Osteria Elio Volpe

One of the most popular modern Italian restaurants in the Lower Mainland is Savio Volpe.  I've had quite a few experiences with the place and I would agree that it is a place that will be on everyone's "to-dine" list.  I've always enjoyed their wood-fire meats and their delicious antipasti plates.  Pastas have always been hit and miss for me, but others seem to love them.  But really, no one can deny it is one of THE places to go in Vancouver for modern Italian food.  Now they are adding another restaurant to the stable in Elio Volpe on West 17th.  Eileen and I were able to get a coveted reso to celebrate her birthday.

We got the Semolina Parker House Rolls to start.  Each piece pulled apart easily, revealing a steaming hot and fluffy texture.  But the best part was the peconino butter where it was super creamy and spreadable.  Naturally, it was well-salted from the cheese.   Beyond that, we also ordered the Yellowfin Tuna Crudo.  These little bites were bright and clean-tasting.  The combination of jalapeno and colatura dressing helped add some tangy spice as well as briny saltiness.  With the sprinkling of pangrattato, we had some texture to compliment the buttery soft fish.

As another starter of sorts, we selected the Guanciale Pizza with castelvetrano olive, roasted mushrooms and pomodoro.  This was similar to Neapolitan-style pizza with its thin crust and preparation in wood-burning oven, but the crust was even thinner and almost uniform in texture.  The middle was a bit softer like a Neapolitan pizza but the edges were flat and crunchy.  On top, the pomodoro was mild and offered just enough moisture for effect.  The ample amount of guanciale added a salty fattiness while the olives provided tang and more saltiness.  Mushrooms did its earthy thing.

We went for two half-portions of pasta including the excellent Calabreselli alla Vodka.  For a half-portion, this was still plenty large for sharing.  It featured firmly al denta pasta that was complete coated in a spicy vodka sauce.  It was tomatoey and creamy with both bold and subtle flavours.  The crab was a bit lost in this and only added texture.  Once again, we found bread crumbs providing the crunch.  The other pasta was the Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe featuring large firm pasta tubes.  The sauce was creamy, cheesy and of course peppery featuring 10-year old cheddar.  What really made this dish sing was the roasted jalapeno on top.  It broke up the heaviness and added spice and tang.

One last half-portion to go and this time, it was the Carnaroli Risotto with morel mushrroms, mascarpone and chives.  We found this risotto a bit heavy on the cheese and light on the actual carnaroli rice.  Hence it was almost soupy despite allowing it to rest for awhile.  Despite this, the rice was still firm and did not go mushy.  Lots of creamy cheesiness here and not too salty.  However, the dish was a bit tangy for some reason or another.  Did enjoy the morels as they were intensely earthy and of course the texture was appealing.

Moving onto our main course dishes, we had the 10oz MacLeod’s Leap Flatiron Steak with charred onion, watercress and black pepper condiment.  It was prepared a perfect medium-rare being uniform and also very moist.  It was both cooked and rested properly.  Now looks are one thing, but it also ate very well.  The meat was succulent and required very little chewing.  Lots of natural meat flavour and the steak itself was properly seasoned.  That black pepper condiment was full of umami and pepperiness.

That was good, but the Pan-Roasted Striped Bass was also very good.  It featured fava beans, morel mushrooms, hakurei turnip and citrus butter sauce.  I found the seasoning a bit aggressive as most parts of the fish was salty.  However, the dish could not be accused of being bland.  The bass was cooked to perfection though being buttery soft and flaky.  It literally melted in our mouths.  The citrus butter sauce was mild and light, complimenting the fish without taking away from it.

We ended up going for 2 desserts including the Amaretto Semi Freddo and the Tiramisu Cheesecake.  Both desserts were pretty good with the semi freddo being purposefully sweet with the unmistakable amaretto fruitiness.  It was creamy and light while living up to its name of being semi-frozen.  Love the crunch on the top as it added texture.  Not looking like much, the tiramisu cheesecake was also good.  It was creamy, yet not too heavy while having all of the components of tiramisu.  Overall, our dinner at Elio Volpe was good with definite highlights.  Possibly a few things could've been better, but that is nitpicking. We also had some great cocktails.

