Via Mercanti

Date Visited: Dinner on Thursday Jul 9, 2015

Company: +Will Ives 

So this year, I gave Will the job of choosing a Summerlicious restaurant for us to try! He decided on Via Mercanto, an Italian restaurant located across the street from Sick Kids Hospital that is known for its authentic pizza. I was impressed and excited to try this place, I didn't realize how close it was to us either so we could go again easily in the future. It was a sunny evening so the patio was packed by the time we got there, we also followed suit as the inside looked fairly empty. When we first got the menu, we didn't see any Summerlicious on there so we had to ask specifically for that. The service was a bit slow, especially with water and taking our orders. We decided on totally separate items so we could share our meal. 

For the appetizer, I ordered the Caprese Salad with Fior de latte cheese, Roma tomatoes serviced on a bed of arugula with basil dressed in extra virgin olive oil. It looked very pretty on the plate and a good size also. The ingredients were all excellent but I thought it could have used a bit more flavour as it was a bit bland. Will got the Rancino Di Riso, a rice ball with Risotto, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Peas, and Beef. I was pleasantly surprised how delicious this was! There was a ton of flavour in the ball and the consistency of the rice with cheese and beef was excellent. I definitely could have had a few of these. 

For my main, I knew I wanted to try their pizza but couldn't decide between the Vegetarian or Romolo's. I read that the Romolo's Pizza, a half tomato sauce, half olive oil with Fior de latte, Prosciutto cotto and Mixed mushrooms is one of their classic dishes so I opted for that and also because Will would be more willing to eat it (without the veggies). I enjoyed the tomato side better cause I'm not really a fan of the smell of olive oil and found it overpowering. Other than that, the dough was very crispy but a bit hard, I thought it could be a bit more chewy. 

Will went for the Faggotino Di Parma, Housemade pasta in a cream sauce wrapped in Prosciutto crudo. This pasta was delicious, the sauce was extremely cheesy and the prosciutto was amazing, there was a lot of it surprisingly! I did find everything a bit salty though from the excess of cheese, great dish otherwise.

Finally, for dessert I went for the Tiramisu and Will got the Chocolate Gelato. The presentation of the Tiramisu was excellent, the piece was kind of small but they sprinkled lots of cocoa powder to appeal to the eye. The flavour was great and the cake was very spongey and light! As for the Gelato, it tasted like chocolate, I don't have much else to add to that :)

Food: 3/5 - Not going to lie, my taste buds may have been a bit off due to a bit of sickness but found a lot of flavours more prominent than others in the dishes.
Decor: 2/5 - Didn't see much of the interior decor but the the outside was a bit difficult to find and the seats weren't very comfortable on the patio.
Service: 1.5/5 - Not the best, very slow.
Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Would give it another shot, had lots of good options on their menu.
Overall: 2/5

Website: http://www.pizzeriaviamercanti.ca/

NaRoma Pizza Bar

Date Visited: Lunch on Sunday Jun 14, 2015
Company: Walk-in for 5

I had a bit of a family reunion this summer and had a bunch of family members from out of the country stay at my house for a few weeks. My cousin +Mark decided to take our cousins from HK out for a hiking day trip in Hamilton to experience some Canadian nature. After being rained out, we headed into the city to grab some lunch. We picked NaRoma out of a list of restaurants from a blogTO article showcasing some of the best places to eat in the city. Parking wasn't too hard to find on Locke St. and we also saw a few shops to stop by after lunch (ie cupcakes!).

The location was a lot smaller inside than I expected with only about 8 tables and more of a cafe vibe than a restaurant. Our wait for 5 people was going to be around 10 minutes. Their menu was very intensive with a ton of different pizza flavours. We were a bit confused on what their 'sizes' meant and weren't sure if flavours meant we could try multiple on an order. We ended up getting 2 Coppia's (12 pieces) and only 2 flavours, but we could have tried 4 flavours which was unfortunate to find out after. Our wait seemed forever as we were starving from the hiking but the kitchen also seemed to take a long time. Every time I saw the cooks slicing up pizza I was excited but it seemed they had a lot of take-out orders.

