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SEPT 16 / 2002 |
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| Il Pasticcio Trattoria - Among the Best Italian Restaurants in Edmonton Last week I went out to dinner with Betty, an older lady who my first printer and publisher in Edmonton and good friend for over 20 years. We were celebrating a milestone of sorts, and chose to dine at Il Pasticcio Trattoria, located at 11520 – 100 Avenue, across from Le Marchand Mansion. Il Pasticcio has long been one of my favorite restaurants, although I had not been there in quite some time. A few things have changed, but the superb quality of food, the copious servings and the outstanding service remain nearly unmatched. One now orders food from a menu, although the old chalkboard is still there featuring the daily specials. It used to be more of a cafeteria style eatery whereby one would go up to the serving counter to pick and choose whatever seemed the most tempting. However the food is still sensational. Betty and I started off with a couple of martinis, while we shared an order of steamed mussels in a spicy wine and tomato/cream sauce. The martinis were very generously concocted. This was Betty’s first taste of mussels in 85 years. The sauce went well beyond the traditional white wine fare, offering an intriguing combination of flavors when combined with mussels. Even at Betty’s age it is possible to be a mussel convert. Betty’s entrée was the pan seared boneless trout. This decent sized trout was moist, flaky, flavorful, light and incredibly delicious. If all trout could only be prepared this way. With her meal came a choice of pasta or salad. Betty went for the house “pasticcio. This is a medley of five pasta noodles with two types of cheese in a tomato-cream sauce. It is wonderful. However Il Pasticcio has always made its mark through its tomato-cream sauces. One of the daily specials was rabbit, cooked in a wine and cream sauce. This is one of the few places that actually serves rabbit, which has been a long time favorite of mine. I couldn’t resist. The accompanying pasta I chose was the Carbonara. This is pasta sautéed with chopped bacon, mushrooms, lots of garlic and parmigiano cheese. With the meal we ordered a half litre of the house Chilean cab/merlot. It was a modest wine, but it just hit the spot. Both meals were so abundant that neithr of us could finish what we had, let alone consider dessert. However Il Pasticcio has a good variety of gelatos and many traditional and refreshing Italian desserts. One might easily consider stopping by for a coffee, cognac and dessert to top off a busy day. Service was great. Our young server had a natural charm and desire to please, while not being overly pretentious. As business started getting busier and she was more rushed, she still could make time to answer questions and politely re-service our table. Il Pasticcio remains one of my favorite restaurants and clearly one of the top 2 or 3 Italian restaurants in Edmonton. The decore is fun and homey, but not what one would consider elegant. It attracts a fun and active crowd, and a few of Edmonton’s “who’s who”. Yet everyone seems to be treated the same. Prices have increased since I was last here. The two martinis, the ½ litre of wine, the shared appetizer and the two entrée came to about $85.00. This isn’t too unreasonable for what you get, I suppose; but they have moved into a different bracket than before. I have a few minor complaints to mention below…but let there be no doubt – You have not totally familiarized yourself with Edmonton’s dining scene until you have enjoyed Il Pasticcio. But if you don’t get there early, you could be out of luck. The place is always packed. BEST POINTS: AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: RATING CATEGORY: |