Alimento Mozza Bar

So I have been waiting, wishing and anticipating the opening of Alimento Fine Food emporium and alas it does not disappoint! It mimics one of my very favourite spots in the world, the Mario Batali Italian food emporium - Eataly in NY where you can shop, browse and enjoy all things about Italian cuisine.

Gusto 101

Gusto 101 is the newest and latest hotspot to take on the King West neighbourhood.  The space, an old mechanic's garage has been completely transformed into an open concept kitchen with exposed bricks, high ceilings and dim lighting.  The only problem is they don't take reservations and the restaurant was jammed packed full of hungry patrons.  

Fabbrica - misses it's Mark...

OK so I wanted to treat my mom on mommy's day to a nice dining experience and what better way to do that than to take her to Fabbrica, Mr. Top Chef Canada's newest restaurant at the shops at Don Mills.  She lives in the area already and so I thought we could spend the day browsing through the promenade of shops and then when hungry, we could feast at this new north of Bloor hot spot. 

Malena 120

Malena, the new Avenue and Davenport darling, that took over the space of the Pink Pearl is a good addition to the the strip known for it's abundance of cheap flowers shops.  David Minicucci one of the owners is also co-owns it's neighbor, L'Unita, has menus inspired by Southern Italy and Greece with a focus on les fruits de mer (seafood).  Dimmed candlelight make this restaurant intimate and elegant without a pretentious air which is reflected in it's clientele it serves.  The customers are not the hipster urban types you see out on the town but more of a refined group of sophisticates .

Campagnolo birthday!

The Dundas West (DuWest) strip has come a long way from the seedy shops and Portuguese churraschurrias.  Now Dundas West is known in the foodie world as the 'carnivore's' terrain with restaurants like the Hoof Cafe, Black Hoof and Porchetta and Co on it.  Add newbie Campagnolo to this mix with it's meat heavy offerings blended with homestyle Italian cooking and it's all complete.

SUPPER in NYC - Worth the wait..

A Friday night dining adventure with my New York friends Dave and Marisa lead us to Alphabet City to the acclaimed Supper Restaurant.  Upon arriving at 8pm, and during the dinner rush, we are advised that the wait for a table is an hour! They take no reservations, it's a bit of a hipster foodie destination and there's a hungry waiting crowd.  These are the ingredients to a 'must dine at' restaurant in NYC for me. 

Mirto

One of my last holiday lunches with my workplace family, we decided to go to Mirto. Located on Toronto Street in a restored historic building with very high ceilings and a Victorian interior, Mirto provides a welcoming and comforting place for folks to dine. There are 2 large rooms and one room can be used as a private dining area.

Enoteca Sociale

Dundas West, the budding street of trendy restaurants is home to Pizza Libretto's owners' newest project - Enoteca Sociale.  While the restaurant is bustling, it remains cozy with checkerboard decals, with no air of pretense and we feel very lucky to get seated right away without having made a reservation.  The menu is nonna inspired with classic comforts of Italy and there are so many choices.  With a description to "enjoy dinner as you would in Nonna's house, served family style", we naturally select the reasonable tasting menu at $45and wine pairing for another $22 and we were set!
The food on the menu is definitely made for enjoying with wine and vice versa.

La dulce far niente - Sicilia impressions

The Spectacular view of the sea and the mountains

Taormenia stunning views

the view in front of me every day

When is Quanto Basta, enough?

Quanto Basta - meaning “enough or as much as you want/like” in Italian is the newest kid on the block south of Summerhill from the owner of Capocaccia Salvatore Mele and has the entire neighborhood buzzing.  Stealing the steam from it's neighbors Le Petite Castor and Earth and opening before the anticipated Terroni project "Bar Centrale",it is the hot spot of the moment and this particular night it was packed from wall to wall with with Rosedale types both young and old, and society-page mavens (the Gee sisters and one of the proprietresses of “The Society”).

The birthday series- birthday lunching at Tutti Matti

Tutti Matti is one of those random spots that you drive by and it doesn't look like too much but what a precious place it is.  My former boss Dawn suggested we go there to enjoy a meal for my birthday and to me - it's in the middle of nowhere - a pop up restaurant on Adelaide just west of Spadina - no restaurants around and it looks quite modest from the outside.  Tutti Matti's definition in Italian is “Everybody’s crazy" which is very different from the subdued elegance of the resto and the menu features Italian-Tuscan cuisine.

Love was in the air- Buca

I've fallen for this place!!

Down a mysterious alleyway is the entrance for the ultra sexy and sleek resto Buca.  Set in a historical boiler room with high ceilings and exposed brick walls, this restaurant has been garnering a lot of attention and most recently named one of the top restaurants for 2009 in Toronto Life Magazinel.  It's no wonder the speakeasy feel creates a certain appeal for those only in the know and buzzing with energy. 

Terroni

Going to Terroni on Queen West has become a staple in my life.  This is the original Terroni restaurant - it all started here in 1992 and then they expanded uptown, towards the east end and one in LA.   Casual and good Italian fare with a bustling atmosphere of eclectic people, it's a place that I enjoy meals, and catching up with friends.   Be warned as the line ups can be ridiculous (most of the time). 

