the bond between two twenty-something-year old girls and their neighbourhood pizzeria
it's a tale as old as time. girl walks by a soon-to-be pizza joint in her neighbourhood and peeks through the window for weeks, enchanted by their long wood tables, until they finally open.
saturday slices
“maps tonight?” - most of our cafes end in goodbye hugs at my apartment door, carrying on chatting even after saying goodbye. then, a little after closing shift, kate and i make our way to maps to split a marinara, paired with some cold zamaleks. there’s just something about the soft warm lighting at maps, and the playlist that somehow always consists of songs i love but don’t listen to nearly enough. it makes us feel right at home. we always sit in the same spot, going on about the funniest stories shared at the cafe, how glad we were that so and so could make it this time, and what will be on the menu for the next cafe.
it’s a ritual that we love, and gives us another reason to look forward to our monthly cafe day - not only do we get to gather our favourite people in my apartment, but we also get to end the day with our favourite slice in villeray. and so saturday slices became our little tradition - a simple joy that we were lucky enough to get to share with so many incredibly kind people back in october who came out to our pop-up with maps!!!
currently brewing
PISTA SAISON
so turns out the perfect dark roast does exist and it’s pista’s saison blend. it has notes of caramel and chocolate, and extracts the most ideal syrupy texture. max from pista kindly supplied us with beans for this pop-up, and got us hooked on this roast in the process. he also lent us some equipment to use which made the whole day possible - i will never get over the kindness of our community!
Country: Brazil & Colombia (blend)
moments where we went “oh yes this is exactly what we wanted”
looking up from the till to see a space full of people laughing, eating and connecting
getting to rave about maps’ marinara to anyone who asked what pizza they should order
having people rave to us about said marinara pizza after eating it
watching people soak in the sun outside, sitting on milk crates and drinking their espresso tinis with friends (what the hell so cute)
seeing our friends walk through the door
it only made sense to end the day with - you guessed it - a marinara and two zamaleks. kate and i sat on the floor of her living room, enjoying our absolute favourite pizza, feeling exhausted but so so grateful and full.
big thank you to everyone who came out, to all our friends who cheered us on from afar, and of course to maps, who were so on board with letting us bring our fake cafe into their very real restaurant for the day. we’re forever grateful for your warmth.
other cafe details
milk - minor figures
I missed the Saturday paper! Loved this read