Italian Archives - Page 3 of 4

In Four Beakers

Ask For Luigi: Dining on Mothers Day

June 6, 2014

Ask For Luigi is located in Gastown and has pretty awesome fresh pasta. My sisters and I came here for Mothers Day and we were fortunate enough to get a reservation. We made the reservation a few weeks prior just to avoid disappointment. This is my second visit as I really enjoyed my first visit.

When we got there at 5:30pm, there was a large line up. A handful of people didn’t have reservations, so some of them were lucky to get a seat and other had to come back later in the evening.

I would try to get a reservation, if not, put your name down and just head to a close lounge/bar for a drink. A good option is the Alibi Room.

Beef Carpaccio ($14) was the special for the night and it had garlic chips, capers, and a few other ingredients. Sprinkle some lemon on top and its quite delicious.

Anchovies & Eggs ($9) comes with 4 slices of bread, and the eggs with anchovies.

It’s a pretty neat dish and strangely visually appealing. The egg with the soft creamy yolk, anchovies, and roe. Eggs on Egg!

Luigi’s Meatballs ($14) comes with 3 pieces and toasted bread. These were a good size and perfect for sharing around the table.

Risotto ($17) has asparagus and topped with a piece of smoked sablefish. I think this is the most beautiful risotto I have ever eaten. This was really good!

Pappardelle and Duck Ragu ($19) is always a hit. It’s not too salty and is also quite addictive. You must order this.

Gluten-Free Pasta with pancetta, chilies & tomato sauce was what my little sister ordered. She’s celiac, so we were glad they had the option on the menu. It was ok, but not as exciting as the other pasta dishes.

Tagliatelle, fennel sausage & rapin ($18) was another pasta we had and it was good too!

Olive Oil Cake ($8) has slices of candied oranges on the bottom and topped with ricotta cheese, basil and a drizzle of olive oil. It was delicious!

Overall, the whole family was very happy with all the dishes and they could not stop eating. For the best experience, I would suggest making reservations at 5:30pm for their first seating as the service is fast and won’t disappoint.

We Rate Ask for Luigi:

Address:
305 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC

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

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=305+Alexander+St&sll=49.2844485,-123.0976786&sspn=0.0053748,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=305+Alexander+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+1C4&z=16 “]

In Downtown/Ryerson University

Scaddabush: Italian Kitchen and Bar in Toronto

May 20, 2014

An Easter Long Weekend in Toronto means a lot of people leave town, but M and I came to visit some friends, but realized a lot of restaurants were closed or fully booked with reservations. Looking at Open Table to see what was available, we got curious about Scaddabush on Younge Street. They also have a another location in Mississauga.

The are an Italian restaurant serving up meatballs, pasta, fresh mozzarella, and pizza.

The interior looked pretty cool. It’s also great for large groups because we saw a huge group come here for a birthday party. Maybe about 25 people.

They make all their Mozzarella in-house from 5pm – 11pm. They even tell you exactly who made it. It’s a nice personal touch. There is also a window where you can watch them make it.

Buratta ($11.98) is infused with honey and truffle cream, comes with focaccia crostini.

Straight Up Meatball comes shareable on focaccia crostini, cheese sauce, garlic chips, and fresh basil.It is about half a pound.

You have two choices to choose from:

Straight-Up Meatball (Classic) $12.28
Straight-Up Meatball (Stuffed) $12.68

Straight-Up Stuffed Meatball ($12.68) it is stuffed with pepperoni and mozzarella. Theres a good amount of pepperoni inside.

Italian Burger ($14.92) has certified Angus Beef, bruschetta, baby arugula, fried fresh mozzarella, balsamic reduction, pesto aïoli, and served on artisanal bread. You get your choice of side and Fabo chose fries.

Bolognese (Small: $11.97) has fresh fettuccine, classic Northern Italian meat sauce, and lemon herbed ricotta. There are two more additional sizes – Large ($14.97) and Social ($26.20).

The bolognese was ok, a decent amount of meat, but it’s not overflowing with sauce. The server warned me about this dish because a few people have complained saying there wasn’t enough sauce. I found there was a perfect amount of sauce.

Veal Parmesan ($18.92) is panko breadcrumb crusted, melted fresh mozzarella, special spices, served with spaghetti with tomato basil sauce. You can also get chicken parmesan for $18.24.

This dish was quite expensive for what you get and the quality was ok.

Pesto Pollo (Small – $13.97) has fresh fettuccine, sautéed chicken, baby spinach, semi sun-dried tomatoes, and basil pesto cream sauce. There are also two sizes available too – Large ($17.77) and Social ($31.10).

Overall, fun atmosphere with friends, but food and service was average.

