From the get go, I was pretty excited by the idea of finally going to a place that had a Summerlicious menu. I heard about this event since last year, and I would see my friends post photos of their experience at Canoe, (or some other place) with fancy delicious food while I somehow never got around to it :( Plus, for some places, it was pretty expensive, even if it was a set menu.

I was kind of out of the loop when the decision was made amongst my group of friends (the same group that I went to Chit Chat Play with) to go to Il Mulino, so I kind of just went along with it. I didn't know where it was, I didn't know that it was apparently one of Drake's favourite restaurants, or anything about it really, until I actually had their food.

It was a rainy night when my friends and I had arrived, and Il Mulino was not the place to wear your tattered hoodie and sweatpants to. It has been a long while since I actually dressed up for a night out to eat, which added to my anticipation to their food even more (#tooshytotakeselfies, haha). 

This is one of those times that I again, didn't really take a picture of the decor (I got too engrossed in listening to the topic of superstition at our dinner table). It was rather simple and elegant, with somewhat dim lighting and a singular large archway to divide the spaces of the place (i.e. an archway between the reception area and the dining area). A bit of a waste of space, considering that the restaurant is not that big to begin. *shrugs* Oh well. At first glance, Il Mulino was deceivingly bigger than its' real size; this was especially so with the archway to the side of the reception area appearing to have a secondary dining area when it was really a large mirror. 

We started off with crunchy bread as appetizer. It was seasoned with rosemary and had a slightly sweet taste to it due to the seasoning they used (I have no idea what it is though). 

I was a little wary at first when I initially spotted the Steamed Mussels, Fresh Basil and Scallions option in the Summerlicious menu online. I loved the idea of mussels, it's just that the word spicy jumped out to me like a sore thumb. 

Me and spicy usually don't mix well. The only time I had deliberately decided to order something spicy on my own free will was when I had sinus congestion and I wanted the Spicy Chicken Bento box at Seoul House to alleviate that. My face was sweating like mad in the time that I was eating, but it worked.

Anyways, I kind of had a #yolo moment when I ordered this starter dish, and surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all, even with the sprinkle of additional black pepper. My face wasn't sweating and the spiciness never accumulated in my mouth or throat like I feared it would. In actuality, it was hardly spicy at all (did I just one up in spice tolerance?! ... Maybe that's just my wishful thinking, haha) so I was able to thoroughly enjoy it without having to retreat to my glass of water every few seconds. The mussels were a little small in size to my initial dismay, however the extra basil and scallions satiated my stomach enough that I was ready for my main dish. 

It's funny because out of the five of us, three of us ordered almost the exact same thing (with dessert being the only differentiating factor). 

I was really looking forward to my main dish. Lobster and Linguini? YES PLEASE! After my disappointment with Glow and more disappointment in the fact that I haven't had Lobster Poutine from Rock Lobster yet, I was excited to have a sufficient amount of lobster in a dish. I was not disappointed at all. Il Mulino's Linguini with Lobster & Sun Dried Tomatoes left me delighted and content. There was a good amount of lobster (just the fact that I was able to stick my fork into a scone-sized chunk of lobster got me grinning with glee inside!) and it wasn't too salty; the sauce clung to the linguini well and the pasta itself was a quality that I approve of. The flower on the top was a nice touch. Additionally, the portion size of the main course didn't leave me too hungry or too full, so I'd say it was a good size. 

Plus, this is a set menu, so I definitely need to leave room for dessert!

The sign of a happy camper, haha.

My boyfriend ordered their Grilled Stirloin Steak with a Sautéed Wild Mushroom Marsala Sauce in medium. I was so focused on my own dish that I forgot to ask him how he found his dish :/ It looked good though!

My friend who sat across from me (who ordered almost exactly the same things as I did) ordered Tiramisu as his dessert. After having made my own Tiramisu/tasting my mom's Tiramisu for a generous amount of times this year, I was curious. I've had cheap/okay Tiramisu from I don't even know where a long time ago, and I probably had decent tiramisu at some point in my life, so what about legit Tiramisu at an Italian restaurant? 

(I think I never actually ordered tiramisu from some of the Italian places I've been to because I'm partially lactose intolerant and I was afraid of retreating to the washroom afterwards...) 

I snagged a small bite out of his out of bold curiosity. It was soft to the taste as I expected, fluffy even. The only difference between the kind I made and this one was that the alcoholic taste/presence was much more prominent. It wasn't even the coffee taste that I immediately pointed out; that was the funny part. I personally prefer the tiramisu to have a stronger coffee taste rather than an alcoholic one (for lack of better words). To each of their own I guess?

