Italian Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Italian

BiBo Pizzeria: Italian Food at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet

October 7, 2016

BiBo Pizzeria has opened their second location at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet. They specialize in authentic Neapolitan pizza and handmade pastas created from the highest quality ingredients selected specially by their team and imported directly from the gardens and farms of Italy.

I came here as a guest of McArthur Glen Designer Outlet to try out BiBo’s signature menu items.

Interior

The interior is large and has lots of seats, so they can cater to small to large groups. They also hots private parties too.

Wine

Gavi di Gavi is their exclusive white wine made for Bibo. Wine and Italian food go very well together.

Sangiovese Tollo is their signature red wine pairs very well with their pasta and pizza dishes.

Neapolitan pizza

Pizza Crudo has fresh tomato, mozzarella, Parma prosciutto, arugula, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Very fresh ingredients on top and I love the prosciutto and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Pizza Diavola has tomato, mozzarella, and pepperoni. Nice and meaty. I like the parts of the pepperoni that get crisp on the edge.

Pizza margherita has tomato, mozzarella, and basil. A nice char on the pizza and crunchy crust. I love a good simple pizza. One of my favourites.

Handmade pasta

Ravioli ricotta e spinaci has handmade ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach, served with Italian datterini tomato sauce. Large pieces of ravioli and tastes good.

Gnocchi alla Tirolese has handmade gnocchi with speck, radicchio, gorgonzola, and sprinkled with walnuts. I felt this dish was pretty rich and heavy. It’s best shared with a group rather eating it all yourself.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food is decent, but I felt the pizza could be more crisp in the centre. The centre is a tad soggy.

They also have gluten-free options for their pizza and pasta dishes.

We Rate BiBo Pizzeria:

Address:
1067c Templeton Station Rd, Richmond

Website:
http://richmond.thebibo.com/

In Italian

Scala’s Bistro: Dinner near Union Square

September 28, 2016

Scala’s Bistro is located in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel just steps away from Union Square. They have crafted cocktails and Italian inspired fare on the dinner menu. You’ll want to make reservations ahead of time as it can get quite busy. When we went, there was already a line up during peak dinner time around 7:30pm. As we were staying in the hotel, they invited us to try a few items off their menu.

Interior

The interior is quite nice and is dim, which give it a nice romantic atmosphere. Tasteful decor too.

Drinks

21st Amendment “Hell or High Watermelon” is a local San Francisco brew. It’s an American wheat beer, with a hint of watermelon. Very delicious, light and refreshing.

Appetizer

Octopus has sugar‎ snap peas, fiddlehead ferns, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, and herb aioli. The octopus was super tender and I was amazed that octopus could ever be that tender. I would highly recommend this dish.

Main

Orecchiette has spicy calabrian sausage, pangrattato, broccoli diciccio, and parmesan. Great flavours.

Roasted 38° North Duck Breast has a disc of duck confit hash, pickled & roasted strawberries, and natural jus. Very good dish and the skin on the duck was crisp. A good size for a main dish too.

Halibut Saltimbocca has baby artichokes, roasted carrots, early girl sundried tomatoes, and a herb aioli.

Ora King Salmon has roasted summer vegetable tart, herb salad, and crisp garlic. The salmon was very moist and the veggies are all under it.

Dessert

Scala’s Classic Duo has Mini‎ Bostini Cream “Pie” and Mini Chocolate Pecan Torte. We were pretty full at the end of the dinner and wanted to fit in something sweet, so we went with this option. A few bites between us and it was what we needed to cure our sweet tooth.

Overall, the dinner was delicious and I would come again. The food was well executed and the service was good.

We Rate Scala’s Bistro:

Address:
Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 432 Powell Street, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.scalasbistro.com/

In Italian

The Old Spaghetti Factory: Riverport Richmond Review

July 6, 2016

The Old Spaghetti Factory is right across from the SilverCity movie theatre. We decided to come here for a quick dinner. We thought we had ample time since it was 50 minutes before the movie. You definitely need at least an hour to dine here.

Complimentary Bread that arrives at the tables is a Italian Sourdough Bread with Whipped Garlic and Plain Butter. A nice way to fill up before waiting for the dishes to arrive.

