Oh damn. The memories! I went here ONCE with my sister when she lived near the Mt. Pleasant & Eglinton area. It was too expensive to make this a regular jaunt (although their super delicious fresh pasta entrée I ordered would definitely prove to be habit-forming had I the money or didn't live so damn far away). We had a two-hour walk after this meal to alleviate the calorific carbicidal guilt. Thank God.
First off, their Ricotta Cavatelli with Brussels sprouts, roasted cherry tomatoes & grated Pecorino cheese was DIVINE! I usually hate Brussels sprouts or any other vegetable but I guess Pecorino & Ricotta cheeses would make shoe leather taste awesome. I would return with a dinner date or some friends JUST for this pasta dish.
Secondly, the Pizza Margherita my sister ordered was pretty good but I was left hankering for more fresh Basil & a less thicker/less dense crust. I think they also overdid it a bit with the cheese but I don't like lots of cheese on my pizza in spite of being able to annihilate bricks of cheese in its unadorned perfectly-aged state without crackers, deli meat or crudités. I enjoyed the crunchy charring & air bubbles but I've had better Pizza Margherita at Viva Napoli (even if Viva Napoli's gets soggy around the middle which warrants a quick 5-7 minute 450-degree broil in the oven when I bring it home).
Anyway, it was almost $40 for the two of us & I don't remember ordering alcohol. I think my sister ordered a glass of wine or house salad. Either way, I love laboriously taking out my anger on handmade pasta (which I discovered too late/very recently), so $15 for Cavatelli I can make with a healthy dose of patience & a flick of a bench scraper is sort of a precious waste of simoleons (even if I wasn't the one who footed the bill).
P.S.: For quite awhile, I was wondering why I couldn't find actual tangible ricotta chunks in my delightful pasta dinner. Turns out: the actual pasta itself has ricotta incorporated into it! It's almost like Gnocchi dumplings-- just with cheese (instead of potatoes)!