Restaurants
Enoteca Sociale
Enoteca Sociale offers precious little to be critical of as everything seems to be clicking here like the beads on Nonna's rosary during a prayer service. The proprietors have managed to pull off that most rare of atmospheres: a neighbourhood joint that you'll cross town for.
I've mentioned before that sometimes the map is the territory. And you're in for a treat if you get your passport stamped at this humbly adorned embassy of rustic Italian dining brought to you by the Pizzeria Libretto gang because 'wine' and 'social' are pretty much Enoteca Sociale's coat of arms.
Enoteca Sociale staff are thoughtful and informative without being pushy and what few awkward jitters there were upon being seated quickly give way to self-assured confidence. This crew, overseen by former Jacobs & Co. stalwart and Sociale co-owner Daniel Clarke, should be duly proud for completely debugging service so early in the resto's run and revealing a professionalism that long-established joints would envy.
Meanwhile, at the back of the house, Rocco Agostino's card walks a fine Italian line while still managing to surprise at every turn.
"I wanted to make simple food" smiles Agostino as he mentions that the card is composed of stuff he's always wanted to make along with several dishes poached from his Nonna and pulling the maximum amount of flavour out of the fewest ingredients.
Antipasti arrive and we dive for the dish of savoury fritto misto artichoke fries flecked with fresh thyme ($8) faster than an Azzurri striker in the 8 yard box, crushing the dish in seconds. A wonderfully non-greasy order of veal sweetbreads topped by a tangle of peppery arugula in a lemon vinaigrette get wolfed as quickly as they appear all washed down with a fruity 2009 De Falco white ($10 a glass).
Thick ribbons of toothsome pappardelle dressed with generous amounts of braised rabbit in a delicate broth ($13, a family recipe dontcha know) or chubby ravioli anointed in saged brown butter sauce and stuffed with creamy duck liver ($13) are both stellar secondi. There're even kamut and gluten-free pasta options if that's yer bag.
Mains of grilled Cornish game hen ($16) and braised Oxtail ($15) both trade in bold flavors. The summer-evoking palette of smoky grilled boneless bird supine atop a bright sauce of peppers, onions and caper berries screams sunshine, while the succulently moorish oxtail served on a bed of ultra-cheesy polenta paired with the 2001 Amarone ($24 a glass) would be the perfect treat on a cold winter night. A of lemony asparagus with shaved reggiano ($7) is the perfect compliment to either season.
Plates are designed to encourage a proper 3 course Italian meal and are priced reasonably for the portions but definitely offer big flavours. And in another echo of the name, you can opt for eating 'family style' ($45 per person) from a separate 'tasting' menu. You'll even be able to share that big meal with your friends soon at a wine cellar table next to the cheese cave where they plan to age some of their own formaggi.
Sommelier's Lesa LaPointe's CV includes stints at the Adelaide Terroni and Libretto so she knows a thing or two about pairing wines to Italian dishes. A selection of excellent vintages can be had. Prices begin at $35 per bottle, the majority are between $50 and $70 and the highest priced wine is $155. Employing the latest in wine science (the enomatic and vinfinity systems...you could call it eno-tech-a), also allows ES to offer a wide selection of wines by the glass that'd otherwise be prohibitively expensive.
Desserts also amaze and every one was exceptionally well balanced adding enough sweet to finish off the meal while all were surprisingly light. Ricotta cheesecake and heavenly hazelnutty pastry cream filled zeppole floating in a bowl of creme anglais (both $8) FTW!
Enoteca Sociale is exactly what it says on the bottle and if you're looking for an Italian winner this post-World Cup season, look no further than the west end of Dundas west and start the parade to Enoteca Sociale's front door .
All photos courtesy Aislinn Smith
Discussion
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To be brutally frank, the entire review screams of shilling. Was there anything at all that you didn't find 'heavenly' or a 'perfect complement'?
Your article would read better if you put a header on it. Something along the lines of 'press release'. That's what it reads like - it sure as hell ain't a restaurant review.
1."with several dishes poached from his Nona" -- it's Nonna
2."faster than an Azzuri striker in the 8 yard box" -- it's Azzurri!
3."toothsome papardelle" -- pappardelle.
If you're going to write an article and intend on using foreign words, MAKE SURE TO SPELL THEM CORRECTLY!
I would like to know both the good and the bad (nothing's ever perfect), and I want to read concrete examples to back up your point. Remember "Essay Writing 101"?
Also, the review uses too many adjectives, and it becomes tedious to read. Please be to the point and succinct. Overly flowery language reflects an article's lack of substance.
We started off with the artichoke fries. They were good, but with anything being cooked in a deep fryer-it's never going to be bad. When our red wine arrived, i thought it was too cold to be served. The server went into great detail about the wine system. He mentioned how the wine is kept really fresh and how a bottle could be open for several days and still taste like a new bottle of wine. I found that to be a little strange.
However after apps, we went into mains. We shared the pappardelle with braised rabbit. In this review it mentioned how generous the portions were. That wasn't the case when i was there. I thought there was very little rabbit, and too much pappardelle. The fresh pasta was great but the rabbit wasn't. Then we went into the braised oxtail with polenta.
The oxtail was excellent, and the polenta...Well that was a big disappointment. There was so substance, it was very watery and just not what polenta should look or taste like.
We also shared the creemore arctic char. That was good, all though again i thought the portion was very small and fish was a bit dry. For every course we had, we paired up a different wine; and i have to be honest here, every red wine we had was too cold to be served.
For dessert,the flowerless chocolate cake was really tasty. Two big thumbs up for that.
Overall nothing is perfect and i didn't have that expectation of it being so.
It's a very new restaurant and in my opinion will take some time before they find their rhythm.
The sentence that reads "A of lemony asparagus with shaved reggiano ($7) is the perfect compliment to either season." is missing a noun. And it's 'complement', not 'compliment'.
I'm not even going to get started pointing out instances where commas are needed.
Volunteer to be an English tutor instead of correcting restaurant reviews.
Buon appetito!
if you can't write properly, please refrain from publishing and stick to your own facebook page.
poor grammar and sloppy spelling distract from the subject at hand, while proper grammar and spelling ensure smooth reading. for me, it's also an issue of trust - the writer is in the business of communication as well as food/service evaluation, and this technically means they aren't doing 50% of their job.
my two cents. (and perhaps my standards are so high because i am not a native english speaker...)
these people are doing us a service by hosting such a great website. lay off a little and go find someone else to bug about the spelling.
We walked in without a reservation around 7:30 on a Sunday evening, and I was very pleasantly surprised. They sat us right away at the bar. I was immediately impressed with the server/bartender's knowledge of the wine and food, and he was social and welcoming.
To drink we had a glass of the pinot noir and a barbera, which were both good. For dinner we LOVED the beets with arugula, balsamic reduction, and stracciatella - what a fantastic combination. For a main I had the tubettone with cauliflower, roasted garlic, and chickpea, which was one of the most unique and tasty dishes I've ever tasted. For dessert, I was pleasantly surprised that they carry an Italian digestif that I love called Amaro Nonino, and I still day dream about the chocolate budino with sea salt and olive oil!
Pros: Service, wine selection, food, unpretentious, decor, good vibe
Cons: Lighting is too bright - needs to dim down for atmosphere
It really does feel like a Real Italian Wine Bar, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Can't wait to get back especially when we can sit on the patio.
I will not be going back to either and will make sure to inform others of the kind of customer service they can expect there.
It's not close to home but worth the ride ....
http://verypleasedtoeatyou.tumblr.com/post/16215366046/enotecasociale
It's the 6 or 18 yard box - there's no 8. :)