Il Gatto Nero

Or in English The Black Cat a cafe on college street.

The place probably has one of the best locations around. It's on the corner on the east side of a side street with some big trees providing shade over the patio on the side. You can sit near the front or on the front patio and look at the hipster girls in their American apparel outfits and the street cars roll along College street. Prefect spot for the summer.

The place building itself is really great too. It's got really high ceilings -- although the colour scheme wasn't so great. There's a banquette on the wall and the bar is also against the bar. Tables fill in the rest of the space. The place would look fabulous if a professional with some taste redid it.

The staff seems like a bit of a mix. There was a nice, polite and perky girl working the tables. But then there were some monosyllable guys who sound like they were from Brooklyn in the place as well.

The menu has a mix of salads, panini, pasta and pizza. To me the menu looks kind of similar to what you might get at most Italian spots around the city -- although a few of the salads look like they got ripped off from Terroni's menu.

I ordered a grilled chicken breast panino. I was appalled by what I was served. The menu said chicken breast and they brought me processed chicken. If I had wanted processed chicken I would've gone to the deli counter at the Dominion across the street, but I suppose some establishments need to lie to diners. The menu also said it was grilled, but I don't think these guys have a real grill -- the grill marks looked kind of fake (maybe they use a George Foreman grill). The bun was too doughy and thick -- so the balance in the sandwich is off. The "chicken" is really thin so you end up having to chew really hard because the bread is too thick and the sandwich starts to come apart after a few bites. I asked the waitress whether the sandwich came with anything. She politely replied that it came with some mixed greens. What she didn't say was that the mixed greens didn't come with any dressing, so even though it looks like a salad and it's more like something you would feed to a grazing animal.

Also I'm not sure if cleanliness is high on the priority list here, the washroom has a really strong urine smell to it.

I generally like to check a place out a few times before I deliver a review, but in this case I'm going to pass a summary judgement because if you can't do something simple liked a grilled chicken breast you can't be expected to deliver on something more complicated. It's a shame someone who could actually make food can't invade the place and take it over -- but I guess these sorts of things happen when you have a legal system that enforces property rights.

Rating: 0 Bunnies

Notes on the Bunny Rating System:

• 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
• 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
• 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
• 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool