Fig Leaf - Exposed

One of the only three original Toronto Street buildings from the 1800s, Fig Leaf Ristorante stands in quiet but monumental splendour, a graceful entrance leading to an interior full of bustling bonhomie. A favourite, semi-formal lunch spot for the Bay Street crowd, a reservation is always a good idea since the dining room fills up quickly come noon. The owners have carefully and lovingly preserved the high-vaulted ceilings and original mouldings, and managed to integrate the sense of age and dignity with a playful, enthusiastic Mediterranean energy, using the large windows and a large amount of wood and mesh to great effect.

The resto has always been LG's first choice for lunch and though service might sometimes slow to a crawl, we've never been disappointed with the food yet. LG usually opts for the funghi pizza - crispy, thin crust with a variety of mushrooms and smoked mozzarella or the fusili sanremo - pasta with generous chunks of chicken in a sinfully rich rosemary cream sauce. I usually order the linguini con vongolle if I'm really hungry - linguini with fresh clams that still retain a faint whiff of the sea, served up in a garlicky wine sauce that is light on the palate. What draws me back time and time again though is the incomparable fig crostini.

Although billed as an appetizer, the portion is big enough to pass for a main course. Slightly melted cambozola cheese, sticky caramelized figs and barely charred red onions are heaped in a mound on pieces of hot, crusty bread. Cambozola is derived from a marriage of Camembert and Gorgonzola. It is mild and creamy, with streaks of tangy blue that add a zing. The taste of the cheese itself is a wonderful mélange of buttery, salty, acidic flavours. Half-melted by the grill, it wraps lovingly around the figs and the onions, imparting occasional bursts of sharpness amidst earthy sweetness. You can almost imagine yourself in a sun-warmed grove, the breeze in your hair, the feel of the ground solidly beneath your hips, at ease with yourself and the world.

While the Fig Leaf holds sway over the fig crostini, figs and cambozola can also come together in strong harmony when you wrap fruit and cheese in a prosciutto parcel. The cheese also goes amazingly well with garlic that has been roasted whole until it achieves a wild, fragrant nuttiness, extracted from its skin and roughly crushed. Spread both cheese and garlic on fresh rosemary foccaccia for a simple yet unforgettable meal. Definitely mmm-mmm good.