summerlicious anniversary lunch - Fabbrica

Location: 49 Karl Fraser Road, Toronto

Description on Summerlicious site:
Authentic Italian cuisine, uniformly rustic and intended for casual enjoyment. Fabbrica houses a contemporary dining room anchored at the front with a long bar and at the rear, our wood-burn brick pizza oven from Naples. The atmosphere is casual and convival!

Price: $20

Appetizers:

   
Paul had Buffalo Mozzarella (fresh tomato, balsamic, basil and extra virgin olive oil) and I had the Beef Carpaccio (mustard sauce, capers, onions, grano padano). Paul's appetizer was really colourful and fresh and all the flavours of the ingredients stood out. As for me? This is now my favourite carpaccio dish ever. Everything just melted together into a delicious, light, fresh taste. I normally don't like capers (I find them too salty) but these blended in nicely and I barely noticed them. The only thing I didn't care for on the plate were the radishes, but I loved the rest of the dish so much I barely noticed them.


Mains: 

   
Paul had the Pizza Parmigiana (roasted eggplant, fresh mozzarella, garlic, tomato sauce and reggiano). The pizza, in a word, was DISAPPOINTING. The crust was incredibly chewy and difficult to cut and the middle of the pizza was so wet that it was just a soggy mess and really difficult to eat. The skin on the eggplant was so tough that it was almost impossible to eat. Nearly the worst pizza we've ever had. Luckily, I fared much better with the Ravioli (ricotta ravioli, roasted peas, mushrooms, reggiano and scallion pesto). It was a generous portion and the peas were a really nice, summery sauce for the ravioli.

Desserts:

   
Paul had the stunning Pavlova di Fabbrica (baked Italian meringue, lemon curd and seasonal fruit). This was a really well-done dessert. The meringue, curd and fruit each had its own unique flavours, but they combined together for a refreshing, intense and beautiful dessert. Meanwhile, I had the Tiramisu (espresso savoiardi, mascarpone mousse and grated chocolate). I love tiramisu and this was a great, light-tasting version of the classic dessert. Placed on top was a lovely, crunchy toffee piece.

Service: 
Great service from start to finish. Even though it was Summerlicious, we still got lots of chewy, crusty bread before the meal and very attentive service.

Overall:
Except for the pizza, everything at Fabbrica was great. We'd probably come back and try the regular menu at some point, just probably not the pizza.  :)