Cave dining at Calistos

The lovely ladies I work with decided to do a holiday dinner and we booked it at Calistos. 

This is a College street Italian style eatery all designed to resemble a Roman cave in Italy with the same name- when you walk in - there is an intimate feel from the restaurants and the dim lighting and candles and owner Gianfranco La Ponte takes great pride in the hand textured domed cement ceilings and the cave-like decor.  Gianfranco's hospitality is infectious greeting us with a big friendly hug and always attentive service and then later on with a round of shots - he won us over with his charm.

Staples at One of a Kind Pasta

This is my boss' favorite restaurant and his constant 'go to' restaurant for team lunches hence I have been there several times as a result.

The decor is modest and even gets lost in the hubbub of artsy Queen West as it's very under stated and the sign on the outside looks like it's calling an antique shop out more than an Italian restaurant.  When you walk in past the heavy velvet curtains, you are greeted to a homey restaurant filled with dark wood and very intimate lighting.  There are less than 30 seats in this restaurant so if you are coming with a big group, you should think about reserving a table. 

The Best Spaghetti in NY

The description on the menu was spaghetti, tomato, basil. Very basic and simple. When it came - it was like a big reveal as it came on a white plate covered and when the cover was lifted, basil and tomoto spices wafted up and the dish was fantastic, amazing. People claim it's the best they have ever had. Period. Fantastic, amazing are adjectives that describe the restaurant we were at.

A staple at Yonge and Eg - La Vecchia

This is my local dining spot with the gals or for an intimate date however you NEED to make a reservation or else you will wait over an hour for brunch, lunch or dinner in this Italian hotspot in the hood.

They make amazing pizzas, fresh pasta dishes, and delicious risotto such as the risotto La Vecchia which is a kiwi risotto flavoured in white wine and served with giant prawns. They have a great variety of veal scallopini dishes and I especially like their veal scallopini Diano Marino with a creamy wild mushroom sauce. The last time I was there, my best girlfriend loved her Rigatoni Romani- Smoked Chicken, Portobello Mushroom In A Blush Sauce Crowned With Goat Cheese.

For my girlfriend's birthday - they prepared an amazing array of desserts including tiramisu, cheese cake, chocolate mousse cake - it was very decadent.

I can always rely on great food being served here so that's what keeps me coming back.
La Vecchia- 2405A Yonge St, Yonge 2 blocks north of Eglinton
**** (out of 5)

Epi-Cure ...

The Epicure Cafe has been a Queen street staple for many years- even before Queen West became the hipster place to be and is a good place to come and be comfortable and cozy in. It was a really good choice to bring a first date as it seems as though there's something for everyone on the menu. The menu is an eclectic variety of food with a focus on Italian. Many are hearty dishes with Osso bucco, pastas, pizzas and veal. We settled in for a nice big appetizer of eggplant rollatini- which was 2 portions of breaded eggplanted rolled in riccota, spinach topped with marinara sauce. I tasted some peppers in there - but they were mixed into the sauce I believe and I didn't mind them as much as I usually do (for those who don't know me well- I really dislike peppers). For our main- we had the duck confit which was served with basmatic rice, carrots, squash and bacon carmalized in onions. I felt like the duck was a bit too salty but I was really immersed in conversation and for once - didn't concentrate too hard on the flavourts and taste- you can thank Erik, my eating companion for this!

Overall- would be a place I would frequent if i was looking for a place to chill out and have some good food!

The Epicure Cafe 502 Queen West, Queen East of Spadina
*** (out of 5 stars)

Giancarlo...

My girlfriend Tiffany and I decided to try this Giancarlo Trattoria in the heart of Little Italy that is rumoured to be a favourite of Sophia Loren when she was in the city. There's a brick arch way that you walk under leading you into the bar area. The ambience was very warm because of the exposed brick treatment - You check in here and then I was led into the vast dining area which was separated with these gorgeous hot pink cabinets filled from top to bottom with delicious and well known wines. I was really surprised of the size of the restaurant as you would have no idea about it in the bar area. We were seated near the windows overlooking the patio on Clinton street. I assume this place is really kicking in the summer but yesterday was still a bit nippy and while the sun was shining - we were happy that we were indoors.

The Big Nose!

As you're driving through Leslieville on Queen, you are bound to notice a big paper machee nose protruding out of a building without a sign to indicate what it is. This, my friends is Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant (yes, that's the actual name of the place) and it's really, really good homestyle Italian food. I was there for dinner with some friends I hadn't seen in a while and for the first time, I didn't even bother looking at the menu and let my dear friend Ela order. I usually love ordering for people and usually ask my friends and dining companions to put down the menu and let me go to town and what ends up happening is that I get inspired by many things on the menu that I must try and end up over ordering! So I let go this time as I was carried away with our conversations and I've only heard great things about this place. Also I trusted Ela's palette and she didn't disappoint at all!