Bits and Bites at Cavino

The first time I saw Cavino was when I attended the grand opening of Residence Inn. This is a great concept, coffee bar by day, and wine bar by night. The common theme...bar! 
One of things that has been raved about is their Truffle Popcorn. Well, I had to see what the fuss was all about. The plate of popcorn arrived warm and the scent of truffle was unmistakeable. Thankfully, the oil didn't make the popcorn soggy, but the taste was much milder than the smell. All the kernels were popped but some seemed on the wrong side of stale.
True to the carnivores we are, we went straight for the Butchers Plate. This is a selection of three meats for $18. All the meats are from The Oyama Sausage Company, one of my favourites purveyors of meat in the city. We chose Jambon Blanc with the stoneground mustard, the Smoked Bison with the chutney and the Wild Boar Salami which came with pickles and olives. The bread and crostini that accompanied it rounded out the platter. The best was the smoked bison, lean and smokey, I couldn't get enough of it. The chutney was a bit too sweet for me, but the pickles and olives accompanying the Boar Salami made up for it.
The crostini was a bit stale but when we mentioned it to our waitress, she promptly took it away and gave us more of the fresh baguette, which I appreciated.
To finish off, we also got the Gamberoni Flatbread. The prawns on these were pretty large and had a nice bouncy chew to them. I also really liked the pesto they used, no heavy handed tomato sauce here. Making the dish perfect was the freshly melted mozzarella, and you can see the little pillows of them quite clearly in the picture. 

Take note:

• Certain tables have their own TVs
• Service is pretty good since the restaurant was quiet when we went
• Roast Beef Tenderloin available after 5pm for just $20 as well as Daily Features