It came down to the ingredient list.

When Bramoso manager Dan Ryan described his favourite Sausage Fest creation, the aptly-named Autunno pizza (it means autumn in Italian) sounded like a sure bet to be tasty.

“Whenever I approach these feature pizzas I look at the season, so I wanted something sweet and salty that complements either side. The Autunno feature definitely has that sweet and salty.”

It certainly does. Nova Scotian maple syrup vinaigrette, caramelized apples from the Valley, caramelized onions, pulled pork, and Sweet Williams Polish sausage. It’s topped off with feta, mozzarella, and rosemary. All local, all fresh, like everything at Bramoso.

“We don’t even own a freezer,” says Ryan.

The ensemble works. The sweetness of the caramelized apples and onions balances off with the savoury of the pork, sausage, feta, and rosemary. I don’t tend to prefer sweet mixed with my savoury, so I’m a pretty sensitive barometer for what is ‘too sweet’. The Autunno doesn’t get there, but it still tastes like apple pie. And bacon. Also feta. I’m not sure if it’s possible to blend those flavours in your mind before ever having actually tasted it, and I recommend you do so. It works for me.

Pro tip – the medium size is a lot of food, but you should get it, and use the leftovers for breakfast. I added a fried egg to my leftovers and it was boss.

If you’ve never been to Bramoso, it’s on Quinpool, and it’s located inside the strip mall connected to Canadian Tire. Don’t let that turn you off. The layout and atmosphere of Bramoso do not betray its strip mall location. They do a lot with little space, and the pizza chefs are also your servers. Bramoso is fun, relaxed, and authentic, and they’ve clearly bought into a strategy of local focus and quality product.

Go check out Bramoso during Sausage Fest.  6169 Quinpool Road.