I am fortunate to be married to an amazing woman. Merilynn and I celebrated our three-year anniversary this evening.
As it had been a minute since we’d been to Piva, we booked a table for tonight. Most of the time the food is delicious and the service is great. And we do love the atmosphere.
We splurged a little bit on a nice bottle of wine to celebrate. A Meritage from Burrowing Owl.
I know this wine well. I’ve been visiting Burrowing Owl since it opened in 1998, and Meritage is one of my favorites. I find Bordeaux-style blends hit all the points I look for in any good bottle of wine.
And this bottle, as I expected, did not disappoint. Full-bodied, lots of fruit and a long, complex finish that you expect from a good Meritage. I’m going to have to drink this one more often.
We are pretty familiar with the menu here. They have some excellent dishes on their regular menu but honestly it could use a bit of an update. As regulars, we’ve tried most of the menu already. But they do have a rotating seasonal menu and tonight we tried a couple items off of it.
Merilynn decided to start with the mushroom soup as mushrooms aren’t something she gets at home very often.
Unfortunately it did not live up to her expectations. It was pureed and the consistency was bordering on “baby food.” Her words, not mine. There are one or two soups that I make as well that fall into this textural category and I’m careful at home to not make them too viscous.
I did give it a taste, just so I could give a report, and I found the flavor absolutely disgusting. I despise mushrooms with every fibre of my being.
And if Merilynn wasn’t expecting more of a broth with mushrooms in it I’m sure she would have been happier with it. It was the texture she didn’t like. Props to the restaurant though, as they didn’t charge us for it. I’m guessing most people who do like mushrooms would find the soup appealing.
I started with the Tuna Crudo.
The chili oil gave it a little kick, the pickled cucumbers gave it acidity, the soy aioli gave it an Asian flair and the waffle fries gave it a little saltiness. It all worked really well together to make a superb appetizer. If I have one complaint, it’s that it was too big for an appetizer.
I actually discussed this with Tony and he informed me that they got more complaints when it was smaller. Personally, I’d rather see a smaller appy with a slightly smaller price tag. Delicious though.
Crab cakes next for Merilynn.
I wonder if I have spoiled her for crab cakes in restaurants since I started making them. These were a little bit on the dry side and perhaps she’s gotten used to the ones I make, which are a little moister. When eaten with some tomato and mustard aioli they did liven up a bit. Maybe that’s one we’ll just have to eat at home from now on.
I went with the Lobster Conchiglie off the fall menu.
This dish killed it.
Fantastic. When they first put it down in front of me I was a little worried about flavour fatigue.
Then I ate it all. It was that good.
If I remember right it was a vodka sauce, and while it was rich it wasn’t so rich you got full too quickly. There were big chunks of sweet, tender lobster. And there was lots of lobster. The Conchiglie was a great pasta choice, lobster and sauce nestling in the shells for the perfect bite.
I decided on the Tiramisu Sundae for dessert. I’ve had it before and it was great.
I loved all the textures going on here. Orange chocolate slabs, almond brittle, espresso gelato, coffee cake and a mascarpone whip. Delicious. Again though, just a bit big. First World problems, I know…
With my dessert I had a very nice cappuccino.
Tony was our server tonight. In all our visits, we’ve never met Tony. He provided really great service, was very knowledgeable about the food and the wine and pleasant in conversation.
They gave us a complimentary piece of chocolate, similar to a brownie, to celebrate the evening. A nice thought to finish everything off.
Tonight once again showed us that while Piva serves up mostly excellent food, there is a miss every once in a while. But overall a very enjoyable meal.
8/10