That’s Amore
“If you want to produce a good meal, you gotta love cooking” was a pronouncement made by an Italian lady I once knew.
This was never so true as it applies to Eduardo (Eddy) De Berardinis, Chef/owner of the Coast Restaurant here in Toronto.
This guy REALLY loves to cook.
His pasta is made from the best ingredients and made fresh. His sauces are lovingly blended and cooked as if his life depended on it. His Pizza crust is so light and delicious it could be eaten without a topping.
When Eddy creates a dish, he puts his heart and soul into it
We first experienced the food at the Coast thanks to our RMT, Andrew. Andrew and his partner live in the Junction area of Toronto, and love to try out any new eatery in the area. As a result, Andrew has introduced us to several great eateries, and The Coast was the latest and greatest.
On our first visit, we were hooked.
When you walk into The Coast, the first thing you notice is the low-key, unpretentious decor. Comfortable, but not overwhelming. The atmosphere of the tiny restaurant is like visiting an Italian home.
The tables are set up both for smaller groups and larger groups. You can choose to be in the middle of the room, by the window or in a cosy corner.
The lighting is low key and the background music relaxing, ranging in style from 50’s hits and old Italian faves with singers like Dean Martin to jazz with Ella Fitzgerald.
The Coast is owned by Eddy and Ilde DeBerardinis.
Eddys’ lovely wife, Ilde, comes out from the back to welcome visitors with a huge smile, and tells you to sit wherever you would like. She brings menus, tells you what the specials of the day are, and a few minutes later shows up with a plate of fresh made, toasted panini bread with a dish of herbed olive oil for dipping. You nibble on this while perusing the menu and trying to make choices.
Ilde comes back to answer any questions, accompanied by her adorable little daughter, Charlotte.
The menu is filled with mouthwatering choices and making a selection will prove to be tricky.
The Coast specializes in fish and seafood and the menu shows this, with a temping array of antipasto featuring a delightful selection of fish and seafood treats. The main dishes include crab, clams, prawns, lamb, pork and beef.
The Coast opened the fall of 2018 (at original time of writing it was July 2019) and Ilde tells us that they have enjoyed reasonable success so far, considering that they were unable to get the much sought after liquor licence right away. (Obtaining a liquor licence in Toronto can be a difficult and lengthy procedure.) Patrons tend to enjoy a glass of wine with their meals and lack of the liquor licence can really prove to be an impediment. Now, they are able to offer a good selection of wines and Ilde says this is proving to be a big help.
We are curious about the Coast and its origins. Ilde happily tells us how they got started.
The story really begins back when Eddy was a child, back in his hometown of Silvi Marina, Italy. In the Summer, he helped his Grandmother catch fresh seafood daily. Later, when they were in Toronto, Canada, Eddy went to school and did part time work after school helping his Dad in various business endeavours.
In his 20s, Eddy went to Florence, Italy to study to become an architect. After classes and on weekends, Eddy amused himself by cooking food for his roommates and fellow students for their various get togethers. Eddy told us that he found that his cooking stints were far more appealing than his architectural studies. His friends urged him to think about cooking professionally.
Eddy travelled extensively around Europe, and while he was travelling, he picked lots of food related ideas. Eventually he made his way back to Toronto.
Eddy opened a restaurant with his Dad, the Adriatico, a beautiful and extremely well thought of Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Toronto. All the while, Eddy, who is self-taught, was honing his skills as a chef and learning to love food preparation and creation more and more.
Eddy met his future wife Ilde, through both of them working at the second Adriatico in Mexico. (Ilde was told that she would find Eddy irresistibly like film star George Clooney. As it happened, Ilde did find Eddy very likeable and they hit it off big time, eventually getting married.)
Eddys’ dad, Massimo, sold the Adriatico in 2007, after eight hugely successful years, much to the disappointment of its many patrons. He decided to start up a new Restaurant Adriatico in Bucerias, Mexico and installed Eddy there to run it.
Eddy later opened a trendy breakfast place in the tourist zone called The Avenue Bistro. This proved to be a very successful venture.
Later still, Eddy and Ilde opened The Tutto Pronto Cafe, which was another success story.
But eventually, Eddy and Ilde decided to return to Toronto and open their very special endeavour, the Coast Restaurant and Bar.
We are very glad that they did. The coast is a very charming place to visit and a delightful place to eat.
Note:
“When the moon hits your eye like a big Pizza pie, that’s amore ….”
Dean Martin, songwriters Harry Warren / Jack Brooks 1953 Wikepedia entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_Amore