Eventually, our pizzas did come fresh out of the oven and they were huge for the smallest sizes. Our first pick was the Brie e Prosciutto with Mozzarella, Triple Cream Brie Cheese, Prosciutto, Fig Jam, Caramelized Onions, Arugula, and reduced Balsamic. The Prosciutto was very crispy and you could really taste the Brie. The Arugula balanced nicely with the sweet Balsamic which was drizzled all over. I liked this the best, the flavours were equally distributed and tasted great together!

Our second pizza was the Vegetale with Mozzarella, Ricotta, Zucchini, Rapini, Red Peppers, and Garlic. The only reason I didn't enjoy this one as much were the Garlic patches, all I could taste was garlic after eating them. The flavours of the vegetables weren't as prominent, but it was more cheesy and bland. My cousins from HK preferred this one however while Mark and I preferred the Prosciutto.

I was very impressed with their pizzas, they are thicker crust and less cheese but were done excellently. The dough was delicious which is important in this case and they had a ton unique flavours for you to choose from, I can see why it's such a popular spot!

Food: 4/5 - Delicious and filling pizza.
Decor: 2/5 - Very small and hipster, set like a pizza cafe.
Service: 2/5 - Nice servers but slow!
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Definitely!
Overall: 3/5

Website: http://www.naroma.ca/

7 West Cafe

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Feb 14, 2015
Company: +Will

For Valentine's Day, Will and I had tickets to see Cannibal! The Musical at Panasonic Theatre for the 2PM show. The play was in the Yorkville area so I researched and found 7 West Cafe, a quaint restaurant to have lunch beforehand. The building was interesting looking... 3 stories, black exterior, and in line with other stores that look more like houses. We entered and headed up one story to find a table in an area which looked like a classy cafe with baked goods on the counter and sun shining in through the large windows. The area was pretty cramped but luckily it wasn't too full or noisy.

They had a menu with brunch specials and I ordered a Mimosa to start which was priced at about $10. When we got it, it came with a mini bottle of Champagne, small jug of orange juice, and a small glass to pour yourself. Will was glad he didn't order himself one as it was great for sharing. It lasted us the whole meal and I loved that they let you decide the proportions yourself.

For the mains, we ordered one of the breakfast specials, Fruit Waffle and a classic, Pesto Pita Pizza to share. The Pesto Pita Pizza had Pesto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Chicken, and Mozzarella with a side of House Salad. It was a big and colourful plate of delicious looking food when we got it. The Salad had some chickpeas in it which was a nice touch from what one would normally see in a house salad. But other than that, it just had some garden greens and nothing else of substance. The Pizza was great though, lots of chicken and good proportion of pesto. Overall it was a filling dish which left you feeling slightly healthy.

The Fruit Waffle we got came with blueberries, strawberries, apple/banana sauce and whipped cream. The Apple/Banana sauce was a great for the waffle as it sustained us without needing any maple syrup. It wasn't too sweet and tasted home-made. The overall waffle was good but there were a few holes throughout so they probably could have used more batter. We got a nice balance of sweet and savory with our choices so I really enjoyed switching between the two dishes.

7 West would probably be a go-to spot of mine if I lived in the area, and it helps that it's open 24/7! It has a chill, European vibe to it but I'm sure it gets hectic at night. Cool spot for a date though, very intimate. The service was a little slow though and our waitress was always disappearing. I'm not sure if she had to go and run to the other floors to pick up food but she wasn't always around.

Food: 3.5/5 - We got pretty lucky with our orders but all fresh and tasty.
Decor: 3/5 - Unique decor and great ambiance, just a little small.
Service: 2/5 - It was okay, we didn't need much but she didn't really check up on us.
Willingness to go back: 3.5/5 - Would definitely go back if I was in Yorkville but would be cautious of the space they have.
Overall: 3/5

Website: http://www.7westcafe.com/

Hunter's Landing

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Oct 17, 2914
Company: +Will

+Will and I were heading to +Ishraque's new place for the night and decided to have dinner at a restaurant nearby. Luckily for us, Hunter's Landing is just down the street and it was a restaurant which I had either heard of before or read reviews on because the name sounded familiar. I later realized that it's the location where they have the epic Caesar, "The Cure". Unfortunately for me, they're only served during brunch on Sundays... but the rest of their food still looked good too.

We were seated at the top level of the restaurant and I noticed walking though that the place was very large with ample seating throughout. The decor was very modern and chic, catered to the yuppy downtown crowd. The menu was decently priced for a gastopub and a variety of dishes to choose from. For drinks, I wanted to try one of their Beer Cocktails and ordered the Creem of Dublin (Creemore + Guinness). It took a while to get our drinks, maybe because of our location, they were coming from downstairs? But mine was very interesting since the Guinness was clearly sitting on top so it was like drinking one then the other.

I ordered the Signature Fish Tacos with Grilled Pineapple & Jicama Slaw, Avacado, Cheddar, and Smoked Chilli Sauce. It was an appetizer so I wasn't sure how large it would be but I thought three was enough (you could add another taco for $4). Luckily, I was right as the tacos were quite large and stuffed to the max! The flavour of the slaw was very bold and perfect amount of acidity to sweetness. I actually thought the Jicama were radishes while eating them but now looking it up, they're actually Mexican radish. They were very overpowering in the overall taco and took away from the rest of the flavours, by the 3rd taco I was a bit tired of the flavour. It helped cleanse the pallet but I think they went a bit overboard with it. The texture of the fish was flaky and soft, great contrast to the crunchy slaw. I didn't have much of the chilli sauce on site because I wasn't quite sure how to add it in, but it tasted pretty good.

I also had a bite of +Will's Pulled Pork Pizza and the BBQ sauce tasted really good. Overall, the place has a great atmosphere and decent food, nice gem in the neighbourhood.

Food: 4/5 - Impressed with the food!
Decor: 4.5/5 - Loved the different levels and perfect noise level and lighting.
Service: 2/5- Service was nothing special, didn't really check on us.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Ummm I need to try The Cure!
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://hunterslanding.ca/

Bannock

Date Visited: Lunch on Sunday Jul 6, 2014
Company: Summerlicious reservation for two.

While browsing through the many menus Summerlicious has to offer, I came upon one with some interesting items that intrigued both +Will and I. We decided that we had to make a reservation for lunch and see if their take on these items were actually good or not! The location is very close to the Eaton Centre but easily missed with all the scaffolding surrounding the exterior. The restaurant has a very urban look and was pretty busy when we got there at noon on a Sunday. We were seated to the main dining area which was already very lively, and they also had another grab-and-go section with pre-made sandwiches that you could sit at also.

What were the menu items that intrigued both Will and I you ask? Well for me, it was the Iced Bloody Caesar Soup because I actually love Caesars and always try to order them if available. For Will, it was their Bulgogi Hawaiian Pizza, a combination of one of his favourite foods, Hawaiian Pizza and one of his most eaten foods (because there Bob's Bulgogi is steps away from his apartment). After walking by their kitchener serving area, I saw quite a few odd combinations and takes on foods being made (at least for brunch) so it would be interesting to check out their regular menu (Canadian comfort food, they say). After our orders were put in, they were surprisingly quick in serving us.

The Iced Bloody Caesar Soup was exactly what you would picture, cold tomato soup with clams and seasoning. It was quite spicy as well and I had to take my time with the sips. I'm surprised how spicy they made considering soups are usually mild ways to start your meal. The flavour was good but I'm not used to having iced soups and the clams in it just felt sad and cold. I was disappointed with it and definitely will stick to Caesar drinks opposed to soups. Will ordered the Smashed Cucumber and Head Cabbage Salad to start and the one bite I had of it was absolutely delicious. There was so much flavour from both the ingredients and the dressing, it was a light and eye-appealing dish to start your meal compared to mine.

For my main, I ordered the Roast Peameal Bacon Melt with Sauerkraut, Cheddar, and Smoked Tomato Marmalade. I was pleasantly surprised with the appearance of my meal as the sandwich was pretty hefty. The flatbread was thick and warm with melted cheddar pressed between perfectly cooked pieces of peameal bacon. It was a simple but delicious sandwich where the meat spoke for its self. The sauerkraut added a nice hint of flavour admist the seemingly plain layers and I couldn't really taste the tomato marmalade. The Taro Chips were an interesting side as they are quite plain otherwise but the salt added some flavour.

I also got to try the Bulgogi Hawaiian Pizza and the one word to describe this dish is SPICY! I'm pretty sure their sauce base was just hot sauce so beware for all those who are interested in trying it. The flatbread was pretty decent otherwise, I found it a crispier than most and very thin. I was surprised on how the bulgogi was presented as it's not how it usually looks in the Korean dish: tender, sweet, and saucy. I found the meat a tad dry and just wasn't very appealing. It was an okay dish in theory but it was hard getting past the spiciness of the pizza.

For our dessert, we both choose to have the Cortland Apple Fritter but it didn't quite look like what I thought an apple fritter would be like. I was expecting sometime more wet and saucy to be honest. The flavour was quite good combined with the dulce de leche accompanying it but I also thought it was too dry. It was difficult to taste the apple flavour in the doughy, hard dessert.

Food: 2/5 - Hit and miss here, pretty disappointed with most of our choices.
Decor: 3/5 - Very slick and modern decor with a vibrant and bright atmosphere.
Service: 3.5/5 - Impressed on the speediness of our dishes.
Willingness to Return: 3/5 - I would like to give this place another try just because you expect more from Oliver and Bonacini and maybe their Summerlicious menu just didn't do it justice.
Overall: 2.5/5

Website: http://oliverbonacini.com/bannock.aspx

Cali Eats: Patxi's

Date Visited: Late Dinner on Sunday April 20, 2014
Company: Walk-in for 5

+Elliott was telling us about an awesome Deep Dish Pizza place in Palo Alto during our visit to San Francisco and luckily for us, we were going to pass by during our way out of the city. After our final stop of sight-seeing at Marin Headlands, we were heading out to get closer to Yosemite National Park for the next morning and it was just past dinner time, so we were all ready for some delicious pizza. We drove through a quaint neighbourhood which I guessed was downtown Palo Alto to find parking for the restaurant after a long drive out of San Francisco. Even though it was pretty late, the restaurant was still busy and we still had to wait for a table. 

The waiters let us know that if we were ordering the Chicago style pizza, it would take about 40 minutes so we could pre-order to minimize the wait when we got a table. We of course took him up on the offer as it probably would have taken a while to decide what we were getting anyways. There was 5 of us so we split off in 2 groups as we wanted different toppings. +Elliott and I went for a Small Authentic Chicago Stuffed Pizza with Pineapple, Spinach, and Garlic-Fennel Sausage pricing at $20.50. 

Shortly after, we were seated at table right in the middle of the fairly small restaurant. It looked more liked a bar with the TVs on the wall and the rustic wooden decor. The seating area wasn't that big and covered only about half the restaurant, the bar was situated near the front side going half-way back, the kitchen was in the back with a window looking in, and stairs going up to the very nice bathrooms. They had a nice selection of beers but I opted for a water since I was driving. 

Our wait seemed to take forever, especially because we were starving and it was pretty late already. We were seated after a few tables which didn't have their meals yet so I knew it would be a while. But finally, when our food arrived and it looked amazing and well worth the wait. That first slice from the pie was just oozing with cheese on all sides with a layers of toppings in there also. The small pie has 6 pieces and feeds 2-3 people. Both groups got the small so ours was a bit excessive since we had to have 3 slices each (but we did it). 

