IL FORNAIO 

3790 Las Vegas Boulevard South, New York-NewYork Hotel and Casino, Breakfast 7:30 - 10:30, Sunday- Thursday Lunch/Dinner 11:30-11:00, Friday-Saturday Lunch/Dinner 11:30 -12:00am, (702) 740-6403  

Located in New York New York hotel and casino, Il Fornalo is a great place for a fresh pasta dinner.  We discovered it after visiting another restaurant here and decided to try it.  It was awesome!

We ordered a nice Chianti to start 

This was followed by a nice order of calamari fritti 

My wife had the Cannelloni al Forno filled with rotisserie chicken, sun dried tomatoes, ricotta, pecorino, smoked mozzarella, and topped with organic spinach, bechamel, marinara and mushrooms - they were unreal

I had the ravioli with squash and walnuts Cappellacci Di Zucca- it was heavenly - the pasta was obviously house made and the brown butter sage sauce and tomato sauce with crispy sage was very tasty!  We found the portions satisfying and the prices very reasonable here!!!

My wife finished with a nice Cappuccino 

I had a double long espresso and it was great

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here and will definitely return when visiting Vegas.  We highly recommend you try it when you visit Vegas!!



http://www.ilfornaio.com/lasvegas

COCO LEZZONE 

137 Avenue Road, Yorkville, Toronto, (416) 975-1717, Lunch Tues.-Fri. 11:30 am to 3:00 pm. Sat. 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, Dinner Mon.-Sun. 5:00 pm to close, Valet service Fri. and Sat. $12

Went to Coco Lezzone on Avenue Road (a recent addition to the area from Little Italy) on a Saturday evening in May.  It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day and we had an early reservation for 7.  As soon as we arrived we were immediately ushered to a wonderful table with open windows facing the street.  It was a great spot for exotic car and people watching.

We began by reviewing the menus for food and wine.

For our wine we ordered a reasonably priced Montepulciano.

Shortly after we were seated a wonderful basket of assorted breads arrived, along with a dipping bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They were replenished later during our meal.

For our appetizers, we ordered a very nice cold cut board with a variety of salamis, cheeses and pickled vegetables.

The four of us nibbled on these.  Mark, our son ordered the beef carpaccio that was very good.

For her main, my wife Trudy ordered the Chilean sea bass which was pan fried and came with lemon and a caper and dill aioli. It was quite a large portion and we all had our first taste of it.

Mark ordered the gnocchi arrabiatta with hot banana peppers and parmigiano cheese in a pomodoro sauce.

Thomas, our son ordered the tagliatelle with double smoked bacon, mushrooms and garlic in a light cream sauce.  He found it delicious and very filling.

 For my main I had the pasta special which was capellini with lobster in a light rose sauce.  There were some large pieces of lobster hidden in the pasta and it too was very filling and delicious.

The staff here are friendly and efficient and create a welcoming environment. Our waiter was very quick and efficient. The food was delicious and the dishes were well presented and filling.  We will be back to try more of their interesting menu.  Their website has extensive pictures of their glamorous interior.  We really enjoyed our dinner here!

http://www.cocolezzone.com/

SCADDABUSH KITCHEN AND BAR 

382 Yonge Street, in the Aura Condo, Toronto, (416) 597-8838, Mon-Wed and Sun. 11:00 am to 1:00 am, Thurs. - Sat. 11:00 am to 2:00 am,  

Having been by the new restaurant Scaddabush a couple of weeks ago we decided to try it on a Sunday evening.  It is a large and complex restaurant with many seating choices.  

We examined their menu - which is quite large and selected some choices.

We decided on a nice Ripasso wine to start.  It was nice and smooth.

Having reviewed the appetizers we decided on sharing a plate of fried calamari.  The coating was good but they were quite chewy.  

For his main Mark decided to try their chicken avocado BLT on freshly baked flatbread, tomato, pickled red onions, romaine, piccante aoli and house fries.  He really liked it but found it was a lot of food.

My wife had the grilled tomato caper salmon with a white wine sauce, parsley butter potatoes and green beans.  It was delicious and nicely cooked.

I decided on the pasta (which is made in house daily).  I decided to try their pasta called Zucca which was a butternut squash ravioli with grated Grana Padano cheese, hazelnut butter cream sauce, roasted squash and fried sage.  They were melt in your mouth delicious and it was quite a large helping.

The service here is efficient and friendly and the atmosphere is upbeat.  Our server was personable and efficient and when I mentioned that the calamari were very chewy he talked to the manager, who then took it off our bill.  This was a nice touch and an indication that they are concerned about their reputation and customer service.  The wine was reasonable and the prices for the food were also in line with the market.  Worth returning to to try other selections on the menu.

http://www.scaddabush.com

LA FORCHETTA RISTORANTE 

613 College Street, Toronto On. (416) 534-3100  dinner only

On a warm Thursday evening in late September we decided to have dinner on College street in Little Italy.   After reading some reviews of La Forchetta we were eager to try it.  We had a nice street view from our table with a warm breeze wafting in.  There is a very small patio on the front of the restaurant that is meant for couples.

While we were reading the menu, a wonderful plate of house made crisp and mouth watering bread arrived.  It was unique and dipped in olive oil with some rosemary bits scattered on it.

There is an extensive wine list here, but we decided to try a litre of their house Chianti.  It was very good for a house selection.

They have an extensive menu (available on their website), however we decided to select two of their prix fix choices.  For $22 there is a selection from an appetizer list and a main list, which my wife and I chose.  For $30 there is a selection from the same list but a dessert is added, which my son Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) chose.  My wife, Mark and I selected their caesar salad and it was superb.  The lettuce was fresh and crisp, the crispy prosciuttino was delicious, the Grana Padano was tasty and the dressing was unique and very good.

For our mains my wife and I decided on the butternut squash agnolotti, with parmigiano reggiano and crispy sage brown butter.  It was wonderful, the butternut filling was slightly spicy, the pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was a perfect match.

For his main Mark chose the seared sea scallops with sweet potato mash, steamed bok choy and snow peas, spicy olive oil drizzle and cream of balsamic glaze.  He thoroughly enjoyed it right down to the last morsel.

To complete his meal Mark chose their vanilla panna cotta with fresh raspberry coulis and found it to be delicious.

The service was efficient, the food was very good.  The restaurant however is very small, so reservations would be a good idea on the weekend.  Their prix fix is great and we will return again.

http://laforchetta.ca/

FOUR BROTHERS 

5283 Ferry Street, Niagara Falls On., (905) 358-6951 Open for Lunch and Dinner

After checking out some restaurants in Niagara Falls, we decided to try Four Brothers on a Wednesday night in late July.  We read reviews and checked the website before we went.  The website describes it as a family run restaurant that has been here since 1964.  When we saw the exterior we thought it looked kind of weathered, but when we went inside it was like a time warp.  The furniture was old, the tables were worn, there was a musty smell - we had entered 1964!!  It looked like the owners had not spent a dime on the interior since 1964.

We began by ordering a standard wine (Masi) found in most Italian restaurants.

An order of dry bread arrived with butter, not olive oil.

We perused the menu.

I decided to have the minestrone soup.  It was basically vegetable soup with a few beans - not very appetizing.

We decided to share an appetizer of fried calamari - they were served with a store bought seafood dipping sauce, normally used with shrimp!

My wife ordered the homemade gnocchi in tomato sauce.  She found them good, but they had an unusual shape for gnocchi.

I ordered the Filetto di  Pesce (basa fillet) seasoned in a white wine and tomato sauce.  The sauce was basically tomatoes floating in oil and was very heavy.  The basa was tender and easy to eat.  The accompanying pasta was dull and too al dente.

It became obvious during our meal that this restaurant was stuck in the past and content with producing the same menu day in and day out, resulting in not only a mediocre product but also a horrible old environment in need of serious renovation.  The service was good, but we will not be returning to this establishment and will simply describe it as another Niagara Falls tourist trap, despite what others may say!!
http://www.fourbrothersniagara.com/