Clam Chowder is New England style with bacon. Pretty basic and there’s really not much to it.

Crisp Green Salad is the side for the gluten-free menu option. Very simple spinach salad.

Minestrone Soup wasn’t very interesting either, but I got a side to go with my salad, which was interesting.

Cheesy Baked Tomato Chicken Pasta has sautéed chicken breast tossed with gluten free penne in al fresca marinara sauce and baked with mozzarella. My sister thought it was ok. Nothing too special about it, but it would be better if there was a bit more sauce.

Lasagna has layer upon layers of pasta, meat sauce and mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan cheeses. M enjoyed it as it was meaty and cheesy.

Caesar Salad was what I ordered. I just came back from vacation and really needed a big bowl of salad. It did the trick but I felt it was a bit heavy on the dressing. The dressing was very garlicky and potent.

Overall, the food was mediocre but when you see the food options near the theatre, there really isn’t much.

We rate The Old Spaghetti Factory:

Address:
110-14200 Entertainment Boulevard,
Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.oldspaghettifactory.ca/

In Fast Food

Pizza Hut Canada: 5 Cheese Stuffed Crust with Bacon

July 1, 2016

Pizza Hut Canada had their promotion for 5 cheese stuffed crust pizza and if you got a medium or large, they would also stuff it with bacon.

M saw this online and he just had to make me try it. Of course I never say no, since I love all types of food even fast food…especially fast food.

We got the medium Pepperoni Lover’s, which has extra pepperoni and cheese. It’s such has the classic pizza topping that you can’t go wrong with. I try to avoid veggies with my pizza.

As for the stuffed crust, it was pretty hollow and needed more cheese stuffed inside. Maybe 5 cheeses wasn’t enough to fill the cavity. Other areas had more cheese that others. The bacon also wasn’t stuffed inside, it was more on the edge of the toppings area and the crust.

This was just my experience, but maybe at other locations its done better.

Website: https://www.pizzahut.ca/

In Italian

Grotto: Italian Cuisine near English Bay

June 21, 2016

Grotto is an Italian restaurant near English Bay in Vancouver. It’s a bit easy to miss when on Davie Street since it’s not on ground level. It’s a bit under ground level kinda like a basement.

I bought their Groupon deal months ago and like usual, I wait till the last day to redeem it. It was $59 for $100 value for four people. I made reservations ahead of time and same with a few of our friends.

Walking into the space, it was dark and has an intimate feel. They have pretty good daily specials. It was Sunday, so a lot of people were here later in the evening for their beer and pizza special.

Antipasti

Pork Belly has white balsamic, orange syrup, frisee, pickled mustard seed and crispy artichoke. Nice, fatty and crisp on the outside.

Humboldt squid also has housemade sausage, roasted eggplant, olives, tomatoes, lemon and parsley. I found that the grilling method made the squid a bit bitter.

Pizza

Funghi Pizza has a white sauce, mushrooms, roasted garlic and topped with arugula. The texture of the pizza was quite interesting. It is thin crust but very crisp and delicate. The crust reminded me of pita chips. Definitely unique as I’ve haven’t encountered another pizza place with such a crisp pizza base.

Prosciutto Pizza has mozzarella and figs with the similar crisp pizza base. It was good as well, but the funghi had a lot more flavours that I enjoyed.

Mains

Pappardelle has braised beef, red wine jus, confit cipolli onion, green peas, bone marrow, and focaccia. I love the large piece of bone marrow on top. A nice touch.

Gnocchi has smoked chicken, pork belly, mushroom ragout, and crispy celery root. The pork belly was the same as the pork belly antipasti. The gnocchi was nice and fluffy.

Overall, the food here was good and filling.

We Rate Grotto:

Address: 1725 Davie St., Vancouver, BC

Website: http://grottoitalian.ca/

In Farm to Table

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co: Flatbread Pizza on Main Street

December 1, 2015

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co has 3 locations in Vancouver. One on Main St, Park Royal and another in Kitsilano. They are best known for their pizza making parties as its fun for families or a large group of friends.

They currently are featuring a 3 course meal for $19. I was invite to check it out.

You can choose your starter which you can pick their traditional salads or feature soup of the day.

The mains are their small traditional flatbread pizzas.

