliques that are typical in college. The jocks are pounding back Jameson shots by the bar and it’s not long before chef joins the party; the hipsters are hanging out under a string of pizza-shaped lights; everybody else is dispersed in between.
Décor items include a lava lamp, boxing gloves, a basketball net and a chalkboard — all would be at home in a dorm room.
Jesse Fader (IMAGE: YVONNE TSUI)
While the New York style pizza is definitely a selling point at Superpoint, this isn’t exactly an Italian-American restaurant. Yes, there are pastas and salads on the menu but Fader mostly wanted to “make food that we want to eat,” since, as he says, it’s “stifling to be doing one type of food.” He wants “everyone to come in and find something they’re into.”
Indeed the food falls into that simple, yet well-composed category of menus that we’d expect out of the duo. The Peach and Tomato Salad ($14) is served over Ontario burrata dressed simply in olive oil and salt.
The Beef Carpaccio ($13) is topped with horseradish and Beemster XO which packs a kick of intense flavors.
The pizza take-out window out front opens at 11:30 p.m. in case you need to stave off an impending hangover post bar crawl. A plain Cheese pizza starts at $12 and the addition of toppings brings the Capicollo & Olives to $17.
Those wanting to splurge on a 20 ounce ribeye can do so for an $85 price tag. How’s that for fancy?
Step past the open kitchen and the back opens up into a sort of hidden party room, which acts as the party in the back to the business in front. It’s open every day and on some nights a DJ is spinning out back. They’ll play everything from Charles Bradley to Solange.
Beef Carpaccio (IMAGE: YVONNE TSUI)
Published on: Nov 22, 2016