From Alice Fazooli’s to Scaddabush: Our First Look
Welcome the new Italian Kitchen & Bar in town, Scaddabush!
Scadda-what? Apparently, the word is synonymous to “a little bit of this, a little bit of that”. From freshly made mozzarella cheese and made-to-order pastas, there is a little bit of everything to check out at this new concept restaurant. Out with the old, and in with the new. Well… maybe not everything old. [They kept their Tiramisu, but now it’s presented differently. Mmm, tiramisu.]
Scaddabush’s grand opening to the public was yesterday. We were greeted promptly even before entering through the doors and once again after entering by the host and hostess. Our server, Vanja, was very nice and knowledgeable of the new items on the menu and definitely made us feel welcome and taken care of during our dining experience. She suggested some great dishes also. We weren’t planning on trying out the fresh mozzarella [cue minion-like “whaaaaat?!”], but we were glad we did.
We walked over to where they prepared the mozzarella and pizzas and got to see how our mozzarella dish was made. We got the Naked Mozzarella, which came with crunchy focaccia crostini, San Marzano tomato jam and sea salt. Now let me tell you something… I’m not that fond of tomatoes, but this jam [made with sun-dried tomatoes, I think?] was great! It went well with the crostini and cheese. We also got to try it with the fig jam, which was a sweeter version that was equally as good. [Fun fact: the “scribble” on the butcher paper that the mozzarella is served in is the signature of the chef who prepared it for you. Thanks Lucas!]
I took a look at the menu beforehand and was set on getting the Italian Burger sandwich made with certified Angus beef, bruschetta, baby arugula, fried fresh mozzarella, balsamic reduction and pesto aïoli served on grilled focaccia. It did not disappoint. The beef was juicy and tender and the fried fresh mozzarella made the burger that much better, adding a bit of crunch with each bite. I got the Rosemary Garlic Fries as my side and it was flavourful enough on its own that I didn’t really need the ketchup it was served with.
We weren’t sure which pizza to go with, but I have read online that someone who went to the food sampling really enjoyed and recommended the Alfa Romeo: Gorgonzola cheese, pears, bacon jam, mascarpone cream sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. We thought it was a bit on the sweet side, but someone who is looking for something sweet and savoury would probably be quite satisfied with this pizza option. They also had this cool pizza scissor contraption that lets you cut the pizza up your own way. Pretty neat.
Sadly, we forgot to order our Calamari Fritti and we only realized it after finishing our mains. But that was completely fine as we were so stuffed, we barely had any room for dessert!
Vanja told us that they kept the Tiramisu the same as before [why mess with a good thing, right?], but they’re now served in glass jars. Since we already knew that we liked the tiramisu from Alice Fazooli’s, we ended up trying out the Zeppole: deep fried sweet dough dusted with citrus sugar, served with chocolate hazelnut sauce for dipping and Apple Ravioli: think apple pie with ice cream and caramel! We did prefer the former over the latter, though. The pastry/dough used for the Apple Ravioli could have been made a little flakier as it seemed a little dense… or maybe even just given a bit more time in the oven to get a more golden brown exterior? Not bad, though. The caramel is a nice touch. Even though we didn’t order it today, I think our bias still makes Tiramisu number one.
I also had a White Sangria [yum!] with my meal and we shared an Iced Cappuccino to end our meal for the night. Whew. So. Full. If we had an external hard drive to partition off as a second stomach, we would have probably also tried the meatballs, calamari, and their signature Blood Orange Bellini. But alas, our stomach real estate doesn’t expand very much so maybe next time… with more mozzarella!
Scaddabush seems very promising as a new take on Italian cuisine. Who doesn’t love freshly-made food, right? If you would like to try it out yourself, sign up for their Social Club to receive a $25 gift card/coupon off a $50 meal [expires September 30, 2013]. What are you waiting for?
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Scaddabush
209 Rathburn Road West
Square One, Mississauga ON
(905)281-1721
