On any travel day, we find that a quiet, relaxing, casual dinner is just what we need. It was snowing lightly, so we chose to walk to the village - only 1/2 mile from our condo. We wandered from restaurant to restaurant perusing posted menus - the very southern Italian menu at Ital-Delli appealed most to us. Don't be turned off by the name Ital-Delli - this is not a deli - as you'll see from my review.
We walked into an almost full restaurant without a reservation at 7:30 on a Friday night and were pleasantly welcomed and immediately seated. Tables set for twos and fours were covered in plaid cloths with candles aglow and the restaurant dimly lit. Itali-Delli reminded us of a neighborhood Italian restaurant abuzz with locals happy that it was Friday night - but oh...We're not in Italy - we're in Canada....Can this restaurant come close to rekindling our fond memories??? The aroma of garlic, tomato sauce and freshly baked bread had us salivating and the showcase of desserts near the entrance allayed our concerns....cheesecake, tiramisu, cannolis and pignoli cookies - Oh boy - we're in for a treat. As we're led to our table we see platters of antipasto, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella, ravioli, gnocchi, and heaping bowls of pasta.
Our waiter brought menus, a wine list, warm bread and asked if we were pressed for time or did we prefer to linger over dinner. We wanted to relax and had found the perfect place...The crowd was animated, many stopping to chat briefly with diners at other tables, some waiting for friends to join them...we decided that many were locals or at least regulars that ski each weekend and this is their Friday night meeting and eating place.
A few minutes later our waiter returned to tell us about both food and wine specials for the evening. Beware!! The special wines have special prices!! The one we contemplated carried a $50 price tag - We settled for a Chianti from the regular list - at $22CDN it was well paired with the meal. We sipped wine, ate warm bread and shared a tomato/mozzerella salad - It was huge and the tomatoes so fresh. Our waiter had told us to signal him when we were ready for our main course. It was freshly prepared and arrived piping hot within 5 minutes. Our veal marsala and chicken saltimbocca were accompanied by linguine tossed with shreds of spinach in a light, garlicky tomato sauce. As good as we've ever had. We shared a superb tiramisu for dessert. We're told it's the best at Tremblant and more than likely it is.
The Itali-Delli has a cozy feeling, an efficient and knowledgeable waitstaff who love their work and are proud of the food that they serve. We'd love to be able to enjoy this experience in our neighborhood at least once a week.