Campagnolo Roma - closer to home!

Checked out Campagnolo Roma for the first time a few weeks ago, after being a long-time fan Campagnolo on Main. I was looking forward to some yummy pastas, maybe a pizza, and who knows what else? Since it was such a nice evening, we decided to sit outside. 

 

They have lots of daily specials, so be sure to check out the chalkboard. I have found that if a restaurant has daily specials, you should always try them, as long as the ingredients being featured are to your liking.   In the spirit of summer and trying to eat a bit healthier, we decided to order the Misticanza Salad, essentially greens, with shaved cucumber and a sprinkle of radishes. The dressing was a simple oil and balsamic, very light and didn't overpower the greens at all, just enough to give everything a little glisten.  The pizza we got was the traditional Margherita, with some fior di latte, light layer of tomato sauce and some basil. The egg was an additional $1 and the pancetta we added was $3. So in total, this was a $17 pizza. The dough is chewier than your Napoletana pizzas and definitely denser and thicker too. The toppings are a bit sparse, but the flavours are really good. And yes, putting an egg on anything makes it taste better. Don't believe me? Check out this Brunch Burger from the Thompson Diner in Toronto.   As a dipping sauce for the crush, we were offered a housemade concoction of fennel seeds, chili flakes, black pepper steeped in olive oil. Instead of actually dipping the crust into the sauce, I actually spooned out the pepper and chili flakes onto my crust instead, to avoid excessive oiliness.   And to finish off the meal, we ordered one of the Pasta Specials, the Pappardelle with Sloping Hills Pork Ragu and topped with Pecorino. I know it sounds plain and in reality it is, but since they don't offer Pappardelle on their menu normally, I knew this would be amazingly fresh pasta. And indeed it was. The ragu was light and paired well with the flat and wide pappardelle. As I said before, if it's on the Specials board, it's definitely worth a try!

Take note:

• 'Pizza and a Beer' nightly 5-6pm and 9-10pm, and lunchtime for $15
• Lunch Specials Monday-Friday from 11:30am to 2:30pm (Grilled sandwich with soup/greens) for $10
• No reservations
• Check out the Daily Specials board

Some of my faves for Valentine's Day...

Trying to decide on a favourite restaurant is like trying to decide on a favourite dress...truly depends on the occasion, right? However, many of my friends have been asking me where to take their special someone for tonight, so here are a few places that have delighted me in recent months. I'd highly recommend them for dinner...and not just tonight either, I believe that everyday should be Valentine's Day.
Cioppinos <-- My review
Decandent, but if it's a special occasion, splurge. Get the zucchini blossoms!

The gigantic veal chop.

Campagnolo <-- My review
Truly amazing pastas and risottos, you can't go wrong.

Garganelli Ragu...tastes as though it has been stewing for hours.

Au Petit Chavignol <-- My Review
Cozy little place with yummy salumi and macaroni and cheese

And this was part of Dine Out Vancouver!

Octopus Garden <-- My Review
Eclectic and distintive Japanese fare in a small room, cozy and traditional

One of the prettiest presentation you will find.

L'artista <-- My Review
Wholesome Italian fare in Burnaby...none of the pretentiousness and all the deliciousness.

A simple rustic seafood linguine, just the way you'd expect it to be.

Miku -<-- My Review
Aburi sushi, and Wagyu beef sushi, and if you're going to splurge on it, you should get it aburi-ed

Amazing and unique rolls, but a bit pricey.

Market <-- My Review
Part of Jean-Georges empire, this place is elegant and serves up laarger portions than expected.

The steamed prawn salad is an amazing appetizer!

Campagnolo, accidentally

So the inital thought was Phnom Penh but a wait for two people on a Sunday night was 40 minutes. No way could we wait that long without falling down in hunger. Through a rare but shockingly bright moment on my part, we rounded the corner and went to another favourite...Campagnolo!

Greeted warmly by the owner despite not having reservations, we were seated in the back and given yummy bread sticks to ward off our starvation.

I'm not the only one who likes to play with my food.

A nice comfort food on a cold and rainy night...BC mussel risotto ($15). Perfectly slow-cooked and loaded with mussels, the dish was rounded out with roasted peppers, saffron and fried capers...topped with deep fried parsley.

And I got my usual, Tagliatelle with Pork Ragu ($19). You can get the half portion for ($14). I always get the full portion, so I have some leftovers for lunch the next day. They switched from tagliarini to tagliatelle, but the pork ragu is as good as it always is.

The pecorino ramano cheese on top is a much better choice than the usual parmesan other restaurants pile on. This milder cheese doesn't overpower the ragu, and melts beautifully over the steamy pasta.

Because we didn't get any appies to start, we decided to get something to go along with our carbs. Both having a love for mushrooms, we ordered their mushroom contorni ($6). Slices of king oyster mushrooms, tossed with white beans and garlic and flavoured with oregano.

We also scored a free confection plate from them. From the left upper corner, we got a guava jelly, a florentine, chocolate and cocoa powdered covered hazelnuts, a caramel bite, nougatine and chocolate sablé.   
Did you know? Sablé is a classic French cookie originating in Normandy. French for "sand", which refers to the sandy texture of this delicate and crumbly shortbread-like cookie. A versatile dough that can be flavored with ground nuts or zests and although traditionally round with fluted edges, they can also be cut into other shapes and even sandwiched together with jam or preserves, chocolate or lemon curd.
It was a perfect ending to a delicious meal (and evening).

