Verace Amore from VANEATS.ca and Verace Pizzeria

Last week I had another opportunity to try out the newest dining pass from the fellows at VANEATS.ca.  Seeing as the last one I tried was a winner, I was really looking forward to checking out what they had put together this time around!

The latest pass, named Verace Amore, features Verace Pizzeria.  This was a brand new restaurant to me and I was so surprised to find out it was literally just down the stairs from the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain station.  Nestled away at 189 Keefer Place, Verace is perfectly situated for a pre-game or concert dinner when pub fare isn’t what you’re digging, or, just a great night out with delcious food!

Easily filling as dinner for one person (or perhaps a lighter lunch shared between two), the Verace Amore pass features 4 courses:

1. Burrata
2. Salati Assortiti
3. 8 inch Brick Oven Baked Pizza
4. Lemoncello Layer Cake

Accompanied by Ethan from Feeding Ethan, we set out to give the pass a try.  The restaurant is well lit and friendly with a big bank of windows letting in lots of light and a big patio that would be great in better weather (it was a dark and rainy night).

Although drinks aren’t included in the pass, I was hardly going to pass up a chance for a glass of red wine with Italian food on a rare night where the Skytrain was my transportation.  Ethan stuck with water delivered in a lovely bottle I wouldn’t have minded taking home as a photo prop.

First up was the Burrata.  Before it arrived, Ethan asked me if I’d ever had burrata (I hadn’t) and then warned me that it would probably be very good.  He wasn’t lying.  The burrata cheese was finished with a balsamic reduction and lemon oil and served with warm, crispy chewy rosemary pizza bread.   Our server brought us three different oils to try with it: garlic, chili and basil.  I tried the garlic and Ethan went with the chili, which we drizzled all over our bread.

I would be a very happy girl if this is all I had to eat all night, every night. The cheese was rich and creamy and the hint of lemon from the oil finished it off so well. I alternated between eating it on its own with a fork and smothering it on my bread.  Either way, it was a little bit of heaven.  One of the best things I’ve eaten in a long time.

Our second dish was the Salati Assortiti, Verace’s daily selection of cured meats, cheese, vegetables and marinated olives served with more of that delicious rosemary pizza bread.  All I can say about this is, it’s a good thing they portion out what you get for you because if somebody laid unlimited quantities of all these goodies in front of me, I could pick away and graze on them all night.

On this night our assortment consisted of marinated artichokes, several kinds of olives, capers, lentils, along with three different meats and two cheeses.  It was delicious!

Our next dish was the 8 inch brick oven baked pizza which was 1/2 Prosciutto e Rucola (a plum tomato sauce, topped with fior di latte mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, grana padano and extra virgin olive oil) and 1/2 Funghi (mushroom cream base topped with cipollini balsamic onions, mixed crimini, portabella, and oyster mushrooms, fresh oregano, grana padano and more extra virgin olive oil).

Ok so I make no secret on this blog about the fact that I’m lactose intolerant (I have no tolerance for lactose!) and that I refuse to eat anything that contains mushrooms.  So in the interests of full disclosure, I popped a few lactaid pills before dinner and… the whole reason I brought Ethan was so he would eat the mushroom half of my pizza!

The pizza was delicious.  I loved all the flavours in my Prosciutto half.  The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the amount of arugula on the top.  I wound up having to eat most of it with a fork, like a salad, before I was able to easily cut it.  But it was very tasty and the crust was perfect.  After tackling his own pizza, Ethan gallantly ate my mushroom half and assured me that it was delicious. (and this dude knows his food!)

Our server very kindly asked if we wanted a few minutes to let things rest before starting dessert and I happily ordered a cup of mint tea.  I had to take a photo because we both thought the cup and the mini biscotti that came with it were adorable (tasty biscotti too!).

Our last dish was dessert.  When I eat out, I’m not usually a dessert person – I’m usually quite happy with a tiny taste of chocolate or a mint for that sweet little taste to top off a meal. But put a citrus dessert in front of me – lime or lemon, and I’ll finish it off… something about the refreshing zing of lemon that cuts the sweetness and finishes off a meal so nicely.

The Lemoncello Layer Cake was just that – limoncello infused lady fingers layered with lemon curd and mascarpone cream and topped with plump fresh raspberries. It was a perfect end to the meal and despite feeling quite pleasantly full, we both managed to inhale our desserts.

This is another winner from VANEATS.ca.  At $15 a pass, the value is fantastic and the food is fresh and delicious, whether you share it or go it alone.

Passes for Verace Amore go on sale February 22nd at 7am for $15 each and are available until they sell out or until April 22nd – whichever comes first. But with only 150 passes available and it being such a great deal, I expect they’ll be gone pretty quickly so don’t wait to snap yours up!

And I’ll definitely be going back for more of that burrata! Yum!

Disclosure: I was provided with one complimentary dining pass by VANEATS.ca for the purpose of reviewing the Verace Amore package.  However, the opinions expressed are 100% my own.