Mistura

Our quandary one night is: where can we seat 6 people at 9pm at the last minute? In the Bloor-Avenue Road vicinity? Mistura is very forthcoming, accomodating and right from the get-go I feel that my reservation is not an imposition but a pleasure. However, it's always been a prejudice of mine to not eat at Ave & Dav locations. Now the question is, will Mistura prove me prejudiced without cause?

We arrive a trifle early and our gregarious group, including the Reluctant Chef, La Lawyer and Sir Fussy, gather around the small bar area and order martinis (perfect) and champagne. Gosset seems to be a a favorite label in Toronto these days. True to its reputation, Mistura keeps the bar stocked with its "famous" cheese sticks, which are more bread-like than the crackers I was expecting, as well as a variety of olives. Our table is ready promptly and we're whisked to a really wonderful area that seems almost set apart from other tables but not quite. Mistura sensitively uses screens and the geography of its space to create small havens for diners.

The menu is interesting and we all have some difficulty choosing. It's a good thing there are six of us... all the courses go around the table at least once. I start with fried artichokes -- it's one of those dishes that I never make at home so I doubly appreciate their succulence. Everyone agrees that this is one of the best appetizers. For the main, I order the rabbit. When it arrives I am overwhelmed; let's call it a healthy portion, one that can be generously sampled by the five other diners. The meat is tender and sweet and perfectly balanced with a side of rapini and olives. The Reluctant Chef has the grilled calamari to start; it is perfectly delicious and he can't stop talking about it. I can tell it will be the standard bearer from now on. Other dishes on this night include veal scallopini, lamb, sea bass, and beet risotto and all of them are executed very well. Despite our great love of beets, we feel the beet risotto is best as an appetizer and perhaps not as a main. We are all impressed, until one of our companion's squash ravioli turns into beet ravioli. No squash is left tonight; the waiter informs her, while serving everyone's mains, that the chef has made a substitution. She accepts this with a slightly disconcerted countenance. Of course, she has to accept the change otherwise she would have been eating her main long after we'd had coffee and dessert. This is not acceptable and we hope that kitchen staff don't normally embark on a substitution before advising wait staff and the customer. The waiter is perceptive enough to realize that beet ravioli is not going to make her happy so he suggests she choose something else. She decides on beet risotto, but surprisingly, it is not at all consistent with Sir Fussy's risotto. His is the epitome of perfectly balanced flavours; hers is too sweet.

The waiter helps us make a wine selection that satisfies all our palates. Overall, service is attentive and friendly. To their credit, wait staff do not hurry us out even as it becomes obvious that all the other patrons have cleared out. Perhaps our one friend won't come back, but we're game to try Mistura again.