Toarmina’s Pizza & Burrito Joint (Ann Arbor South)
1200 Packard StreetAlright. I’m getting closer to Kalamazoo…but not really.
I had an overnight trip to Detroit a few weeks ago. We worked all day Tuesday, well in to the night then worked all day Wednesday as well.
We got done around 4:00 Wednesday afternoon. My co-worker drove himself to Detroit so I wouldn’t have to go back to Grand Rapids and drop him off. He had already left before I was completely done so I didn’t have go through the awkward dance of asking him if he wanted to grab dinner before heading home knowing we’re both people who would rather do things by themselves.
I decided to get out of Detroit before settling on dinner. Our last stop of the day was Belle Isle. As soon as I got done, I packed up the car and started heading west.
I made the decision to wait until I got back to Ann Arbor before pulling off for gas and food. I was kind thinking Zingerman’s Deli since it’s been several years since I last stopped there but I also kind of felt I was hungrier than a sandwich. I was heading to a college town and college towns have the best pizza.
I picked Toarmina’s Pizza & Burrito Joint on the corner of Packard and Dewey Avenue not too far from the University of Michigan. I had actually tried stopping at Toarmina’s once several years ago after a U of M football game but that was just a dumb idea. Still, I remember people telling me it was the pizza stop near campus so now that I had some time, it was time to see if the hype was worth it. The building is a stand alone shop on a very odd angled intersection. There are a couple of parking spots out front but I found it easier just to find a spot on the neighborhood streets.
I put my order in from a gas station about a half hour outside of Ann Arbor hoping it would be ready by the time I got there.
I walked in to the small shop to find a carry-out window. There’s no seating inside so this place is pick up or delivery only. The menu, which includes both pizzas and burriots, is displayed on TV monitors hanging high on the walls next to the window. The guy in front of me was putting his order in so I just took a few steps back and waited.
I had ordered 16″ Meatfest pizza. I always feel bad doing this because my family won’t eat anything other than pepperoni. This was technically still on the company dime so I’m not feeding them. I’m feeding me and if I have leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow even better.
I got back to the car and decided to eat a slice while it was hot. Bad move. I sat there and eat three more slices then tried to close up the box…but as I was driving towards the Interstate, I opened the box up and grabbed another slice.
This pizza was delicious. The MeatFest includes pepperoni, ground beef, bacon, ham, and Italian sausage and there was enough so you’d get a little bit in every bite. The sauce was slightly sweet and perfect with the saltiness of the meats on top. The pizza was good. Really, really good. The kind of good that you only get from a pizza place near student housing.
The cost for my pizza was a little over $23 and surprise, there was no leftovers for tomorrow. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast so I was pretty hungry by the time I stopped in Ann Arbor and the pizza was so good I had it gone before I got back to Kalamazoo.
Toarmina’s Pizza and Burrito is a great pizza. I didn’t go to a big state school and these are things I missed out on. This is the kind of pizza place I keep hoping for in Kalamazoo near campus but…I’ve been waiting for 12 years. It’s the kind of pizza place I think of when I think of college town pizza. Good, greasy pizza.
SW Michigan Dining 