Tag Archives: Italian food

Cannelloni, maitake & Birra Moretti @ CKB

You KNOW this is body by Italian food, bro! So, when I heard about CKB, this funky new Italian joint on Roncy, I totally had to check it out. This place has a small menu, which changes every month, so you know they’re keeping it fresh. And we’re starting out with a stuffed Italian classic — Holy Cannelloni, Batman!!!

Now, we’re no strangers to cannoli, but we don’t see the entree version at many restaurants in this city. To me, though, this is classic comfort food, dude; noodles stuffed with cheese and topped with sauce. The only problem here was they put a whole lotta spinach inside. I mean, the filling is like 80% spinach, 20% cheese — and that’s not my kinda ratio, bro!

But moving right along, these fried maitake mushrooms more than make up for any disappointment back there.

These crispy, crunchy creatures in Flavourtown are heading straight down my piehole, bro! This batter doesn’t shatter, making things super-crunchalicious. They’re served on a bed of polenta with some pickled veggies — those pickled peppers really kick it up a notch!!!!

Where it comes to beer here, you’ve got three choices: Peroni, Birra Moretti or Guinness, none of which are on tap (which means we ain’t drinkin’ Guinness, mate). Peroni might be more popular, but I think Moretti has a bit more flavour, so let’s just say I had un pugno di Moretti, Clint the Squint!!!!

Now that’s a tasty meatball!!!!

Now, if you’ve been to Little Italy lately, you might be going “Dude, where’s all the Italian food?” Other than a few places right around College and Clinton, it’s pretty hard to find some real-deal Italian in the neighbourhood. So when I heard about Quadro Ristorante, this funky joint that opened on College, just east of Clinton, a couple years back, you KNOW we had to check it out, bro! And since this place is serving up five meatballs for $16.50, I think I know what I’m gonna order…

Dude, these balls are magically delicious, bro! You’ve got a nice mix of beef and veal, served in tomato sauce with some basil and grated cheese — yes please! The meatballs are tender, juicy, and really soak up the sauce… but you KNOW that’s just a light snack in Flavourtown!!!!

Now, this place might be more of a pizza place, with their real-deal, wood-fired oven in the kitchen. But me, I’m going gnocchi. I’ve got three words for you: wild boar bolognese, bro!!!! I gotta say though, this seemed like a pretty small portion, and not just because it came in a giant bowl. I’m definitely still gonna have room for dessert…

Now, we’ve had our share of tiramisu on Triple B, but I don’t think I’ve had one before where you get the ladyfingers on top. But this was still pretty, pretty good, tasting just like tiramisu should — so I really can’t complain…

Also, I got the chance to check another Italian beer off the bucket list. Sure, you can get a Peroni or a Moretti here (and I think they even have Stella), but instead I’m gonna go with a Semedorato. I had never even heard of this beer before, bro — but to be honest, it pretty much tastes like Peroni (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

You’re gonna be jelly of this beef tagliatelle…

Now, beef tenderloin on pasta is not something you see every day. I mean, chicken, seafood, or maybe spaghetti and meatballs… but I had never heard of any place pairing beef tenderloin with pasta before. So, we’re hanging out at 12 Tables, this cozy, family-run Italian joint at Ave & Lav (that’s Avenue and Lawrence, bro!), where they’re serving up this tasty tagliatelle in truffle sauce — and it comes with either chicken or beef, so you KNOW we went with beef, bro!!!!!!

This dish is super creamy, and you do get a nice hint of truffle at the end. But I wouldn’t have known this was tenderloin if they didn’t tell me. The meat is tasty, but just doesn’t taste like the cream of the crop. I would still order this again, though…

But because we’re all about meat and potatoes here on Triple B, we also ordered some gnocchi, with a creamy Gorgonzola sauce. And these gnocchi were the highlight of the night — soft and pillowy, with that sauce adding a nice little kick at the end. Man, if they ever had All You Can Eat Gnocchi Night, I would be here with flip-flops on, bro!!!!!

