Sunday, 22 March 2015
Winterlicious inToronto
I discovered this post in my draft folder from more than 6 weeks ago - something started but forgotten. It' seems a little late now since Winterlicious has long gone but it's not too late to look forward to Summerlicious in July, when you can try these restaurants again.
I love the idea of Winterlicious (and Summerlicious) in Toronto. Restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for two weeks in the midst of winter (or summer) when business is usually slower. Diners are enticed to try out new restaurants, especially expensive ones which may normally be beyond their reach. It's a win-win situation.
I typically would try to get to a new restaurant every year but also would return to an old favourite. Pangaea is one that I go back to every year and it almost always live up to my expectations, including this year. I also tried out Cafe Boulud and La Societé for dinners, both special occasion locales.
Cafe Boulud, after Daniel Boulud, provided an excellent winterlicious dinner Although the menu didn't look very exciting, the food came out quite exceptionally well-prepared. We had salmon and pot-au-feu. Both were surprisingly different, especially the pot-au-feu which came with a delicious piece of bone marrow on the braised beef and three slices of pink flank steak. The salmon came with brussels sprouts, exquisitely presented and prepared. Appetizer scallops were okay but slightly overpowered by the cream sauce. Game hen terrine was interesting and well-presented. Pear chocolate cake dessert was delicately flavoured. Service was attentive - overall a four star meal.
Scallops in cream sauce
Game hen terrine
Salmon with a difference
Pot au feu with bone marrow topped by a piece of flank steak
Pear chocolate cake
As expected, lunch at Pangaea was excellent. I have never had a bad meal at Pangaea and I have eaten there for the past fifteen years. It was one of the first local food restaurants and still did a superb job of it. The beef carpaccio was delicious although the presentation was a little scattered. The roast leg of lamb was perfectly done and I love the rosemary barley.
Beef carpaccio
Roasted leg of lamb on creamy gorgonzola and rosemary barley
Dark chocolate cake
This was my first time at La Societé - I like the decor although it was a tat too dark. The braised short rib looked and smelled excellent on other tables so all three of us ordered it - we were not disappointed. It was tender and flavourful, with the meat easily detaching itself from the bone with a nudge of the fork. The warm chocolate cake was the best of the three chocolate cakes I tasted over Winterlicious - possibly because of the temperature. And yet this is the restaurant that I would least likely return to because the service was indifferent. It was generally okay but compared poorly to the service at Cafe Boulud where the staff seemed to be the best trained and the most attentive of the three restaurants.
Braised short rib
Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream
I discovered this post in my draft folder from more than 6 weeks ago - something started but forgotten. It' seems a little late now since Winterlicious has long gone but it's not too late to look forward to Summerlicious in July, when you can try these restaurants again.
I love the idea of Winterlicious (and Summerlicious) in Toronto. Restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for two weeks in the midst of winter (or summer) when business is usually slower. Diners are enticed to try out new restaurants, especially expensive ones which may normally be beyond their reach. It's a win-win situation.
I typically would try to get to a new restaurant every year but also would return to an old favourite. Pangaea is one that I go back to every year and it almost always live up to my expectations, including this year. I also tried out Cafe Boulud and La Societé for dinners, both special occasion locales.
Cafe Boulud, after Daniel Boulud, provided an excellent winterlicious dinner Although the menu didn't look very exciting, the food came out quite exceptionally well-prepared. We had salmon and pot-au-feu. Both were surprisingly different, especially the pot-au-feu which came with a delicious piece of bone marrow on the braised beef and three slices of pink flank steak. The salmon came with brussels sprouts, exquisitely presented and prepared. Appetizer scallops were okay but slightly overpowered by the cream sauce. Game hen terrine was interesting and well-presented. Pear chocolate cake dessert was delicately flavoured. Service was attentive - overall a four star meal.
I love the idea of Winterlicious (and Summerlicious) in Toronto. Restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for two weeks in the midst of winter (or summer) when business is usually slower. Diners are enticed to try out new restaurants, especially expensive ones which may normally be beyond their reach. It's a win-win situation.
I typically would try to get to a new restaurant every year but also would return to an old favourite. Pangaea is one that I go back to every year and it almost always live up to my expectations, including this year. I also tried out Cafe Boulud and La Societé for dinners, both special occasion locales.