The Good:
- Loved the service
- Most dishes were prepared properly
- Energetic vibe

The Bad:
- Risotto was a bit soupy

Il Cuore di Napoli Ribelle

Trying to avoid the usual tourist traps near the most popular sights in Rome, we decided to do a short walk from our hotel to a non-descript place called Il Cuore di Napoli Ribelle.  It was recommended by someone from Vancouver who is Italian.  Yep, once we got to the place, the outside was nothing special and the inside wasn't either.  However, looking over the menu, it featured some pretty good prices.  We ended up dining here for 63 Euros!  That already included a water charge and coperto.  Yes, we were aware that this is a Neapolitan restaurant in Rome.  But hey, why not try some other regions of Italian food?

We started with the Neapolitan Fried Specialties for 2 that featured Panzerotti, Palle di Riso, Potato Crocché, Montanare, Pasta Cresciuta and Mozzarella in Carrozza.  Yes, this was quite the cone of traditional Neapolitan street snacks and it was rather filling, even for 4 people!  I thought the best thing was the fried cheese as the breading was crunchy and there was enough cheese in the centre.  The same could be said about the potato croquettes as it had the same crunchy breading where the mashed potato filling was soft.  I do believe that the montanare could've used more sauce as it ate rather plain.

We wanted some meat with this meal, but not necessarily a steak since we already had one the night before.  We settled on the Grilled Pork Sausage with grilled veggies (zucchini, eggplant and marinated red peppers).  The sausage was meaty with chunks of meat and fat.  It was rather salty though and definitely was better eaten with bread.  As for the veggies, they were nicely charred but the eggplant was rather dry.  Loved the peppers as the tanginess was bright.

We also decided to share some pastas including the Linguine Gamberaccio that featured prawns, shrimp, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley.  I quite enjoyed this one as it was mild-flavoured but still had some shrimpiness accented by the garlic and olive oil.  The tomatoes helped bring acidity and some sweetness to the dish.  I found the shrimp to be firm but still had some rebound texture to them.  The prawns were a little overdone, but were still meaty.  Of course the pasta was done to al dente.

Our other pasta was the Orecchiette with sausage and Neapolitan broccoli.  We loved the firm texture of the orecchiette where there was some real bite to it.  There was plenty of crumbled sausage throughout.  It was the same from our grilled sausage dish and due to its saltiness, it provided plenty of flavour for the pasta.  Since Neapolitan broccoli wasn't in season, they probably used a jar/canned version and it was predictably softer in texture.  It did have the classic bitterness though.

Finally, we had one of their Neapolitan pizzas in the Capodimonte with tomatoes, mozzarella, smoked provolone, sausage, porcini mushrooms and rucola.  This featured a pretty decent crust with appealing chewiness and crispy edges.  The rest of the pizza was a bit soft but that could've been due to the amount of toppings.  After it was said and done, we were pretty full and we didn't spend a lot of Euros.  Was the food amazing?  Well no, but it was serviceable and we didn't mind it.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Serviceable eats

- Decent service

The Bad:

- You don't come here for the ambiance

Mama Said Pizza Co.

Once upon a time, the pizza scene in Greater Vancouver consisted of Pizza Hut, Panago, Pizza 222, Domino's and a bunch of Greco-Italian restaurants.  How times have changed...   We now have many more options including different types of pizza including Neapolitan-style and Roman-style.  There are the most usual places such as Farina, Bufala, Via Tevere, Carano and many others.  Heck, we even have Pizza Garden dishing up gourmet thin-crust by the slice!  One place I haven't tried yet is Mama Said Pizza Co, that was once only a food truck but now has a B&M location.  We headed out to PoMo to check it out.

