Italian stallion

Roberto Gastronomia, Gelateria & Ristorante bring a taste of the old country to Villeray

by SPANKY HOROWITZ

Years ago, I visited a small town in the hills of central Italy called Pacentro, where I learned a little something about the old country. This minuscule town did not have a 24-hour Mega-Mart where I could buy my groceries, clothes and books while they rotated my tires and my wife had her hair dyed. Pacentro had one store just for cheese, a butcher just for meat, a bakery for bread--you get the picture. There is a certain charm in that way of life, and I admired it. I especially admired the food.

When I returned to Montreal, I made a point to spend my hard-earned dollars at businesses and restos that operated in that same old-country way. When I found Roberto, in Villeray on Bélanger near Papineau, I thought I had discovered such a place. I was wrong: I had actually found three such places, all at one location. The Roberto that first caught my eye was the gelateria, not only because I love ice cream, but mostly because I dig the suffix "teria." One day I'd like to open a Spanketeria.

Italians know how to make good ice cream, and this place makes two dozen flavours of ice creams and sorbets, plus some extra treats. One such treat is the "mushroom": two flavours of gelati are poured into a mould that slightly resembles a mushroom and are then sprinkled with cocoa powder. First your tongue hits the powder-dry, slightly bitter cocoa, only to be followed by sweet, moist and creamy ice cream. Heaven on a hot day.

Roberto Gastronomia (gourmet shop) next door is a pure delight. They sell imported Italian foodstuffs, including my favourite brand of dried pasta, de Cecco, at a decent price of $1.29 per package. They also make their own fresh pasta and pastries, which you can buy in many shapes, fresh or frozen.

Upstairs is the third Roberto: Il Ristorante. In a room with beautiful hard-wood floors, the tables and chairs are arranged in such a way that the space seems larger than it actually is, thanks to the attention to detail in the décor.

That same attention to detail is used in the preparation of the food, so a sprawling curve that makes a corner seem round is similar to the way they place the pasta gently on the sauce, rather than smother the fresh noodles. From the table d'hôte I tried the rigatoni sautéed with Italian sausage, mushrooms, cream and romano cheese ($15). It was preceded by a salad and followed by coffee. The pasta was cooked better than I'm used to, and the tangy sausage was paired perfectly with a soothing cream sauce swimming with sautéed shallots. And the whole thing was topped with a surprise of sun-dried tomatoes.

I was transported right back to Pacentro, where the one restaurant didn't even have a name, it was just "the restaurant." Once my feet hit the curb, I realized that Montreal is a big city, but it's founded on the ideals of the old country. :

Comments? foodspanky@hotmail.com

Roberto Gastronomia, Gelateria & Ristorante

Address: 2221-2227 Bélanger

Phone: 374-5653

Hours: Gastronomia & Gelateria open Tue-Sun, 9am-11pm; Ristorante open Tues-Sun, 11:30am-3pm, 5-10:30pm; Sat-Sun, 5-11:30pm; closed Mondays

Best features: all-Italian grocery store, restaurant and homemade gelati in one location

Vegetarian friendly: so-so

Wheelchair access: resto on 2nd floor

Alcohol: yes

Credit cards: yes

Price: $2-4 for ice cream, $8-35 per person for dinner, without tax, drinks or tip

Rating: HHHH out of HHHH