But of course, we’ve still got room for dessert. Now, you won’t find tiramisu, panna cotta or cannoli on the dessert menu here — but they do have this dark chocolate brownie, and that’s alright with me.

Dude, these are the biggest tortelli I’ve ever seen, bro…

So, we’re hanging out at Piano Piano, this funky little Italian joint that just opened up south of King Street, right where Hogtown Smoke used to be. But while this place might be brand new, we’re no strangers to Piano Piano’s OG location on Harbord, having scarfed down a massive Summerlicious meal in 2019 and ordered veal parm to go in ’21. Although, I’ve never had any of their pasta before, so now it’s time to check it off the bucket list…

But first we’re starting off with some croquettes alla vodka. Dude, anything deep-fried in vodka sauce has gotta be good, and these bad boys are no exception! These round mounds of Flavourtown are stuffed with prosciutto, potato, Fontina, ‘nduja and dusted with a little Parmesan on top. Mamma mia!!!!

Now, when they brought out the tortelli con bolognese, I was like “You sure that’s not ravioli, bro?” I mean, they do have egg yolk ravioli on the menu, although that dish is vegetarian, while this one clearly comes with meat sauce. But without the sauce, I’m not sure you could tell them apart — they’re both stuffed with ricotta, cooked in brown butter and dusted with parm. Apparently the ravioli are even bigger than these four-bite babies, though… they’re so big, they only come two to an order!!!

I was slightly worried about what they called on the menu Nutella Tiramisu. That’s not how Nonna makes it, fratello! But the layer of hazelnut spread only adds to the traditional tastes of coffee, cocoa and marscapone. I give it three smashed plates outta four!!!!

Clappin’ veal cheeks @ Tutti Matti!!!

Last Friday, in the middle of a major snowstorm, I made my way over to Tutti Matti, this funky Italian joint on Adelaide that’s been serving up classic Tuscan cuisine for the past 20 years. Turns out it was the last day they were open before the holidays — they’re now closed until January 13. And dude, this is body by Italian food, so you KNOW I had to stop by, no matter how bad it was outside!!!!!

Dude, this is definitely not my first porchetta sandwich…but it might be my first open-faced one. You’ve got some nice, slow-roasted piggy with arugula (or rocket, as they say across the pond) and deep-fried shallots on a big toasted piece of bread. Pork is super-tender, bread is nice ‘n crunchy — but the deep-fried shallots is what makes it!!!!!!!

But you KNOW we’re just getting started, son! These veal cheeks were on special, so you might not even see ’em come January. But man, that beef was super fall-apart tender, served in au jus on a bed of creamy polenta with some crunchy croutons — hey, you gotta use up that bread before it goes bad, bro!!!!

Another cool thing about this place is that all their beer (except for Peroni) comes from GoodLot, this funky little organic craft brewery in Caledon. I had never even heard of GoodLot before, so I asked to see all their wares. I passed on the Philsner and the Mellow Gold, but I can tell you that the Bighead Amber and Farmstead Ale were both quite tasty — I’ll hafta look for ’em in the LCBO sometime.

But you know we’ve still got room for dessert, right? Their chocolate torte hit the spot, nice and rich with a scoop of caramel gelato on top. Dude, you could put that gelato on a snow boot, and it would still taste good!!!!!!!

MUCH MORE MUNICH: Do you even KNOW knödel, bro????

Now, Munich is a very diverse city — you can find pretty much any kind of food here. (The latest trend is Mexican food, apparently — but we’re a long ways from Mexico, so I think I’m gonna pass…) Me, I wanted to try a style of cuisine that I’ve never had before, and I found it at this funky joint called Fink’s Südtiroler Knödelküche. (Try saying that five times fast!)

So, if you didn’t know (and I only found this out like a month ago), a knödel is a type of dumpling from the South Tyrolean region of Italy, which is actually in the northern part of the country. Now, I’ve had a whole lotta Italian food in Toronto, but I’ve never even seen these before… so I went all in with a KnödelQuartet — four knödel for 18 Euros, bro!!!!

