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<title>blogTO Recent Comments: Mattino</title>
<link>http://www.blogto.com/feed/recentcomments/?13477</link>
<description>Comments recently made in this post on blogTO</description>
<copyright>Copyright 2009</copyright>
<lastBuildDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:56:55 PST</lastBuildDate>
<item>
<title>anonymous</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I have been to Mattino's twice since it's recent opening.  I too had the pleasure of meeting Koby during the Taste of Italy festivities.  My friend and I walked the college strip looking for where to eat and settled on Mattino's.  And settling it was.  Please do not be fooled by the above staged shots of food.  This dining experience is unmemorably mundane.  We took a poll, and by the meal's end, 1 out of 3 of us were "satisfied" with the meal.  The other two found the food to be offensive. Even worse, the staff was inattentive to our needs throughout this time and unable to elaborate on the menu's content. And I use the word "menu" lightly- the options are far and few, and they share ingredients, making variety, at this restaurant, clearly an insignificancy  (seriously, how many ways can you use prosciuto?)

So when asked to return another time for a promised better experience, we thought we'd give it a try.  Who doesn't love a happy ending? In we came, down we sat, and out came the food.  Unfortunately, there was little improvement.  The staff seemed more formal, but hardly amicable.  The food was bland and if it weren't for the delightful location, the potent drinks, and the favored company, it would have been a depressing evening. Middle management clearly was not the issue- upper management needs to take a good look at their establishment and deem what they really want it to stand for.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c626797</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c626797</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:51:22 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>anonymous</title>
<description><![CDATA[
How funny that my friend & I went back in there today to redeem our free meals (given by former manager Kody)  b/c of a disappointing first time experience and we found out that he no longer worked there. We were playfully taking guesses as to whether he had quit or had been let go. My friend was convinced that he had been fired. Going along with that, I suggested that he was fired following the Italian Fest that occurred last week probably b/c the owner felt that the numbers weren't high enough. Sure enough we were both right. 

Our disappointment with our first "dining" experience there arose from an over casual and poorly knowledged staff, along with a weak menu (variety & taste) and overall bad dining experience. 

As we went back today with lowered expectations and solely for the purpose of getting a free meal, we were surprised to first of all find out Kody was no longer working there and secondly to be greeted by a totally tamed down & disciplined staff. The whole experience was surreal. 

Mattino sucks. I'd be surprised if it made it past the summer.

Feel free to hate on me! 

]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c626791</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c626791</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:19:48 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Kody G</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Hello all, my name is Kody and I was the general manager at Mattino until I was let go today.  I am writing this message not out of spite but out of respect for all of the patrons that I have had the pleasure of meeting since the restaurant opened its doors six short weeks ago.  It is unfortunate but the owners seem to think that opening a restaurant equals immediate profits.  I have been involved in the restaurant industry for many years and know better.  It saddens me that I will not be able to witness the success of Mattino.  I truly believe that we had a good thing going.  I have been told that the restaurant will be managed by the owner and based on this I would not expect the same service or atmosphere.  I thoroughly enjoyed trying to make the Mattino experience one of good food, great service and neighbourhood charm. 

Have a great summer everyone!

Kody G

]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c625071</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c625071</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:09:52 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Paul</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I liked the review.  It seemed balanced -- sometimes the reviews here gush like a 10 year old at a Jonas Bros. concert but this one did a nice job of addressing the negatives as well as the positives.  I love this section of BlogTO.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617817</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617817</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:58:35 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Andrea</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Well, it was quite prose-y. Some was too much for me, some I quite liked. Loved the crème brûlée description, particularly the phrase "lacks the richness that would usually cause me separation anxiety from my spoon."  I SO get that.

You're right that it's nice to have to read the review to really get the point rather than skimming something with words but not content. My attention span was less happy than the rest of my brain was. :) ("You mean I need to read more words? I have to focus??") A challenge (pathetically so), but a good one.

I think I need to go there.

P.S. (Not to Jill but to BlogTO staff) The HTML in the CIBPA link still needs to be fixed. :)]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617793</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617793</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:38:22 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>jill</title>
<description><![CDATA[
i'm guessing that it's because mattino has only been open for two weeks, that there are so many comments about the style in which this review was written, and nothing about the actual food. anybody else actually been here? personally, i enjoyed the style of writing. i think it's nice to have to actually read a review in order to extract the overall opinion of the restaurant from it, as opposed to skimming the post and waiting for the terms 'wicked awesome' or 'sucks' to catch my attention. as well, the photos are wicked awesome.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617549</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617549</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:49:40 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Roger</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I quite enjoyed the wordplay in this review. A good read, indeed. Great photos, too. :)]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617463</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617463</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:19:36 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>andrew</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Love the description of crema catalana as a Catalan take on creme brulee instead of Spanish (which is culturally and linguistically distinct from one another).]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617454</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617454</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:08:25 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Heather</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I thought the writing style was a nice change of pace for BlogTO.  I actually read it instead of just skimming and looking at pictures, so that's gotta count for something.

Thanks for the review.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617429</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617429</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:30:01 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Ck</title>
<description><![CDATA[
All of us abhor the abuse of alliteration.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617382</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617382</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:16:22 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>piccola</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Pics are great, but the story's WAY overwritten. And what's with the American spelling (ie, "flavor")?
]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617326</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617326</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:08:56 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Andrea</title>
<description><![CDATA[
The photos are making me salivate, but:

1. The description of the polenta fries appears beneath a different photo. Is that garlic bread in the photo above the description of the polenta fries? Photos and description paragraphs should go together (it's confusing and irritating). It took me a few moments to make the connection as I read the description of the polenta fries.

2. The CIBPA link has a typo in it. It looks like an additional set of quotation marks likely made it into the HTML.

]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617296</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617296</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:24:11 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>S.</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I'm hungry now.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617279</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617279</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:58:44 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>April</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I agree; the writing style of these often tend to come off a little pompous. Not really written for the right audience.

And re: signage- I also agree- really horrible, reminds me of the kind of signs/lettering for a "Dollarama" in suburbia....]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617260</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617260</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:35:08 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>textstyles</title>
<description><![CDATA[
worst signage known to man. no reno. is it still the same staff?]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617249</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617249</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:13:19 PDT</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
<title>Gloria</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Great photos. I wish more of Blog TO's restaurant reviews were written in a more conversational tone; sometimes, bits smack of thesaurus abuse. ]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617221</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2009/06/mattino/#c617221</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:23:36 PDT</pubDate>
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