Cafe Boulud, after Daniel Boulud, provided an excellent winterlicious dinner Although the menu didn't look very exciting, the food came out quite exceptionally well-prepared. We had salmon and pot-au-feu. Both were surprisingly different, especially the pot-au-feu which came with a delicious piece of bone marrow on the braised beef and three slices of pink flank steak. The salmon came with brussels sprouts, exquisitely presented and prepared. Appetizer scallops were okay but slightly overpowered by the cream sauce. Game hen terrine was interesting and well-presented. Pear chocolate cake dessert was delicately flavoured. Service was attentive - overall a four star meal.
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| Scallops in cream sauce |
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| Game hen terrine |
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| Salmon with a difference |
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| Pot au feu with bone marrow topped by a piece of flank steak |
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| Pear chocolate cake |
As expected, lunch at Pangaea was excellent. I have never had a bad meal at Pangaea and I have eaten there for the past fifteen years. It was one of the first local food restaurants and still did a superb job of it. The beef carpaccio was delicious although the presentation was a little scattered. The roast leg of lamb was perfectly done and I love the rosemary barley.
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| Beef carpaccio |
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| Roasted leg of lamb on creamy gorgonzola and rosemary barley |
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| Dark chocolate cake |
This was my first time at La Societé - I like the decor although it was a tat too dark. The braised short rib looked and smelled excellent on other tables so all three of us ordered it - we were not disappointed. It was tender and flavourful, with the meat easily detaching itself from the bone with a nudge of the fork. The warm chocolate cake was the best of the three chocolate cakes I tasted over Winterlicious - possibly because of the temperature. And yet this is the restaurant that I would least likely return to because the service was indifferent. It was generally okay but compared poorly to the service at Cafe Boulud where the staff seemed to be the best trained and the most attentive of the three restaurants.
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| Braised short rib |
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| Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream |
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
One less place for Alsatian food in Toronto
Just last December, I wrote about our food experience at Elle m'a dit, the Alsatian restaurant on Baldwin Street in Toronto. The place received rave reviews in the newspapers and on food sites. So it was with consternation that I received the news of its closure from my friends (who shared dinner with us that evening). They found out the hard way - thinking of dropping by for dinner when they were in the neighbourhood and found the place closed!
I still have fond memories of their hot casseroles on a cold December night but more particularly, the very delicious and unique tarte flambée. I couldn't just let this go without finding out more. There were indeed writeups in The Grid and Toronto Life - closing due to a family issue and hoping to reopen at another location in a year. Well, I hope they do. Bonne chance!
Just last December, I wrote about our food experience at Elle m'a dit, the Alsatian restaurant on Baldwin Street in Toronto. The place received rave reviews in the newspapers and on food sites. So it was with consternation that I received the news of its closure from my friends (who shared dinner with us that evening). They found out the hard way - thinking of dropping by for dinner when they were in the neighbourhood and found the place closed!
I still have fond memories of their hot casseroles on a cold December night but more particularly, the very delicious and unique tarte flambée. I couldn't just let this go without finding out more. There were indeed writeups in The Grid and Toronto Life - closing due to a family issue and hoping to reopen at another location in a year. Well, I hope they do. Bonne chance!
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Are fathers less special than mothers?
The only reason I asked that question was when I was researching Father's Day meals this past weekend, I found that some restaurants which had Mother's Day menus, don't necessarily do one for Father's Day. Are fathers less special or are they less picky? Since this is a food blog, I'm not going to debate that question. Bottomline is, I had a hard time finding something for a Father's Day brunch in Toronto that is at least a little special.
I checked all the lists like Ten Best Sunday Brunch Places in T.O. but it seems that even restaurants on the same list had great variations in their customer reviews and prices. I don't see any point in doling out $50 to eat eggs benedict at the King Edward, even if it is the King Edward. And while there are some attractive deals out there like a $19.99 Sunday Brunch at the Hot House Cafe with live jazz, I worry about some of the comments made by customers and the overall mediocrity they imply. There are of course plenty of good restaurants in Toronto we could have gone to but I finally picked Le Select because it is not only reputable but they are organized enough to put together a Father's Day menu. When you really study it, it's a mish mash of its regular brunch menu with a few special items put together for the special day. So how hard is it, really!
