Ridiculously hectic day, miserable rainy fall night, big hunger... The answer: Big Ragu. This is the place to go for a big plate of comfort pasta and a glass of chianti -- just the thing to cure the Toronto weather blues.
The food: The house specialty, papardelle with lamb ragu, is good but not outstanding. Nice red sauce, but could have more lamb. The pasta al forno (that evening's special) is everything I want: ricotta, spinach, bits of smoky bacon... delicious -- my stomach couldn't be happier. We also get the evening's contorni, roasted broccoli with parmigiano. The broccoli is overdone, but anytime you stick good grated parmigiano in the oven, it's hard to fail completely.
Half-litre of red does the trick - we relax. Our bellies full, we are ready for bed.