La Bettola di Terroni and Osteria

The corner of victoria and queen west has been graced by a medley of the Terroni restaurants - 'La Bettola di Terroni' and 'Osteria'.

As you walk in, you can choose to go to the left, and enjoy the 'favourite items from the Terroni menus at the lively bar and funky tables at La Bettola,  or to the right, and enter the slightly quieter and quainter Osteria, where they serve a 'tasting' menu and typical pugliese food from the founder of Terroni's homeland.

I've now been for after work drinks at La Bettola, and it's a great spot for good conversation, perched either at the bar or the high table that used to be some sort of work-bench/saw holder (very creative), and for lunch at Osteria.

• Relish: Osteria offers a set of 'tasting dishes' or appetizers that you can have as a set of 4 (ceviches, grilled octopus, spiced ricotta etc.) and choose to combine it with either a primi (selection of rustic pastas) or a secondi (some meat and seafood options) for mains. I had the spaghetti vongole - the pasta, I was assured, although not made in house, was made at the Terroni's on Adelaide daily and delivered to the premises (I had initially been told that all of the pasta's were made in-house). It was a tomato based sauce with massive clams, and although it could have used a bit of spice, was lovely, rustic, and the perfect lunch size. My dining partner had some difficulty with her order...unable to eat grains or dairy limited the options on the pasta and cheese dominated menu. It made it even more challenging that they were not amenable to making ANY substitutions or replacements in the menu options to cater to her dietary restrictions  - absolutely ridiculous! Our waiter was close to insulting in the way the conversation progressed - not a pleasant experience. In the end, she was able to have the 'mixed grill' which was a light salad with a few pieces of grilled calamari and fish (apparently ok, but underwhelming), and an artichoke, green pea and arugula salad (which apparently was delicious)!
• Quaff: The entirely Italian selection of 3 whites, 3 reds and a rose all looked good (and nicely, all were available by the 5oz, 1/4L, 1/2 L and full bottle), but given that it was lunch, we didn't partake. The sparkling water was delectable.
• Feel: The Space is cute, more intimate than other Terroni's. There is a big long wooden table down the middle of the restaurant for communal dining, and booths at the front by the windows that open out onto the street. I love the mix of 'learn to speak italian' and house music playing in the bathroom. The reservation signs are a cute addition, little tiny blackboards sitting on the tables.

I really like the feel of this spot for lunch or drinks, but was not impressed with the lack of flexibility from the kitchen/wait staff around dietary constraints. It would make me think twice about going back, but given that it's a cute spot close to the office, more lunches here in the future are likely. It's a good alternative to the busy and loud Mercatto on bay!

Photos: www.labettola.ca

Gazela Vinho Verde

On Friday I received a text from a friend asking for the name of the wine we had shared at a restaurant in Ottawa about a month ago. It was a delightful Vinho Verde - and the first time he had tried one. I thought 'hmmm. maybe it's time I start putting up a few wine reviews as well..after all, the blog is called 'Relish and Quaff' and I've been primarily focusing on relishing at this point'!




A year ago I started to take some of the wine courses at George Brown College. I would highly recommend them for anyone even remotely interesting in drinking wine - they opened my eyes to the wonderful differences between all types of wine, and gave me a much better appreciation for what I like. So I'll try my best at putting some of my learnings about seeing, smelling and tasting delicious wines into practice!


The first wine I'll review is a Vinho Verde - as immediately after I replied to the text I thought 'that would be the perfect wine for a sweltering Friday night in Toronto'. I stopped at an LCBO en route to a friends place, and picked up the Gazela Vinho Verde. I tend to have a love affair with Portuguese Vinho Verde in the summer, as it is perfectly light and almost spritzy to the taste - what I would call a 'thirst quenching' wine, which during the summer months in Toronto becomes a staple on my patio.

• Perfect for: A sweltering summer evening aperitif on a patio
• Notes: Very pale straw colour with a hint of green, green apple on the nose, followed by an almost spritzy mouthfeel of summer melon (honeydew). A bit sweeter, but the spritz cuts this. Light on alcohol (less than 9%), but a nice balanced acidity as well.
• Pairings: on its own, or with lightly grilled (and minimally seasoned) fish or shellfish
• Price: $8.95!!!! Great value! General list at the LCBO

Other Vinho Verde reviews are likely to come (and if you're looking for some others, a slightly more elegant one is the Quinta de Aveleda, also general list at the LCBO). 

link to Gazela producer specs