I have to say though... it was the best deep-dish pizza I've ever had, I haven't had much but this definitely sticks out in my mind. There was so much sauce and cheese, I felt like that was all I was eating... the sauce wasn't too extravagant and stuck to the simple but bold tomato flavour. The toppings we had were delicious and fresh, lots of spinach in there! They also had honey on the table for the crust (because we saw other people eating it this way!) and it was kind of interesting and tasty, it obviously added just a hint of sweetness to the crust and tomato sauce. I was thinking that it was pretty pricey for pizza, being about $15 each, but the quality was great and they really stuffed that pizza to the max... totally worth the splurge.

Food: 5/5 - Amazing! Been craving this ever since and looking for some deep dish places in Toronto to check out now!

Decor: 3/5 - Pretty small but very comfortable and roomy, they need more tables!

Service: 2.5/5 - Average service, at least they warn you about the wait time!

Willingness to go back: 4.5/5 - Yes, definitely would try to find one of their locations if I was nearby! Glad we made the trek to find this place!

Overall: 4/5

Website: http://www.patxispizza.com/ 

Mercatto

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Dec 20, 2014
Company: Annual SJ Secret Santa gift exchange with 11 participants

This year, I was put in charge of organizing the annual Secret Santa with university friends, handed down from +Stanley who's off in NYC doing bigger and better things. I started planning early because I knew it would be difficult to find a reservation for a large group during that time of year near the Financial District downtown Toronto. I looked up a few places and decided on Mercatto, a restaurant where I could blog about the food and my non-foodies friends could still get familiar dishes without spending too much. They have a few locations in the downtown area, all situated fairly close to each other. Anyhow, I emailed them and they were very accommodating of our reservation for 14 and even warned us of the 18% gratuity fee added to large parties.

Our reservation was at 6PM and people slowly started to trickle in while others we knew would be arriving late. About 3 people went to the Eaton Centre location because of a bug on Facebook phone app leading them to the wrong address (not my fault, worked fine on a browser!). We got a long table in the back near the kitchen, but the restaurant isn't very big anyway so you could still see the front entrance from where we were. The staff was helpful and gave us an extra table to put all our presents on so they didn't have to be on the floor. I especially enjoyed the lighting of the place, it was warm with lots of candles but still bright enough to see each other. It was also very warm in temperature which made it extra cozy.

For drinks, they have a huge selection of wine and about 3 choices for draught beer each at $7 so I ordered a Moretti from Italy. We decided to put in our orders around 7PM as it was uncertain when the others were going to make it. My friends had a bit of trouble figuring out the menu which consisted of many Italian words which I think may have been a bit imitating. After questioning the waitress, we all ended up getting pizza anyways. I ordered the Speck e Spinaci with was topped with smoked ham, spinach, padano cheese, and besciamella sauce. We also requested the complementary bread as their menu noted that we had to ask for it.

Our free bread came and it was joyous because we were starving. The bread was soft and the olive oil given was surprisingly flavourful. Funny story, one friend of mine (who I"ll keep nameless) tried to spread the oil across the bread with his knife and it got everywhere! It was hilarious as having gone to university together, we're used to going to McDonald's and low-budget bars together and not classy adult restaurants, so it was a fun(ny) experience!

Our pizza came and as I was taking pictures of mine, +Alex had rolled his up to a tortilla and finished his first slice already! The pizza looked big on the plate but it was extremely thin, possibly the thinnest pizza I've had. I found the dough a bit floury especially on the crust. I was also not used not having a tomato based sauce so it was an interesting eating experience for me as well. The ham was delicious, crispy like bacon and the spinach was mushy (in a good way!) and added subtle flavour. There was something I didn't quite enjoy fully about the pizza and I'm not sure if it was the sauce or cheese. I was also very envious of the Pepperoni Pizza because that looked amazing and I almost got that instead.

