LOVE FOR FABBRICA

Tonight my dad and I were picking up my brother from a hockey practice out at the 401 & Kennedy, so for dinner we wanted something closer to the 401, without sacrificing taste however! Automatically we thought of Fabbrica, Mark McEwan's newest restaurant to the McEwan chain.

Fabbrica is located at the Shops at Don Mills, but surprisingly received quite some negative criticisms at first, making me a little bit more hesitant than normal. But boy was I wrong, it completely surpassed all of my expectations. Fabbrica was the perfect spot for a cozy Sunday wintry night dinner. We walked in early, around 6:15 and there were a few tables here and there, but by the time we left at 7:30 it was completely packed with a lineup to get in! Talk about a perfect neighbourhood spot.

Fabbrica is authentic Italian cuisine, sourcing products from Italy with iconic Italian style decor! Very chic and very cool to say the least with a beautiful wood-burning brick pizza oven from Naples. Traditional for the perfect Neopolitan pizza, with a temperature of 900 degrees the pizzas are done in a rapid 90 seconds!

To start we shared a salad, which in my opinion was the star of the show. A roasted yellow and purple beet salad with arugula, prosciutto, toasted pistachios and goat cheese in a light simple olive oil dressing. From there we moved onto the home made pasta dishes. The Casserace pasta (rapini, chilies and house made pork sausage) for me and the Papardelle pasta for my dad (braised shortrib, tomato and basil). We decided we couldn't pass up the pizza so we decided to try the Capicollo (mozzarella, hot capicollo, basil and tomato) pizza with hopes of bringing the leftovers to my little brother (That definitely didn't happen! lol).

The meal was truly great, Italian is my favourite and nothing beats a good home cooked feel Italian meal. This is exactly what Fabbrica was. With a vibrant and exciting decor and a view of their house curing room and pizza oven, Fabbrica is the perfect spot for a Sunday meal, date night, a large group of family or friends or to introduce those to Toronto's great culinary scene! And with complimentary parking on a snowy night, what could be better?!

Buon appetito!

To learn more and check out their menus visit: http://www.fabbrica.ca/


photo credit: fabbrica & google images

CHAPTERS & INDIGO

Here is the #1 reason why its great to have friends at Chapters&Indigo - because they tell you when all the celebrity chefs are coming to town and then send you the link to all the events!

Thanks to my lovely friend Kate, I am now prepared for multiple celeb chef book signings/meet & greets this month! If you live in the Toronto neighbourhood get excited - there is a whole roster of fabulous people coming to Indigo throughout November! My fav - Jamie Oliver, the Domestic Goddess herself Nigella Lawson, Toronto's star chef Mark McEwan, Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro and Britain's tough chef Gordon Ramsey. These chefs (and authors) will be there to talk about their experiences, their new books and then sign them for those of you lucky enough to get in line fast enough!

For more information on the upcoming events: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/storeevents/eventsResults/?dateRange=1&city=Toronto&province=Ontario&eventType=0

photo credit: indigo

FABBRICA

One of Toronto top chefs has done it again, Mark McEwan has added Fabbrica - his newest restaurant to the Mark McEwan family across the city. Fabbrica, located in the Shops at Don Mills is traditional Italian cuisine.

The menu has the classic Italian choices but the restaurant is nothing less than top-notch. Pizzas are made on a wood-burning brick oven from Naples, the tomatoes are from the San Marzano valley, the hand-milled flour is imported from Italy and Fabbrica's executive chef Rob LeCair was sent to New York to train under the Associzione Pizziuloi Napoletani. You can clearly see the restaurant has the makings to be another McEwan hit!  I cannot wait to check this one out! 

Fabbrica

49 Karl Fraser Rd. (at Shops at Don Mills)

416-391-0307
http://www.fabbrica.ca/

photo credit: toronto life

The Heat

Mark McEwan is back for what looks to be a good third season of his show "The Heat" on Food Network Canada. He is one of Canada's top celebrity Chef's and Entrepreneurs who is based out of Toronto. His three restaurants, North 44, Bymark and One are some of Toronto's finest restaurant hot spots. He also has a catering company and has opened the new grocery store in the outdoor mall at Don Mills. He is one of my favourite people to watch on Food Network. His food is absolutly stunning looking and he runs a tight but amazing ship! He is such an icon in the Food Industry particularly in Canada.

Food Network says about this new series, "We’ll see this rock-star chef and savvy businessman tested every episode. While pulling off over-the-top caterings for his loyal clients, Mark invests millions in a new business that he’s learning about - from the ground up – each and every day. We’ll see exactly what it takes, from breaking ground to opening the doors of a fine food emporium - McEwan style."

Can't wait to start watching! Check it out online or on tv (channel 56)!