Last night in Toronto

Had dinner with my friend Vin. She took me to a restaurant on College Street named Cafe Diplomatico. It was my first time there – but I think it’s well-known by the Toronto set. I loved the vibe of the place right when I stepped in. The restaurant’s been around since 1968 and it has an old-fashioned diner sensibility. Formica tables, simple lighting, menus encased in plastic. The restaurant was packed with people both inside and out on the patio. Servers were rushing from tables to the kitchen. It reminded me a bit of Colonnade Pizza here in Ottawa, except with more energy to it.
The menu was a Choose-Your-Own Adventure of Italian options. Pizzas came with a list of possible toppings. Pastas came with a list of possible sauces. And each night of the week had a different special. Wednesday nights are chicken parmigiana.
Vin recommended the calzone. We both ordered one. I chose pepperoni, mushrooms and olives for mine. We also ordered salads (him Greek, me garden) and garlic bread. My garden salad came as you would expect – tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, olives. All the ingredients were quite fresh. The garlic bread was heavenly. Crisply toasted outside, buttery soft inside. (Had I remembered Vin telling me the waiters bring a basket of rolls to the table, I don’t think I would have ordered the garlic bread – I was quite stuffed.)
But the calzone was the box office attraction. It was huge. I was impressed by how the dough encasing the pepperoni, olives and mushrooms was deliciously yeasty and light. The cheese oozed out the moment I cut into my calzone. We each ordered the version that comes with a tomato sauce on the side, which was perfect for dipping. The cheese became too much about half-way into the calzone so I scraped out the rest of the gooiness.
After dinner, Vin and I walked home. She moved here five months ago. And we talked about the challenges of settling into a new city. To be honest, Toronto has never appealed to me. I’ve never felt like I connected to it – too scattered, too big. But twice I’ve gone out and felt like I connected to the neighbourhood. Once was in Kensington Market. The second was eating at Cafe Diplomatico.