We Rate Scaddabush:

Address:
382 Yonge St Unit #7
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.scaddabush.com/

In Four Beakers

Ask for Luigi: Yummy Pasta in Gastown

March 15, 2014

Ask for Luigi is a casual Italian-inspired restaurant serving up fresh handmade pasta. It is located in Railtown where the old 2 Chefs a Table until they closed the location. There is some free parking in the area.

The way you order is family-style, so all dishes are meant to be shared among the table. The appetizers arrive first and then the pasta dishes quickly follow. They have some gluten-free option available each day. They also do take-out too.

FoodQueen and I tried making a reservation on a Wednesday for a Sunday dinner and all their reservations were all gone. But, they said to come at 5:30pm and we would have a high chance at getting a spot.

It was 5:29pm and there were already people inside with 70% of the tables occupied. By 5:45pm, this place was packed! Not a single seat was left. People are crazy about their pasta. Some people have indicated that they had to wait over an hour for a table. Best to come early or attempt to make a reservation.

Fried Cauliflower & Aioli ($10) is their most popular appetizer. It reminded me of Nuba’s Najib’s Special. Really good!

Bocconcini Fritti ($9) is a vegetarian dish and its is essentially deep-fried cheese balls.

Oh boy, was it ooey and gooey with the cheese super stringy and dripping out.

Beef Carpaccio ($14) is topped was many different ingredients and sauces. It was our favourite appetizer. It’s a bit hard to taste the real flavour of the beef with all the fragrant toppings, but it was still very enjoyable.

Pappardelle & Duck Ragu ($19) was the pasta that we ordered. The thick pasta they used was perfect and it latched onto the sauce. The shreds of duck was yummy and tender.

Overall, FoodQueen and I enjoyed our dinner. The service was good and the food came quite quickly. We were all done within an hour. We were glad we came early so we didn’t have to wait in line.

We Rate Ask for Luigi:

Address:
305 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC

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

In Insadong

Pomodoro 뽀모도로: Spaghetti in Insadong

December 10, 2013

Our last night in Seoul, we headed to the Insadong area to have some pasta at Pomodoro. M’s sister recommended that we come have some delicious pasta here. She came here a few years ago and recall that it was good.

The space inside is small, so there isn’t a large amount of seats.

Below is their full menu. There’s English, so you won’t have a hard time ordering at all.

Complimentary Pickles and Jalapeños arrive at the table before the meal. It’s customary in Korean meals to have side dishes free of charge. These items were nothing special, but it’s something you can munch on while waiting for your meal.

Insalta mista di stagione (6,500 won) was a strange salad. It had sprouts at the top, greens, cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and corn.

Spaghetti alla carbonara (14,500 won) has bacon and cream sauce.

Penne alla Fiesolana e Melanzane (13,000 won) has mozzarella cheese, eggplant and a tomato basil sauce.

Risotto alla Funghi (15,500 won) is Italian style rice with mushrooms and cream sauce. This dish was quite large and very very rich. I had a hard time eating it as it was quite salty.

Spaghetti ca carni capuliata (15,500 won) has chicken and vegetables in a tomato sauce.

Overall, all the pastas were ok. The food here was pretty expensive and you can get a lot better Korean food with that money. Perhaps something changed over the years because M’s sister also said it wasn’t as good as before.

We Rate Pomodoro:

Address:
6 Gwanhun-dong (28-1 Insadong-gil)
Jongno-gu, Seoul
South Korea

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=%EC%84%9C%EC%9A%B8%ED%8A%B9%EB%B3%84%EC%8B%9C+%EC%A2%85%EB%A1%9C%EA%B5%AC+%EA%B4%80%ED%9B%88%EB%8F%99+6+02-732-6040&ie=UTF8&t=m&hnear=6+Gwanhun-dong,+Jongno-gu,+Seoul,+South+Korea+(28-1+Insadong-gil)&z=14 “]

In American

Chicago Food Planet Tours: Gold Coast & Old Town Food Tour

October 4, 2013

I had a week in Chicago and it’s quite hard to eat everything. There’s only so many restaurants I can go to in one day. I contemplated for a long time if I should take a food tour or not. 7 restaurants in 3 hours is always enticing for a foodie for $50.

Chicago Food Planet Food Tours offered a tour of Gold Coast and Old Town‘s best eats. It’s a cool neighbourhood, but the only reason I went on the tour was to try a slice of deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s. I really didn’t want to eat a whole pizza to myself or eat alone.

We explored:

Lou Malnati’s
Delightful Pastries
Kamehachi Old Town
The Fudge Pot
The Spice House
Old Town Oil
Tea Gschwendner

The group was only 16 people, so it was a nice decent size. What made me feel awkward was that everyone else came to the tour as a group or a couple. It made me feel like an awkward turtle.