Started off with the Porciniknödel, nice mushroom flavour that cuts through the mix. Goes great with the Gorgonzola sauce (served separately), son!

Up next, the Greeknödel, with feta, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. You can taste the tang of the olives, while the tomatoes give this one a nice little kick!

You can tell which one is the Pizzanödel by its bright orange colour. The combo of tomatoes and cheese make it taste kinda like a pizza… A pizza with no meat, that is.

Last but not least, the Baconnödel — there’s no shortage of bacon in this one, son! The bacon goes quite well with the rich, doughy dumpling… dude, if I lived here, this would be body by bacon dumplings!!!!

Washed it all down with a Weihenstephan Weizen, which they’ve been brewing since 10-freaking-40! Man, I loves me some German wheat beer, and this one’s on point. Nice, easy drinking, with a bit of bananas at the end — you KNOW bananas is good, bro!!!!!!

But even after all that knödel-motion back there, we still have room for dessert. This Bitter Chocolate Orange Knödel is coming in hot with a sugary, doughy outside that kinda reminds me of apple crumble. Chocolate is definitely there, but it doesn’t steal the show. One of the most interesting desserts I’ve had all year — you won’t find this at Swiss Chalet, son!!!!!!!!!

MUCH MORE MUNICH: Can I eat on your magic bus?

Dude, Magic Bus is like my third favourite Who song (Baba O’Reilly FTW!), so when I heard that Munich had its own magic food bus — a modified school bus called DinnerHopping with a built-in bar that takes you to three different local restaurants for a three-course meal, I was all over that like Keith Moon on Heminevrin, bro!

Now, it just so happened to be Italian night when I booked, and since Germany’s a lot closer to Italy than Toronto, I was really curious to see whether things would be more authentic here than back home in Il Gran Fumado…

The first course, from a place called Ristorante Ottantanove, is beef carpaccio…. and there’s more than enough to go around! Beef had a nice chew, topped with grated parm and shredded mozz, plus some arugula for colour. Not too sure about the cheese on top, but anytime you can start a meal with beef, you KNOW it’s gonna be a good day, bro!!!!!!

While I don’t usually talk about bread, I like how even the Italian restaurants over here tie their bread rolls into little pretzels, hahaha. Dude, this is body by soft pretzels…and they are everywhere in Munich!!!!

But now it’s time for the main event, seafood risotto from Trattoria Il Cigno. You’ve got fish, mussels and shrimp on a nice, creamy bed of rice. Portion looks a little small, but there’s plenty of mussels to go around, and I managed to shuck the shrimp successfully, which really kicked things up a notch. I don’t usually go for risotto, but I’d put this dish up with any seafood pasta I’ve had in Toronto, bro!!!!

For dessert, you KNOW I’m having tiramisu, bro! Vi Vadi Rustico is maybe not making it 100% like Nonna, but they do it up right. Yes, there is chocolate sauce drizzled on the plate and a random fruit garnish, but the espresso, marscapone and ladyfingers are on point. Questionable flourishes aside, this tiramisu is quite tasty!

Of course, you KNOW this ain’t Burgers, Bacon and Pinot Grigio, bro! The only beer on board was Erdinger Helles, which wasn’t bad…it kinda reminds me of Labatt Blue. But man, after slamming some killer wheat beer for like 4.50 Euros at a grocery store, let’s just say that Munich can do much better…

On the tour, they charge an extra fee for beer (I think it was like 13 Euros) on top of the cost of the food. I mean, you could stick with soda, but why??? Now, I dunno how many beers you’re supposed to get for that price, but I had like 5 and they didn’t cut me off, so I’d say I got my money’s worth!!!!