Mom's Day at Campagnolo

I’ve been trying to take my mom to Campagnolo for months now, but she’s always vetoed me at the last minute, usually in favour of something closer to home. Well this time, for Mom’s Day, I decided to surprise her (along with my stepdad) and brought her there for a late brunch. Eager for a chance to do a second review. When we arrived at 12:30, the restaurant was serving lunch as well. Between the three of us, we knew that we’d be having at least one pasta and a pizza. The third dish stumped us, and we resolved our differences by ordering two pastas! I had tried the Tagliarini just a few weeks ago, but have not tried the second pasta, the Arlecchino pasta sheets with sausage & kale. I knew what pizza to order too, the Margherita, but it seemed just a touch on the plain side, so we ordered it with prosciutto on top.
Both my parents had a coffee to start, and both commented on the richness of the flavour and body. They were shocked to not get a refill though, oh well, but they would probably be buzzing after any more of those.

We were given a plate of chili flakes, along with some dried oregano (?) and shredded parmesan cheese. It’s perfect for people like me who love to spice things up and to play with my food. It wasn’t long before the pizza came out, still piping hot from the oven. The thin slices of prociutto just blended perfectly into the cheese.

All conversation stopped as we munched on this slice of yumminess. My mom said that the crust was perfect…thin and crispy on the bottom to support the topppings, but the edge had a very satisfying mouth-feel. The cheese and tomato sauce blended together nicely, and the prosciutto gave the whole pie an extra zing of salty kick.
Just as we were polishing up the last of the pizza, the Tagliarini and Arlecchino pasta sheets arrived. I LOVE their Tagliarini. As the waiter said, this has been on the menu since they opened and it will stay on there menu forever. I had ordered the full portions of both pastas, because I remembered the half portion was nowhere near enough for me, and to have to share with my parents, nuh-uh. I love the texture of properly done fresh pasta. Add that together with a pork ragu that stands right up to the noodles, you know you have a good marriage. The generous sprinkling of finely grated parmesan cheese was appreciated too. For a non-meat-craver such as my mom, she loved the proportion of the meat to noodle ratio. I, could have used more ragu, but then again, I’m a carnivore at heart.

The Arlecchino sheets were amazing too. Perfect little diamond shaped sheets with sharp edges. The fennel sausage was mildly flavoured, so that fennel lover (mom) could taste it, but not so strong that a fennel hater (me) would spit it out. Despite the listing fennel in the description, I knew I was going to order this because of the perfect pasta accompanying it. Both my parents were pleased that there was some kale thrown into the mix, to make it a little lighter and healthier. Because the pastas arrived when we were still eating the pizza, we made the mistake of allowing the pasta to cool. I found the sheets clumped together a bit when I tried to serve them; the sheets had to be pried apart to be shared. That said, I was delighted that the sheets stood up to my prying them apart, I didn’t get any torn sheets or sheets that refused to part.

We’re not usually dessert people, but decided to have something sweet this time, just so my mom could have another cup of coffee. We ordered the Biscotti, Meringue and Cookies dessert. There were fennel biscotti, hazelnut cookies, and shortbread as well. The little white meringues are about the smallest I’ve seen, but still light and airy. As I said, I’m not a huge fan of fennel, but it works in a biscotti…there were definitely fennel seeds here!

I was intrigued by something on the menu called Resentin. I had never heard of this before, and had to ask the waiter what it was. 

So you start with a strong espresso, to which you add a little bit of brown raw sugar. Give it a quick stir and drink as usual. Once you are near the bottom of your cup, you pour the grappa shot (0.5 oz only) into the espresso cup and you stir again, before drinking it quickly. I convinced my stepdad to have one with me. I had the espresso & ½ oz. Grappa di Brunello and he had the espresso & ½ oz. Grappa di Prosecco.

Our parting gift was a small package of macaroons for mom (and luckily, a small package for me too). Can’t wait to try the salty caramel one. We also received a gift certificate to ReFuel for brunch…time to check out that menu now…

Camping out at Campagnolo

Finally got a chance for dinner with the BFF. With a baby in her life, it’s been harder to get together. Once we were seated, we both ordered a glass of vino each. From the Antipasti section, we knew that the Crispy Ceci is their more well-known appetizer, so we ordered one of those. And from the Salumi section, I decided to try their Dry Cured Chorizo. I had been craving this since my mom’s taster from her Grilled Halibut at Coast last week (that review here). A huge bowlful of ceci (chickpeas) arrived, sprinkled with peperoncini, mint and citrus. It is a very generous portion and definitely more than enough to share! Who knew you could coax crispiness out of chickpeas! This is a far cry from the usual way I use/eat chickpeas…uh, hummus anyone? The chorizo came, thinly sliced…laid out in 4 x 4 rounds, and made me want to play checkers with them. Perfectly cured and super tasty…not too salty as can often happen with cured meats, and delicately spiced. This was the start of a great meal.
After having too many pizzas and flatbreads lately, we both opted to have their pasta, from the primi section. I got the Tagliarini with the pork ragu, basil and pecorino. My friend got their Rigatoni special, in what seems like a Bolognese sauce. There is just something unbeatable about fresh pastas done right.
Tagliarini is an egg noodle, long and flat, just a little narrower than tagliatelle. The pork ragu tasted as though someone slaved over it all day…tender morsels of pork that practically melt in your mouth. Her rigatoni was cute little round tubes, perfect to munch down with the Bolognese sauce. Portions are not huge, no Anducci’s-sized portions here, but it is just the right amount to fill you up. And with the old world taste of the sauce and homemade texture of the pasta, each mouthful leaves you very satisfied.
I was so delighted with the meal and the service that I booked my Mother’s Day brunch here. I can’t wait to post the review on that. Based on my meal tonight, I’m sure their Frittata and Colazione are fabulous.