Lou Malnati’s

Our first stop was Lou Malnati’s for their famous deep dish pizza. This was the starting point of the tour. They are an iconic Chicago-Style Deep Dish pizzeria. It’s been around since 1971.

All 16 of us sat down and started beginning chowing down on our meal.

We began with a salad.

Then the deep dish pizza! So satisfying and the crust is so crispy. Definitely the highlight of the tour.

Tea Gschwendner

We then walked a short distance to Tea Gschwendner. They are Europe’s leading specialty loose Green, Black, Oolong and White teas merchant and have been around since 1987.

We were given a little lesson about different types of tea and how to make tea.

Iced tea was given to everyone as a refresher after the yummy pizza. As it was a hot summer we definitely needed.

We then headed into Old Town and was told about the history of some notable buildings and history.

Kamehachi Old Town

Kamehachi Old Town is Chicago’s first Japanese-style restaurant, sake cafe and sushi bar . It has been around since 1967.

We had 2 types of maki rolls, but only 2 pieces. It was ok, but not great. Coming from Vancouver, this doesn’t even compare to what good sushi is like.

The Fudge Pot

The Fudge pot is Chicago’s oldest chocolate confectioner, butter toffee and home-made fudge shop. They have been around since 1963 making delicious sweets.

We were taken to their kitchen to hear the history of the Fudge Pot and their production.

The butter toffee samples we received were pretty awesome. So addictive.

Spice Merchants

We then stopped by the world-famous merchant of hand-prepared spices, blends and artisan seasonings. Once you step close to the door of this place, you’ll definitely smell the amazing flavours. It’s quite strong stuff.

They have hundreds of spices! They have even made their own special blends. You can probably find any spice you’re looking for.

We looked around the shop and then taken to the back to get a lesson on different spices, best ways to store spices and how to get the most flavourful spices. Interesting stop on this tour, but we only smelled spices.

Old Town Oil

Old Town Oil is America’s premiere supplier of aged balsamic vinegars and 100% extra-virgin olive oils. I’ve never seen so many tins of olive oil and balsamic vinegar before.

We were able to try all the flavours we wanted. Interesting flavours.

We continued walking around the neighbourhood and heard more about the history.

Delightful Pastries

Our last stop of the tour was at Delightful Pastries. It’s an authentic Polish-European bakery serving pastries, pierogies and pies.

Two Macaroons

Two different types of perogies.

The Chicago Food Planet Tour of Old Town and Gold Coast was fun and enjoyable, but if you are a hardcore foodie, a majority of the places aren’t super amazing. The shops are unique and have a long history, but it won’t keep you coming back. Especially if you are a local.

As a tourist, it was a good use of 3 hours to visit so many shops and restaurants, plus learn a little bit of history in these 2 areas. The 2 restaurants that stood out to me was Lou Malnati’s and The Fudge Pot. Mmmm pizza and chocolate.

Our tour guide was great! He was funny and was very personable to each person on the tour.

Website: http://www.chicagofoodplanet.com/tours/near-north-food-tour/

In Gastown

Pizzeria Ludica: Pizza and Board Games

September 15, 2013

On the outside, it still looks like the late Verace Pizzeria. It recently changed ownership and is now Pizzeria Ludica. They opened last week but did not publicly announce it to test the waters. M and I work close by and pass by all the time. When I saw Verace Pizzeria was closed, I was a bit sad, but on the door it said Pizzeria Ludica is opening in its place.

Don’t let the exterior fool you, they just haven’t gotten their new signs yet.

The interior looks similar too.

What makes them different than the other pizzerias is that they have over 500 board games. It’s all on the back wall. They have the usual board games to more unique games that places like Walmart or Target won’t have. Their collection is quite impressive.

M regularly plays board games so he found it cool that there were so many he hasn’t heard of. There’s no extra change to play games.

They are also happy to teach people new games to play. Very insightful staff!

They even have simple games for kids too. Definitely a great place to take your family.

M and I played Smash Up while we waited for our order. Lets just say, I kick ass in board games and I beat M. It’s quite a fun game.

While we were playing the game, the food all arrived. I must say, it was a challenge eating pizza, drinking, and playing games.

The menu items are similar to Verace.

Limonata Al Mosmario has freshly squeezed lemons, rosemary and soda.

Menabrea Beer ($5.50) was pretty good and had a bit of citrus notes in the beer.

Proscuitto Cotto e Funghi ($12.99) comes with mozzarella, ham and mushrooms. It was good, but need some more of a mushroom punch.

