This week’s Food Friday will conclude my Winterlicious 2014 series.
I tend to avoid Italian restaurants because majority of the time it is all carbs and that’s something I try to stray away from. When I saw this Italian restaurant on the Winterlicious list with rave reviews on Urbanspoon, I knew I had to give it a shot.
[custom_box width=”60%” bgcolor=”#D5F2B6″ border_color=”#3F9F29″ text_color=”#3F9F29″ icon_url=”https://www.fionaman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/knife-fork.jpg”]RESTAURANT: Il Mulino
ADDRESS: 1060 Eglinton Ave W Toronto, ON M6C 2C6
CUISINE: Italian
PHONE: (416) 780-1173
WEBSITE: http://www.ilmulinorestaurant.com[/custom_box]
Before I dive into the food, let’s first talk about the service. I have mixed feelings about this. The reason being is that the seasoned waiters were more attentive to the older crowd than to us. For example, a drink menu wasn’t offered and when asked, we were forgotten about. On the flip side, the younger waiter was very attentive and offered us exceptional service.
As previously mentioned, I try to stray away from carbs but no one could keep me away from the Oven Baked Bread with Olive Oil and Rosemary. When biting into the bread, it was warm and flaky without being too oily. There was a hint of rosemary and finished with some finishing salt. For a person that doesn’t like rosemary, this bread was delicious and we actually asked for seconds. *shhh…don’t tell my trainer that*
Oven Baked Bread with Olive Oil and Rosemary
I love purées. It might have been from eating lots of baby food during my childhood. The Roasted Winter Spiced Root Vegetable Purée was smooth as can be and the spices were very aromatic.
Roasted Winter Spiced Root Vegetable Purée
My boyfriend describes the Steamed Mussels as “the best mussels ever” and that pretty sums up the review…just kidding! The reason why these mussels were so great in comparison to other mussels was that the broth was so flavourful and there was a fair amount of heat in it. After finishing up the mussels, we couldn’t help but finish the broth and even dip the bread in it.
Steamed Mussels, Fresh Basil, Scallions in a Spicy San Marzano Tomato Broth
The Linguini was cooked perfectly and there was a fair amount of lobster and very robust sun dried tomatoes. I’m not the biggest fan of peppercorn and was surprised how well it melded with the dish. Because there were irregular pieces of peppercorn in the sauce, it offered a nice pop with each bite.
Linguini with Lobster and Sun Dried Tomatoes in a Brandy Rose Pink Peppercorn Sauce
The Rack of Lamb was absolutely divine. It was cooked exactly how we wanted. With the addition of the port reduction, it added a brightness to the dish. For some reason though, the star of the dish wasn’t the lamb, but the parsnip mashed potatoes. It was so creamy, smooth, and just a different skin on traditional mashed potatoes.
Rack of Lamb with Sweet Potato and Parsnip Mashed Potatoes in a Pommery Port Reduction
The classic Tiramisu. Need I say more? It was so light and airy that I could easily eat a few more pieces of this cake!
Traditional Tiramisu
You can’t go wrong with the Cheesecake Topped with Mixed Berries Compote. The ratio of filling with crust was perfect and the filling wasn’t too dense and actually pretty light. The compote offered a bit of bitterness which offset the sweetness of the cake.
Cheesecake Topped with Mixed Berries Compote
Like all the rave reviews, I have to echo them. The food was absolutely amazing and changed my mind about Italian restaurants. We wouldn’t hesitate to go to Il Mulino again and have recommended this restaurant to several people because our experience was exceptional, minus the seasoned waiters.