After everyone had arrived and ordered, we got to exchange presents and pass around chocolates that people had received for dessert. We had settled the bills and still stayed for a quite a while after that. I think the restaurant wasn't too impressed but they didn't say anything to us. They didn't need the table or anything but I think we stayed about 4 hours there. I want to think that everyone had a fun and good dining experience here, for me it was a great night and Mercatto was very accommodating.

Food: 2.5/5 - My pizza wasn't the greatest, thought it was over-priced. I can appreciate the authenticity but I've had better. 

Decor: 4.5/5 - Great ambiance and atmosphere, many large groups that night similar to us.

Service: 3/5 - Very helpful and I don't think we were the easiest party to service but they were nice and friendly. Waitress wasn't impressed that I didn't tell her separate bills in the beginning though.

Willingness to go back: 2/5 - Good for parties like this but probably wouldn't go here specifically on a date night or anything, could think of better places.

Overall: 3/5

Website: http://www.mercatto.ca/

La Bettola Di Terroni

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Nov 8, 2013

Company: Date night with +Will

Will and I decided to go a bit fancy one Friday and have dinner at La Bettola, a nice Italian place just up the street from his. We passed by many times before seeing classy people with their fancy wines and dishes through the windows. I was excited to check it out as Will had gone before and said it had excellent authentic Italian food. We didn't think to make a reservation that night which was probably a poor choice. The hostess that greeted people at the door asked if we wanted to sit at La Bettola or Osteria, which is apparently a different restaurant but they share the same kitchen (and apparently staff). It was a bit confusing when she asked us that but Osteria to the right would have been a 20 minute wait and Bettola to the left only had bar seats open as they had a large reservation at 8PM. We just decided to sit at the bar as we were quite hungry. There were other couples seated at the bar as well but there were also many free tables we could have sat at and been out by 8PM for.  

We were given water by the bartender from jars they have stacks of in the back. Taking a look at the menu, it was very different from what I had seen online. I can understand if the menu items may change but the pricing was very off. After some compromise and figuring out what things were, we decided on 2 starters and 2 mains. We also got some bread to start but I wasn't a fan, it was hard and the outside tasted burnt. The oil they gave for dipping also tasted odd. 

+Will first got the Prosciutto Platter (can't recall the real name) which was very large and consisted of Prosciutto on a bed of arugula with pretzel and bara-like tortilla. I had had prosciutto a few weeks earlier and was turned off of it from the smell so I thought I would only have a bit of his starter, but I actually ate about half of it. The prosciutto was the best I've had, it wasn't too salty and had great texture and freshness. The arugula added a nice flavour to it also. I didn't really enjoy the pretzel things because they were too hard and had strong seed in them I didn't like. The round, soft and fluffy bread thing on the other hand, was great and paired very well with the meat. I got the Leek & Potato Soup to start and that was very delicious as well. It was quite thick and heavy but had good flavour. It maintained a hot temperature through my eating also. 

For my main, I got the Ravioli con Ricotta e Scamorza which consisted of 4 pieces of ravioli stuff with cheese with some tomatoes on the plate. It was a very small portion but at this point I wasn't too upset as I was quite stuffed from the starters. Despite the size of the dish, the ravioli itself was delicious and stuff with lots of cheese. The dough was fresh and had good proportion to the filling. This was the first time I had a dish like this but I'm glad I got to try it. Will got the Pizza topping with Arugala, Mozzarella and Sun-Dried Tomatoes which was a chef special that day. The portion of his pizza was large, even though it was thin crust, it was like the size of a medium pizza. Pizza was definitely the way to go by looking at what others were also ordering. Some people were ordering just a few dishes to share but most ordered a pizza to themselves. The pizza was delicious, it was crispy and had great combination of flavours. The tomato sauce was minimal but was sweet and tangy. The crust was great and a bit over-cooked but I still enjoyed it. We took most of the home and enjoyed it for breakfast the next day.

