Friday, February 8, 2008

Boston Exclusive: Stellina Restaurant

Back in November, we visited our dear friends Jack and Dana in Boston (actually, Watertown) and they took us to a fantastic Italian restaurant called Stellina. I've been meaning to write about this place for ages and in celebration of Italian Week here at I can't believe I'm back in Toronto, I'm finally getting to it.



Boston Envy
First of all, I have to say that Bostonians are so lucky. Over the course of the short weekend we spent there, we ate at so many places that were full of character and had drop dead delicious food. I love Toronto and I know we have a lot of diverse cuisines here, but Boston seems to do North American staples so much better (e.g. sandwiches, BBQ, pizza, seafood). After spending no more than 2 weeks total there over the past 3 years, I've fallen in love with at least a dozen places, including this one.

Appetizer: Warm Tomato Salad (aka Salad of my Dreams)
At Dana's sage request, we shared an order of Warm Tomato Salad and it was definitely one of the best food experiences I've ever had. The tomatoes were ripe, sweet, and perfect and they were tumbled with basil and olive oil on a bed of crunchy, garlicky crostini with a generous scoop of creamy goat cheese on the side. This is something that anyone could make, but it's the ingredients that lift it past being ordinary. Dana said they source their tomatoes from one particular grower and that if they aren't up to standard, they don't offer the salad at all. No wonder it is on the front page of their web site. I still think about that salad.


Mains: Pizza and Panini
We were all in the mood for something on the light side, so we went for pizza and panini instead of the heavier mains like pasta and meats (although I'd love to go back and have a try). All the pizzas had a delicious, fluffy thin crust. I opted for a white (non-tomato) one with broccoli and parmesan and it was a great, simple combination. Dana had one with roasted mushrooms and Darcy had a classic pepperoni. Jack struck out on his own and had a panini with lots of fresh mozzarella. Check out the endless, oozing cheese. I love Boston.





Stellina Restaurant
46 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472
Lunch: T-F 11:30AM-2PM
Dinner: Daily from 5PM
Website: http://www.stellinarestaurant.com/node
Menu: http://www.stellinarestaurant.com/dinner-menu

1 comment:

Unknown said...

That is how we roll.