We were invited to Le Select for dinner years ago and it was the expensive wine that stayed in my mind more than anything. Seeing the place in broad daylight was quite different - it was in fact quite a charming bistro, reminiscent of the ambiance of the old Parisian restaurants. When we were shown to our semi-circular booths, we were quite surprised to find ourselves surrounded by young fathers out with their babies, one of them barely a month old. This is a far cry from our own parenting days when we would never think of taking our babies out to a bistro for Father's Day. But this is downtown Toronto, in the midst of a condo boom with an influx of young well-off families. So it was an eye-opener, a social and cultural experience worth the trip. The food was good but the best one was the dish we didn't order - a two inch slab of French toast stuffed with apples and cranberries which we saw pass us by after we placed our order. Next time...
I love the booths!
The seared scallops were excellent
This is an interesting ballotine of cornish hen - a lot of work!
Oeufs Forestiers - poached eggs on mushrooms with pollenta and roasted root vegetables - the eggs tasted great with the braised mushrooms
Albertan fillet "supplemeneted" with an egg and frites
Super moist chocolate cake outstarred by the intense passion fruit sorbet
Very smooth Creme Brulee
The interesting descent to the kitchen
The only reason I asked that question was when I was researching Father's Day meals this past weekend, I found that some restaurants which had Mother's Day menus, don't necessarily do one for Father's Day. Are fathers less special or are they less picky? Since this is a food blog, I'm not going to debate that question. Bottomline is, I had a hard time finding something for a Father's Day brunch in Toronto that is at least a little special.
I checked all the lists like Ten Best Sunday Brunch Places in T.O. but it seems that even restaurants on the same list had great variations in their customer reviews and prices. I don't see any point in doling out $50 to eat eggs benedict at the King Edward, even if it is the King Edward. And while there are some attractive deals out there like a $19.99 Sunday Brunch at the Hot House Cafe with live jazz, I worry about some of the comments made by customers and the overall mediocrity they imply. There are of course plenty of good restaurants in Toronto we could have gone to but I finally picked Le Select because it is not only reputable but they are organized enough to put together a Father's Day menu. When you really study it, it's a mish mash of its regular brunch menu with a few special items put together for the special day. So how hard is it, really!
We were invited to Le Select for dinner years ago and it was the expensive wine that stayed in my mind more than anything. Seeing the place in broad daylight was quite different - it was in fact quite a charming bistro, reminiscent of the ambiance of the old Parisian restaurants. When we were shown to our semi-circular booths, we were quite surprised to find ourselves surrounded by young fathers out with their babies, one of them barely a month old. This is a far cry from our own parenting days when we would never think of taking our babies out to a bistro for Father's Day. But this is downtown Toronto, in the midst of a condo boom with an influx of young well-off families. So it was an eye-opener, a social and cultural experience worth the trip. The food was good but the best one was the dish we didn't order - a two inch slab of French toast stuffed with apples and cranberries which we saw pass us by after we placed our order. Next time...
I checked all the lists like Ten Best Sunday Brunch Places in T.O. but it seems that even restaurants on the same list had great variations in their customer reviews and prices. I don't see any point in doling out $50 to eat eggs benedict at the King Edward, even if it is the King Edward. And while there are some attractive deals out there like a $19.99 Sunday Brunch at the Hot House Cafe with live jazz, I worry about some of the comments made by customers and the overall mediocrity they imply. There are of course plenty of good restaurants in Toronto we could have gone to but I finally picked Le Select because it is not only reputable but they are organized enough to put together a Father's Day menu. When you really study it, it's a mish mash of its regular brunch menu with a few special items put together for the special day. So how hard is it, really!
We were invited to Le Select for dinner years ago and it was the expensive wine that stayed in my mind more than anything. Seeing the place in broad daylight was quite different - it was in fact quite a charming bistro, reminiscent of the ambiance of the old Parisian restaurants. When we were shown to our semi-circular booths, we were quite surprised to find ourselves surrounded by young fathers out with their babies, one of them barely a month old. This is a far cry from our own parenting days when we would never think of taking our babies out to a bistro for Father's Day. But this is downtown Toronto, in the midst of a condo boom with an influx of young well-off families. So it was an eye-opener, a social and cultural experience worth the trip. The food was good but the best one was the dish we didn't order - a two inch slab of French toast stuffed with apples and cranberries which we saw pass us by after we placed our order. Next time...