Overall, I think La Bettola Di Terroni is a nice classy restaurant if you want to splurge for the night. I noticed every woman I saw there was wearing a bold statement necklace and men also were well-dressed. It caters to that type of crowd and I think you should be prepared to spend. I would suggest getting the pizza for sure though, completely worth the money.

Food: 4/5 - Some average dishes but most were spectacular.

Decor: 3.5/5 - Lively atmosphere with modern chic decor and wooden accents, wasn't a fan of the bar seat though.

Service: 3/5 - Not bad at all, pretty quick with dishes.

Willingness to come back: 2/5 - Wouldn't go out of my way to return for a full meal... until I start making a bit more money.

Overall: 3/5

Website: http://labettola.ca/

Avanti Trattoria

Visited: Dinner on Friday May 10, 2013

Company: Party of 5 ladies grabbing dinner before seeing The Great Gatsby

In an effort to try out some of the local restaurants in my hometown, some friends and I decided to have dinner at Avanti Trattoria, an Italian place situated in downtown Oshawa. I am always worried about parking downtown but finding a spot wasn't that bad the last few times I had been, definitely not as bad as being in downtown Toronto. Parking is free after 6PM in Oshawa and usually you can get close enough to your destination that the walk isn't dreadful. I got a place right in front but realized that the restaurant has their own parking spots after. I hadn't heard about the locally-owned restaurants in Oshawa until recently and this place was one of them, apparently with great Italian food and stone-oven pizza.

Upon entering, I was really surprised on how big the place is, with two main dining areas, huge bar, and kitchen area. There was also tons of staff available just hanging out, they were fully-stacked for the night. After the party had all arrived, we decided to start with some classic Bruschetta. We were also given bread for the table to start, and most of us had decided on pizza, so we were going to get our fair share of carbs that day. The bruschetta wasn't spectacular but still good. I'm always skeptical on bruschetta now because I had the best one earlier this year and I don't think any other one can top it. The bruschetta bread was a bit too soft all the way through and didn't have that thin crispy outer layer. Each table also had random oils to have with the bread which was nice to try.

We decided to all trade a slice of pizza to try other types and by the time we were done switching, only half the pizza was what I got! I wasn't worried though because the portion was more than enough, so much larger than a personal pizza. For my order of pizza, I got the Salsiccia. I love Italian sausage and it's usually the only meat I'd want on pizza so what's why I was compelled to have it. The overall combination of toppings on this was excellent, the red onions and green peppers complemented the sausage so well. The make of the pizza was excellent too, the dough was the right thickness and had a good amount of cheese. I was so full after three pieces which I was so disappointed because it was so good and I wanted to eat it all.
The other slices I tried were the Vegetarian, Cacciatore, and Polpette. I had debated getting some of these so I was pretty happy that my friends had gotten them instead. The Vegetarian was loaded with various veggies but I'm not a fan of olives which turned me off of getting it (yes, I understand you can ask for 'no olives'). But the broccoli was a very prominent flavour overall which took away from the other flavours. 

I had almost gotten the Cacciatore but I didn't think I had goat cheese before (but then I remembered that I did and I was a huge fan). Good thing, because it was overloaded with it! Probably because there was no mozzarella, but it was an awesome alternative. I love how thick the cheese in comparison but you can still taste the other flavours, especially the sun-dried tomatoes (which I didn't hate like I usually do), which was nice and soft like the other veggies and didn't stand out in texture.

Lastly, I tried the Polpette, which was quite similar looking to the Salsiccia but with mushrooms, Italian ham and meatballs instead of peppers and sausage. I wasn't a huge fan of the meatballs as they added an odd flavour to the pizza. The ham and mushrooms are an excellent addition but I think they were ignored among the other flavours. I don't think it was a great combination of toppings. 

Overall, I was a huge fan of the restaurant, from the food to the atmosphere, it's a nice little gem in downtown Oshawa I'm glad I know about now. 

Food: 3.5/5 - Pizza was excellent!
Decor: 4.5/5 - Brilliant Italian decor and excellent use of space.
Service: 3/5 - Pretty good, but not outstanding.
Likeliness to come back: 4.5/5 - Want to try some pasta :)
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://www.avantifood.com/

Calabria

Visited: Dinner on Wednesday Mar 13, 2013
Company: Meeting up with +Will Ives after work at Fairview Mall

If you're someone who knows me, you'd know that I like to plan ahead like no tomorrow. So knowing that I was going to be in the 404/Sheppard area, I had to look up all the surrounding restaurants and find websites/pictures to see how legit they were. I can't stand being situations where I get somewhere and realize that it's super sketchy or that it's been closed and they hadn't updated their website. Calabria was literally one of the only legit restaurants I found that wasn't Asian (wasn't feeling it); not surprising though as it's the North York/Scarborough area.

Their website had a 20% dinner coupon and their Facebook page advertised cheap pints and half price apps until 3PM-6PM. They also had a picture of the place on the website which showed it to be pretty big and not in a sketchy strip plaza. Good enough reason for me to go...

It was quite busy once we arrived, just around 6PM so I assumed people trying to catch the cheap apps. Seems like a nice neighbourhood place with a wholesome crowd. They had a nice warm fireplace near the entrance and there was an open kitchen with the pizza open in the back which was nice to see. We got a comfy booth for two although I felt that all the table placements were really awkward. 

We started off with Bacon Wrapped Scallops as the appetizer, a compromise  between Will and I. Most of the apps were seafood and Will isn't a fan and only wanted buchetta or the chicken wings. We went for this as it was sort of a combination of both. I'm not really a fan of bacon, only because I think the flavour is too overpowering when I eat it with things and that it's overrated. These were quite enjoyable though, cooked perfectly, the bacon was crispy and the scallops were soft and not overcooked. It came with a small salad which I thought was a nice touch of flavour and the tomato complemented well. There was a side of seafood sauce which I found was odd, I've never had seafood sauce with scallops but it wasn't bad, could have used a hint of lemon juice to make it less sweet.

I ordered the Stone Baked Asiago Pizza and Will went for the Lasagna as per usual. The pizza was pretty big when it came out, you could probably share it with two people and be decently full. I really enjoyed the crust and dough of the pizza, it had a distinct flavour and not too thin crust. I think I probably would've been happy if it was just a cheese pizza. I really enjoyed the tomato sauce but wish there was more of it. The chicken wan't too flavourful and I forgot that I'm not the biggest fan of sun-dried tomatoes haha.

I obviously also tried Will's lasagna and and it was surprisingly delicious! Extremely meaty and the pasta was really soft. The tomato sauce was so good and had a nice sweet flavour, I assume it was the same one they used on the pizza. Good amount of cheese and nice portion size. I think I would opt for a pasta next time. "Lasagna was the obvious choice" according to Will.

Ended the meal with the Chocolate Truffle Cake, they only had a few items for dessert but enough variety. The cake was extremely delectable, I basically ate the whole thing and Will had 3 bites. I really enjoyed the vanilla and chocolate mousse combo paired with the chocolate cake, so good. Pretty light but rich with chocolatey goodness flavour. 

With our coupon, we paid $40 everything included which I thought was a good deal for the amount of food we got. Very good pricing for some decent Italian food, especially if you're in the neighbourhood. We also got 4 coupons which were basically the same deals I found on the website.

Food: 3/5 - There were plus and minuses but overall good, fair-priced food.

Decor: 2.5/5 - Spacious and classic but there was something about the layout.

Service: 3/5 - Good wait times between each dish

Likeliness to come back: 3/5 - Wouldn't go out of my way, but if I was in the area... also got those coupons.

Overall: 3/5

Website: http://calabriarestaurant.ca