Then you can end your meal from choosing either their double chocolate brownie, baked cheesecake, seasonal sorbet or vanilla ice cream.

Their dishes feature local and organic produce, free range organic meats & OceanWise seafood. Each dish is handcrafted daily in house.

All of their flatbread pizzas, pastas, salads, daily soups and desserts are available gluten free. Great for people with allergies.

M and I got a coke each in addition to the meal. Coke and pizza go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly.

Field Mushroom soup served with a slice of flat bread. Good flavours with a slight hint of spice. You can’t go wrong with it.

Fig and Goat Cheese Salad is one of their most popular salads. It has assorted greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, goat cheese, black mission fig dressing and Vancouver grown sunflower sprouts. It is also served with flatbread on the side. Nice fresh salad with just the right amount of dressing.

Naturally Meaty Traditional Flatbread Pizza has organic tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy certified organic ground beef, kale, Italian sausage, shaved red onions, roma tomatoes, herbs and asiago cheese.

It has a nice thin crust and crisp on the outer edges, but the centre of it seemed a bit droopy. There wasn’t a lot of beef or sausage on top which I was a tad disappointed in. Despite that, they did balance the amount of toppings on the pizza so its not overly loaded.

Italian Fennel Sausage Artisan Flatbread Pizza is 10 inches and is bigger than their traditional flatbread pizzas.

It has organic tomato sauce, roasted local red bell peppers, Italian sausage, roasted garlic cloves, semi-dried roma tomatoes, caramelized red onions, Mozzafina Di Latte and Goat Cheese.

When we picked up a slice, all the toppings just slid off. The flatbread didn’t told all the toppings in place. The peppers seemed to weigh it down.

The pizzas were a hit and a miss. I love that they use local and organic ingredients, which made the meal a lot healthier that a regular pizza. I just felt the flat bread wasn’t crisp enough in the centre.

Baked Cheesecake with a Toasted Coconut base was a nice treat to end the meal.

Warm Double Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream was my favourite. You also can’t go wrong with this classic dessert.

The 3 course meal is a good deal since the pizzas are already more than $10.

We Rate Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co:

Address:
4186 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://rockymountainflatbread.ca/

In Coquitlam

Hearthstone Pizza: Build Your Own Pizza with Unlimited Toppings

September 17, 2015

Hearthstone Pizza is located in Port Coquitlam close to Michaels. They serve up thin crust pizza where you have the choice to build your own with unlimited amounts of toppings for a flat rate.

There are lots of seats in the shop, but all the magic happens up at the front counter.

You get to choose between 2 sizes – small ( 9 inch – $6.95) or regular (11 inch – $8.95). The ones pictured above are smalls. After you select your dough, you can choose any of their sauces, cheeses, meat and vegetables.

Sauce:
red sauce, white sauce, olive oil

Cheeses:
mozzarella, low-fat mozzarella, feta, ricotta, parmesan, blue cheese

Meats:
pepperoni, spicy pepperoni, grilled chicken, ham, meatballs, anchovies, italian sausage, bacon bits

Veggies:
mushrooms, pineapples, spinach, garlic, red onions, green onion, black olives, tomatoes, banana peppers, red peppers, green peppers, basil, jalapeno, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, zucchini, onions, capers, cilantro

Post-bake sauces:
pesto, hot sauce, EVOO, roasted red peppers, black pepper, BBQ sauce

They evenly distribute the toppings so each slice will have a taste of each topping. We piled on a lot of toppings, but they did a good job making sure it would still be enjoyable without a mound of toppings.

Once its all put together, you get to sit back, relax, and watch your pizza bake in the 600 degree open hearth wood stone oven. It takes about 4 minutes to bake.

Once it comes out of the oven, the crust is crispy with a slight char. You can ask them to have less char, but we asked them to keep it in longer so it can get really crispy. I love a good crispy crust.

Meat Lover pizza has pepperoni, meatballs, mozzarella and red sauce. It could have used a bit more meat, but if you overload it with toppings, the centre will go limp and soggy.

I like their signature pizza selection since you don’t have to build it yourself. I am indecisive sometimes, so it stresses me out building a pizza since I don’t really know what would go together.

Margherita Pizza has tomatoes, garlic, basil, mozzarella, and red sauce. We chose this as it is always a good baseline of how a pizza tastes. Of course it isn’t an authentic margherita pizza, but it was ok. I wasn’t a fan of the tomato slices.

This pizza was made by Sherman, he went with white sauce, mozzarella, blue cheese, chicken, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, artichokes, basil, bacon bits, and pesto. This combination was a lot better than what I built, I think because of the white sauce.

I went with the red sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, Italian sausage, mushrooms, pesto, meatballs and olive oil.

Overall, I enjoyed the pizza. I’m a sucker for thin crispy pizza. It’s not authentic Neapolitan pizza, but they aren’t trying to be like that. I enjoyed the experience and it was good. I can imagine it would be fun bringing kids here so they can build their own meal with all the silly topping combinations that they can come up with.

We Rate Hearthstone Pizza:

Address:
2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam

Website:
http://hearthstonepizza.com/

In Dessert

Bella Gelateria: Gelato in Yaletown

May 28, 2015

Bella Gelateria has opened their second location right in Yaletown by Marinaside. Bella Gelateria is best known for the award-winning gelato. Maestro James makes sure all the gelato is made to the finest quality.

They have the usual gelato, plus they have a whole food menu and dining area. A huge difference from their first location in Coal Harbour.

I came here just for some quick gelato, so we paid first, then we could go up the counter area to start tasting a few flavours that intrigued us.

On a quiet weekday, the staff are very attentive and have patience to go over some suggested flavours. Sometimes its hard deciding what you want. On a busy day, the experience will be quite different for sure.

Buko Pandan is a Filipino dessert that has the flavour combination of young coconut, green gulaman, nata de coco, sweet cream and pandan. It was a flavour that really intrigued me, so I usually end up getting it.

Stracciatella is M’s favourite. It’s a milk based gelato with shreds of chocolate bits. Very clean taste and pretty addicting if you want something simple. M had to have it with chocolate drizzle and the wafer cookie.

Overall, it’s a great treat for the hot Summer. Plus, since its right by the marina, you can’t help but eat this as you walk along the seawall.

We Rate Bella Gelateria Yaletown:

Address:
1089 Marinaside Crescent,
Vancouver

Website:
http://bellagelateria.com/yaletown/

In Downtown

Pizza Fabrika: Pizza for the People

April 6, 2015

Pizza Fabrika is located on Denman Street close to the West End. To go with their artisan pizza, they serve a variety of craft beers. I came here for a Zomato MeetUp event to enjoy some delicious food and meet some foodies.

The inside has 2 long tables, which are great for groups. They have smaller tables for 2 -4 people.

Beer Bison Meatballs ($8) is served with tomato sauce, gremolata & Grana Padano. There’s about 25% pork and 75% bison meat in the meatballs to give it the firm and unique taste.

Mac and Cheese was cheesy and full of flavour. It is topped with gremolata.

Beet Salad ($6) has herb ricotta and walnuts on top. It was a pretty good salad. Good for before the meal of pizza that we were about to devour.

Arugula Salad ($6) is topped with toasted pine nuts, yellow tomato dressing, and shaved Grana Padano. A simple and light salad.

Lamb Sausage Pizza topped with arugula.

Margherita Fabrika Pizza has tomatoes, fior di latte, and fresh basil. I had high hopes for this pizza, but the topping just fell off the pizza and didn’t hold together well.

Pesto Pizza with yellow pepper, tomato, and goat cheese. It’s a vegetarian option, but I just loved the pesto! Who doesn’t love pesto.

Dark Matter Pizza is their featured pizza and it has sausage made with Dark Matter Ale beer, braised short ribs, and sautéed mushrooms. Yummy flavour!

Overall, the topping had a great flavour, but some of the pizza’s were quite soft in the centre and didn’t hold well together. Sometimes we needed a knife and fork to eat it.

We Rate Pizza Fabrika:

Address:
1680 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.pizzafabrika.ca/

In Gluten Free Options

Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar: Fresh Made Pasta

November 30, 2014

Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar specializes in pasta even though they are a pizzeria. All the pasta is made in-house and they also have gluten-free options. They are located in Kitsilano near Burrard and West 5th Avenue. There is street parking and underground parking as well.