Margherita ($10.99) was one of the specials of the day. It is served with plum tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, finished with grana padano, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

The pizza was a good size, good for individual or sharing at about 12 inches. The quality was alright, but there could be more improvements. The basil was sparse and didn’t seem very fresh as it could be.

There are 3 types of oils you can dip with your pizza – chili oil, rosemary oil and garlic oil. My favourite was the garlic.

Overall, great concept with good quality board games. The pizza could use a bit of improvement since the pizza was a bit soggy in the centre and would flop over when eating. It’s quite hard eating it by hand, perhaps a knife and fork would be better. But, I’ve heard thats the style of Neapolitan pizza. I just prefer my pizza to be a bit more crunchy.

We Rate Pizzeria Ludica:

Address:
189 Keefer Pl
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.ludica.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=189+Keefer+Pl,+Vancouver,+BC+V6B+0J1&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=189+Keefer+Pl,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+0J1&z=16 “]

In Four Beakers

Trilussa Pizza & Pane: Thin Square Pizza

August 11, 2013

Trilussa Pizza and Pane is located on Main Street near 28th ave. They serve up authentic Roman pizza and uses fresh ingredients that make the pizza taste great.

Alessandro Fonseca is the owner and the creator of the pizzas. Very friendly staff here too.

Our department at work decided to do a mini food crawl during the afternoon at Trilussa. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place because it’s so cozy…plus they have good pizza.

One thing you just have to get is the pizza. The prices are quite fair and all under $10.

Once you look at their counter full of the thin crust pizza, I am sure you mouth will start drooling.

They have a pretty cool way of cutting the pizza, so you won’t find triangle slices, but you will have squares.

Trastevere on the right has pancetta, mozzarella and pecorino cheese. Really good and goooey.

Garbatella has sausage, tomatoes and mozzarella.

Margherita has the tomato and mozzarella. It’s very simple, but is really good.

Attilio on the right side of the board has mushrooms and mozzarella. Simple, but really good!! This was my favourite because I love mushrooms.

Overall, the pizza was pretty good! I’ll definitely be back again. If you’re a fan of thin crust pizza and want to try something different, take a visit to Trilussa.

We Rate Trilussa Pizza and Pane:

Address:
4363 Main Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://trilussa.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=4363+Main+St,+Vancouver,+BC+V5V+3P9&sll=49.178436500000004,-123.1360005&sspn=0.3447883506423936,0.7033394507619536&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=4363+Main+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5V+3P9&z=16″]

In Italian

Anton’s Pasta: Stuffed Pasta

March 26, 2013

Another late night meal at Anton’s Pasta. There’s not too many late night places in this area. M and I like to come here for the amount food. Rawr we’re monsters. We have never finished a whole plate nor would be ever try. We usually eat part of it and then save leftovers for breakfast and lunch….and sometimes dinner.

It’s usually busy, but we come pretty late around 9pm. There’s still lots of people inside but at least there are no line ups out the door.

Complementary Bread arrives at the table as you wait for your dish. When you’re super hungry, you’ll probably eat a fair amount of bread, but it definitely fills you up before your pasta arrives. I usually just nibble on the bread and just wait till the pasta arrives.

Spinach Tortellini Napoletana ($16.95) contains spinach tortellini stuffed with ricotta cheese in a fresh basil tomato sauce. It was the first time I ordered stuffed pasta and it was alright. The sauce isn’t as addictive as their specialty pastas. There was a lot of tortellini, but I kinda prefer their other pastas.

Tondi Don Vincenzo ($16.95) has romano cheese & garlic stuffed pasta in a cream garlic parsley sauce with diced onions. The creamy garlic sauce was good!

Overall, the stuffed pasta is definitely different that their speciality pastas. Yet again, it’s not the best pasta, but its alright. People come here for the large quantities.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking near TD Bank
Long line ups during peak hours
Large variety of pastas
No debit, they only accept credit and cash

We Rate Anton’s Past Bar:

Address:

4260 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.antonspastabar.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4260+Hastings+St+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4260+Hastings+St,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5C+2J7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Italian

Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria: Italian Restaurant in North Burnaby

October 1, 2012

Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria is a new restaurant located in North Burnaby. Anducci’s used to be in the same location. They serve italian cuisine with authentic Neapolitan pizza and classic Italian dishes. It’s a nice change to have more restaurant like these in the area. There is available parking in front and around the adjacent streets.

I came with Lensflaaare and Flo to chill after a long day.

I ordered a beer as it was a nice day out on the patio. What better way to de-stress with some beer.

Limoncello was very tiny like a shot. We thought it would be more like a cocktail type of drink since it was a bit expensive. Lensflaaare really tried to savour this drink.

