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Local Guides
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BRONZIE’S PLACE IS GOLDEN
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by
Leanne Kemmler
February 17-23 |
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It might not look like much from the outside, and the bar
full of regulars may seem strange, but this
neighbourhood watering hole serves up delicious Italian
food at amazing prices.
Bronzie’s Place is set in the basement of 201 James St
South (one block north of St. Joseph’s Hospital). On
walking in you’ll see a bar directly in front of you with
ceiling mounted televisions showing sports. To the right
is the dining area. It is a cozy space that would
comfortably fit upwards of 30 diners.
Garlic Bread ($3.25) arrived at the table first and, while I
realize that just about every restaurant in the city makes
garlic bread, this example tasted great. It was a no–
nonsense order of what looked like submarine buns
(though some the freshest sub buns I’ve ever had)
soaked with tasty garlic butter and topped with a slice of
mozzarella cheese.
The salad came to the table dressed in a simple house
oil and vinegar. It was a generous salad with simple
ingredients: lettuce, red cabbage and carrots. The salad,
and a slice of fresh Italian bread, comes with the dinners.
The restaurant began to fill up and by 6:30 there were
only a couple tables free. The regulars sat in quiet
conversation around the bar. They were evidence of
Bronzie’s double identity as a sports bar. We saw
posters advertising weekend afternoon sports watching
events courtesy of the projection television mounted into
the ceiling. Not once, however, did the bar customers
become loud or rowdy.
The main courses arrived at the table on huge plates.
The Chicken Marsala ($12.95), one of the daily specials,
was a pounded breast of chicken topped with a clear
white wine and mushroom broth, served with roasted
potatoes and lots of stewed mushrooms. A plate of
penne pasta in sauce accompanied it.
I would have preferred the chi-cken to be a plain
breast, but it tasted good just the same.
The Spaghetti and Meatballs ($9.50) were very nice.
The pasta was cooked to perfection and the delicious
sauce was very tangy without any trace of acidity or
sweetness and only enough spices as was necessary to
highlight the tomatoes. It was also meatless, so
vegetarians can definitely enjoy a meal here.
The meatballs—and yes, I do have a thing about
meatballs—were amazing. I’d be willing to say they are
the best in the city. They had a nice piquant bite to them
and didn’t appear to have any filler.
The one strange thing in the entire dining experience
came at the very end of the meal. Asking for the leftovers
to be packaged up, the server brought takeout
containers directly to the table and packed the food in
front of us. This seemed like a major breech in etiquette,
but it was explained that with a kitchen as small as
Bronzie’s, some things had to be done differently.
And that completed our visit to this neighbourhood
eatery and bar where everyone is treated like a regular
and the only thing fancy is the way the food tastes. V
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