Just FYI, the place has limited parking in front, but there is a parking garage at the back.  We did that made the short walk to the restaurant.  We started with a Caesar Salad with house made croutons and a mix of romaine, frisee and arugula.  That in itself made this salad more interesting due to the textures and bitterness of the arugula.  Even the dressing was different where it was on the sweeter side, hence making it less sharp.

Onto the pizzas, we had to get the baseline - the Margherita.  It consisted of the usual ingredients including fresh basil leaves on top (after the baking process).  As you can see, the leoparding along the edges of the crust was pretty consistent.  As a result the crust was nutty and crunchy.  It was also properly salted.  I found the crust to be fairly even in texture up until the middle which was more tender.  This is optimal and they achieved that.  The tomato sauce was tangy with some sweetness.  This was a good Margherita pizza.

The Papa Roni was pretty similar except without the basil but add pepperoni, grana padano and fennel seed.  Again, the crust exhibited good leoparding including the bottom.  With the addition of a lot of pepperoni, covering almost every inch of the pizza, the pizza was more robust and a little spicy.  The oils from the pepperoni added aroma and body.  With some fennel seed, we also got background licorice notes.

Going another few steps forward, we had the Brooklyn which added pepperoni cups, bacon, sausage, mushroom, onion and grana padano.  With all of this meat, the pizza ate saltier, but in a good way.  The roni cups provided a totally different texture with a meaty chew.  Even though we had more toppings, the crust held up and didn't soften.  The fact that the onions weren't cooked too long meant there was some sharpness.

Our hands-down favourite pizza was The Mama with mozzarella, ricotta, prosciutto, pesto, arugula and grana padano on a honey sesame crust.  Oh where to start?  The crust was outstanding with nuttiness from the black and white sesame seeds while the honey helped balance off the saltiness of the prosciutto.  With some pesto, we got aromatics that were herbaceous, cheesy and nutty.  Arugula provided its usual pepperiness.  As you can see, we enjoyed the pizzas at Mama Said Pizza Co.  Good pies and killer tunes (mostly 80's), I'll be back.

The Good:
- Excellent thin crust that is consistent in texture
- Flavour combos are good especially The Mama
- Super awesome people there

The Bad:
- Place is small so it will fill up easily

 

Per Se Social Corner

Okay, this visit to Per Se Social Corner happened before they made the Michelin-recommended list.  In fact, we ate here just before the Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road concerts.  It was fabulous!  Anyways, I've been meaning to come here for my birthday earlier this year, but then Omnicron hit...  So here we are finally hitting up the place.  Interestingly, this was the only corner at Homer & Smythe that I hadn't eaten at yet since I've been to Homer Street Cafe and Tutto.

When we initially ordered the Criminale, we didn't have any expectations for their pizzas.  Well, it was fantastic.  With even leoparding on the crust and bottom, there was smoky nuttiness throughout.  The crust was uniformly crispy, thin and nicely salted.   I'm not afraid to say this is one of the better Neapolitan-style pizzas I've had in the city.  No joke.  As for the toppings, the San Marzano tomato sauce had plenty of depth and tang.  Nice spice from the soppressata picante and smoky saltines from the applewood smoked bacon.  Adding more flavour was the prosciutto cotto, while the red onions offered up some sharpness.

Onto the Calamari di Mamma, it featured a gluten-free batter (which appeared to be rice flour).  It was super crispy and well-seasoned.  The calamari itself was tender with an appealing chew.  Served on the side was a lemon wedge as well as house made tartar and chipotle aioli.  I thought the tartar was quite good with a bright creaminess and tang.  As for the aioli, it was a bit smoky with only a mild spiciness.

