Toronto Life
www.torontolife.com
Restaurant Guide
Any place whose name refers to Laverne & Shirley is not going to take itself too seriously. Thank goodness. Crowded, boisterous, but somehow not constricting, this tiny St. Clair West spot reminds us that there’s more than one Little Italy in our fair city. A double-sided menu suggests a big, filling night, while the long list of server-announced specials tests listening skills. Among starters, arugula-based mushroom salad ($12) sautés buttons and portobellos in crumbly crotonese—a salty, granular contrast to the mushrooms’ smooth flesh. When tomatoes are in season, panzanella ($9) is a beautiful choice: olive oiled chunks of toasted bread with wedges of vine-ripened tomato and fresh basil, parsley and oregano. From the list of generous primi, lasagna ($12) dazzles: phyllo-thin layers of pasta—interspersed with sliced boiled eggs, ground beef, ricotta, parm, mozzarella, béchamel—bring uncommon texture to this most comforting of comfort foods. Garlicky orecchiette ($12) with rapini and almonds makes a terrific alternative to red-sauce pastas. Mains, by comparison, disappoint. But it’s hard to go wrong with fragoli fragola ($7)—whipped cream and berries. A very brief wine list. Service is charming but uneven.