The interior has the open kitchen where you can see them putting your dishes together or firing up your pizza in their oven. There are lots of tables to accommodate small to large groups.

Burrata Cicheto was served on a spoon and also has tomato jam, balsamic pearls, pistachio, pink peppercorn and mint. It was a delicious bite that left us wanting more.

I still prefer their regular burrata dish, its so good!

Truffled Fettuccine has funghi misti, truffle oil and pecorino romano. It was a good dish and not too over powering with the truffle oil. Good balance of flavours. I am a huge fan of mushrooms, so this dish really was eaten quite quickly. nom nom nom nom nom. The Fettuccine noodles were cooked al dente.

Risotto Di Bufala has mozzarella di bufala, over dried tomatoes, thyme, cashews, and arugula pesto. I love creamy risotto! Carbalicious! It was really good. Mmm Mmm Mmm

Handcut pappardelle served with tender rabbit, roasted tomatoes, California black olives, white wine, pecorino cheese, arugula and olio al tartufo.

Yes, they serve rabbit and it tastes like chicken. Maybe you were better off not knowing what protein is in this dish. It was good and adventurous to those who have not tried rabbit before.

Braised Beef Cheek Ravioli has onion confit, black pepper and tarragon cream sauce, and orange zest. The one thing that threw me off about this dish is the orange zest. The ravioli were large and stuffed with a good amount of beef.

Sausage Orrechiette has fennel pollen, allepo pepper, and parmigiano reggiano. This was M’s favourite because of the chunks of sausage.

Sicilian Cannoli has bufalo ricotta, citrus oil, orange blossom water and pistachios. Delicious cannoli and its the perfect size.

Overall, Nova has a good variety of pasta on their menu with unique ingredients.

We Rate Novo Pizzeria:

Address:
2118 Burrard Street
Vancouver

Website:
http://www.novopizzeria.com/

In Italian

Buca Osteria & Enoteca: Pasta, Pizza and Pig Ears

November 7, 2014

After touching down in Toronto, Flo and I went to Buca on King Street for dinner. It’s been a few years since I’ve been here but I will remember they had some pretty damn good Italian food. They have 2 more locations Buca Bar and Buca Yorkville.

Like always, remember to make reservations or else you will be out of luck. We managed to snag a reservation on Open Table at 6pm a day before due to cancellations.

We were seated in their wine room and it was really beautiful seeing all their varieties of wine.

There are lots of tables and seats in the area. It’s much more calm and relaxing here compared to their main dining area.

Peroni is served in a large wine glass. I never felt more sophisticated drinking beer out of this glass. I like Peroni because it’s light with a hint of citrus.

We chose two types of their Salumi Di Buca, which are their daily meat.

Prosciuttini, which is a cured leg of pork with colonata spice.
Coppa, cured pork shoulder with ciociare spice

Then we got 2 of their formaggi, which are their cheeses:

Ricotta Di Bufala, is their whipped water buffalo milk whey cheese
Pecorino Toscano, Tuscan DOP Sheeps milk cheese, aged 8 years

All the the choices were great and they came with their daily preserves. It’s a fun item to pick a few meats and cheeses and enjoy a good chat with friends while picking at the plate.

Gnocco Fritto ($7) are Tuscan spiced crisp dumpling. It is basically a big dumpling that is hollow. It is served with lardo, which is basically fat.

I thought it was an average dish. It looks beautiful, but I didn’t like the idea of eating fat and deep fried hollow dumplings.

Orecchio Di Maiale ($8) is a great dish to share. It is crisp pig’s ears with wild fennel and sale di cervia. It is so crispy and is music to my ears. It was good for the first few pieces, but it did get quite salty after a while.

Fungi Pizza ($24) has sauteed seasonal mushrooms, marscarpone, gorgonzola and marjoram. This pizza was quite rich and heavy. The mushrooms didn’t shine through as it was overpowered by the various cheeses.

Bigoli ($18) has torchio-cranked duck egg pasta, duck offal ragu, venetian spices, mascarpone, and basil . The portion was small for the price, but it tasted good.

Their food is pretty good but you have to choose the dishes carefully. Here is my last visit from 2012. I do like the atmosphere of Buca and it is quite lively.

