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| - 3 & 1/2 stars
The biggest asset that Zucca Trattoria has going for it is its owners, Host Blair Aspirall and Chef Andrew Milne-Allan. It is obvious that they have a real love and appreciation for authentic and well made Italian cuisine. It is also obvious that they value the relationship that they have with their customers. The care, affection and genuine affinity they show for their business is on par with one of my most fav T.O. resto spots, Silver Spoon. These guys, like at the SS, don't just hand you a menu, it's almost like they want you to read in between the lines of the menu. As an informed diner/foodie I appreciate that effort.
Deanna and I went north of our usual dining haunts to check out Zucca and it was worth the effort. We started with the soup of the day, a Porcini Mushroom & Barley soup that is poured over a dried wholewheat bagel styled ring of bread. It was delicious. Hearty, Warm. Filling. Everything home made soup should be. Dea and I opted to share a pasta course and settled for Ziti in a sauce that was sweet but with an edge of arrabiata to it. There was ground sausage and fried breadcrumbs mixed in with the tomato sauce. I could have passed on the pasta and eaten a plate of the sauce with a piece of bread on its own. The pasta was far too el dente for my tummy. I don't mind el dente to a degree but there is a fine line and this was really the shortcoming of this dish.
For our main we shared a pork tenderloin that was fileted and crusted with walnuts. It was good but in my opinion the meat needed either more seasoning or some sort of sauce. It was slightly bland and a little bit dry on it's own but we still did enjoy it. To me, pork, much like chicken, needs a decent amount of herbs and some TLC to bring out its best qualities.
The wine list at Zucca is great. We quaffed back a light northern Italian red from Castello Di Verduno (that would be Barbaresco/Barolo country) and it was perfect for our meal.
In all fairness to Zucca, the house specialities are their fresh pasta and the fish dishes, neither of which we tried. In a heartbeat I'd go back to Zucca. The ambiance, the service and the amuse buse of that delicious chick pea fritatta/bread is worth it. The people next to us had a whole fish dish and it looked awesome. I should have listened to Blair when he recommended the fish. I'm such a carnivore. I'll be back though to make up for it.
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