Recently purchased some of these great lead-free crystal wine glasses, and can now report without hesitation that they really do work! They eliminate the need for long breathing periods after pouring your red wine into carafes. Just pour into your glass and wait a few minutes, and the wine tastes like it has been "opening up" in a carafe for an hour or so! It has made our $10 "house wine" (Cawarrah Shiraz/Cabernet blend) taste much more interesting, and we can detect lots more interesting fruity notes, etc. when giving it the little pre-drinking sniff... They happen to be on sale at 20% off at Epicure 1900 Mississauga Road and Dundas St. West in Mississauga. They're not cheap, but they really seem to make a difference. http://www.eisch.de/eng/website/news/breathable_glass/index.phphttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070905.wldecanter05/EmailBNStory/lifeFoodWine/home
Last night we went to this new (to me) restaurant called L'unita at Avenue Road and Davenport in Toronto. We had made a reservation for our party of eight a few weeks ago, and arrived on time for the 8:15 scheduled time. We had to wait just-a-bit-too-long at the bar for our table to be vacated and re-set for us. However, after that wobbly start (which one of the very pleasant young women staffers apologized nicely for, but didn't offer any other more tangible compensation, like some complementary apppetizers or desserts, etc.) our dining experience was absolutely excellent! The room itself is a wonderfully comfortable space with exposed brick walls, large hanging mirrors and colourful posters. The noise level was just right - loud enough to feel like lots of fun was being had, but not overbearingly deafening, and not so loud as to stop our own lively conversations. We had lots of very tasty Italian red wine, soft and delicious bread with olive oil and breadsticks and olives as well as some not-too-garlicy romaine salads to start. The entrees were outstanding. Mine was short ribs...exceptionally tender and perfectly flavoured. I also sampled some nicely-cooked fries, some al dente asparagus, as well as some tasty fingerling potatoes to go along with my ribs. The portions here are very generous, unlike some other "better" restaurants where you really do enjoy the food, but are left hungry for more due to the tiny servings, often too-artfully displayed on the plate. Other choices at our table were a nice-looking cornish hen (I think!), a great striploin steak, some wonderful lamb dishes and a "really good" lobster risotto. The service was just right as well - not stuffy or snobby at all. just friendly and knowledgeable and attentive without being "in-your-face"...always a tricky balance, but done well at this place. Desserts were almost unnecessary, but I managed to slide in some cool and tasty gelattos with an excellent cappuccino to cap off a great meal. Some of our dinner companions were already asking when we could come back to this place, as there's so much more on the menu we'd like to discover - sounds to me like a pretty good recommendation for this place right there! Co-owner David asked us on the way out how we liked it, and seemed quite pleased that we were happy - seems like a very nice guy. (I had told him when confirming our reservation that I often e-mail my friends with restaurant, wine and music recommendations). We'll certainly return to L'unita sometime soon... Try it, and you won't be disappointed. Another opinion:http://www.dine.to/establishment_review_page.php?RecordID=414
