Verve Bistro

Went to Verve for a birthday tonight. The owner ordered a few appies for us to start: mushroom skillet, risotto cake, and mussels.

The mushroom skillet was good. It had very strong flavours of mushroom and goat cheese. The richness of the mushrooms were balanced well with the tartness of the goat cheese.

I wasn't able to take a picture of the risotto cakes before the rest of the party dug into it. The risotto cakes were quite bland. It really needed the tomato sauce that it came with. Perhaps they need more broth / seasoning when cooking the risotto.

The mussels tasted very Asian. It had a strong taste of coconut milk. However, it was fresh and I wanted more bread to go with the sauce. The bread was actually corn bread and was very tasty.

We had the elk burger as a meal. The bread was toasted but came out cool - not warm. It was also sweet, which is kind of weird - didn't go well. The elk itself was a little tough - we're not sure if it was packed too densely or if it was overcooked. It wasn't pink at all, so I think it was overcooked.

We also ordered the braised beef poutine. This isn't a dish for those who dislike blue cheese. Personally I love blue cheese so the mixture of the sweet sauce and the sharp cheese was perfect for me.

Another plus was the live blues music by Wes Mackey. He's pretty awesome.

Overall, the food was decent and the live music was a great touch. I like their selection of local beers.  The place is still so new and so we may go back for beer, appies, and live music if I'm EVER in the West End.

Federico's Supper Club

Went to Federico's for Mother's Day Dinner. Usually I find that when a restaurant takes reservations on open table for a special day, it's a bad sign- I'm lucky I was wrong because Federico's was such a great experience.

We had a party of 11 and were charged automatic gratuity. Usually that would mean bad service, but our server Vladimir took great care of us.

As appetizer we shared the Fritelle di Baccala, Cozze e Fagioli, and Carpaccio Di Manzo.

I couldn't take a picture of the cod before the others dug into it. The dish was fine, the breading on the fish was crispy and not soggy at all- just wasn't a fan of the mint on the side.

The mussels were great. The sauce had lots of flavour and the mussels were cleaned and cooked well. The cannellini beans added great texture to it.

The carpaccio was also very good, although if you're not a fan of cheese you may not enjoy it. The truffle oil was pungent and so aromatic and enjoyable.

Some time between appetizers and main course, a guitarist set up camp on stage and started playing acoustic guitar covers of pop music. He was so good I actually noticed each song ending and start applauding. The live music really livened up the atmosphere and made talking to each other more enjoyable.

As our Primi, we picked the Pasta Challenge dish: Romagna Mia, pappardelle in beef and chicken liver ragu, accented with flavours of pancetta, vermouth, sage, tomatoes and Grana Padano shavings. It was so rich, but delicious. B thought it was "too" rich, but the liver was perfect for me. My advice, try it before the challenge is over (if you like liver)!

As our Secondi, I ordered the Bistecca alla Griglia, the flat iron steak, cooked rare. It was a decent sized piece of steak, but I think the chef erred on the side of MEDIUM rare instead of rare. It was still juicy and tender though. It was seasoned well and I loved the caprese tomato to lighten it up.

My brother had the Braciola di Maiale. He enjoyed it and said the pork was very tender.

Other dishes included the Merluzzo Arrostito and Scottadito. Both enjoyable.

Overall, the entire dinner was enjoyable and we would return again. Try it out before the pasta challenge ends!