Cosmopolitan

I missed lunch today, so I decided to head downtown; originally I planned on hitting the farmer's market then bringing it back to eat. A change of plans arose though when I noticed that a little place on Front Street called "The Cosmopolitan" had just opened up; it looked okay so I headed in for some lunch. For those wondering, it's on the west side of the street (the side closest to the river for those directionally disabled) across the road from City Hall and Century Place (just north of some salon and just south of "The Toad's Hollow").

The restaurant is reasonably well decorated and has the look of a "nice" restaurant (think Paulo's/Dinkel's for those who live around here); I was originally unsure if my faded jeans would fit in until I was greeted by a Turkish looking fellow wearing a colourful shortsleeve shirt with a tattoo on his arm. He was polite and without pretention. Nice guy. The table was set with glass stemware and linen napkins with a full compliment of two forks, three spoons and a knife; it was a rare occasion where I was over-equipped for the meal. The tattooed fellow who greeted me at the door was also my waiter; he apologised at one point for not following the standard 'serve from the left, clear from the right' rule; but since I was seated so close to the window the situation demanded that my food be both (or horror of horrors!) served *and* cleared from my right hand side.

I started with a "cherry-ade" (a lemonade drink which flavoured with fresh cherries), which was followed by a salad in a rasberry vinagrette dressing and bowtie pasta with meatballs and tomato sauce, plenty of cheese, fresh melon and grapes, and garlic bread. I unfortunately did not have time to experience their desert, but their food was quite good. The bill was 14.03 plus tip which was quite reasonably considering portions, service and quality.

I highly recommend this place to anyone in the mood for some good food; it's "casual-fine dining" at it's best, and typically downtown Belleville.



Cheers,