We also got the Patatas Bravas just because it is one of our favourite tapas items.  This was a fairly large portion consisting of fried split gem potatoes.  I think due to the choice of potato, they didn't fry up particularly crispy (and were rather dense).  That didn't mean these didn't taste good though.  They were tossed in a spicy and smoky marinara (the smokiness was from the paprika).  The whole thing was drizzled with vegan aioli.

We ordered a couple of pastas including the Cacio e Pepe featuring fresh mafalda pasta, pecorino romano and cracked black pepper.  This simple dish was flavourful from the salty and nutty cheese accented by the bite from the black pepper.  Loved the pasta as it was firmly al dente and held onto the cheese well.  We added braised beef to give the dish some more something something.  It was decently tender with a full-bodied meat flavour. 

Our next pasta was the freshly made Gnocchi al Pomodoro with San Marzano marinara, parmigiana reggiano, fresh basil and Sicilian olive oil.  For good measure, we added the al arribiata chorizo.  Due to the combination of ingredients, this was zesty and tangy.  Plenty of impact here.  As for the gnocchi, they were soft and pillowy, yet still retaining a background chew.  Loved the spiciness added by the chorizo.

We couldn't visit Per Se and not have their famed Burger consisting of 8oz in-house handground organic Alberta beef, fresh challah bun, melted fontina cheese, truffle aioli and syrah caramelized onions and cipollini flakes.  Oh man, this was fantastic!  The meat was cooked just right where it was so tender, it melted-in-our-mouths.  Plenty of natural flavours accented by the truffle aioli and the sweet onions.  Those cipollini flakes added such appealing crunch to the soft ingredients.

We upgraded the fries to Truffle Fries that went with the burger.  These didn't look it, but they were actually fantastic.  I believe they were triple-fried and hence, were super crispy with a tender centre.  They didn't overdo it with the truffle oil nor the parm, so the potato flavour was still there.  The side of truffle aioli featured real black truffle, so that was a treat.  Overall, the food at Per Se was quite good with the pizza and burger being the highlights.  There is much more on the menu we didn't get to try, but I would totally go back to do that.

The Good:
- Excellent pizza and that burger!
- Attentive service
- Love the energy

The Bad:
- Potatoes could've been better 

Claudio's

Around 10 years ago, I had visited a non-descript Italian restaurant in an equally plain-looking strip mall on Dawson Street near Brentwood.  The place was Pasta Amore and it has recently become the victim of redevelopment.  However, the story lives on with the opening of Claudio's roughly across the street in the SOLO district along Lougheed at Willingdon.  Claudio's pays homage to the man himself, Claudio Magagnin, who ran Pasta Amore since 2000.  Now the next generation has taken the tradition and modernized it, complete in a snazzy new spot.

We ended up heading over to Claudio's with my entire family including my parents.  Just like family, we were graced with the same great service as was at Pasta Amore.  With an updated menu, we started with the Ahi Tuna Carpaccio with birds-eye chili, capers and lemon.  This was a light and appetizing starter with plenty of acidity and tanginess.  Buttery and soft, the tuna was contrasted nicely by the thin crisps.  The addition of chilis gave the dish a notable kick.

Although a bit defaultish, the Caesar Salad was actually really good.  Featuring fresh and crisp romaine hearts, there was a nice crunch to each bite.  As much as the house made pane fritto was a bit chewy in the middle, it was welcomed as there was variation of texture.  Now the salad was a bit over-dressed, but that wasn't a huge issue as the dressing was impactful.  It was creamy with lots of nuttiness and saltiness. Could've used just a bit more acidity. 

Our last antipasti was the Pumpkin Arancini served as a trio.  At first, we were a bit concerned that they were using pumpkin.  It often can be rather strong and overwhelm most dishes.  However, this was not the case as the aborio rice was sweet with only background fall flavours.  There was also the usual cheesiness which added body and aroma.  We found the rice mostly al dente while the outside was crispy and light.

