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| - I've been to Mercatto a number of times and, while I am usually a big fan of their beautiful homemade pasta, their food fell a bit flat for me tonight.
To make the most of Mercatto, I suggest staying basic. They have wonderful local meats and cheeses that you can pair up with fresh bread, a salad or two, and a glass of wine, and make a night of it. Their pasta is wonderful, especially their fennel sausage orecchiette ("little ears") with rapini and a little spice. Or go for a simple, but delicious, margherita pizza.
The place where Mercatto falls a little short is with the more "interesting" dishes that require more finesse. Tonight I had a veggie pasta with zucchini, peas, fava beans and baby tomatoes. It should have been fresh and beautiful, but it was disappointing. The peas did not taste fresh and yet they were undercooked. The fava beans were overcooked and mealy. The tomatoes were hot, but didn't have the caramelized concentration that roasting them first would have provided. (Note to self: stop watching so many food shows that make it seem okay to used terms like "caramelized concentration"!)
Then, again, the chef at Mercatto is currently on Top Chef Canada, so let's all give ourselves full reign to pretend we're Mark McEwan.
Vegetarian Score: 6/10. There are some nice veggie options, you'll have no problem finding something, but the menu unapologetically favours meat.
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