Welcome to Wongs Eat! For those who are new, this blog is different. We are a family of four with not just a love of eating but also a love of quips and silliness. Here you see serious opinions from Kevin and Sylvia mixed in with funny side commentary from Rowan and Declan (aged 7 and 9). May our family dynamics bring you joy, for food is only as good as the company you keep.
OVERVIEW
The year of 2020 will be known for many things. While it was a tough year with COVID, it was also the year we discovered and fell in love with Ruffino’s in Niagara-On-The-Lake (NOTL). This Italian restaurant sits in a plain corner strip mall but its food is top notch. T-shirts worn by the servers denote the place as “Naples On The Lake”, and we quite agree. The atmosphere is is a mix of Italian trattoria with modern Niagara, complete with red and white checkered table cloths and and wine barrels as side tables on the patio.
The restaurant may be a foodie heaven and is more on the fancy side, but that hasn’t stopped them from being kid friendly. They provide a paper activity sheet with crayons, a necessity for families like us with young kids who are impatient for food. The boys spent a lot of time coloring in the dog, and they even posted the artwork on their wall!
Rowan: I liked coloring in the dog
Sylvia: Who’s the dog again?
Rowan: The dog is the restaurant owner
Sylvia: Lol
Rowan: No Mommy the dog is the restaurant owner’s pet
Sylvia: You mean the restaurant owner
Rowan: No I mean the pet!
THE FOOD
Declan: Ruffino’s is daddy’s favorite place. Daddy will go overkill with the veal chops. We should encourage Daddy to eat less red meat.
It has indeed become Kevin’s routine to order the veal chops. They are consistently perfect: succulent, juicy, and naturally flavourful in a mushroom sauce. Every time, Kevin picks up that giant bone and picks it clean. Every guy’s dream. And while Kevin lives that dream, Sylvia nervously looks around the restaurant… to see who is noticing her husband is behaving like an uncultured cave man.
Kevin: I want to eat it right now again
Declan: The carrots there were a little too charred though
Sylvia: No they weren’t, what do you know. How many charred carrots have you had before?
Declan: I have had enough charred carrots
Sylvia: Where’d you have those?
Declan: At home Mommy
Sylvia: Oh
The pasta, like the veal and vegetable sides, has also been consistently great. This ragu was shared 4 ways and if we hadn’t ordered so much food we would have fought over it. The meat is so tender that it just melts in your mouth. It also wasn’t overwhelmed by cheese; that’s a pet peeve of ours.
KEvin: The fried gnocchi side dish with sage and brown butter is slightly crunchy on the outside and comes in a very unique flavor profile. We tried figuring out what it was but couldn’t.
sylvia: The beets were sweet and paired well with cottage cheese.
Rowan: Honestly I think the pizza is the best there.
Rowan has ordered pizza every time. Just like how Kevin’s ordered veal every time. Something runs in the family.
The whole grilled fish is done directly on an open flame grill and stuffed with onions and lemon slices. This picture was not the best and does not do it justice at all. The fish was juicy and not over done, and the white bean pasta was a perfect complement. Sylvia normally doesn’t like chard but this was young leaves and very tender.
THE EXPERIENCE
Declan: Rowan had chocolate milk that he didn’t share
Rowan: Declan never asked… although I could have offered
Declan: I shared my gelato with you!
The only downside of this very popular place? When it’s packed, it can get slow. And we all know Sylvia is not a patient person. By the time we ordered dessert it was quite late. And the boys still had hopes of swimming that night in the hotel pool. We waited what seemed like forever for gelato and tiramisu which Sylvia knew must have already been pre-prepped. Rowan, in the meanwhile, finished his chocolate milk and started fussing around, pulling on the table cloth, jumping on the chair, etc. And so, Sylvia stopped the server and asked if things could could be expedited.
Waitress: we’re sorry, the cooks are all busy
Sylvia: but it’s gelato… gelato. Can’t you just go scoop the gelato??!
Waitress: …..
Sylvia: [evil glare]
Waitress: let me see what I can do
Sylvia apologizes to this waitress for her wrath. The gelato and tiramisu were both very nice. The tiramisu is just how Sylvia likes it – not very sweet at all, with lots of chocolate. In fact, it was bitter enough that Declan rejected it. A first for Declan to reject a dessert!
Declan: I’ve been there three times and I’m pretty sure the food is good there, and I’m probably going to come back.
SUMMARY
Ruffino Overall rating: 6/5
Rowan: After Ruffino’s we went to Bird Kingdom and I saw a bird that I wanted to eat. Can we write about that?
Sylvia: No Rowan, this post is about Ruffino’s
Rowan: I think Bird Kingdom would make a big great restaurant
Sylvia: I think the birds would disagree
Rowan: One day I feel like there’s going to be soup noodles at Ruffino’s
Declan: It’s an Italian restaurant but okay
Rowan: Why can’t Italian restaurants have soup noodles?
Declan: Because soup noodles come from China
Rowan: That’s not true I’m pretty sure that Italians have soup noodles too
Declan: Is that right Mommy?
[Sylvia does a Google search]
Declan: I think whoever is reading this should go to Ruffino’s
Sylvia: But if everyone goes we’ll have to wait longer in line
Declan: But then they’ll get more business
Rowan: We can order online guys
Thank god we live in the age of the Internet.
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