Day 4 - A Taste of Italy

Netherlands VS Denmark
Japan VS Cameroon
Italy VS Paraguay

I really wanted today to be A Taste of Netherlands. My hometown of Chatham has a good Dutch population and there were some great bakeries in town because of them. Growing up most of my birthday cakes came from the Dutch bakery Wiersma’s (which is no longer there). I fully expected there to be Dutch bakeries and restaurants in Toronto. That appears to not be the case. There is a Dutch Dreams ice cream store near St. Clair and Bathurst and The Holland store on Weston Road but no bakeries and no restaurants. So I had to go with my second choice for the day, Italy.

I think we can all agree that there is no shortage of Italian restaurants in Toronto. An obvious choice would be Terroni. It’s good but I’ve been there. I prefer to try some place I haven’t been before and just around the corner from Terroni are two more choices, Mercatto being one of them.

As soon as the final whistle blew in the Japan/Cameroon game I was out the door to try and beat the lunch time rush. When I arrived at Mercatto the place was already bustling inside and out with the lunch hour crowd and I just managed to snag one of the last tables on the patio.

There were a few lunch specials but I went with the gnocchi in a simple tomato sauce with ricotta and basil. When it arrived the portion seemed a little on the small side. I guess you are meant to fill up on the bread that is served, but I’m not much of a bread person. On the bright side, the small portion is probably better for my waistline this month anyway. :) Once I got over my portion issues I was able to enjoy the meal at hand which was simple and delicious, the way Italians proclaim their food to be.



My choice appeared to be a popular one as I noticed three other people on the patio eating it. The woman sitting at the table next to me proclaimed that the restaurant was her favourite after her dining partner discovered she had been there two days before. For now I will keep the place on my shortlist and will give it another try when I have a craving for thin crust pizza on a patio.

I wonder if I have any Italian snacks in my apartment.



(If anyone knows of some Dutch bakeries or restaurants in Toronto, I’m all ears!)