Finally, this is the dessert I ordered — Gelato Fresco's Chocolate Lindt Ice Cream. As much as I enjoy Tiramisu, I cannot pass on Chocolate Lindt Ice Cream. As you've probably noticed by now, I am a sucker for chocolate, whether that be ice cream, the chocolate itself or whatever. Again, I was not disappointed. This has got to be one of the smoothest chocolate ice creams I have had the chance to consume, the other one a faint distant memory that seems to vaguely escape my mind. I kind of wish I could just get a whole tub of this and share at home, knowing that my father is a huge ice cream fan. Then again, he would probably just eat 90% of the tub without me knowing...

Either way, I am pleased with my first Summerlicious experience. It's a little pricey compared to the average meal, but you're essentially paying for quality, ambiance and the idea of a good food adventure. 

That Italian Place

I don't go to Brampton often, but when I do, it's to eat some delicious food... lol.

It's been awhile since I had a food post, and my boyfriend has been meaning to take me to That Italian Place, so why not?

There wasn't anything particular about the decor that caught my eye. It wasn't fancy and it wasn't shabby. I did appreciate the generous amount of light that flooded the place though, because it made the food that much more aesthetically appetizing (not that it wasn't already)...

We both ordered fettucine — I had the Bolognese and he had the meatball version. His was essentially the same thing as mine, except his meat was in the form of the meatball, while I had meat that was evenly spread throughout the sauce. It was a good serving size (deceiving small!) and a bit on the pricey side (that plate was for $8, the same price you would pay at a Vanelli's at a food court and get an even bigger portion there) but I would justify it with the quality. The sauce clung to the pasta well (sometimes, I'd experience a place where the tomato sauce would just slice off the pasta and the pasta would have almost no retainment of the sauce whatsoever), and the texture of the fettucine was just how I liked it — not too soft but not completely al dente either.

Because the dishes were deceivingly small, my boyfriend thought a lunch sized plate of fettucine wouldn't fill him up. Midway through the meal, he ordered a panini for $9. Again, a little pricey, but the quality was worth it. I was a little thrown off by the size of the sandwich when it came in (maybe I haven't had enough paninis to know their standard size, haha), as it was in a bulky square shape. Although I only took a bite out of it (I was content with my portions, thank you!), that one bite was satiating enough. I liked that the bread wasn't too dry. The cheese wasn't too salty, yet it still had a subtle taste, the chicken wasn't salty either, and there was a healthy helping of lettuce. If I hadn't ordered my fettucine, I would have definitely wanted to try their paninis. Maybe next time? That is, if I actually happen to be in Brampton and need a place to eat?

While I would enjoy eating here, it is a little out of the way. Then again, most of the places I've blogged about so far aren't exactly within easy reach either, so there's that.

Vesuvio

Let us take a break from all the Asian food I've been posting so far and look at some Italian food! The first time I had heard of Vesuvio was when I went to Amadio's Pizza. While waiting for the freshly made Hawaiian pizza my boyfriend ordered, my eyes scoured around the walls, scanning numerous awards and newspaper clips. It was on one of the newspaper clippings that I saw that Vesuvio was ranked number one in the GTA when it came to pizza, so I quickly jotted down the name before carrying on with my night...

My first impression of Vesuvio was that it was a very comfortable space. It had its fancy metal wine racks that had flourishes reminiscent of the Victiorian era; it had its fancy lighting on the way down to the washroom, and it had those clean white drapes near the back. The comfortable and cozy part comes from the fact that it has exposed brick tiling for its wall, making the place look raw but not too 'in-your-face'. The restaurant also had kids' paintings on display, which made the place even more charming.

It took me awhile to settle on what kind of pasta I wanted. Vesuvio had a good variety for decent prices, with the Linguine Di Mare being the most expensive one. 

We started off with bread — pretty standard, and it wasn't overly salty, which was nice. They gave a choice of two white buns and two multigrain buns, for the more health conscious folks.

The pasta for that night was the carbonara. I haven't had it in awhile so why not? I've mostly been eating fettucine or just spaghetti and meatballs, so this is a nice change. However, this particular dish was quite creamy, so I was thankful that I only took half, or else I would not have had the empty stomach space to try their pizza.

And the main attraction — the Vegetarian pizza. I don't know if it's normally like this, but when I get pizza from a restaurant that is allegedly "fresh" from the oven, I would expect it to be really hot. I know that I took awhile to finish my portion of carbonara, but I don't think my pizza would turn lukewarm that easily. Even my boyfriend found the temperature to be cooler than usual and he had the pizza slices way before I did. There is one redeeming factor though, and that is that the taste was pretty good, as the olives served as the tipping point in making the experience different than other vegetarian pizzas I've had. It's funny, because I normally opt to have an olive-free pizza (I can tolerate them, but they're not high on my preferences list) and yet with this one, I'd feel like something is missing if the olives weren't there.

Overall, Vesuvio is a decent Italian place, and if I were to go there again, I'd probably try their other pastas instead. I wouldn't consider it the best pizza place in the GTA though. I guess I'm still on the hunt for that :P