Weekly Lunch Pick: Gallery Grill’s hearty, hand-rolled fregola
Hart House’s gem of a restaurant is a reliable spot for inventive takes on seasonal ingredients. The menu card offered by chef Suzanne Baby might appear short, but the selection at this lunch-only operation rotates regularly. After a quick bowl of jerked sweet potato soup ($5.95), our order of the fregola is pure comfort: the loose mountain of toasted al dente pearls (similar to Israeli couscous) provides a nutty backdrop to a rich bison ragoût. Tender braised kale and wilted sweet onions add a heartiness to the hand-rolled pasta, while feathery, grated grana padano cheese mellows out the spicy kick of the thick, tomato-enriched stew.
The cost: $21 before tax and tip
The time: a speedy 35 minutes from seating to cheque.
Gallery Grill, 7 Hart House Cir. (at Queen’s Park), Hart House, 416-978-2445, harthouse.utoronto.ca/culture/food
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/weekly-lunch-pick-gallery-grills-hearty-hand-rolled-fregola/&title=Weekly Lunch Pick: Gallery Grill’s hearty, hand-rolled fregola&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/fregsmall.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_57080" align="alignleft" width="432" caption="Gallery Grill’s warming fregola (Image: Renée Suen)"][/caption]
Hart House’s gem of a restaurant is a reliable spot for inventive takes on seasonal ingredients. The menu card offered by chef Suzanne Baby might appear short, but the selection at this lunch-only operation rotates regularly. After a quick bowl of jerked sweet potato soup ($5.95), our order of the fregola is pure comfort: the loose mountain of toasted al dente pearls (similar to Israeli couscous) provides a nutty backdrop to a rich bison ragoût. Tender braised kale and wilted sweet onions add a heartiness to the hand-rolled pasta, while feathery, grated grana padano cheese mellows out the spicy kick of the thick, tomato-enriched stew.
The cost: $21 before tax and tip
The time: a speedy 35 minutes from seating to cheque.
Gallery Grill, 7 Hart House Cir. (at Queen’s Park), Hart House, 416-978-2445, harthouse.utoronto.ca/culture/food ){kind=link}