A top-line analysis of this College Street space would conclude that it’s a trattoria. Tagliatelle is rolled out daily, and the menu switches between English and Italian. Bistecca alla Fiorentina is often available. Feasts of the Seven Fishes are held around holidays. Look closer to find an intensely dedicated exploration of Italo-Jewish culinary history. In a space named after anti-fascist Italian intellectuals Natalia and Leone Ginzburg, owners Zach Kolomeir and Carmelina Imola (Dreyfus, Taverne Bernhardt’s) pull flavours and feelings from their travels and respective Italian and Jewish roots and translate them through hyper-seasonal Canadian ingredients. It’s third-culture cooking at its finest. A liver toast nods to both Tuscan fegatini ebraici and Jewish-style chopped liver. Rugelach appears on the dessert menu. In the style of cucina povera, pastas are made in-house and served with restraint — tagliatelle with ragù bianco, tortellini in brodo with Bonavista cod. Vegetables are sourced locally and treated with a light touch. As are proteins and other secondi (duck heart with a Marsala vellutata, a “non-kosher” mixed grill of pork), which are cooked on a charcoal grill. Interiors play with new nostalgia — expect Italian movie posters, postmodern Simonetti chairs, terrazzo floors and cork and tile walls.

Montreal-style Italian dishes. Like a Toronto version of Nora Gray.” Adrian Myers