Make sure to save room for Cioccolato (all desserts $3.95), a chocolate mousse-like pudding swirled with caramel parfait, crushed biscotti, flaky sea salt and a shot of olive oil from the Zuccarini family grove back in Abruzzi. Some are significantly better, most notably the San Marzano tomato-sauced pies finished with veal meatballs and smoked provolone (Polpette, $14.95) and the brunch-only Pizza all’Uova ($13.95) with Pingue speck, chili oil and runny free-range eggs. Suckling pig Pizza Farcite – pizza stuffed with porchetta ($11.50 with organic greens) – turns out to be a roast pork sandwich, albeit Italian-style with rapini and roasted peppers. And so we get chewy thin-crusted ‘za topped with kale and thinly sliced sweet potato, its advertised local fior di latte gone AWOL (Da Dee, $13.50). Strange that a pizzaiolo certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana installs a wood-burning grill but an electric oven. Zuccarini’s pizzas, however, are an altogether different kettle of calamari.
![nero glitterato nero glitterato](http://www.replica.co.uk/images/items/gf117.jpg)
Moroccan-spiced chicken ($17.95) gets sided with spinach, smoked paprika-dusted spuds and optional spring asparagus ($6.95), while Spaghetti Chitarra alle Vongole ($14.95) tossed with a dozen manila clams might as well be summer on a plate. Another salad of wilted kale with currants and pine nuts in lemony vinaigrette (Cavolo Nero, $11.95) seems like a half-portion by comparison. Pair it with chef Daniel Mezzolo’s stellar wood-grilled octopus ($13.50) over crisp haricot vert in a pool of citrusy basil vinaigrette mined with black olive tapenade and go home a happy camper.Ī veritable Vesuvius of arugula comes dressed with roasted plum tomatoes, sliced avocado and a good 6 ounces of medium-rare flank (Tagliata di Manzo, $15.95), more main than starter. And loud! The tall-ceilinged room’s been purposefully built to have a buzz, all exposed concrete block and artfully rusted steel surfaces.īut service is quick, and soon we’re laying waste to a brown paper bag of house-baked baguette and a saucer of buttery olive oil splashed with tart balsamic vinegar. By half past, there isn’t an empty seat in the house. Not that the industrial Munge Leung-designed space isn’t seriously slammed. There’s no queue at Thursday noon, but there will be by the time we make our exit 90 minutes later. “We have lineups at 1 am Saturday nights,” says Zuccarini. ‘Course it helps to be within spitting distance of the Spoke Club. Instead, the 125-seat former chop shop has been wall-to-wall glitterati from the get-go. She figured the new joint would take at least a couple of months to catch on. Zuccarini’s plan was to launch a downtown spinoff of her Yorkville pasta ‘n’ pizza spot, Trattoria Nervosa. “We’ve been packed since the moment we peeled the paper off the front window,” says the self-described “smart cookie.” “I’m still in shock!”
![nero glitterato nero glitterato](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5zMAAOSwlkRizwE6/s-l500.jpg)
No one’s more surprised than the two-month-old resto’s owner, Janet Zuccarini. Your days as Toronto’s most unattainable table are over, usurped by Gusto 101, the nuova Italian trat just off the King West condo strip. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Reservations noon and 6 pm seatings only. Open Monday to Friday 11:30 am to close Saturday and Sunday 11 am to close, brunch till 3 pm.
![nero glitterato nero glitterato](https://cdna.lystit.com/520/650/n/photos/shopbop/c1adfb9b/maria-black-Gold-Rai-Opal-Glitter-Ear-Cuff.jpeg)
GUSTO 101 (101 Portland, at Adelaide West, 41, ) Complete dinners for $40 per person (lunches/brunches $30) including tax, tip and a glass of house vino.