Ritaboutit

L'Unita, 134 Avenue Road

The room has a warm sexiness thanks to exposed brick, mirrors and the soft glow of candle light.

Northern woods mushrooms ($7) squirt juicy browned butter into your mouth as you bite down on the earthy morsels. Ricotta salata adds a bit of lusciousness and chives a bit of spike.

Butternut squash risotto is rolled into arancini ($7) and stuffed with mozzarella and guanciale. The guanciale escapes me but I'm not bothered, I'm too busy getting intoxicated off of the truffle honey that has been splashed on the rice balls. They serve three but I could eat thirteen.

Brown butter makes a second appearance; this time with bits of fried sage and duck liver tortelli ($26). The tortelli are little bundles of creamy, rich liver mousse. L'Unita changes their menu to reflect the season and nothing says autumn better than this dish.

Nothing new with rocket on a pizza but twisting it to include lamb sausage ($16) over prosciutto is a nice idea. The crust is thin and the sauce competent.

Fries aren't exactly Italian but L'Unita has the crispiest fries ($7) in the city and so I'm letting it slide.

Unlike the fries, the cannoli are right at home. Smooth mascarpone cheese is highlighted with orange and stuffed into a crunchy but not too crunchy pastry.

Add an espresso and I am one happy girl.