We Rate Buca:

Address:
602 King Street W.
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://buca.ca/

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In Italian

The Rolling Dough: New Pizza Place in Burnaby

September 21, 2014

The Rolling Dough is a new pizza place in North Burnaby, which opened on August 2014. I often go to Gaya Sushi next door, so I was quite curious to try this place out when it opened. M and I came here to grab takeout for lunch as we noticed they had a few promotional deals going on. We ordered 2 medium pizzas and it took about 20 minutes to be completed. We called ahead of time so we didn’t have to wait.

Inside the store is their large stone pizza oven that they use to make all their pizza.

Making lots of pizza all day everyday, except on Sundays.

They have 3 sizes of pizzas – 8″, 12″ and 14″. They roll our their dough everyday and try to use local produce where possible. Nothing is frozen or premade.

There are a few seats inside and outside, but most people do takeout.

M and I did a pick up order since we wanted to eat it at home. Too bad they don’t deliver.

The Rolling Dough Chicken (12″ – $18) has roasted chicken breast, monterey jack cheese, salsa verde, cilantro, and Feta Cheese on the thin crust.

Meat Lovers (12″ – $17.50) comes with ham, pepperoni and spicy Italian sausage on top of the thin crust.

Both pizzas were quite thin and did stay crispy after we took it home.

The toppings held together nicely and did not fall apart.

Taking a few bites of each pizza, it’s very different from Panago or Dominos. It’s much thinner crust and not as oily. The pizzas were average, but didn’t feel like they were worth the price because of their thin crust and you won’t get as full. Do keep an eye out for promos on their website as they do have some good deals. When we got 2 medium pizzas, the second one was 30% off.

If you are looking for a late night pizza joint, their hours are short and only open till 9pm.

We Rate The Rolling Dough:

Address:
2900 Bainbridge Ave
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://rollingdough.ca/

In Four Beakers

Pizzeria Farina: Amazing Pizza in Vancouver

September 14, 2014

Pizzeria Farina is located right by the entrance to Chinatown near the Viaducts. They open daily at 5pm and stays open until the dough runs out. This place is really close to my work and never open for lunch. Apparently they always run out of dough, around 8pm or 10pm depending on the day you’re here. They are also the same owners as Ask for Luigi and Pourhouse.

I came here with M, KoreanGirl and Scarface came here on a Friday after work to enjoy some great pizza. You can either eat in or take out.

The interior is quite small and cozy. You will find a communal dining table in the centre for 10 – 12 people.

The are also 2 tables of 2 and 4 seats by the window. So, that’s about 20 seats in total.

They have sparkling or still water on tap! Pretty awesome! I’ve slowly grown to like sparkling water, so it’s great you don’t have to pay for it.

They also have different sodas. We got Boylan Ginger Ale, Boylan Cane Cola and Brio Chinotto.

Margherita ($12) has tomato sauce, mozzarella, olive oil and basil. It was basic, but it was so good! The dough was thin and crispy with the perfect amount of toppings. I could eat this all day! Highly Recommended!

Funghi ($15) has Mushrooms, mozzarella, parmesan, red onions, garlic and arugula. The edges were a bit burnt, but this pizza was good too. It was crispy at first, but if you do wait too long, it will get soggy in the centre because of all the cheese.

Special ($15) has tomato sauce with prosciutto cotto, pancetta, parmesan, fior de latte & fresh basil. Mmm that pancetta was really good on the pizza.

They also have Chili Infused Olive Oil and Oregano Infused Olive Oil for the pizza. The chili one is quite hot, so don’t have too much. But, it is really good.

Overall, Pizzeria Farina has amazing pizza! I would definitely recommend it. Start with the Margherita Pizza as that is the best one! MMmmmm mmmmmm this place is really good! One of the best pizzeria’s in Vancouver.

We Rate Pizzeria Farina:

Address:
915 Main Street
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.pizzeriafarina.com/

In Four Beakers

Ask For Luigi: Addictive Pasta in Vancouver

September 12, 2014

There is one place I love to take guests to in Vancouver, that place is Ask For Luigi. They just have very good freshly made pasta every night. When M’s relatives were in town, I took them here since I knew it would be a hit with them. Plus, it’s really hard to get good pasta in Korea. I wanted to blow their taste buds away.