Calamari Fritto ($11) is crispy fried squid with roasted roma tomato and salsa verde. It was crispy on the outside with alight batter. The squid was tender and delicious.

Gnocchi Patata (Small -$12) has fried potato gnocchi, Sloping Hill pancetta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, arugula, and herb oil. I really liked this dish because it was a different way the gnocchi was prepared. I’ve never had fried gnocchi before.

Papardelle Carbonara (Small-$12) has Two Rivers guanciale, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, roast garlic, and a 63 degree egg in the center. The egg really pulled the dish together nicely. The crunchy guanciale is really yummy!

Pizza Carne ($16) has guanciale, pancetta, sopressata, coppa, Grana Padano, and San Marzano tomato. I love meat, especially cured meats. The dough had bits where it was burnt and the center could have been more crunchy.

It didn’t come with olive oil or chilli oil, so we had to ask them to bring some over.

Overall, the food was good, but a bit pricey. My favorite items were definitely the pasta. It’s a great new addition to the neighbourhood!

We Rate Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria:

Address:
6011 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.cotto.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=6011+Hastings+St+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=6011+Hastings+St,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V5B+4A1&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Four Beakers

Mad For Garlic: Yummy Pizza from South Korea

August 30, 2012

I asked a friend where I should eat in Korea and she suggested Mad For Garlic. They have locations all over Korea as well as Singapore. They are an Italian restaurant that specializes in wine and garlic. It’s one of Korea’s most famous chain restaurants for the food and atmosphere.

The location I went to is located between Yeoksam and Gangnam station. The entrance is easy to miss as the whole restaurant is downstairs.

The inside has a very nice atmosphere with lots of wine bottles and wine glasses everywhere. I came here for lunch and the place filled up quickly. I am pretty sure they are quite busy during dinner times too.

Margarita Pizza has fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil. I had a craving for pizza when I saw it on the menu.

Theres a blob of cheese and a basil leaf on every slice. It was a simple pizza but it was really really good.

The pizza was thin and crunchy as well. Koreans sure know how to make good pizza.

They also give you some pickles on the side.

The pizza at Mad for Garlic was really good. Since it was just me, I didn’t get a chance to try any of the pasta or the garlic items on the menu. I’ll definitely be back in the future.

Words of Wisdom:

Delicious pizza and pasta
Good service
Can get busy during peak hours
Can be expensive compared to other food in Korea

We Rate Made For Garlic:

Address:
648-19, Yeoksam Dong, Gangnam Gu
Seoul, South Korea

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In Four Beakers

Eataly: Mario Batali’s Grocery Store in New York

July 5, 2012

Eataly is an Italian grocery store in New York and one of the owners is Mario Batali. It’s very large and you can find a lot of unique groceries and delicious eats! It is conveniently located across the street from the famous flatiron building! If you are planning to visit the flatiron, you must take a stroll through this building.

CanuckGirl and I wanted to have some lunch here and ended up buying so much more than just lunch! It’s a good place to buy some gifts like chocolate and cookies. I grabbed a bunch of random items and when we went back home and gave it to our friends and family, they loved it.

When you walk inside, you can have some gelato or some other random snack and desserts.It’s quite packed, you you may need to have a bit of patience.

If you love coffee, they have a coffee bar there too. All the servers are really nice and helpful.

They also have fresh cheese and meats. It’s a bit expensive, but they do have a lot of variety of produce.

As this is an Italian grocery store, you will definitely see a huge section just for pasta! I never knew there were so many different kinds and brands.

La Pizza and La Pasta

La Pizza and La Pasta is a little restaurant inside Eataly near the pasta section. At noon, there was a huge line up for this restaurant, but CanuckGirl and I were fortunate that we didn’t have to wait too long.

Told you it is right beside the pasta aisle.

Complementary Bread arrives at the table too. It’s all wrapped up.

Inside is the bread. The inside is soft and the outside a bit chewy.

Dry Pomegranate Soda was very delicious and not too sweet. It was a perfect drink since it was a pretty hot day in New York.

Pesto Lasagna ($16) has layers of pesto, pinenuts and cheese. It was a decent size for the price. CanuckGirl loved it.

Pansotti di Ricotta e Spinaci has housemade pasta with local ricotta, spinach, lemon butter and pistachio. I was in love with this. It was very simple yet the balance of flavour was fantastic! I would order this over and over again!

Words of Wisdom:

Long lines if in large groups
Awesome place to look at large varieties of produce.
A tad pricey
Makes great gifts

We Rate Eataly:

Address:
200 5th Ave
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.eataly.com/

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In Brooklyn

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria: Pizza in Brooklyn, NY

July 4, 2012

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria is located in Brooklyn and everyone basically raves about this place. It’s located under the Brooklyn bridge, so you can either walk there (amazing view) or subway it (not so amazing view since you’re underground). They also have other locations around the city too. We chose this one because we wanted to hit 2 birds with one stone and see the Brooklyn Bridge.

