Spuntini

Spuntini Ristorante and Bar (116 Avenue Road, Toronto)

416-962-1110

Hours:  5 p.m. - 11 p.m. daily.

spuntini.rest@sympatico.ca

Soup of the day

A cabbage and potato purée. It was more flavourful than its description. Its orange-reddish colour made it look more like tomato soup (possibly also due to lighting). It was larger and more filling than I had expected.

Rigatoni portobello.

The sauce was quite creamy, the shredded Parmesan on top was nice, and the pasta was cooked pretty much to al dente status. The large chunks of portobello were tasty and just the right turgidity for me. The first bite through the piece had a slight pop, and as my teeth sunk into the squishy flesh, the mushroom juices flowed nicely.

Would I return? Yes. Our server was quite friendly and polite. The food was good, portions were more generous than I had anticipated, and Felicia's tiramisu looked legit with its boozey lady fingers. Prices aren't on the cheap side, but they're not super extravagant either. The main entrance is lined with pictures of celebrities who have visited the restaurant. My one beef with the experience was that the soot from the candle was blowing into my face due to the open window. Luckily, it wasn't that windy and that only happened on occasion throughout the dinner.

Total damage: $37 for my soup, pasta, and coffee.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Attempt #1 at Macaroni and Cheese

I had to make a roux, which was something I've never done before (because I've never regularly owned butter until recently). I had some help from this video with how to do so. That chef explained it pretty well.

Attempt 1 was okay, but there were some small clumps of sauce inside.

 Attempt #2 at Macaroni and Cheese
I pretty much did what I did in attempt #1 and added some carrots and onions because I felt like I needed vegetables.

I cooked those vegetables in butter.

 If it looks grainy on one side, it's because I added bread crumbs. Yes, only to one side to see how it would taste.

Onions work in mac 'n cheese. Carrots not so much. Panko bread crumbs as suggested in the video link above would be awesome.

You can kind of see the small clumpy bits in this picture:

 Attempt #3 at Macaroni and Cheese
Try, try, and try again. Practice makes perfect. And I had a lot of cheese left since it kept going on sale.

I tried this one with egg since I saw it used in this recipe. Bad idea. Maybe it was because I don't measure things most of the time, but the egg just cooked in clumps within the macaroni. It was sort of gross. 

I will not be wasting any more of my eggs in mac 'n cheese.

 Attempt #4 at Macaroni and Cheese

 This was the best attempt yet. Although I burned the butter on the first try at making the roux, it was awesome after I started fresh. I felt a bit sad dumping out that wasted brown butter.

The result was sooooo creamy and very cheesy. No weirdo clumps.

The top was nice, but I really need to get some Japanese panko bread crumbs.

Things that would make it better: panko bread crumbs, more cheese (maybe Parmesan on top too - can never have enough cheese), fancy seasoning, and maybe some Italian sausage.

Or I could just follow this guy's recipe properly.

Heinz Disney Princess Pasta

Unfortunately, the Disney Princess pasta didn't come in non whole grain pasta format. 

Ariel looks a bit messed up, but the castle looks like what it's supposed to.

It's pasta in thickened tomato soup. If that's what you grew up with, you'd like it.

Italian Food

I have no idea where this is from since someone else did the ordering online. 

Pappardelle alla trattoria

Very well seasoned and cooked. I was surprised at the amount they gave each of us for take-out. I enjoyed the abundant amount of cherry tomatoes in my aluminium foil container. I was also pleased that the food was still warm when it was delivered. 

Felicia's gnocchi was exceptionally good. It had the right amount of density to it, and was also massively proportioned. It probably could have been four meals for her easily.

Would I get it again? Sure, if I ever figure out what the name of the place is.

Total damage: $8.90-something + tax + tip.

Orzo

Another creation by Andrew. Orzo with roasted peppers and spinach. I liked it, and it seemed pretty healthy compared to what I normally eat. 

Station Creek

Station Creek Golf Club (12657 Woodbine Avenue, Gormley, Ontario)
905-888-1219‎

Salmon penne

Super saucy. I really liked the super buttered garlic bread. The salmon chunk was a little small and overcooked. It was also pretty tasteless. The pasta was cooked al dente, which was good. Overall, it was okay. 

I should note that the calamari rings on my uncle's seafood linguini plate was cooked perfectly. They weren't chewy at all. 

The apple blossom dessert was warm and cute. 

Total damage: free for me thanks to my aunt and uncle!