Tag Archives: pasta

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!!!!

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
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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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wild boar pizza + sea urchin spaghetti @ Dova

Now, we’ve eaten a whole lotta Italian food here on Triple B — but every once in a while, I still come across something I’ve never seen before. So we’re hanging out at DOVA, this funky little joint in Cabbagetown, where they’re putting sea urchin on spaghetti, wild boar and black truffle on pizza, and orange mascarpone in their tiramisu. Shut the front, back and side doors, son!!!!!

They call this dish Ricci, and it’s got a helmet like former San Jose goon Mike Ricci. Underneath is some fresh Newfoundland sea urchin, on top of spaghetti, all covered in garlic and parsley. Now, I don’t think I’ve ever had sea urchin before — especially not from Newfoundland — but it added a nice creamy touch to the spaghetti.

But now they’re about to kick things up another notch with their Fughese pizza — and you don’t even hafta be straight edge to eat it, Bro-an MacKaye! Dude, this pizza’s packing wild boar sausage, black truffles, oyster mushrooms and arugula, plus it’s extra cheesy with fior di latte AND stracciatella! Dude, this has gotta be the best pizza I’ve had all year, and let’s just say I eat a lotta pizza…

And since we’re not straight edge here on Triple B, we’re washing this all down with a funkalicious brewski. This here’s a Raspberry Lavender Gelato Sour from Fine Balance Brewing straight outta Kingston. Now, i dunno what lavender tastes like, but you definitely get a lotta raspberry in here — it’s like a tropical fruit punch in Flavourtown!!!

Of course we’ve still got room for dessert — and it’s probably safe to say at a place like this, they don’t do tiramisu just like Nonna makes it. Instead, you’ve got orange mascarpone, Cointreau liqueur, candied oranges and pistachios. It wasn’t bad, but I mostly just tasted the orange, bro…

GRAND REOPENING: Smoked eggplant ravioli and smoked beer @ Il Covo

August 1, 2021
greedocatucci
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beer, Il Covo, Italian food, lamb, lamb skewers, pasta, ravioli, smoked beer

Now, you know an Italian restaurant is Super Mario legit when they import their beer straight from the old country. We’re hanging out at Il Covo, this funky little joint in Little Italy, that’s pretty much next door to Trattoria Taverniti. Sure, they serve wine here, but they’ve also got five different beers straight outta Italy, including this Anais smoked beer from Birra Flea. It’s like a funky bassline in Flavourtown, bro!!!

Now, it’s been a while since I’ve had a proper German rauchbier, or smoked beer — a little over 4 years ago, actually. I can tell you it was definitely a lot darker than this one, though. But you do still get the smokey taste with Anais, and while it’s a little strong, at 6.4%, and slightly hoppy (28 IBU), it still goes down pretty smooth. Even at 15 bucks a bottle, I still went back for another round…

But that’s only after going toe-to-toe with a fistful of lamb skewers. Now, I love lamb in all shapes and sizes, but I had never seen these arrosticini at any Italian joint before. This kinda reminded me of Taste of the Danforth, walking around with some grilled meat on a stick… I guess I probably can’t ask for tzatziki here, eh?

But now it’s time for the main event, son! These smoked eggplant ravioli are ready to rumble with cherry tomatoes and basil, along with some strips of salty ricotta. These ravioli were pretty tasty, but I couldda easily eaten three times as many…

PATIO LIT EATS: Be vewwy, vewwy quiet…We’re eating rabbit!

Indoor dining won’t be allowed in Toronto for at least another month, so it looks like a lotta restaurants will hafta fire up the patio heaters if they’re gonna stay open. But on Wednesday, we didn’t even need a heated patio — it was still, like, 19 degrees at dinnertime.

So we’re hanging out at F’Amelia Ristorante, this cozy, family-style Italian joint just offa Parliament, about a hop, skip and a jump away from Wellesley. And speaking of hopping, when I saw the braised rabbit papperdelle on the menu, I knew I had to jump all over that, bro!!!

