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| - Having out of town guests visiting I ventured to this lovely old Montreal Ristorante to sample their offerings. It was a Tuesday night so I called last minute to see if a table of four was possible and was told that they would be happy to set one aside. We arrived and lucked into the best table in the place in the window, just off the bar, a cozy little nook indeed. The place is very big with high ceilings and when we walked in we were immediately greeted by a gentleman by the name of Francesco.
Water was brought to our table and he asked us if we wanted to start with drinks or if we prefer wine. We paused for a second to consider, we had just had cocktails, but decided to try another, so I asked our new found friend for a suggestion and he said, the signora must try a house cocktail made of Prosecco and ?, (I think the something was an Italian Amperol, but he called it by another name, I cannot remember, he mentioned it was harder to find), whatever the brand, it was delish.
The next thing we got was the bread and olive oil/balsamic dip and four really good bruschettas, off to a promising start.....
We then ordered some apps, Polpo ai ferri, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pappardelle with rose sauce more Mozzarella di Buffala, prosciutto and fresh basil, and an Insalata Cesare with extra anchovies.
The octopus was one of the best ever, grilled with what we could have sworn was wood, it's smoky flavor was awesome and it melted on the tongue, it was served with paper thin slicesof onion, capers and garbanzo beans. The tomato and buffala salad was also perfect with fat juicy tomato slices, very fresh cheese a sprinkle of shredded basil and just the right amount of drizzled oil and balsamic. The Cesar salad was well balanced, and with a made from scratch dressing, which again was the perfect amount, and no anchovies were left behind! The parpadelle was a huge hit, they must make their pasta in house. the toothiness of the pasta was so good you could really appreciate it on it's own, but the light sauce and fixing made this a symphony of taste to enjoy. I would reorder this as a main anytime.
We then went in for the kill, mains were 2 Costoletta di Vitello, for the gents and the fish of the day (Grilled swordfish) and another dish of the day, Veal scallopini, spinacci, grapes and pine nuts and an extra center dish of Penne Sauce à la crème de truffles et saucisses.
.
They know their food prep, the veal was a ting a beauty I tell ya. Perfectly grilled on the outside but delicately pink and moist at the center, it was a very generous portion which led us to believe it would get wrapped up, but by the end of the evening everyone had happily noshed their way until nothing but bone was left, sorry puppies no leftover for you!
I did not really try the fish (because I had too much already), but was told by my 3 other dining mates that it was really just as good as all the rest. My main was the veal with spinach, the sweet white grapes gave the sauce a rich sweetness, that balanced really well with the salty spinach and lovely roasted fingerling potatoes (found in each dish and consumed with great pleasure).
The pasta was even better than anyone could have hoped, and we devoured it like people who were deprived of food (considering the volumes of food available this is no mere feat), this too is a must repeat.
We ordered some very good red ,which I can't name because we drank two bottles after all those cocktails so something has to give. I remember describing it's bite to corduroy, and somehow this was generally accepted by all at the table and we were surprised that this would be a good thing, but I digress.
By the end of the evening we had met the other owner Vincenzo, and were told the third of this trio was on vacation. (in case you can count in Italian, yes their was a fourth but he left after one month, so while the name is still there it is a trio), they were charming to a fault, pros at their vocation, and masters at the art of picking, preparing,creating, and serving up fine food and hospitality.
They happily chatted us up about various common places we knew from Italia, we talked shop, we laughed we cried, it was real.
So add this to my roster as a sure bet for a night to remember.....
oh darn quick update, when I used the ladies room I saw the bestest thing eva, they have a huge floss dispenser available to clients, so smart, I wonder if one of the owners was a dentist in another life!
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