CanuckGirl and I love pizza and we basically had pizza at every city on our trip.

We went pretty early in the morning and there was a line outside. Apparently there is usually a line and it’s normal for it to go around the block.

The funny thing is…this place is very big inside and there were tons of table available upstairs. I’m not sure exactly why they made people wait. It just reminded me of a night club since they usually make people wait outside even though it’s not full.

Cappuccino is served in a clear cup so it’s super cool to see what it looks like. It tasted good, but it could have been a tad stronger.

Old Brooklyn Cream Soda was amazing according to CanuckGirl. If you love soda, you may want to get one of these to accompany your pizza.

Small Regular Pizza ($12) has 6 slices and can serve 1 – 2 people. It has homemade dough, mozzarella cheese, and crushed tomato. It is cooked in a 1000° F coal brick-oven, is what makes the pizza crispy on the bottom.

The pizza was good, but I still believe the best pizza I’ve had is in Toronto…and for CanuckGirl she prefers pizza in Boston more. Nonetheless, it’s still a good but not super amazing.

Overall, it was a fun trip to Brooklyn. We had our huge pizza and got super full. This place is a tourist attraction, so expect the lines to be long during peak hours.

Words of Wisdom:

No reservations
No slices
No delivery
No Credit Cards

We Rate Grimaldi’s Pizzeria:

Address:
1 Front St
Brooklyn, NY

Website:
http://www.grimaldisnyc.com/

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In Bakery

Mike’s Pastry: Holy Cannoli in Boston, MA

June 19, 2012

Mike’s Pastry is very famous and popular amongst tourists. I’m not exactly sure why it’s so famous, but there were tons of people lining up to get a taste of their pastries. CanuckGirl and I decided to come here for a snack because Trip Advisor told us we had to check this place out.

There are no lines here, you have to budge and shove your way to the counter to get someone to take your order. Even though there are tons of people, you can get out of here with your box of pastries quite fast.

Pistachio Cannoli ($3.50) is a traditional Italian pastry, but with bits of pistachio at both ends.

Don’t be fooled by the pictures because it is packed full of cream! It’s quite dense and will make you full. It was so rich that I could only finish half of it in one sitting. The outside shell was nice and crunchy. What I didn’t like about it was how green and artificial it looked. I had to make sure it didn’t dye my lips green.

Hazelnut Cannoli ($3.50) was similar except for the bits of hazelnuts on both ends. The flavour was similar since a majority of the cannoli was the Ricotta Cheese in the center.

Overall, it was great to try out their famous cannoli’s, but you can get quite sick of the after a while. Most people take the pastries to go. One of the servers said to CanuckGirl that it would last a few days…but I don’t think you should leave these uneaten for more than a day. The crust do eventually begin to get soggy due to the Ricotta Cheese. It’s best to eat them right away for within a few hours.

Words of Wisdom:

Very Touristy
Best to share with a friend
Long lines but it goes quick

We Rate Mike’s Pastry:

Address:
300 Hanover St
Boston, MA

Website:
http://www.mikespastry.com/

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In Four Beakers

Regina Pizzeria: Boston’s Brick Oven Pizza

June 16, 2012

Regina Pizzaria is Boston’s original brick oven pizza. It’s been around in 1926, so they have a long history of serving delicious pizza. Of all their locations, I think this is one of their better ones. I guess you can’t really beat their original location right?

CanuckGirl and I decided to come here for pizza since we heard it is a must when visiting Boston. It was a game night, so it was quite busy inside. Luckily, we were able to be seated right away!

It’s not super cool or anything inside, but it gave me a bit of a bar type of vibe. We were seated near a booth and we could see the portraits of all the celebrities that have been here.

Pint of Miller Light ($2.50) was super cheap. I didn’t know what to expect, but it tasted good and was light and crisp. It definitely goes well with pizza.

Everything else comes in paper cups. I don’t know, but I found this quite odd.

We were also given paper plates too…which I found odd again. Then, they gave us metal cutlery.

#17 Pollo Regina (Small – $11.99) has grilled chicken breast, ricotta, parmesan, romano, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and roasted vegetables. This was a really good pizza! The crust was a good thickness and it still had tons of cheese and topping sitting there. Definitely really good pizza. CanuckGirl and I just shared this as the Large size was HUGE. The small size has 6 slices.

Overall, we did have a good experience here. It’s nothing fancy, but it has a solid selection of pizza. There was a reason why they are named Boston’s Best Pizza.

