Fratelli Village Pizzeria

http://www.fratellis.ca

We actually passed Fratelli many times on our way to visit our sister&brother who lives in the area. Unfortunately we never noticed it before. Might have been a narrow sidewalk or us simply not expecting a restaurant around there.

APPEARANCE
Nothing much to boast about here, a clean and simple front with a fair amount of glass. Their word mark is written in not easily readable script font with an oven illustration which does the restaurant no justice. They only reason we know it's an oven and not a bee hive is due to the tagline "Classic Wood Oven Pizza". We parked on the side in a somewhat dark alley, plenty of parking spots though. There was no direct way to get in from the lot, so we took a small trip around the building looking for the entrance. Later on we noticed a rail garage door shut for the season – it was actually well integrated in the interior and lead to the parking area. We should check the place out in the summer to see how that changes our experience.

NOSE
We were welcomed by a man smiling at the bar, we believe the owner. He was there all night, looking very content to see us. We passed by a wall with a window-like opening, giving a great panoramic view of the restaurant - a live painting. On the way to our table, we also passed their open kitchen area with a chalk board filled by specials above - not a very obvious place to be read, but a good idea.
The interior was very open, walls were painted a warm brown with stone faced sections, stone-tiles floor and black furniture. They had interesting wine storage shelves with wood lettuce, but we didn't think its a good idea to have them near the ceiling with direct light at them. Unless they were decorations, this is not the best way to store decent wine.

SWIRL
Our waitress quickly brought us up to speed on what’s new and exciting at Fratellis. We asked our waitress to recommend us some dishes and perhaps what's popular. She strongly suggested Victoria's pizza and their salads. She also mentioned sharing an appetizer and a pizza is a good idea.
Their neatly organized menu seemed to be geared towards pizza selection more than anything else although we noticed a decent selection of pasta dishes with home-made sauces. There was a side Wine List cart, dominated by Italian and Californian one at reasonable prices. Their house wine was available in a variety of sizes from 5oz all the way to a little carafe. We made a mental note to get a glass or two next time we are here.
At last, we ordered their White Pizza on special and Milan's Pizza, there was no choice on size all are 11". Their daily soup also appeared quite appetizing - creamy bacon, potatoes and leek.

PALATE
As we waited, lounging music was playing in the background putting us in the right mood. As we were quite hungry, we did miss not having bread or something to munch on. Perhaps the appetizer recommendation was not to be ignored.
It took a little bit over fifteen minutes for our pizzas to arrive, but we were hungry enough to dig in at once, burning ourselves a bit against the hot crust fresh out of the oven. That wood-burning oven was in the corner, open for viewing as one of the restaurant attractions - it was topped with little mosaic-like stones. The pizza's crust itself was thin and floury. We found White Pizza quite an interesting and remarkably flavorful choice. It came with copious areas of ricotta cheese, smoked salmon, the dish was adorned with plenty of spinach, red onion and some delicious fried capers (the most original ingredient for us). Although there was no sauce, this pizza felt quite filling. Milan's Pizza was more traditional - tomato sauce base, red onions, grilled chicken, feta and a tad of mozzarella. The best part were the sundried tomatoes - an intriguing addition.

FINISH
Fratelli is quite a place for the neighborhood. Definitely a restaurant to visit with your family in the evening, or even on a date. We found it not pretentious, but wholesome. The service was great and staff very knowledgeable. Check it out if you are in the area!

ps In retrospect, we regret not checking their dessert menu.

Niche

http://www.nichecoffee.com/

"Why are you outside?" was the board welcoming us from the outside of Niche, on a Sunday morning. Just a few min back we researched a place in the area open for 9am breakfast and here we were!

APPEARANCE

deep coloured, new stylish label

Black awning, stamped wordmark, grey door - tres chic. 

Inside grey and white walls. The right wall was black cabinet-like, along it - high chairs and small wooden tables. Across was the bar area with a light-hearted guy behind it. As we looked at their hanging menus we asked if their brunch is on. He handed us the menus and asked us to take
a seat.

We sat on one of the shorter tables near the back, again wooden, made out of thich planks, with matching wooden chairs.

NOSE

fruity - cassis, herbal sense

He gave us glasses or water. Cheri asked for a coffee, while I questioned their teas. He knew their long list of choices, I picked a camomile-lime one.

We were the first ones in. We looked through the 7 choices of dishes with the numerous sides. Without much thinking I went for their Niche Benedict, and cheri for their Smoked Salmon on a Bagel.

SWIRL

spicy hints

My loose-leaf tea came in an adorably packaged bag floating like a barrel. As we waited we heard a bit of music from kitchen. A few people joined us on the tables around. I was entertained looking at the handmade "Niche" 3D black serif type standing on the shelf in front of me. Underneath were branded boxes and coffee - a pretty solid brand. Cheri was distracted by the green tape on the sides still left from their painting on the grey wall behind me. I totally assumed its part of their design.

PALATE

supple tannins rounded out with ripe fruit and light smokiness

Our meals arrived pretty quickly. They both came with a slice of orange and some sliced granny smith apple; both topped with plenty of arugula. To be honest, I was expecting more from my benedict. The hollandaise had a great texture but was a bit on the plain side, it was missing that herb or spice or something to make it special. Or was this perhaps part of the grand plan? stalling for another part? The pouched eggs were a bit runny (they way I love them), the peameal bacon was good and ahh.. here is the attention seeker - it is all served on one of their homemade cornbreads. It brought in a sweeter taste and a more moist texture to my meal. Not my favourite, but unique.

Cheri's Smoked Salon on a Bagel was topped with cream cheese, capers, red onion and in case I didn't mention - arugula! Typical and yummy. 

We didn't take long. Our waiter came by to check on us, came around with extra coffee and asked if I'd like
my water. 

FINISH

juicy mouthfeel, red berry notes

Overall, a peaceful atmosphere. Happily surprised by the variety of dishes, when the place looks like another version of Starbucks. I would definitely be back for their Poached BLT, Deep Fried French Toast or perhaps their numerous desserts.

overall, a new world Cabernet Sauvignon (chilled)