| Last week, two friends and I headed to Il Giardino for an authentic Italian feast. Embarrassingly enough, I had never been to Il Giardino. Having been born and raised in Calgary I decided it was long overdue.
Upon entering the "Authentica Cucina Italiana," I noticed that Il Giardino is quite spacious, with a brighter and lighter feel than most Italian bistro-like settings. As far as the décor went it was standard.
We decided to start off with the Insalata Caprese, a tomato and Bocconcini salad with fresh basil ($8.95). Sadly, it was light on basil, but made up for it with many other delicious additions. Piled high with capers, red onions and cucumber, the ingredients were tossed in light herb vinaigrette. One of my dining companions was not overly pleased with the alternate version of the salad, as it wasn’t the purist version she was looking for. Your basic Caprese usually is just tomato, cheese and a lot of fresh basil.
We wanted to try the Insalata Di Spinach as well, but forgot that the spinach shortage was still in effect and our server informed us we would probably be waiting another five or six months for our beloved spinach to return to the cuisine scene.
We had snails instead. The La Mache all’Aglio, or snails in a wine, garlic and tomato sauce ($11.75) were wonderful. Definitely not your typical escargots, the snails were melt-in-your-mouth tender and swimming in a zesty tomato sauce.
For our entrées, we had a vast range of options to choose from – Il Giardino offers over 21 types of pasta dishes, ranging in price from $12.95 to $39.75 (for the "Pasta Feast for Two" platter, that samples three variations of pasta). For the main pasta dish, we tried the evening’s special, a duet of pastas that featured ravioli in an alfredo sauce and a penne dish accented with spicy sausage and roasted red peppers in a tomato sauce, served with a side salad ($18.95). The Ravioli was rich and creamy without being too overwhelming. The penne selection wasn’t as good, as the tomato sauce was slightly disappointing. It was wonderfully spicy, but not the premium tomato sauce you desire from an authentic Italian dish.
From the Risotti section of the menu, we chose the risotto al funghi e zafferano, that translates to risotto with mushrooms and saffron ($18.75). The dish was delicately seasoned with saffron and had a heartwarming blend of assorted herbs and spices. Risotto is not for the light eater, however – my friend had barely put a dent in her meal before she was full. She definitely enjoyed it though. Her only complaint was a lack of variety with the mushrooms – a different variety of them would be a good addition to this plate.
I chose to try the veal dish topped with artichoke hearts and a creamy, mustard wine sauce. The vitello valdostana ($19.95) was delicious. It doled out a generous portion of veal smothered in a fantastically sinful Dijon cream sauce, and was accompanied by potato wedges and assorted vegetables. I wasn’t a fan of the vegetables as they were too buttery for my liking, but everything else about the dish was superb.
As we walked out of Il Giardino, we all felt sated and satisfied. It was kind of like leaving a relative’s house after a big holiday dinner. The service was pleasant and the surroundings were casual and comfortable. With one glass of house red ($8.95), three appetizers and three entrées, our meal came to a very affordable $120 with tip. Splendido!
Il Giardino is located at 344-17th Avenue S.W.; phone, 541-0088. |
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