Pasta

Canada > Archive by tag 'pasta'

Hot Dining: Homemade Pasta at Mamma Grazzi’s

A pasta dish made 'al momento' at Mamma Garzzi's

Mamma Grazzi’s offers comforting food reminiscent of a mother’s kitchen. Known for Old World Italian cuisine with homemade pasta and hand-rolled thin crust pizzas, this restaurant sticks to an “al momento” philosophy of cooking, with each dish prepared individually to order. And with pastas and pizzas ranging from about $11-$20, this is good food that won’t break the bank (try the Odessa and Milano pastas, which are local favourites). Plus, now that the weather is warm, you can even enjoy your meal on one of the prettiest patios in the city.

25 George St., 613-241-8656.

Hot Dining: Restaurant Review: Santa Ana

Darek Wozny is doing something very right.

Without a days-in-advance reservation or last-minute dumb luck, getting a table inside the chef/owner’s Santa Ana Pizzeria & Bistro is a tall order.

Since opening September 2010, the 40-seat restaurant south of St Vital Centre has earned a fierce following. (more…)

Hot Dining: Tasteful Retreat

Clockwise from front: pizza funghi; frittata with goat cheese; and linguini with clams at CinCin. Photo by KK Law

Up a few stairs off Robson, long-running CinCin yields the ideal weekday lunchtime escape on its heated, camellia-adorned covered terrace (also open nightly for dinner), well above the busy street. Regulars go for the fresh daily-made pasta (including gluten-free choices), wood-fired pizza and fresh, local, Ocean Wise seafood, such as rare albacore tuna or grilled sea scallops, well matched with wines from a bountiful cellar.—Tim Pawsey

Quirky and Cute: Coombs, British Columbia

Tucked away on Vancouver Island, north of Nanaimo off the Island Highway is Coombs, a place that’s become known for its signature rooftop of grazing goats. Under that roof is The Old Country Market, a quirky grocery store that offers a huge selection of breads and sweets made in their bakery, a cheese shop and imported foods that run the gamut from English licorice to bacon-flavoured mayonnaise a.k.a. Baconnaise.

Before you head to the Market to shop, have lunch at Cuckoo in Coombs Trattoria & Pizzeria. The Italian restaurant offers pasta and wood-stove pizza in a large space with wooden tables and rustic tablecloths (which you can buy next door in Zolena). If the weather is nice, sit out back on the patio under the plum trees. Just outside the restaurant is the greenery area with large pots and Chinese statues, shrubbery and small cacti. Nestled in amongst the plants is Zolena, a shop with wool blankets from New Zealand, Chinese silk bags and bangles from India. (more…)

Hot Dining: Roaming Robson

Herb-crusted halibut with Tuscan beans, jalepeno tomato and Prosecco cream sauce, at Il Nido. Photo by KK Law

Some of Robson Street’s best dining is tucked away, out of sight, as at Il Nido (pictured), a low-key, gently elegant escape in the Manhattan Block courtyard. Franco Felice’s cozy trattoria is known for inventive salads and pastas, house-made gnocchi, authentic mains such as veal saltimbocca, and decadent desserts, perfect for post-show lingering. For good casual fare, to catch the game or hang on the patio, check out Earls on Top, above London Drugs. Or, for happy-hour smoked salmon, and tempura prawn snacks, on the city’s best-concealed roof garden, climb the gracious staircase at landmark Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House.—Tim Pawsey

Hot Dining: New in Town

Linguine ai frutti di mare with fresh mussels and clams at Via Veneto. Photo by KK Law

Gracious host Manlio Mocchi recently unveiled Via Veneto, an unpretentious Italian haunt. Fresh from the kitchen: Venetian-style Atlantic lobster, smoked-in-house duck carpaccio, pasta made daily and a seductively rich tiramisu. The food isn’t glitzy but rather polished and authentic fare, with well-chosen wines to match. From downtown it’s a quick ride on the Canada Line and a couple blocks west of Broadway-City Hall SkyTrain station.—Tim Pawsey

Hot Dining: Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar

Check out the latest rogue concept sweeping the Vancouver food scene. The aptly named Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar is the Lower Mainland’s first pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth restaurant. This eatery offers a host of dishes from mini corn dogs to sushi stacks, salmon to steak, pizzas to pastas. The menu offers a suggested price; if you decide to pay less, leave a note explaining why the food wasn’t up to par. If you had a great meal and leave more than the suggested price, the difference is donated to charity. Liquor is not subject to this policy and servers should still be tipped. Time to go rogue!—Kendra Wong

Hot Dining: 5 Tasteful Italians

Pino Posteraro shows off the heirloom tomato and Dungeness crab salad at Cioppino's. Photo by KK Law

In a city blessed with great dining, Vancouver truly has an abbondanza of Italian choice.
1 Cioppino’s Pino Posteraro’s sumptuous room is a fave with locals and visiting stars alike, especially for osso buco alla Milanese or the namesake spicy seafood medley.
2 Al Porto Hidden away in Gastown, this warm and cozy room serves up a wealth of classic plates in a cellar-like setting.
3 Q4 This West Side destination is a favourite for its polished, rustic, candlelit decor and shared plates of Cornish game hen and legendary spicy spaghetti.
4 La Terrazza Discover elegance and romance personified, along with a striking private wine room and cellar and specialties of Dungeness crab risotto and grilled bison rib-eye.
5 L’Altro Buca This oasis on a quiet side street in the West End serves firmly flavoured traditional fare such as puttanesca and porchetta, with well-chosen wines to match.—Tim Pawsey