Lunch downtown with a lawyer friend of mine. The pressure to pick just the right place was intense. In addition, it was a stinky hot day and she chose to walk from her super-cooled office at Commerce Court along Front St. past the market to get to the restaurant. Oh boy, did I hope the food would be good enough to justify the effort.

We both found the restaurant without difficulty, however locating the entrance was another matter. Once we discovered it, however, we entered the quaint Italian eatery to find it relatively quiet, only a few tables in use. I guess most of the suits downtown were less prepared to brave the heat involved with walking above ground to get here.

Nothin’ fancy here, simple table and chair arrangements with your normal red and green gingham table cloths so popular among the Italian eateries in town. Conventional but pleasant, this restaurant does not aspire to the slick glitzy and trendy decor of so many downtown establishments.

The lunch menu offers an extensive selection of freshly made pastas and wood oven pizzas, something here to please pretty much any palate, and with prices from a mere $11 to $22, I quickly decided it was my turn to treat the lawyer and let her pick up the tab another time when we were going to do more fiscal damage.

Although I knew we would not be having wine, I did a quick review of the very extensive wine list, covering the many gastronomical regions of Italy. Clearly wines are a passion at Romagna Mia as the list, favouring more reds than whites, (okay by me I drink red pretty much exclusively) had offerings from $25.00 to $450.00. I took a moment to notice that my favorite Italian varietal (Barolo) is way more than adequately represented with many to choose from; worth coming back for, I make a mental note.

A basket of fresh bread is brought to the table to be enjoyed with the chili garlic infused extra virgin olive oil… no butter on the tables here, folks.

The lawyer decides upon Lasagna a la Bolognese (Meat Lasagna) while I opt for the Tagglione a la Gorgonzola.

When the dishes arrive, for her a nice sized square of luscious noodles, tomato sauce, meat and cheese which I can only assume was delicious (either that or I was talking too much as her plate was empty in half the time I took), for me a creamy rich and cheesy sauce of gorgonzola, arugula, and toasted walnuts with a perfectly cooked noodle. Not fancy, but delicious.

A cappuccino and an espresso to finish round out a delicious and reasonable lunch, certainly worth the walk even in the heat.

Did I like Romagna Mia? Well, since by 3 o’clock that afternoon I had already recommended it to someone for an upcoming dinner party, I would have to say I did and that I will go back.