As usual, I made a reservation a week in advance for 5:30pm on Saturday. I always find they have quick and efficient service right at the beginning of dinner time.

Pappardelle and Duck Ragu ($19) is one of my favourites. Order this now!

Luigi’s meatballs ($14) is a great starter and you can add any amount of additional meatballs if you don’t have the exact amount for the table. We had to add one more onto this plate. It comes with some toasted bread on the side. Mmmm it’s one of my favourite meatballs I’ve ever had! It is very flavourful and has a nice texture with the added pinenuts.

Saffron Risotto and Clams ($18) is another wonderful dish! The clams were fresh and of course had a lot of flavour packed into them. When you eat it with the creamy risotto, it’s just heavenly.

Tagliatelle, Fennel Sausage & Rapini ($18) had bits of sausage dispersed throughout the dish. Yum.

Spaghetti Nero, Octopus and Jalapeno ($18) has an odd look to it, but trust me, it’s was another amazing dish. The octopus was tender and very enjoyable.

Overall, it was another great dinner at Ask for Luigi and I would highly recommend it…as long as you are willing to make reservations ahead of time or have to wait in line for a table.

We Rate Ask for Luigi:

Address:
305 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.askforluigi.com/

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In Cafe

Pazzo Chow: New Italian Restaurant in Chinatown

July 16, 2014

Pazzo Chow is the newest restaurant to open up in Chinatown. They serve up Italian food in their cosy little restaurant.

You can expect home-cooked Italian food for takeout or eating in the restaurant. They also serve espresso, homemade focaccia bread, salads, snacks, Brown Paper Packages Ice Cream, etc.

I came here with my coworkers – Janers and Mags to check this cute place out.

The space is really small. So there is one table inside and 2 table outside. It’s not a place for large groups.

The menu changes daily, so you never know what will be featured on the menu.

While you wait, there are a few items you can purchase from their grocery section.

They have carefully selected range of local and Italian-made and inspired goods that allow them to share their love of good food and great products with their customers.

The owners select fine quality products that have rich history and are not easily, if at all, found elsewhere in Vancouver. Many of the products are used in their menu too.

Fresh Focaccia with Nutella ($2) we got them to cut it up into 3 pieces since Janers and Mags wanted to share. It was a good decision to share since there is only so much Nutella we handle for lunch. They did not skimp on the nutella and there was tons of it! Yum Yum Yum!

We found that the salt on the focaccia balanced very well with the sweet nutella.

Bowl of Fresh pasta with focaccia ($8) had a few sauces to choose from. The pasta was al dente and was a good size for lunch.

Spinach with BBQ Pork, walnuts and water chestnuts ($7.50) was one of their featured salads. It looked amazing, but I felt there was a but too much sauce for the salad, so at the bottom, the leaves were drenched.

Salted Pistachio ($4.25/scoop) the ice cream was very smooth and the addition of the salted pistachio were delicious.

Janers and Mags didn’t want me to write about Pazzo Chow because they feared this little gem would be packed at lunch. But, in true blogger style, I had to share this little restaurant with my amazing readers. Pazzo Chow is a nice place to stop for a quick lunch if you work around this area.

We Rate Pazzo Chow:

Address:
620 Quebec Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://pazzochow.com/

In Italian

Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar: Burrata and Creme Brulee

June 23, 2014

Novo Pizzeria is located in Kitsilano near Burrard and West 5th Avenue. There is street parking and underground parking as well. Novo Pizzeria serves up Neapolitan pizza created in their wood burning oven. Owner Carmine Paradiso opened Novo in 2011 because he loves Neapolitan pizza and couldn’t find any authentic ones in Vancouver.

M and I decided to give Novo a try after work one day. We have been to a bunch of other pizza places in town and wanted to see what people were talking about.

The interior has a comfortable and relaxed setting. You ca see the open kitchen at the back of the restaurant. It’s pretty fun to see them making pizza and preparing all the other dishes.

Burrata ($14) is served with arugula, oven-dried tomatoes, and house made bread. Oh boy, was this delicious! It had a soft texture, so, when you put it on the bread, it just oozes all over it. Highly recommended.