Onto the pastas, we thought the Pesto Gnocchi was on point.  These were large and super pillowy soft.  They were delicate, yet didn't disintegrate.  Featuring a pesto cream, the whole thing was pretty rich.  It was a good thing we were sharing the plate.  Due to the amount of cream added, the impact of the pesto was somewhat muted, but it was still definitely there with an aromatic nuttiness.

We weren't super impressed with the Pappardelle Manzo Brasato featuring braised beef belly and red wine.  It was actually surprising that the stringy meat in the dish was beef belly.  We couldn't understand how it could be chewy and dry.  As for the sauce, it was quite bland and lacking flavour all around.  It needed, among other things, salt.  Fortunately, the pasta was perfectly al dente though.

The best pasta of the bunch was the Tagliatelle Nere with clams, crab meat, mussels, prawns, lemon butter, chili and parsley.  Beyond the perfectly al dente pasta, the abundance of shellfish was a real treat.  They were cooked perfectly with buttery plump clams and mussels as well as cold-water prawns.  Best of all, the pasta actually tasted briny like the sea.  Sometimes, seafood pastas do not taste like seafood.  This one did with plenty of crab meat as well.

For our pizza, we had the Boscaiola with tomato sauce, mushroom and sausage.  This hand-stretched pizza featured nutty leoparding and a crispy crust.  However, the middle was a bit softer than usual (even though it is supposed to be tender).  It could've been partially due to the amount of toppings (especially the water-releasing mushrooms).  Despite that, the pizza ate well and the dough was seasoned enough.

For our mains, we shared the 20oz Bone-in Ribeye with red wine jus and arugula.  We asked for it to be prepared medium-rare and it couldn't have been any more perfect.  It was evenly grilled on both sides with the middle being juicy and tender.  I wouldn't say this was the most tender ribeye we've had, but it was more than acceptable.  The side of red wine jus added the necessary flavour to the beautifully cooked meat.

Seemingly a simple dish, we thought the Chicken Parmigiana was excellent.  Paying homage to the dish we had at Pasta Amore 10 years ago, this one was even better.  We found the chicken breast to be juicy and tender with a crunchy breading on the outside.  Tangy tomato sauce and melted fior di latte ensured that there was tanginess and stringy cheese with every bite.  This was a good version of this dish.

Since we were pretty full by now, we only had a few desserts including the Tiramisu.  The kids had the Gelato (which was a great deal at $3.00 per order).  As for the tiramisu, it was quite good with moist, properly soaked lady fingers with balanced espresso hits throughout.  They were enveloped by creamy mascarpone that was just sweet enough.  So in the end, we though the meal was quite good especially considering we were in the burbs.  Can it compare to the best in town?  Well, no, but considering the price and the portion sizes, I'd say it was fair and an option in the neighbourhood.

The Good:
- Cozy, modern space
- Excellent service
- More than acceptable eats

The Bad:
- Parking is not free and actually expensive for the area
- The braised beef belly pasta was actually not good

 

Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana

After back-to-back days of Asian food that included Japanese and Vietnamese (as well as some eats from the Anaheim Packing District), we decided to go for Neapolitan pizza out in Fullerton.  Just a quick drive out on N. Harbor Blvd, Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana was closeby to where we were staying near Disneyland.  Luck would have it, it was a Monday and their Margherita pizza was only $5.00!  Score! Also, with free parking at the back, this was super convenient.

If we had known that the foccacia that came with the Bufala & Burrata was essentially a pizza, we would've ordered differently.  However, that wasn't a big deal as the cheese was fresh including the creamy burrata.  It was accompanied by homemade pesto, fresh arugula and cherry tomatoes.  We added the prosciutto crudo di parma for good measure.  A really nice way to start the meal, but we were already getting full off our appie!

