Cannelloni vs. Manicotti

La Brezza Ristorante
990 1 Ave NE
www.labrezza.ca

Went to La Brezza for lunch last week. I was a little skeptical at first after creeping the menu on the 'spoon. There was a little note at the bottom that said "As dishes are made fresh to order, please allow a minimum of 35 minutes for preparation." Thirty five minutes is a very long time... And considering my lunch break was only one hour, this could be pushing it. I crept further and decided to check it out anyway.

Located in Bridgeland and still in its original location, this little house first opened its doors to hungry patrons in 1987. Four tables were occupied when I arrived, I was quickly seated at a small table near the centre of the restaurant. After thoroughly reviewing the menu, I decided to go with the "cannelloni" alla brezza. I use the word cannelloni pretty loosely here. According to my sources (wikipedia), cannelloni is made with pasta and manicotti is made with crepe. Despite labelling it as a cannelloni on the menu, the description claims the filling is wrapped with a house-made crepe and is, thus a manicotti. But I digress. In addition to the cannelloni, I also had an order of bruschetta. Fresh focaccia bread served with a bowl of diced tomatoes with a blend of herbs, seasoning and olive oil. The bread was really good. Not as soft as that of Charcut or Teatro but delicious nonetheless. I wanted to eat the whole basket of focaccia bread but decided against it because then I wouldn't have been able to eat my cannelloni...

As I waited for my pasta, I noticed the owner was making his way around the restaurant and socializing with everyone. Except me. : ( Do I have something on my face? I like to think I'm a pretty friendly guy... I don't think I smelled bad, I showered, I swear! No matter. My dish arrived "shortly" after. Chow time! Wrapped inside the house-made crepe were ground veal, ricotta cheese, mushrooms and herbs. The crepe was very soft and had a thin layer of cheese melted on top. The filling was very flavourful. The cannelloni is then topped with a light rose (tomato) sauce and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. So amazing.



8 Stars of out 10. I was in and out in less than an hour so it wasn't too bad. Although it's probably an exception more than anything. I would definitely allot more than an hour to comfortably enjoy the meal and not devour it like I did.

Creepy Crepes

Brava Bistro
723 17th Avenue SW
bravabistro.com

Back in '99, back when boy "bands" were cool and everyone was ripping their music from Napster, Brava Bistro opened its doors to serve patrons quality Mediterranean fusion cuisines and wines at reasonably affordable prices (I'm pretty certain at that point in my life, I was raving about how awesome McDonalds was... Don't hate). I'm not quite sure what it's fusion-ed with but it's pretty damn good. The menu, though simple, offered a large variety of different foods.

I was feeling quite indecisive today, staring blankly at the menu... what was I gonna eat?! Will it be the prawn and avocado salad? The chicken and mushroom crepe? Or the feature salmon pasta? The choices! After consulting the wise waitress who caught me struggling with the menu, I decided on the chicken and mushroom crepe. And let me tell you, I have not looked back since. Until now. As I am writing this. Because I forgot what all was in the crepe. Grilled chicken and roasted mushrooms wrapped in a soft delicious crepe over a bed of baby spinach and cherry tomatoes and drizzled with a goat cheese cream sauce. The flavour of the goat cheese was toned down to better compliment the other flavours. The aroma of freshly melted butter radiated from the crepe. The grilled chicken was very flavourful. The spinach didn't leave that weird feeling in my mouth, unlike that salad I had the other day. Always a bonus. Presentation was top notch. Check it out below! 8.5 out of 10.

The Crepe Escape

Sunterra Market
Bankers Hall +15 level, 855-2 Street SW
www.sunterramarket.com

Went to Sunterra for lunch today. I ordered the smoked salmon brie crepe. I'm pretty certain the cashier charged me the wrong price because there was no way it cost only 4 dollars. You can't even get a happy meal at McDonalds for 4 dollars. Oh well! The crepe was decent. Wrapped with a paper thin crepe are strips of smoked salmon meat and brie. Nothing too spectacular. It is finished off with caper, onions and a scoop of roasted vegetables. The veggies were over roasted and likely been sitting in the pan for a week or so. Look at that zucchini! It looks like a frickin' mushroom! And the broccoli... Sick!