Ask for Luigi

Ask for Luigi has been on my "want to go" list for quite some time now. The biggest reason why I haven't been is that they don't accept reservations. As someone who could not be labelled anything more accurate than "planner," the whole no reservations thing doesn't play nice with the way I like to do things. Cue brunch at 9:30AM when the place first opens.

Now, I will warn you that this place doesn't have your regular brunch fare. A lot of people can get behind breakfast for dinner, but pasta for breakfast doesn't sound appealing for too many people. I, on the other hand, love it, and will gladly eat leftovers from the night before at 8 in the morning. My husband? Not so much, but he was a good sport and came along to enjoy the company.

Banana Bread & Cinnamon Ricotta

This was a very good start to the brunch. Our table received a serving of this to start on-the-house, but my husband and I were eyeing this on the menu from the start, so we ordered our own serving to share. The banana bread was perfectly moist and fluffy, and the ricotta spread was so creamy - both perfectly complemented each other. My only qualm is that this is a lot smaller than it looks in the photo above, and the photos I've seen posted elsewhere online.

Pork Belly, Braised Kale, Beans & Fried Eggs

As mentioned, my husband isn't a fan of having non-traditional breakfast foods in the morning. He chose the dish that sounded the closest to what you might find for regular brunch fare, being a dish of crispy pork belly, braised kale, and butter beans topped with 2 fried eggs. The pork belly was crispy yet tender, and the egg yolks were runny enough to provide a richness to bring the whole dish together. It unfortunately didn't satisfy him as someone who would have preferred scrambled eggs and bacon, but I thought it was a pretty flavourful dish.

Tagliolini Alla Carbonara & Poached Egg

This was the freshest pasta I have ever eaten - so fresh, that I could actually see them making the pasta in the kitchen before my dish came out. It was also cooked perfectly al dente as to not create some soggy, mushy mess. The egg was poached to the point where the yolk oozed out to provide a perfect richness to mix into the dish. It was also seasoned well, but I found an aggressive hit black pepper. I also felt like this didn't have the carbonara flavour profile I was expecting. Maybe it's been a while since I have had a proper one? For whatever reason, the flavour (minus the black pepper bite) reminded me a lot of Campbell's condensed cream of chicken soup. So while I loved the pasta itself, maybe next time I will 1. Come for dinner (if I can be convinced to face a line up) 2. Try a tomato based sauce.

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