Owen Steinberg – Sheryl Kirby

The jingle says “good things grow in Ontario!”, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to find. Just ask owner Ian Sorbie or Chef Owen Steinberg of Il Fornello who have spent the last year adding Ontario-grown items to the menu for the 8-location chain.

Started last June, with a small separate menu of local, seasonal items that changed regularly, Il Fornello recently celebrated a full year of its All Ontario Menu, and in the past year, has diverted approximately $300,000 away from imported goods and back into the local economy, purchasing some 65 tons of local products ranging from root vegetables to oils, vinegars, meat and even grain from local farmers and suppliers.

Continue reading “All Ontario – Il Fornello Celebrated a Year of Eating in Season”

ilfornellofig Il Fornello
491 Church Street (and others)
416-944-9052
Complete dinner for two with all taxes, tip and beer: $90

I’ll be honest up front and admit that I haven’t actually been to an Il Fornello restaurant in over ten years. I had a super terrible service issue at the King Street location some years ago that made me never want to go back. But when we heard that Il Fornello’s chef Owen Steinberg had created a changing seasonal menu based on local ingredients in addition to the existing menu, I was happy to set aside my reservations and give the place another go after so long.

We opted for the Church Street location because it’s known to be the most attractive, and that’s definitely the case. The space is long and linear with clean, sleek lines. Tables are still traditionally dressed in white linen, but the room has a modern feel that is not the norm for your typical pizza and pasta place. I especially liked the co-ed style washrooms with individual stalls and a shared trough-style sink – very risqué for stuffy old Toronto.

Continue reading “Tis the Season at Il Fornello”