Toscana has been open for eight years in Coral Springs, and besides one brief pizza delivery a while back, I’m scratching my head as to why I missed out on years of great Uruguayan-Italian food.
The restaurant is small but homey. A wine collection is displayed, and wonderful smells waft from the ovens nearby.
The owner, Fernando Todorov, is responsible for the cooking. He hails from Uruguay and has owned five restaurants during his eight years in the restaurant industry. Recently, he sold his Jupiter restaurant to concentrate all his efforts on Toscana.
I had to ask how Uruguayan and Italian dishes found their way onto the same menu. Italian food is abundant in Uruguay as it has one of the highest percentages of Italians outside Italy, with 44 percent of its population of 1.5 million people of Italian ancestry.
Italian immigration, significant from the 1840s to the 1960s, shaped Uruguayan society alongside Spanish influences, and its culture reflects strong Italian influences in language, customs, and traditions.
Everything at Toscana was delicious or close to it. We started with some chicken and spinach empanadas ($3.50 each). The kids eating and enjoying the spinach was a sight to see. A bit of ricotta cheese gently poking out between a healthy layer of fresh cooked spinach.
The chicken empanadas were very good, but I think he made the filling and froze it because it was still a bit cold inside. It wasn’t a big deal when it was that flavorful with peppers floating around. The shells were beautiful, and the edges blackened from the oven baking.
We also had faina bread ($4.50), made with fresh-milled chickpeas, olive oil, salt, pepper, and spices. It had a fascinating, doughy, soft texture.
Speaking of soft, the Chivito sandwich ($20.00) was exceptional. It had 8-oz. flap beef, bacon, ham, roasted sweet peppers, sauteed onions, and an egg over easy with melted provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. The meat was falling apart, and the homemade bread was, too. With the first bite, our eyes flared because we knew this was not a regular sandwich, even though the ingredients seemed normal. It was just so well put together.
I had the meter-size Toscana pizza with baked ziti on top ($25.00). It was a thick, rustic pizza baked on a stone. I expected almost mall-quality dried-out penne since he would cook it with the pizza. Instead, he brought out this lengthy and oblong “meter” pie with piping hot, gooey penne in a pink sauce.
My wife got the parrilla for one person ($42.00), a slew of different meats cooked on a stone like a Uruguayan barbecue. Since she doesn’t like blood sausage, she doubled up on the well-seasoned juicy pork sausage.
The short rib was like a flank steak, perfectly cooked and charred beautifully. It had a salt rub, and that’s all it needed. The 6-ounce flat steak was the best part. The fat moistened it and gave it flavor, and it easily separated from the rest of the unbelievably tender meat.
The side Greek Potatoes had a hint of lemon and were very fluffy. Veggies like red bell pepper were filled with mozzarella cheese and charred.
For dessert, the Chaja ($9.75) is an absolute must. It’s a peach angel cake with whipped cream and meringue. A beautiful, crunchy textured outside and a light, velvety and fruity inside. It’s incredible.
Pro tip: The Sangria is fresh and one of the better ones we’ve ever had.
Overall, we barely made a dent in the enormous menu; with so many combinations of pasta and burgers, we’ll have to leave for the next time. And there will definitely be a next time.
Toscana Pizza and Grill
7671 W Sample Rd, Coral Springs, FL 33065
954-345-4343
Hours
Sun – Thurs – 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Fri – Sat. – 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.
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