Showing posts with label lamb rigatoni. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lamb rigatoni. Show all posts

CLOSED: Osteria Rialto (Toronto)


Osteria Rialto was one big, pleasant surprise. In need of a last-minute reservation to be close to after-dinner festivities, we booked the restaurant based on availability versus reviews. Their menu offers a selection of Italian staples that looked adequate. It’ll likely be a safe but forgettable meal, I thought.

My first bite into the suppli cacio e pepe ($12 for two pieces) and Rialto already brought the arancini to another level by combining it with a mozzarella stick. There was a nice cheese pull to the rice croquette encapsulated by the creamy risotto with a liberal sprinkling of black pepper to balance out the rich bite.  

A decent portion of cheese and meat arrives with the burrata e prosciutto ($25), enough for a taste each for our table of five. The 36-month aged prosciutto had a lovely savoury sweetness against the creamy cheese. And while we didn’t want any bread, they mistakenly provided focaccia ($9) that ended up pairing well with the cheese, the bread salty and fluffy served with a generous dish of olive oil.

The tagliatelle ($27) was surprisingly rich for a meatless sauce. Soft buttery squash was tossed with parmigiano and fried sage, almost melting into the chewy pasta ribbons. The dish is a hearty vegetarian alternative for the winter.

I preferred the squash pasta to the rigatoni ($28), which was a touch dry. While I liked the hint of heat in the sugo, the lamb tasted more like sausage, so the dish was too salty and greasy.

While the chicken in the pollo ai funghi ($34) could be cooked less, the thin cutlets were at least crispy and flavourful slathered in a creamy mushroom and black truffle gravy. If only Osteria Rialto offered rice as a side, the grains would soak up the delicious sauce so well.

It was difficult to decipher the background flavour in the sauce on the braciola di maiale ($38) ... it had a hint of umami that seemed out of place from what looks like a cream sauce. Consequently, the bagna cauda sauce incorporates anchovies (along with garlic), which is likely what added the umami and gave the neutral pork chop a lot of flavour. The meat was cooked well and the roasted rapini kept nice and crispy.  

Osteria Rialto tried to jazz up the insalata misticanza ($16) with a colourful variety of lettuce, including pink leaves – spoiler alert, it tastes like any other bibb lettuce. Ultimately, it’s a plain salad with a few slices of radish and sprinkling of crispy farro tossed in a vinaigrette. Nothing exciting, but if you’re looking for a traditional way to finish an Italian meal, a simple salad is it.

The dinner reminds me to sometimes not over plan a meal – there’s so many reviews and opinions that at times it gets overwhelming. Keep it simple: look for location and a decent menu, then grab a group of friends and go. 

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: tagliatelle & suppli cacio e pepe
  • Just skip: rigatoni

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 4 Westmoreland Avenue



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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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Drake Devonshire (Prince Edward County)


In Prince Edward County, the opinions about the Drake Devonshire are mixed – it’s a nice place to hangout (in an area where there’s not a lot of bars or places close early) but it feels too “Toronto”. In fact, locals are baffled by why Torontonians want to escape to the county just to hang out in the city again. To be fair, the venue is nothing like the multi-floor Drake Hotel downtown or the retro Drake 150 in the financial core. To start, the sprawling building overlooks the lake and the décor is lighter and whimsical. For another, the food is much better than the Drake Hotel.

The asparagus almondine ($14) is a simple starter, the spears of asparagus lightly roasted and topped with slivers of toasted almond in brown butter. A squeeze of lemon adds a hit of acidity, but otherwise the nut and vegetable are the prominent flavours. It’s a little plain as a starter, and works better as a side.


Their warm dandelion Caesar ($14) is on the other side of the spectrum - packed with flavours: the slight bitterness of the dandelion, garlicky dressing, a faint umami essence from the bonito flakes, sweetness from the dry crispy pork floss pieces (in lieu of bacon) and salty pecorino sprinkles. It’s tasty, but best shared as an entire dish of the Caesar would be fairly overpowering.


Perhaps, the sole starter, I tried, that could stand on its own is the salt cod pierogies ($12). The chewy soft dough was a tad thick, but there was plenty of salt cod mashed potatoes inside. I’ll admit, the slightly fishy filling requires getting used to, but once you add some of the tangy crème fraiche or thick apple sauce, it gets tastier.
  

Overall, the Devonshire prepares fish pretty well. The trout’s ($28) skin could be crispier, but the meat was moist and flakey. Being an oilier fish, it was properly paired with a refreshing vegetable medley consisting of roasted red peppers, zucchini, and green onions. Once in a while, you’ll also get a sour crunch from the fermented green beans.


For me, the lamb rigatoni ($24) incorporated too many frou-frou items - hen of the woods mushrooms, pine nuts, and spruce? Sure, I guess the spruce and the mint will help alleviate any of the lamb’s gaminess, but all together the elements detracts from having the rigatoni become that rich homey dish that’s notorious with pasta.


Although I found the Prinzen chicken ($27) dry (it could have been the piece of breast I cut from the side), my friend found it was cooked well. For me, it was the saffron spaetzle that stole the show: soft and chewy with a well toasted crust – exactly what I crave with this German pasta side dish.


You won’t leave hungry with an order of the pork schnitzel ($26) – I lost count of how many pieces were actually included with the dish. To be fair, I wouldn’t classify it as schnitzel as the slices were way too thick. If they’re named breaded pork cutlets with honey mustard, it would be more accurately described.


The truffle and cheese fries ($11) were okay – it’s hard for fries to be terrible, but the Devonshire could ensure they arrive hotter and there’s more truffle oil if you’d classify these as “fancy fries”. Meanwhile, the hakuri turnips ($9) were surprisingly good – the mini root vegetables remained crunchy having been lightly poached and then sweetened with burnt honey.


Drake did not save the best for last … the tiramisu ($10) and lemon meringue tart ($10) were merely passable. Although they were plated nicely, the desserts taste like something found in a buffet – and we’re not talking the one at the Bellagio here. The lemon meringue had a nice toasted top, but the lemon custard was thick and almost plastic-like, while the tiramisu so heavily orange flavoured in lieu of espresso.


For being in a location where guests may be visiting to celebrate occasions, the Drake Devonshire certainly doesn’t treat these events with much care. In town for a bachelorette, my friend informed the host about the celebration and asked for a bottle of wine to be brought to the table as a surprise (a present from a friend who couldn’t attend) and to do something festive for the dessert. Neither worked out as planned: our waiter came by to tell us the wine requested wasn’t available (in front of the bride, so any surprise element was ruined) and her dessert came without fanfare. Note 1 to Drake’s management: please set-up some sort of communication system between staff members (hosts, waiters, and the kitchen are a team).

They tried to make up for this by comping her dessert and giving us tickets to use at the photo booth. Only when we went to take the pictures, another staff member came by to hush us as there is a guest room located right beside the booth. Really, why would a manager appease disappointed diners by giving them something that they can’t use freely and could potentially make another guest’s stay worse? Note 2 to Drake’s management: make sure your “make it right” solutions actually serve their purpose.


Maybe the County natives have it right – sure the Drake Devonshire has a ping pong table and funky artwork – but can’t you get that back in the city? If you’re looking for a place to hang out and have a drink after dinner, the restaurant is an ideal place. But, if you really want the County charm of laid-back hospitality, you may need to head elsewhere.

Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Wellington, Canada
 Address: 24 Wharf Street

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Drake Devonshire Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato