We awoke this morning to a light dusting of snow, not enough to shovel (yay!) but very pretty with the sun shining on it and making it sparkle like diamond dust!
We’ve been good. No Really, we have been. We’ve been eating healthily, not imbibing and some of us have been exercising (well, I have an excuse, my darn gym was closed this week! 😦 ) But the first week back is always a little tricky, it could be crazy busy or dead. Guess what it was for me? Yup, on Tuesday I landed with both feet running! I even had to call in our trusty freelancer (Jay). So as a ‘reward’ we decided to continue our new restaurant exploration series and try La Forchetta in Little Italy. Little Italy on College (we have Little Italy’s and this one is more or less the one people think of) is not too far from our home but decidedly not a good public transit local from our home, so we drove.
Because I am trying to detach some of the ‘goodness’ that I acquired during the holidays, I decided to have only one appetizer (generally, I’ll have two, or JT and I will share one and I’ll have another as my main; it’s easier to keep things in check and there is usually no risk of over eating!)
If only they didn’t bring the home-made bread drenched in a wonderfully robust (peppery) EVOO, rosemary and sea salt! That’s where ‘the plan’ fell through! (Not to be confused with “the plane, the plane“). I had three delicious slices (I chose the smallest ones :-)!)
La Forchetta (pronounced La Fork-etta in Italian, meaning the fork!) is right in the middle of Little Italy; and the hood has gone wild with their Christmas lights! Usually they have ‘the boot’ in lights on every light standard along college, but the also tightly wrapped each tree along the main street with blue lights and there are three gorgeous angels made of lights along side of Scotia Bank! It really is a sight! The beauty of this Little Italy is that every second store front is a restaurant!
La Forchetta is a relatively small (maybe seats 40-50?), family owned authentic Italian restaurant (great shot, click here). Our very nice waitress said it’s been open for 15 years and everything they serve is house made; that bread was seriously delicious! It is dimly lit with very nice contemporary chandeliers and there is a real candle on every table. It has windows across the front, a mirrored side wall (it may have been a smoked mirror) and a small bar at the back. The kitchen is not quite an open kitchen at the back, it has a medium sized opening so you can see the action should you choose (even the kitchen’s lighting is subdued so that there isn’t a rush of fluorescent streaming in). There are two Green P public parking lots near by and there is street parking if you’re lucky enough!)
When we got there at 7:30 and it wasn’t full but as the evening progressed it got a great vibe with more people. The young one’s started coming in around 9ish! We reserved through Open Table and they actually had a table “reserved” for us! Even though we only had ‘two’ courses our waitress timed our food perfectly, we didn’t finish until after 9:30. We tried walking around a bit, but the wind had picked up and a cold front was definitely on the horizon.
JT ordered the Caesar salad; it was chopped Romain lettuce, with a small bit of crispy fried prosciutto and lots of finely grated Parmesan and a few house made croutons. The dressing was perfect, just the right creaminess with a hint of the anchovy and a nice splash of lemon juice. It was really delicious (although, if I had to complain about something it would have been that the romain was cut into too small bits). I ordered the grilled calamari with caper berries and grilled lemon and green zucchini with a chipotle mango coulis (very delicious) and it was a decent portion for my dinner. JT ordered the slightly unorthodox sweet potato gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce; it was the perfect combination of Gorgonzola and cream, it had just the right amount of bite! JT said it was one of the best he’s ever had. I think this restaurant is a keeper! There were several things on the appetizer menu that I could and would order for example the goats cheese filled portobello cap, or the Caprese (but not in the winter!). They also had several wines for less than $50 a bottle and their half litre was reasonably priced too!
Overall rating La Forchetta (in my opinion): Decor 4/5 (great lighting), service 4/5, food 4/5, Value 4/5, Noise: 4/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet).
Disclaimer: We purchased our meal for full price and my opinions just that, my opinions.
Oh, this sounds delicious! I LOVE sweet potato gnocchi and the idea of gorgonzola sounds amazing! YUM! I’m glad you had fun!
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Thanks Ann, we’ll definitely be returning to La Forchetta!
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We have a few of these sorts of places and it’s great having them. I mean if they’ve been open for 15 years they must be doing something right! 🙂
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That’s true, Lorraine. It is definitely a keeper for our restaurant repertoire!
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Another great restaurant review…another one to add to my visit wish list! Your whole meal sounds terrific, and especially that gnocchi.
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Thanks Betsy! It sure was a great spot to keep on our ‘list’.
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This one sounds right up my alley. Next to sushi, Italian is my favorite way to go and this one sounds delicious. You’re making me want to get back to Toronto again! 🙂
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Yay, Kristy! I would love for you to enjoy our incredible city from another perspective!
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You gotta stop doing these reviews that make me want to visit places I can’t visit! LOL!~
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Hopefully in time, Jessica! I would love for you to enjoy our beautiful city!
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Why don’t more restaurants serve romain lettuce? It’s easily my favourite – especially in caesar salads. I’ve seen caesar salads served up with all manner of funky leaves… that bitter red lettuce, which I forget the name of… usch. Sounds like you had a great meal Eva! Wouldn’t mind getting even a dusting of snow here… we’ve had nothing in France at all (well, not where I am) – we only had one decent frost so I’ve only been able to use my ice-scrapers once this year 😦
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Hi Charles! Radicchio, I hate it too, so bitter. A light dusting of snow is so romantic — anything more, well that would be so gross! Unless you had someone to shovel it for you!
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I like the sound of your ‘Little Italy’ and it must be so pretty at this time of year with the snow and all the lights.
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We have such a diversified city Charlie Louie, it would be hard not to love it!
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i have had sweet potato gnocchi with gorgonzola once and I still remember it. Still think about making it, too. And I love properly made Caesar salads (you have to have coddled egg and anchovy in the dressing).
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It was a memorable meal Sharyn! And we had such a great time too!
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I have a hard time finding great Italian places. I’m pickier than many I suppose on this front. This sounds pretty darn good.
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As I’m becoming more mature (read old) I too am being pickier with the places I eat! It’s just not worth the calories to eat bad food! Too many great places out there, Greg! And with review sites as Trip Advisor, Yelp (great one for restaurants) and Open Table bad food won’t last long!
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Sounds like a winner. Now if I could only get out for dinner without the kids again….
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Only 10 more years to go Barbie! 🙂
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This one sounds like the best of those recently visited. Then again, once I read the name, I knew it would be. 😉 Gnocchi with gorgonzola is, for me, one of those dishes I just cannot pass up if I see it on a menu. Love it!
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My husband feels that way too, John, but honestly few places make it well; either too much cream not enough Gorgonzola, and the gnocchi is often so soft it has barely any body. The gnocchi at this place was a perfect texture and of course the sauce was divine!
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Sounds like you had another lovely meal and experience. 🙂
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We’ll definitely put this place on our list, Maria.
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