Mattachioni East on Gerrard St. is the second location of the bakery, bodega and pizzeria that first opened in the Junction Triangle.

The storefront near Gerrard and Coxwell in Little India distinguishable only by a simple red "M" gives way to a space larger than the original shop. David Mattachioni opened up the first location in 2015, a natural next step after a 14-year stint at Terroni. 

Here, Italian grocery essentials stock the shelves and grub responsible for their growing reputation like naturally-leavened pizzas are made to order toward the back in an open kitchen. 

A bright red and white peperoncini wall will be one of the first things you'll lay your eyes on when walking through the door, a nod to yet another Mattachioni classic. 

Find the real stuff next to extra virgin olive oil from Italy that's bottled in-house. The chili peppers are pickled in the back by Mattachioni, himself, with 10,000 bottled just this season. True fans would be wise to throw in one of the peperoncini toques also available. 

Considering fresh bread was one of the first things sold at the original location, it's only right that sourdough, focaccia and Pullman loaves are made fresh every morning – and never stay until the next day. Right beside that is homemade granola and pancake mix. 

All other dinner supplies are kept at the ready including rose and basil pesto sauces to pair with dried pasta and their pizza sourdough, so you can do your best to recreate Mattachioni favourites at home. 

Don't forget to grab one of the deeper and delicious'er cakes for dessert, a homemade take on McCain. Funfetti or dark chocolate with decadent Swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate frosting are the two options.

There's also a pretty good selection of Ontario craft beer including names like Woodhouse, Avling and Midtown Brewing Co., and even more wines from Italy and beyond. 

If you're not in the mood to do any kitchen prep of your own or are just in need of a snack once groceries are out of the way, Italian eats like pizza, panini and hearty salads are all on the menu. 

The 13 different thin-crust pizzas are rolled with naturally leavened sourdough made simply from fermented flour, water and salt. Then, popped in the wood-burning oven. Each of the blistery-crusted pies comes uncut and in one size. 

Stefano Mistruzzi ($21) gets tomato, fresh buffalo mozzarella, arugula and prosciutto crudo. 

The S. Pagliacolo ($21) happens to be named after the chef who trained Mattachioni to make pizza at Terroni, Cosimo Paliacolo. This one comes with no tomato sauce but plenty of mozzarella, rapini, smoked provolone and homemade sausage to stand in for flavour. 

You really can't go wrong with a classic Margherita ($16), here especially. The simple toppings leave room for you to savour the taste of the slightly charred dough and fresh tomato sauce. 

Bresaola ($16) is one of the starters on the menu. The beef tenderloin is cured in-house and served with arugula, Parmigiano and a sprinkling of extra virgin olive oil. A bowl of sourdough on the side balances the salty meat perfectly. 

Crostini ($9) comes with two pieces of loaded toast, one similar to a Caprese with garlic, marinated tomato, stracciatella and Parmigiano, and my favourite of the two with gorgonzola, pecan, honey and speck. 

One of the salads on-offer is the funghi perosen ($15), which is served warm with plenty of pickled cremini and oyster mushrooms. 

Nothing would pair with a meal at Mattachioni better than a classic negroni. New to the takeout menu this year, you can get bottles of the housemade cocktail in various sizes.