Now, this rabbit meat is kinda like pulled pork, minus the BBQ sauce. And the papperdelle is sorta like a mini lasagna, with a buncha thin, chewy noodles. The oyster mushrooms give it a bit of juiciness, and I think there’s even a couple pieces of kale on there or something. So I had at least one serving of green stuff this week…

Of course, you KNOW I’ve still got room for dessert, bro! This was the last piece of Nutella cheesecake they had, and it was ice, ice baby, too cold! I actually had to let it thaw out for a bit. But if you take a Nutella cheesecake, top it with chocolate chips, strawberries and cherries, well, there’s no way I’m NOT gonna eat it!!!

PATIO LIT EATS: Super-legit lobster linguine!

So, the first time I went to Sofia, this funky Italian joint in Yorkville, I had steak ‘n eggs. And then, the second time I went, I had steak again. So this time, we’re gonna switch it up with a super-delish summer dish… Say hello to ma lil’ friend, lobster linguine!

OK, now let’s break it down. You’ve got oodles of nice, chewy noodles, with a tangy pomodorini (cherry tomato) sauce, some stracciatella cheese and these big, meaty chunks of lobster on top. Throw in some bread, and you’ve got an Italian lobster roll in Flavourtown!!!

Now last week, when we went to Blu, they were all outta tiramisu. It was literally the only dessert they didn’t have. So you KNOW this time we’re gonna order a round of tiramisus for the table, bro! You’ve got a great big bowl of ladyfingers and marscapone, topped with a crunchy layer of cocoa, and a scoop of espresso gelato on top — shut the front, back AND side doors, son!!!!

Beef ‘n boar bolognese — the Triple B of pasta, bro!!!

So, we’re hanging out at Jump, this funky joint in the Financial District. This place was playing all kinds of 80’s music, but I didn’t hear any Van Halen…Jamie may or may not be crying right now. Last time I went here was for Winterlicious, but when I saw the beef ‘n boar bolognese, I knew I had to come check it out — it’s a Triple B pasta on Triple B, bro!!!!

OK, now let’s break it down. You’ve got thick, homemade bucatini noodles, topped with the double-meat sauce, a little rapini, and some Pecorino Romano, to kick it up a notch. The dish has a bit of heat, but not too spicy, and there’s probably enough food for one person here — I still had room for dessert, but nothing on the menu jumped out at me…

Italian Christmas feast @ Salto Restaurant & Bar

Now, I’ve never been to Christmas dinner in Italy, but I’ve heard Italians like to eat…so we’re hanging out at Salto Restaurant & Bar, this funky little joint right at the end of Ossington, where they’re serving up a righteous Italian spread for the Triple B Kristmas Krew. You’ve got pizza, you’ve got pasta, you’ve got roast potatoes, chicken, and even salad…not that I saved any room for salad, though!!!!

They call this paisano pizza pie Christopher, and you can call me not late for dinner! You’ve got sausage, meatballs, and two kinds of peppers — red and banana! Hey bada-boom, bada-bing!!!

Of course, you can’t expect me to eat only one piece of pizza, so I had to dive head first into this meat lover’s paradise, El Tomasso. Italian sausage, soppressata AND pepperoni!? Shut the back door, bro!!!

Speaking of meat, this rigatoni & meatballs had such massive mounds of meat that I had to cut some of them in half! What is this, Boston Pizza???

Now, here’s another Italian classico — fettuccine alfredo! Super-creamy pasta in my mouth-o, bro!!!

Now, I don’t normally eat chicken unless it’s battered and fried, but this mushroom chicken was super tender, creamy, goes good with a nice bite of roasted potatoes… Man, I could eat this all day. In fact, I already went back for a second plate:

Dude, I had to get the pizza with bacon on it… Pizza with bacon on it was my nickname in gym class–don’t ask, bro!!!

Of course, you KNOW I still had room for dessert, though… This house-made tiramisu hit the spot like Rocky knocking out Ivan Drago!!!!

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