Trattoria Kitsilano
Trattoria Italian Kitchen is a beautiful restaurant in a shotgun layout with warm tones and vibrant colours. What sets it apart from the other Italian restaurants along the bustling W. 4th strip is service; Glowbal Group does it right! Fiona, our gracious server, has been at Trattoria for a year and a bit which is an eternity for anyone in the service industry and indicative of the environment that GM Adam "Real Deal" Jeal has created. I'm predicting they're going to be very busy during Dine Out 2017!
Dine Out & Cocktail Menu
At Adam's suggestion we started our evening with a couple of cocktails: a Canadian 75, a take on the French 75 and made with an in-house vanilla infused vodka and an Italian Greyhound, gin and aperol orange Aranciata goodness. Just as the ice was mellowing the kick of our cocktails the Farro soup arrived. The broth is light, devoid of a heavy oily top layer as some can generate, and the mussels, oh the mussels; mouthgasm. I don't generally prefer mushrooms, kind wording, but I ate every different variety.
Italian Greyhound + Canadian 75
The fresh burrata and crisp prosciutto dish is a bed of various brightly coloured baby tomatoes with fresh burrata. I don't eat tomatoes, love ketchup, but the smooshiness and general texture of tomatoes throws me. If you ate a tomato like an apple in front of me I would both vomit and possibly strike you to make it stop. No telling which would precede which. Enough burrata, the gooier, sweeter cousin to mozzarella, and anything starts to taste good. I tried a couple and it was pretty good, Jenn raved so I'll assume it, as with most things Glowbal Group, is top notch!
Farro Soup, Fresh Burrata * Crisp Prosciutto with wine pairings
Farro Soup - Wild Forest Mushrooms, Mussels, Porcini Brood
Fresh Burrata & Crisp Prosciutto - Roasted Baby Tomatoes & Basil Insalata
Seated beside us was a very nice couple out for dinner at Trattoria all the way from Abbotsford. The gentleman had suffered from congestive heart failure and celebrated receiving a clean bill of health a year later at UBC. They're going to be reaching out to us after they read this article, Adam, and I told them you'd do your best to get them their lucky table #7!
Fiona came rounding around the corner just as the last of the tomatoes vanished and she was holding what turned out to be an incredible culinary experience. All 3 of the main entrées on offer for Dine Out 2017. Veal scallopini, bresaola with fontina cheese. Peppery, spicy, sausage-y good. Paired with the Prospect Major Allan Merlot. Taking a bite of veal with the bresaola is heaven. Laid delicately beside it was the pan seared salmon. Oh how incredibly crisp and delicious the skin on the salmon was. The fish itself seated, perfectly, was fresh and flavourful. The gnocchi was the best I'd ever had. Why isn't this served with everything? Seriously! Who doesn't like it? Pappardelle is a fun word to say, but it's a funner pasta to eat. Layer in some braised beef cheek that has been braised for FOUR HOURS and you have yourself a sublime dish which was complimented nicely by some very tasty kale.
Veal Scallopini, Pan Seared Salmon, Braised Beef Cheek Pappardelle with Wine Pairings
Veal Scallopini - Bresaola, fontina cheese, white wine butter sauce, brussels sprouts, roasted potatoes
Pan Seared Salmon - fried potato gnocchi, grilled zucchini, roasted garlic aglio e olio
Braised Beef Cheek Pappardelle - braised kale, pear & apple mostarda
Tiramisu is coffee-flavoured Italian custard. It's usually made with ladyfingers dipped in coffee and layered with mascarpone cheese.
As full as I was it's my duty to try these foods so that I can write about it. So incredibly flaky and sweetened to the perfect point and the coffee wasn't overpowering, a near perfect 10! With our dessert we indulged in a limoncello and peach mojito and JC tried the red sangria. A perfect parallel to our experience at Trattoria: visually stunning, served with a smile and thoughtfully constructed.
Traditional Tiramisu + Prespect Admiral Shorts Tawny
Traditional Tiramisu - mascarpone mousse, espresso soaked lady fingers, mocha crème anglaise
Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan