About

Our Italian Canadian Story

We believe in simple, tasty, casual Italian Canadian comfort food. We are inspired by the heritage of classic "red sauce joints" of the past. Warm atmosphere, friendly service, generous portions, and fair prices.

Our Five Principles

We operate on five simple principles that anyone can understand.

1. Quality

Food should be simple, tasty, consistent, and made from scratch with whole ingredients.

2. Service

Service should be fast, friendly, tidy, attentive, and knowledgeable, with lots of suggestions.

3. Cleanliness

Everything and everybody should be clean and well maintained.

4. Value

Portions should be generous. Prices should be fair. Beer and wine should be available in value sizes.

5. The Golden Rule

Treat others as you want to be treated. Including guests, employees, suppliers, and community.

Scratch Made

We make it ourselves.

Great Ingredients

Prime meats, fresh vegetables, quality cheeses.

Good Value

Generous portions at fair prices.

What is Italian Canadian (or Italian American)?

20th century Italian immigrants brought their “cucina povera” (cuisine of the poor) and combined it with the abundance they found in North America to produce a cuisine of large portions, tomato-based sauces, and decadent use of cheese, meat, and seafood.

What is a Red Sauce Joint?

Tomato sauce features prominently in this cuisine so restaurants serving it are known as “red sauce joints”.

Tomato Sauce Everywhere

Slow-simmered tomato sauce is used liberally in dishes like pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, and for dipping calamari, calzone, and fried mozzarella

Cheese, Cheese, Cheese

Generous amounts of cheese (mozzarella, ricotta, goat, parmesan) add richness and flavour. Grated parmesan is offered on everything. Rich and creamy Alfredo sauce is made in giant batches, ideally with real imported Parmigianno Reggiano (“the king of cheeses”).

Meat Dishes

Meat dishes like lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs and sausage, chicken or veal parmesan, and chicken or veal limone (piccata) are staples. Meat toppings on pizza and pasta are plentiful.

Seafood Dishes

Fried calamari is a given. Seafood pastas (mussels, shrimp, scallops) are standard. These will be saucy, not "lightly dressed". Unlike Italy, you might be offered grated parmesan on seafood dishes (gasp).

Thicker Pizza

Italian Canadian pizza has a thicker crust, cooked tomato sauce, high-fat low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, lots of toppings, and is baked in a deeper pan.

Non Traditional Ingredients

Italian Canadian cuisine uses ingredients not traditionally found in Italian cooking, like cream, and relies less on seasonal ingredients because of climate.

Portion Sizes

Portions in Italian Canadian cuisine are generous. Eating too much bread is encouraged. Leftovers are expected.

Richer and Saucier

The two cuisines have diverged more in recent decades. Modern Italian is lighter and more vegetable-forward than before, and Italian Canadian (or Italian American) is cheesier, saucier, more decadent than before.

More About Red Sauce Joints

Roxane Gay. Red Sauce America. Bon Appétit.

Michael La Corte. My love letter to Italian-American red sauce joints. Salon Magazine.

Amiel Stanek. Why Everyone Loves a Red-Sauce Joint. Bon Appétit.

Dennis Lee. Red sauce joints are forever. The Party Cut.

What We Are and Aren't

We prefer substance over style. Simple, tasty, efficient, scratch-made Italian Canadian comfort food classics at a good value. We're not really into perfectly frothed and foamed dishes, microgreens, or samurai knife skills.