For our pizzas, of course we had the Margherita for the super low price of $5.00 (only on Monday's with a purchase of another pizza).  Although you can barely see it (maybe a bit on the edges), the bottom of the pizza sported nice leoparding.  Hence, there was a smoky nuttiness to the crust.  Most of the crust was crunchy, yet a bit too chewy, while the middle was tender.  I found the tomato sauce to be on the milder side.  Would've liked to see more tang and seasoning.  A good amount of mozzarella was on top, but we wished there was more basil (and that it was not cooked with the pizza).

Moving onto something with some toppings, we had the Funghi e Salsiccia featuring roasted mushrooms and sausage.  So essentially this was a Margherita base with the addition of the toppings.  Hence, all the qualities of the Margherita were present in addition to the woodsiness of the mushrooms as well as the meaty fattiness of the sausage.  Naturally, with these ingredients, the pizza ate more hearty and the center was a bit softer.

Our last pizza was also the grandest in terms of toppings.  The Quattro Salumi with prosciutto cotto, prosciutto crudo, sausage and salame.  No surprise as the base pizza was essentially a margherita once again.  This ate hearty and was a bit saltier due to the meats.  The crust wasn't any soft than the previous one, so it was mostly crispy.  Overall, we thought the pizzas at Fuoco were solid and pricing was reasonable.  Really nice people too.

The Good:
- Solid pizzas
- Well-priced
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Crust was good but maybe a bit too chewy
- Tomato sauce a bit too mild

Life Of Pie

Here we are, 3 years later,  doing a similar road trip from 2019.  Little did we know that that would be that last trip we'd take up until now.  So our first leg took us through Portland, but we only stopped for lunch.  Since it was our first day, we had the energy to make it all the way to Ashland for our first pit stop.  Upon a friend's recommendation, we stopped at Life of Pie (nice take on the name of the movie) for some Neapolitan style pizza.

Before that, we got some greens into our meal (at least the adults) with the Kale & Arugula Salad.  This was dressed with a honey-lemon vinaigrette and tossed with toasted breadcrumbs.  On top, there was a some freshly grated parm.  I found the dressing sweet with plenty of acidity.  There was brightness to go with the pepperiness of the arugula.  Loved the crunch from the breadcrumbs as it added texture to each bite.  Finally, the parm did its nutty salty thing.

For the kids, they scoffed at the greens and started things off with the Fried Ravioli filled with mozzarella.  These were very tasty and well-prepared.  Each ravioli was crunchy, but not so much so that they were tough.  In fact, they were light, crispy and nicely spiced.  Inside, there was plenty of stringy mozzarella.  I thought the marinara was tangy and light, but it would've been better if they didn't serve it cold.

Onto the pies, we started with the classic Margherita with mozzarella, marinara and fresh basil.  Having the basic baseline pizza is always a good idea to get a true taste of the sauce as well as how the crust is meant to be.  This was very good with a nicely leoparded bottom where the dough was adequately seasoned and nutty.  I found the crust to be uniformly crispy giving way to a tender center.  Nice chewiness beyond the crunch too.  As expected, the torn basil on top was added afterwards and provided a bright herbaceous flavour.

Onto something that was much more zesty, we had the Fennel Sausage with Mama Lil's Peppers.  This pizza featured even more leoparding which meant there was additional smokiness.  The most dominant flavor was the sweet, tangy and slightly spicy peppers.  There was no mild moments with each bite.  However, I could still taste the fennel and the meatiness of the sausage.  Nice stringy mozzarella and tangy marinara rounded things out.

Our last pizza was different in the Seasonal Mushrooms with pecorino romano and a truffle EVOO base.  Without an actual sauce on the pizza, this ate much more crunchy with even the center being as such.  Didn't mind it one bit as the nuttiness went well with the truffle and earthiness of the ample mushrooms.  This was probably our favourite of the 3 we ordered.  However, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the choices as the dough is great with proper seasoning as well as leoparding.  Prices are reasonable too.  If you are in Portland, go check it out!

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Good dough and subsequent crust
- Simple, focused menu

The Bad:
- Maybe heat up the sauce for the fried raviolis