Meet the man on a quest to review every pizzeria in Windsor-Essex
CBC
Do you remember exactly when you last had great Windsor-Essex pizza?
LaSalle's Mike Zakoor does. For the past year, he's been posting detailed reviews of locally-made pies on his Instagram account titled Shredded Pep.
It's his record of his ongoing — some would say impossible — quest to review every pizzeria in Windsor-Essex.
"This project could easily take me five to 10 years. Even more, honestly," said Zakoor, 29.
"So yes, this is a daunting task."
Zakoor's project began in December 2023, with Armando's LaSalle as his inaugural review.
"For my first post, I wanted to do a chain that is synonymous with Windsor-style pizza," Zakoor wrote, giving good marks to Armando's LaSalle for crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings — for a final score of 8 out of 10.
"Ultimately, these reviews are my opinion," Zakoor stated in a disclaimer. "Please keep in mind that each person has different tastes."
Zakoor says his passion for eating pizza began in his childhood, and he feels blessed to live in a place with a great pizza reputation. But his desire to document and review pizzas began in earnest around 2019, when he started organizing his assessments in an Excel spreadsheet.
"I like to consider myself in the loop when it comes to Windsor pizza," he said.
Feedback from friends and family inspired him to review pizza more publicly and more in-depth on Instagram.
The Shredded Pep account has posted 18 reviews so far, with each containing multiple close-up photos of the ordered pizza.
For Zakoor, it's not enough to opine randomly about pizza — rules need to be followed.
Every review involves an order of a 12-slice 'meat lovers' pizza. Windsor-style is preferred, but not a prerequisite. If that's not an option, Zakoor selects a regular pepperoni.
Since opening his small family-run restaurant with his mother back in 2021, Abdul Raziq Khan says he's worked hard to create a sense of community centred on giving back.
Residents of a northern Manitoba First Nation are being told that their power will not be restored until late in the day on New Year’s Eve.
On most mornings at La Suerte Bakery and Resto in Prince Albert, the day starts before sunrise.
A washout has closed Highway 16 on Haida Gwaii as a round of heavy rain lashes B.C.'s North Coast.
Environment Canada's wind warning for Toronto has ended, but high winds and power outages persist across Ontario Monday evening as areas north of the city for snow squalls.
The national RCMP union is criticizing what it calls a "misleading" report that urges Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government to continue steps to ditch the Mounties.
Toronto police said a man is in custody in connection with a suspected arson at a federal government office building in North York Monday.
Yellowknife RCMP say that no one was seriously injured after an allegedly impaired driver rammed her car into and through the front entrance of the Explorer Hotel on Christmas Eve.
Members of a Canadian delegation that was denied entry to the West Bank earlier this month are calling on Ottawa to tighten sanctions targeting new Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
Vendors at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market are coming together for a one-time pop-up event this week after a fire forced the market to close indefinitely.
Many people associate Calgary's warm chinook winds with the onset of headaches, but experts say the science behind the correlation remains unclear.
Seabridge Gold says it plans to spin out its large but somewhat sidelined Courageous Lake gold project in the Northwest Territories into a new standalone company named Valor Gold, subject to regulatory approvals.
Sitting in Ottawa's Rainbow Bistro, preparing for his band to play a gig, former MP Charlie Angus was reflecting on the past year. His plan to quietly retire and write a book turned into creating viral videos viewed around the world and a cross-Canada tour to fight Donald Trump.