Vertical

Vertical was definitely a hit. I've been to this restaurant a few times and it still was truly an amazing dining experience each and every single time.

Tonight's dinner was certainly memorable even though there was one dish in particular that was not pleasant at all.

Me and my friend decided to start off the meal with 2 appetizers. We chose the octopus with fennel, potato & saffron, bread crumbs & parsley puree and the berkshire pork terrine with acorn squash, saba, sprout and candied lemon salad. The octopus was well prepared and very well seasoned. Also the potatoes were scrumptious as well. Something so simple yet it was very delicious. It was the highlight of our night. The pork was tasty but didn't compare to the previous appetizer.

For our entrees we ordered the ravioli butternut squash with ricotta, spinach, parmigiano fonduta and fresh herbs and the tagliatelle with clams, bottarga, lemon, olive oil and garlic. Unfortunately due to the dim lighting my pictures didn't turn out very well. Sorry no photos here. The ravioli was exquisite. Creamy, full of flavor and just irresistible.

The tagliatelle, which I can't even pronounce was a different story. My friend took 2 bites and she did not like it at all. When it came time to switch I poked my fork into the clam and dabbed it in the sauce before putting it into my mouth. Immediately I made a face. It was horrendous. The sauce tasted like a mixture of shellfish which have been marinating in its own juices for weeks. It was not appetizing at all. I was voicing my opinion to my friend when a waitress overheard our conversation and asked us what was wrong. I told her I was very unhappy with my dish. It was just plain awful. She sincerely offered to take away the dish and let us order another item. I normally don't like to do this but in this case I just couldn't bring myself to take another bite.

I ended up ordering the cannelloni with spinach, oyster mushrooms and ricotta in a tomato sauce. It was much better. The waitress came over and asked if everything was okay and this time I told her it was definitely better than the last dish. My only criticism of the cannelloni dish was that the pasta itself was paper thin where it felt like I was eating a savory crepe rather than a pasta dish. But the waitress told us that is how it is normally prepared in Italy. Guess I am more used to the Canadian standard where bigger is better. Other than that it was tasty. The pastas were freshly handmade which was another bonus.

For dessert, I had my eye on the zeppole which is Italian doughnuts stuffed with pistachio pastry cream covered with sprinkled cinnamon sugar and a caramel sauce to dip in. It was divine. Truly luscious and a perfect ending to the meal.

Aside from the one awful dish, the remaining dishes more than made up for that one bad apple. Also the attentive and friendly staff welcomed our criticisms with open ears.

TOTAL BILL $90...EAT HERE NEXT!!!