Words of Wisdom:

Busy during game days
Pizza is best shared
Well priced menu! Cheap beer!

We Rate Regina Pizza:

Address:
11 Thacher St
Boston, MA 02113

Website:
http://www.pizzeriaregina.com/

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In Four Beakers

Buca: One of Toronto’s Top Italian Restaurants

May 26, 2012

Buca is an Italian restaurant in King West area of Toronto. It was recently named one of Canada’s Top 50 restaurants. The food is simple, but is known for the amazing flavour and quality.

We were originally going to Lee, but they are closed on Sundays. BaguetteGirl decided to take us to Buca instead and it was not disappointing at all.

The interior is quite rustic and has some cool interior decor. They even have cured meat hanging in certain places of the restaurant.

It’s usually busy and its hard to get a reservation for weeks apparently. Fortunately, without reservations, we were able to get a table for 3.

Their menu changes daily depending of their ingredients that they have on hand.

Orecchio Di Maiale ($8) is crispy pig ears with wild fennel salt. It was very crispy and most delicious! It also wasn’t too oily too. I would highly recommend this item!

Pomodoro E Tartufo ($29) has preserved tomatoes, basil and truffled burrata cheese finished with scorzone truffles. It’s a simple pizza, but it is incredibly thin and super crispy. They even give you scissors to cut it up into pieces. You must get pizza here!

Spaghetti Al Nero Di Maiale ($22) has hand cut blood pasta with n’duja, soffruitto and wild leeks finished with burrata cheese. The pasta was surprisingly spicy, but if you can stand the extra kick of spice, you’ll like it. The burrata cheese gives the pasta a nice creamy texture.

Orecchiette ($27) has hand-made pasta with basil fed snails, soffrietto, brussel sprouts and fresh fava beans finishes with butter and crisp pancetta. The pasta was soft and the snails contrasted nicely with the salty pancetta.

Overall, it was a great dining experience at Buca. I can see why they are one of the Top 50 restaurants in Canada. Their pizza is to die for and I’ve never had anything close to it in Vancouver. The service was sparse and it would be hard to get the attention of the waiter.

Words of Wisdom:

Pizza and crispy pork ears is a must!
Make Reservations

We Rate Bucca:
Address:
602 King Street W.
Toronto, ON
Website:
http://buca.ca/

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In Italian

Nook: Prosciutto, Gnocchi and Affogato

April 16, 2012

Nook is a traditional Italian restaurant on the West End that is known for the pizza and pasta. They do not take any reservations at all, so sometimes you will need to avoid the peak dining hours.

FoodPunk took me here to eat some delicious Italian food. I usually don’t go to the West End, but I can’t say no since she was paying and driving. It’s a good exchange since I give her a bit of web work and she buys me dinner.

The interior is narrow and does have limited seating. Sometimes there can be a line of customers forming outside. The interior is very dark and lit by red lights. It’s very romantic and it a good spot for a date.

The menu doesn’t have too many items, so decision making shouldn’t be too difficult.

Prosciutto with buffalo mozzarella ($16) is also drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The mozzarella was creamy and soft, which paired well with the salty prosciutto. Yum.

Gnocchi with Baby Meatballs ($17) was delicious. The gnocchi were like little soft pillows. Great taste and texture that meshed well with the meatballs and sauce.

Italian Sausage with chilis and sweet onion ($17) is thin and topped with the savory items. The chilis and sweet onion went well with the bits of sausage and cooked in a wood oven. You do get a bit of char on the crust and the bottom.

Affogato ($6) is a traditional italian dessert that consists of vanilla ice cream doused in hot espresso. I’ve never had this before, but I was glad I tried it out! If you are a coffee lover, go try this.

Pannacotta ($6) was creamy and topped off with a berry compote.

Overall, the food was good, but it can be seen as a bit expensive. The interior is small, so some of the tables were put a bit close together. Coming in large groups can be a bit difficult, so its best to come in 2’s or 4’s.

Words of Wisdom:

Affogato and gnocchi is a must
No reservations
Dimly lit inside
Street pay parking, but can be hard to find

We Rate Nook:

Address:
781 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://nookrestaurant.ca/

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In Four Beakers

Nicli Antica Pizzeria: Neapolitan Pizza

March 1, 2012

Nicili Antica Pizzeria is a very popular for their Neapolitan pizza! Since there is always a long line up, we came around 2pm to avoid any lineups. Surprisingly it was packed even at that hour! We left our phone number and they texted us a cool link so we could walk around the neighbourhood and be notified how long the wait is and how many other parties are ahead of us.

AdventureTimeGirl, M, Scarface and I just wandered around to Gastown till we got a text saying our table was ready. It was about a 20 minute wait.

The seating for mostly groups of 2 or 4. If you have any larger parties, your wait may be a while. The interior has a simple white look accented with red chairs by the bar.

The menu is mostly appetizers and different pizzas.

You get 2 types of oil to use on your pizza – Rosemary Oil and Chili Oil. Maybe I’m crazy, but I didn’t get much taste from either oils. The taste is quite subtle.

Capocollo Pizza ($15) has pomodoro tomatoes, grana padano, garlic, marjoram cured pork shoulder, and chili oil.

Margherita Pizza ($12) has pomodoro tomato, grana padano, fior di latte, and basil. Good for the vegetarians!

The Bunch Pizza with Bacon ($20) M really liked it because of the bacon and eggs. It’s really cool since it’s not usual to see a brunch type of pizza.

Funghi Pizza ($16) has pomodoro tomatoes, grana padano, fior di latte, wild and cultivated mushrooms. I thought this pizza was alright. The mushrooms reminded me of the chinese mushrooms. I wish there were more mushrooms since I am a mushroom addict.

All the pizzas had a thin crust with the right amount of toppings. The middle was a tad soggy, but didn’t take away too much from the pizza. They use fresh ingredients that shine through.

Overall, the pizzas are well made and you can easily split a pizza between two people if you don’t want to get super full. Even though the pizza was good, I am very deterred by the long line ups, plus they don’t do reservations.

Words of Wisdom:

Good simple pizza
Around $15
No Reservations, long waits
Service is mediocre
Limited paid street parking

We Rate Nicli Antica Pizzeria:

Address:
62 E Cordova St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://nicli-antica-pizzeria.ca/

Twitter:
@NicliPizzeria

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Verace Amore Dining Package Review

February 21, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Verace Amore” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and I brought along CandiedZen to keep the review as unbiased as I could. This review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from this restaurant.

I always pass by Verace but never went inside until VANEATS.ca began offering the Verace Amore Dining Package. The package was designed to feed one, but CandiedZen and I found that it’s best to share it and order an additional dish. This is because not everyone will love all the items in this package due to personal reasons. Some people hate olives, some people love olives. The dining package comes with 4 items:

Salati Assortiti
Burrata
8-inch Brick Oven Baked Pizza (half funghi, half Prosciutto e Rucola)
Lemoncello Layer Cake

The interior has lots of tables and can get busy on game days or holidays.

Limonata Al Mosmario has freshly squeezed lemons, rosemary and soda. We tried ordering the Italian Soda, but the waiter highly recommended this to us. It tasted really good with a strong lemon soda taste with a subtle hint of rosemary. It’s not part of the dining package, but it was nice and refreshing to go with the meal.

Burrata is burrata cheese finished with balsamic reduction, lemon oil and served with warm rosemary pizza bread.

CandiedZen and liked this dish since the rosemary bread was crunchy and melded well with the soft burrata cheese.

Salati Assortiti come with a daily selection of cured meats and cheese, vegetables, and marinated olives. It comes with more warm rosemary pizza bread.

Good selection of items, but not for everyone. That’s why its good to share one of these with another person. CandiedZen and I eat everything, so it worked well for us. For myself, I really loved the pickled artichokes and the cured meats.

8-inch Brick Oven Baked Pizza is handmade with naturally leavened dough

½ Prosciutto e Rucola – plum tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella topped with prosciutto, fresh arugula, grana padano and evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
½ Funghi – mushroom cream, cipollini balsamic onions, mixed crimini, portabella, and oyster mushrooms. Topped with fresh oregano, grana padano and evoo

The Prosiutto e Rucola was good, but it was a bit hard to eat with the arugula on top. The Funghi was really good since it had the fragrant mushroom cream sauce. It was strong, but I am a huge mushroom fan. The pizza is smaller in size than their regular pizzas. The regular ones are about 12 inches instead of the 8 inches. I did like this pizza since it gives you a sample of their top 2 pizzas.

Chili oil and garlic oil comes to the table and you can add it to your rosemary bread or pizza. I personally love the garlic oil since it has a subtle taste and goes well with most bread-y items.

Lemoncello Layer Cake has limoncello infused lady fingers layered with lemon curd and mascarpone cream.

It was a nice dessert at the end and its great they used lemoncello, which is an Italian lemon liqueur. It had a good taste and the ingredients went well together.

Candies come in the end when the bill comes!

Overall, we found the dining package was worth the $15, since a regular pizza on their menu is about $15 anyways. It’s a well-built package that shows you the variety of items that they offer.

You can purchase the Verace Amore Dining Package at VANEATS.ca for $15 beginning on February 22nd at 7am. All the items are on their regular menu too!

Words of Wisdom: