The 1st day of February was warmer than most days last month. I started Sunday by paying rent and covering expenses in Ottawa. That ate up most of my budget so it was a bit demoralizing. Also a downer was the state of my investment after the recent stock market bloodbath. Lunch was a pesto sandwich made from my fridge ingredients and a fresh bun ($0.70) from Progress Bakery (or rather Mel's). The afternoon offered a free show at Walter Hall from the University of Toronto New Music Festival. But it combined my two least favourite genres: improv music and Jazz.
In other years, I celebrated my birthday with an indulgent meal. At first, I wanted to go to Zia's Place, a restaurant co-owned by Jess Maiorano who started Pasta Forever. Its Southern Italian menu would be a callback to the first such dinners at Black Skirt. But with my budget in mind, I decided this year to split it into 2 modest outings. The Sunday dinner was at the last remaining neighbourhood I haven't visited: Taverniti North.
The inside had exposed brick on one wall and wooden slats and fake grape leaves on the other. A few booths shared space with small tables and two larger round family tables at the back. Its' menu was similar to the short-lived Tav's (which has been merged into the original Taverniti). I chose the bread ($5) and a Pappardelle Bolognese ($25). The verdict: it was better than Sugo but didn't compare to Enoteca Sociale. True, my first visits to Enoteca weren't home-runs but they were making an effort.
The toasted bread was crumbly, bakery-bought (I sure hope they didn't have their own baker), and forgettable with run-of-the-mill balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You got complementary fresh, chewy slices with quality oil at Enoteca. The pasta was better: al dente with a rich sauce though I would like the pappardelle to have a slightly thicker mouth-feel. Still, I would come back for more carb-loading at this spot if the mains were $5 cheaper.
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