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| - Our final night in Toronto and we were a fatigued group. By the time we coalesced for dinner, the team was more looking forward to crashing than eating. Trying to find something nearby that would meet our diverse food preferences, we decided to walk over to Earls, which was just a few blocks from the hotel.
Bad idea.
Immediately upon reaching the restaurant I sensed there was going to be a problem and sure enough, checking in with the hostess delivered the mind boggling news of a 2.5 hour wait.
Seriously? There's about a million (literally!) restaurants in Toronto. Why was everyone at Earls? More importantly, why were we?
So, out came the Yelp app and we quickly identified King Street within the Entertainment District as our next destination. This is a fabulous area in downtown Toronto that features one non-chain restaurant after another. During the warm weather every restaurant offers outside dining on the sidewalks and in some cases on the roof.
We wandered up and down the core blocks, comparing menus to Yelp reviews and ultimately settled on La Fenice. What a choice! Walking into the restaurant we immediately felt the March Toronto chill melt away. The restaurant is quaint, elegant and authentic. We were seated at a large round table at the front as our server unfolded our napkins and placed them in our laps.
Classy!
As we pursued the menu, the server introduced us to the fresh fish options of the night by bringing out a platter chock full of raw fish (http://bit.ly/102QyJc). Hilariously, he chose to display the fish immediately in front of the person at the table who has a healthy aversion to seafood. We were all cracking up!
We ordered a bottle of Leonardo Chianti ($33.00) and some appetizers including Funghi di bosco al sapore d'erbe (Fresh wild mushrooms sautéed with fresh herb http://bit.ly/102PHbs ($13.00). They were delicious, especially if you love exotic mushrooms. The meal was paced perfectly and we were all relaxed and content by the time we placed our dinner order. I ordered the Costolette d'agnello ai ferri (Grilled rack of lamb with fresh mint wine sauce) ($33.00) as did two of my companions. Another co-worker ordered the Pappardelle con ragu di vitello e funghi porcini (Veal ragu with porcini mushrooms) ($22.00) and the final companion, the Nodino di vitello ai ferri (Grilled extra thick, double-cut veal chop seasoned with herbs)($34.00). (BTW, all prices in CAD.)
The lamb was perfectly prepared. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's the before and after http://bit.ly/102PB3x I'd say that's a pretty good testament to a thoroughly enjoyed meal. Thank goodness I wasn't looking to impress any of my companions, because it would have been a damn shame to have not been able to pick up those lamb ribs and peel every last morsel off the bone.
We were all so stuffed that we decided to skip dessert.
On the way out we marveled at how we would still be waiting to be seated had we chosen to put our names in at Earls. Beyond that there's absolutely no way we would have had as tremendous of a meal. This was serendipity at its best!
The bill for the evening, including tip came to CAD $320, pretty darn close to what we spent a few nights earlier at The Keg (see my review http://bit.ly/102PTaq) And, while we enjoyed that meal, it doesn't really come anywhere close to the meal we had at La Fenice. The take away, at least for me, is that no matter how formulaic and dependable restaurants like The Keg may be, seeking a more intimate experience is well worth the effort.
It's just an entirely different level our outstanding.
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