Sicilian Meatballs ($10) also is packed with currants, pine nuts then topped with reggiano and marinara sauce. The meatball were a nice size, but M thought it was just an average meatball. Nothing is noticeably different.

Ravioli ($19) has roasted pecans, gorgonzola pear balsamic cream sauce, and prosciutto.

I wasn’t a fan of the dish because it was rich and had a sweet taste. When you take a bite with prosciutto, it helps cut away the sweetness.

Novo DOP Margherita Pizza ($20) is made with DOP (denominazione di Origine Protetta) marked ingredients. These items have been made it it’s traditional ways to set a high quality of standards of produce in Europe.

This pizza is made with imported DOP San Marzano tomatoes, DOP Bufalo mozzarella from the Campania region of Italy, basil, Frantori Cutrera DOP, cold extracted olive oil, DOP parmigiano reggiano, and pesto.

Clearly, there is a lot of love and passion for quality ingredients that went into this pizza. You can really taste the freshness of the ingredients.

Tartufo ($21) has fior di latte, truffled mushrooms, fennel sausage, and truffled oil. This pizza was ok and I was surprised it didn’t have a strong truffle taste.

You can ask for chili oil for your pizza. It’s not spicy, but it adds a bit more flavour to the pizza.

Toasted Hazelnut Creme Brulee ($9) has Frangelico ganache under the creme brulee, rosemary and pinenut cookies, and a orange granita. Best creme brulee that I’ve ever had! The flavours were great and I could eat this over and over again.

Cappuccino was ordered at the end of the meal to finish off the evening.

Overall, there were items that were a hit and a miss. I didn’t find their staple items – pizza or pasta exciting. But, this is based off the few items I tried. My most favourite items are the burrata and the toasted hazelnut Creme Brulee!

We Rate Novo Pizzeria:

Address:
2118 Burrard Street
Vancouver

Website:
http://www.novopizzeria.com/

In Italian

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria: Pizzetta Lunch Special

June 22, 2014

I never take many trips to South Surrey, but while I was in the area, my coworker took us to Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria in Morgan Crossing for lunch. I’ve been to the Commercial Drive location a few years ago and I remember the pizzas being pretty decent.

Once you are seated, there are menus at the table. You will find pencils and note pads on the table to write down your order. It helps you remember you are ordering when you go up to the counter.

I always thought this was a weird concept that you would have to go up to the counter to take your order and pay. Why can’t they just come and take your order? It’s part of their service-style across all their locations. I personally find that it just cheapens the experience.

Pizzetta is their lunch special and you can choose from a small pizza, which is half the size of their regular pizzas with an optional side.

I chose the Don Andreas pizza and the Napoli Salad ($12).

Don Andreas pizza is recently new on their spring and summer menu. It has creme fraiche, fior-di-latte, roasted chicken, corn and chipotle salsa, avocado, chopped cilantro, lime wedge, and served with a side of Valentina hot sauce.

Napoli Salad has field greens, ripe cherry tomatoes, diced red onions, carrots, chickpeas, and a balsamic vinaigrette.

Having the salad and the pizzetta was a good size for lunch. The quality of the food was pretty average.

We Rate Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria:

Address:
15865 Croydon Dr Surrey BC

Website:
http://www.famoso.ca/

In Cafe

Dolce Amore Gelateria: Artisan Gelato on The Drive

June 20, 2014

The Drive has a lot of amazing shops and most importantly delicious treats. Dolce Amore Gelateria is a family run business and is now run by the fourth generation of the Grippo family. They also sell pies, sorbetto and cakes.

I was on Commercial Drive for a special event for work, so I decided to stop in here for some gelato with a few friends. Best decision ever. The summer sun is best paired with a few scoops of gelato.

The shop isn’t very large and does have limited seating, but since it’s a nice day in the Summer, you’ll probably want to be out in the sun on The Drive. There’s a good amount of flavours and treats to purchase in the shop.

Peanut Butter Gelato in a waffle cone was really good. The peanut butter taste is strong and the fragrant peanut butter really shined through. Also, there were little bits of peanuts in it. The quality is definitely there.

If you are on The Drive, stop by Dolce Amore Gelateria for some cold treats.

We Rate Dolce Amore Gelateria:

Address:
1590 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://gelateriadolceamore.com/