Pizzeria Napoletana

Since coming home from Minnesota after Christmas, I haven't had the urge to leave the house too often.  I wouldn't call what brought me to Montreal yesterday an "urge" either, more like a "to do" at Ogilvy that had been nagging me for a couple of months.  I figured while I was in town I'd stop over at Pizzeria Napoletana, a place that was recommended to me by a friend.  She knows I don't frequent Montreal...which is to say, she knows I don't go unless I have a reason.  But, reason or not, my pregnant tummy was begging to be filled.  Almost 26 weeks now, it seems like I can never fill my gob fast enough!  There is NO better remedy for an appetite like that than some good Italian food.

I will let you know now, the place was totally packed for lunch, so I didn't even ask for permission to shoot inside.

I was seated at a table for two and they brought me a menu....  My goodness, I have to tell you, I have never seen such a HUGE menu for pizza or pasta in all my life!  For someone that has a hard time making decisions, a menu like this is a nightmare.  So, I asked the host my magic question "What are some of your signature dishes?", with the condition that I wasn't in the mood for a red sauce just then.  He recommended 3 different dishes, but when I read the description for Tortellini Contadina: white cream sauce, sausage and bacon with the tortellini....I knew that was what I was going to get, no question.

While I was waiting they brought out some lovely, large dinner rolls with some real butter.  I mention "real butter" because quite a few of the places I've eaten in Canada bring "Becel" margarine.  Blech...I've never enjoyed margarine, not like I enjoy butter. 

Then, to my surprise they brought some Polpette di Angelina to the table; that is Meatballs Angelina.

They were good.  A moist blend of veal, pork & beef but, the meatballs themselves were bland overall.  The sauce on top was great.  The tomatoes had broken down enough to bring a lovely sweet tone to the sauce and it was properly seasoned.  I was so hungry I ate them both....if I had known how large of a portion my tortellini was going to be I certainly wouldn't have tried to finish them.  In the middle of chewing my second to last bite of meatball, my entree made its debut.

Tortellini Contadina

If you go to look for this on their online menu, you won't find it.  The menu online doesn't have their complete listing of pizzas or pastas.  So, if you look online before you go and don't see anything that catches your eye...go anyhow, there is something for everyone on their menu, I promise!

The first thing I did was dip my finger in the cream sauce, it was so thick and rich.  The flavors of the sausage and bacon had deepened the dimension of the sauce ten fold.  It really made it taste substantial and satisfying.  It almost didn't need the meat on the plate itself, but of course, it was sure a welcomed component.  The tortellini were cooked correctly and the filling was fabulous.  I'd order this again and again without even looking at the menu to see if there was something else I wanted.  But to be fair...if I fell this hard for this dish, there is most likely no end to what other scrummly dishes they have left to offer.

One word of caution...  If you go, bring cash.  I generally don't travel with cash.  I travel so much and have had so many friends get their pockets picked or wallets stolen that I don't carry cash on me ever.  Luckily, they had an ATM in house just for folks like me.  As I was paying my bill, I noticed a book on their counter from "You Gotta Eat Here".  A popular television show on the Food Network hosted by John Catucci.  Who knew....  Apparently, I haven't been living in Canada long enough to see that particular episode.  Pizzeria Napoletana was featured on there a while back, so if you want to see how they make their meatballs you can.

I would definitely go back again, but next time I'd bring more people!  It was packed in there, but this kind of food is really so much better when you share the experience with friends or family.  I know my Mister loves a good plate of pasta and the Sprout is totally in love with traditional red sauce spaghetti.  For good food and a great atmosphere stop in and give Pizzeria Napoletana a try.  Mangiare bene, vivere felici!!