May The Forza Be with You! - An Italian Trattoria Review

Nestled between a tanning salon and a hair dresser is Forza!, a little Italian trattoria that opened twoyears ago in a space that another Italian pasta bar once occupied. I have been driving by it regularly after picking up a double double at the Timmies’ on Wye Road and wondered if a restaurant in this location would be worth a visit. The answer is “Yes!”

One of the things that distinguishes Forza! from other pasta bars is that once you place your order at the counter, you get the rest of your service at the table. They bring your food, drinks, cutlery,etc. to you and pick up your dishes. You can even order more if you wish and get your leftovers “doggy bagged” in a nice takeaway box.

On this particular visit, I came with my parents (seniors) and my 19 year old son. A crowd that, at the best of times, is hard to please.

Once you enter Forza!, grab some menus and pick a table. Take your time looking at the menu. It is simple but all very tempting. How it works is as follows: 1) Choose from a variety of pasta such as linguini, spaghetti, pappardelle, etc. (gnocchi and two types of ravioli are available for an additional $2.00). 2) Choose a sauce such as Pomodoro e Basilico, Rosé, Gorgonzola e Spinaci, Alfredo Ragu d’Agnelli, etc. and Voilà! That’s it.

If pasta with sauce is not what you crave, there are also five other pasta dishes (Risotto, manicotti, lasagna, polpette), stratcciatella (egg drop) soup, salads and Paninis you can order.

We were all quite hungry and so decided to have starters. Stratcciatella soup, Cesare insalata, and Caprese insalata were ordered. My father pronounced the soup to be excellent. A large, steaming bowl of egg drop soup filled to the brim with spinach and zucchini. It could serve as a lunch entrée all by itself. The Caesar salad came exactly as described on the menu “lettuce, Caesar dressing and croutons”. No bacon bits, not much parmesan but lots of garlicky Caesar salad dressing. My mom is not a fan of very garlicky things. Even my own garlic-loving palate found the garlic a tad over-pronounced. My son and I shared the Caprese salad. I was surprised to see mushrooms mixed with our tomato and boccocini. As I took my first bite of mushroom, I realised that these were not mushrooms but slices of boccocini cheese that must have been marinating in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar for quite a while.

The appeal of a Caprese salad is not only the flavour but also the eye appeal. The round snow-white boccocini slices or balls placed next to the deep red tomatoes beautifully sprinkled with drops of virgin olive oil and sweet balsamic vinegar make for a mouth-watering presentation. Unfortunately, this was not the dish presented to us. This said, close your eyes, take a bite, and enjoy the salad as it does taste quite good and is like the soup, large portioned.

Next, came our entrées: Lasagne al carne, Pappardelle with Aglio, Olio e Pecorino, and two orders of Spaghetti with Ragu d’Agnello.

The lasagna was mild, extremely tender and melt-in-your-mouth. Again, a very generous portion for lunch. My son ordered the pappardelle pasta with the aglio (garlic), oil and pecorino cheese. He was expecting chunks of goat cheese but instead, the cheese was melted in the oil and served as a buttery sauce with lots of huge slices of garlic on top of al dente bowtie pasta. They like their garlic at Forza! that’s for sure. He did enjoy the taste and said that he would order it again. (The garlic was left behind on the plate though.). My father and I both had the spaghetti with the ragu d’agnello sauce. This entrée is one HUGE, delicious serving of perfectly al dente pasta hidden under an amazing lamb tomato sauce. Loads of small, tasty morsels of lamb on almost every forkful! My father loved it. I found it a little salty. My father thought it was perfect. He likes salt, I don’t. But the lamb was tender and plentiful - that made up for the saltiness of the sauce. This was not a lunch portion; this would have been considered a large supper portion. I could only eat half and took the rest home to enjoy the next day. By the way, it did not taste as salty the next day. The pasta having absorbed some of the salt must have made the difference. My father did eat all of his. Big man, big appetite.

All in all, I would return to Forza! and look forward to trying the different sauces. But please, someone tell them to take it easy on the garlic and salt. Better to add at the table than drink lots of water.

The cost will depend on the sauce and type of pasta you choose. Prices range from $9 to $15 for pasta or salads. Average price for lunch per person with starters and drinks: $20.

~ Monique

Forza!                                      Note: This article was first published in
664 Wye Rd                                                        Strathcona Connect.
Sherwood Park, Alberta
Phone (780) 570-5449