Too much linguine? No, not really…

Now, I would ride or die with Clint Eastwood, bro, but if he ever asks this fat fuck to climb a fence, my answer’s gonna be “Too much linguine.” Good thing that at Enoteca Sociale, this “Funky spot offering Italian small plates” (couldn’t have said it any better myself!) you don’t get too much linguine when you order. I still ain’t climbing no fence, though!!!!!

Speaking of small plates, their arancini only come one to an order — I guess that makes it arancino? But hey, it was still a nice, hot ‘n cheesy rice ball… I guess for six bucks, you wouldn’t get more than one, eh?

When it comes to their squid ink linguine (linguine nero di seppia), the ball of pasta is more than a little bit bigger than an arancino. It also comes with some nice bites of snow crab and a whole lotta zucchini. But I think I finished this thing in like six or seven bites — let’s just say I definitely still had room for dessert!

And when I’m eating Italian, you KNOW I’m having tiramisu for dessert, bro! I was making hand gestures when I saw them bring it out in a coffee cup, but even if it’s not how Nonna wouldda served it, the flavours here are still on point.

And speaking of Italian flavours, this Figo Italian-Style Pilsner hit the spot. Too bad I had already finished my pasta by the time it arrived at the table (it was my second beer of the evening), so I can’t tell you how it paired with the linguine…

Goin’ all Guy Fieri on fish and pasta @ Fieramosca!!!

May 20, 2022
greedocatucci
0 comments
Fieramosca, Italian food, pasta, seafood, tagliatelle, tiramisu

Dude, you KNOW this is body by Italian food, bro! So when I heard about Fieramosca Trattoria, this funky little joint on a side street just a meatball’s throw away from St. George, I definitely had to check it out! This place has been dishing out Italian classics since 1980, so you know it’s gotta be good. And while there’s no shortage of pizza, pasta and meat dishes on the menu — they’ve even got not one, not two, but three different versions of veal scaloppini –we decided to go with the Grigliata Mista di Pesce, aka grilled seafood platter:

You won’t miss Meat Mountain when you’ve got this smorgasbord of seafood, son! There’s three different kinds of fish here — salmon, halibut AND sea bream — plus calamari and tiger shrimp, along with a whole lotta potatoes, peppers, green beans and two baby carrots. Dude, this is enough food to feed at least two people…and since I actually shared this dish, I still had room for pasta:

I am sooooo trippin’ balls over this mushroom tagliatelle, bro! You’ve got three kinds of shrooms — oyster, porcini AND shitake — on top of thick, chewy noodles in a white wine cream sauce. Shut the front, back and side doors!!!!!!!!

But you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert, bro! This leaning tower of tiramisu tastes just like Nonna makes it — except maybe for that chocolate sauce swirl around the outside. But that didn’t stop me from scarfing it all down, son!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chowing down on Wynona’s big brown branzino, bro!

Man, I remember back in the day when all you had to eat around Gerrard Square was McDonald’s. But since then, a buncha funky joints opened up in a neighbourhood sometimes known as Gerrones, and just a couple blocks away, across from a new condo under construction, you’ve got Wynona, this cozy little place serving up seafood and Italian comfort food. I mean, it’s not every day you get gabagool on the menu, bro!!!!

This Italian cured pork product (known as Capocollo to people who’s never watched The Sopranos) is drizzled with honey and topped with a shredded cow’s milk cheddar, along with a couple banana peppers for that added bada bing. But you KNOW this is just an appetizer in Flavourtown…

While the menu here changes weekly, there’s a good chance they’ve got branzino, a grilled European sea bass served with brown butter, olives and capers. Take me to the river, bro!!!!

And what better beer to wash this down than Marco Polo, an Italian-style pilsner from Indie Alehouse? These guys run the bottle shop at Eataly, so you know they know Italian — and the crispness of this one is definitely on point.

Of course, we’ve still got room for dessert, and you’ve got two choices here, creme caramel or chocolate cake. That’s basically a no-brainer in Flavourtown, bro! They kick this cake up a notch with chocolate pastry cream, sour cherries and a dollop of whipped cream — you KNOW they whip it good, De-bro!!!!

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