Eating on the road: Fusraro's Italian Kitchen in Toronto

I'm down in Toronto for a week working in our community office and this trip I'm staying downtown, so I'm getting the opportunity to try some new restaurants. Last night, on the recommendation of friends, I dined at Fusaro's Italian Kitchen at Spadina and Richmond.

There was a patio on Spadina, but I felt it a little hot for outdoor dining so I opted to sit inside. Which may have been a mistake, as there were persistent pestering flies. Temperature was comfortable though.

The train down served lunch late, so I didn't order one of the interesting looking appies -- the arancini and a meatball dish both looked interesting, and of course there was bruschetta on offer. But I decided to just get a main, and while I was tempted by the chicken or veal parm, that felt like too pedestrian a choice. There were also paninis and pizza, but I decided a nice bowl of pasta would help ensure a good night's sleep.

I decided to go with the Salsiccia, which the menu describes as pappardelle, crumbled sausage, rapini, chili flakes, extra virgin olive oil, and light tomato sauce. Sounds good to me. And a glass of red, of course -- a San Tiziano Rosso cab merlot.

There was water at the table waiting for me which was nice on a hot day. I wouldn't have minded some bread and butter to nosh on. But I didn't have to wait too long for the entrée, and the wine came with the meal.

It was a generous portion of pasta, and hot, served with a spoon for twirling (which I can manage with spaghetti but was more challenging with pappardelle). The sauce was meaty and there was lots of it. The pasta tasted fresh and was cooked properly. Didn't get much heat from the chili flakes. I liked the rappini, but would have liked it integrated in the cook rather than tossed on top. It was a challenge to eat the noodles delicately so I didn't try. I would have liked some freshly grated parmesan reggiano on top as an option.

All in all, it tasted good and filled me up. Both the entrée and the wine represented good value -- hard to find a sub-$10 glass of wine in Ottawa lately.

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