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| I love the booths! |
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| The seared scallops were excellent |
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| This is an interesting ballotine of cornish hen - a lot of work! |
 |
| Oeufs Forestiers - poached eggs on mushrooms with pollenta and roasted root vegetables - the eggs tasted great with the braised mushrooms |
 |
| Albertan fillet "supplemeneted" with an egg and frites |
 |
| Super moist chocolate cake outstarred by the intense passion fruit sorbet |
 |
| Very smooth Creme Brulee |
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| The interesting descent to the kitchen |
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Thursday, 6 June 2013
Why do some meals rate mediocre even though the food is good?
I got a coupon from Travelzoo - a $140 value for $69 at the Mix Bistro Bar at the Hyatt Regency on King West. We had a good three course meal for two, glass of wine included - terrific deal! But somehow, the dinner rated mediocre in my books (it has nothing to do with the company, I swear) and I'm asking myself "why"?
Could it be because it was a "coupon dinner"? Does that immediately discount it as not something special? And why do these places sell coupons? Do they not have enough business and why not? So then you start thinking "what's wrong with this place?"
It was on the main floor of the Hyatt - Mix Bistro Bar, what an odd name anyway. When we arrived there was a large crowd swirling about in the lobby, and the noise carried through into the restaurant, which is quite small, 10 tables at most. It actually has a nice ceiling to floor bay window looking out onto the King West scene, which is quite a hub these days, being right next to the TIFF Light box. We were given a window seat and it was great fun "watching the girls go by" from above. The noise and the bright room likely detracted from the ambiance. The fact that we had to have an early dinner because of a concert afterwards already made the dinner not a destination but a "stomach filler" and I think that also detracted from the "specialness" of the event. And afterall, it's just a hotel bar, not a special restaurant where you have the expectation of good food just based on reputation.
Service was ambivalent and I suspect more from poor training than from attitude. The waiter came back frequently and asked how the meal was. But he didn't ask us what kind of red we prefer nor offered us pepper for our seafood salad or fish entree - many points deducted for that! And yet, when we asked him to put an unfinished portion of pasta in a box, he came back a few minutes later with a piping hot box. When I looked, he had added more seafood and melted cheese to the leftover - the takeout was hotter than the actual dinner served! Now that was thoughtful and deserved a good tip.
So there was really a lot at play when you think about it. You would go to a special restaurant because you want to taste food prepared by a certain chef, you're already in the mindset to expect something special - therefore it is special. Of course, high expectations can sometimes work in reverse. In this case though, low expectations didn't help either.
King West street scene -
Two different kinds of mounted police even!
and right next to TIFF
Delicious calamari salad with heirloom tomatoes
Perfectly done arctic char on quinoa and sweet baby beets
Seafood pasta in an excellent spicy tomato sauce
Berries on a sorbet that actually tastes like mango
I got a coupon from Travelzoo - a $140 value for $69 at the Mix Bistro Bar at the Hyatt Regency on King West. We had a good three course meal for two, glass of wine included - terrific deal! But somehow, the dinner rated mediocre in my books (it has nothing to do with the company, I swear) and I'm asking myself "why"?
Could it be because it was a "coupon dinner"? Does that immediately discount it as not something special? And why do these places sell coupons? Do they not have enough business and why not? So then you start thinking "what's wrong with this place?"
It was on the main floor of the Hyatt - Mix Bistro Bar, what an odd name anyway. When we arrived there was a large crowd swirling about in the lobby, and the noise carried through into the restaurant, which is quite small, 10 tables at most. It actually has a nice ceiling to floor bay window looking out onto the King West scene, which is quite a hub these days, being right next to the TIFF Light box. We were given a window seat and it was great fun "watching the girls go by" from above. The noise and the bright room likely detracted from the ambiance. The fact that we had to have an early dinner because of a concert afterwards already made the dinner not a destination but a "stomach filler" and I think that also detracted from the "specialness" of the event. And afterall, it's just a hotel bar, not a special restaurant where you have the expectation of good food just based on reputation.
Service was ambivalent and I suspect more from poor training than from attitude. The waiter came back frequently and asked how the meal was. But he didn't ask us what kind of red we prefer nor offered us pepper for our seafood salad or fish entree - many points deducted for that! And yet, when we asked him to put an unfinished portion of pasta in a box, he came back a few minutes later with a piping hot box. When I looked, he had added more seafood and melted cheese to the leftover - the takeout was hotter than the actual dinner served! Now that was thoughtful and deserved a good tip.
So there was really a lot at play when you think about it. You would go to a special restaurant because you want to taste food prepared by a certain chef, you're already in the mindset to expect something special - therefore it is special. Of course, high expectations can sometimes work in reverse. In this case though, low expectations didn't help either.
and right next to TIFF
Could it be because it was a "coupon dinner"? Does that immediately discount it as not something special? And why do these places sell coupons? Do they not have enough business and why not? So then you start thinking "what's wrong with this place?"
It was on the main floor of the Hyatt - Mix Bistro Bar, what an odd name anyway. When we arrived there was a large crowd swirling about in the lobby, and the noise carried through into the restaurant, which is quite small, 10 tables at most. It actually has a nice ceiling to floor bay window looking out onto the King West scene, which is quite a hub these days, being right next to the TIFF Light box. We were given a window seat and it was great fun "watching the girls go by" from above. The noise and the bright room likely detracted from the ambiance. The fact that we had to have an early dinner because of a concert afterwards already made the dinner not a destination but a "stomach filler" and I think that also detracted from the "specialness" of the event. And afterall, it's just a hotel bar, not a special restaurant where you have the expectation of good food just based on reputation.
Service was ambivalent and I suspect more from poor training than from attitude. The waiter came back frequently and asked how the meal was. But he didn't ask us what kind of red we prefer nor offered us pepper for our seafood salad or fish entree - many points deducted for that! And yet, when we asked him to put an unfinished portion of pasta in a box, he came back a few minutes later with a piping hot box. When I looked, he had added more seafood and melted cheese to the leftover - the takeout was hotter than the actual dinner served! Now that was thoughtful and deserved a good tip.
So there was really a lot at play when you think about it. You would go to a special restaurant because you want to taste food prepared by a certain chef, you're already in the mindset to expect something special - therefore it is special. Of course, high expectations can sometimes work in reverse. In this case though, low expectations didn't help either.
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| King West street scene - Two different kinds of mounted police even! |
and right next to TIFF
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| Delicious calamari salad with heirloom tomatoes |
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| Perfectly done arctic char on quinoa and sweet baby beets |
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| Seafood pasta in an excellent spicy tomato sauce |
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| Berries on a sorbet that actually tastes like mango |
3 comments:
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H Gotts7 June 2013 08:58
I strongly suspect that for some restaurants, a coupon/special deal meal is considered second-class customer. I don't know what percentage then become repeat customers, as oppose to those who only do it because of the discount; or if that percentage then causes skewing towards quality and service.
Reply
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Slow Mouse7 June 2013 09:16
For our friends not in Toronto, TIFF is the head office of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Reply
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rarecat7 June 2013 18:26
In this case, we were not the only ones in there with a coupon. Both tables beside us were using coupons. That makes three out of four tables. In fact when we called to make a reservation, they already asked us if we were going to use a travelzoo coupon. It must have been unusual for them to get a reservation!
Reply
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H Gotts7 June 2013 08:58I strongly suspect that for some restaurants, a coupon/special deal meal is considered second-class customer. I don't know what percentage then become repeat customers, as oppose to those who only do it because of the discount; or if that percentage then causes skewing towards quality and service.Reply
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Slow Mouse7 June 2013 09:16For our friends not in Toronto, TIFF is the head office of the Toronto International Film Festival.Reply
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rarecat7 June 2013 18:26In this case, we were not the only ones in there with a coupon. Both tables beside us were using coupons. That makes three out of four tables. In fact when we called to make a reservation, they already asked us if we were going to use a travelzoo coupon. It must have been unusual for them to get a reservation!Reply
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Tapas - perfect for the adventurous!
What better way to try different things on the menu than to have tapas - small plates of food (like dim sum except they can be complete meals). We tried them many years ago at Casa Barcelona in Bloor Street Village, then the real thing in Madrid. Both were quite good but what overwhelmed us a little was the way the dishes were brought out all at once. The mix of tastes confused the palette.
Small plates restaurant have become very popular in North America. We visited one when we were in California, The Basin in Saratoga. Food was not great but we also shared the small plates between 5 people, too many, I think, to get a real taste of the food even if you ordered many plates - everyone wanted to try everything. Ideally, a small plate should be shared between two, maximum three and if you have a larger group, order two of the same.
We had an excellent small plate experience at Cava, in Toronto. For good reasons, this has been rated one of the top ten restaurants in Toronto (by critic Joanne Kates) with Chef Chris Mcdonald at the helm. We tried six dishes and they were served individually except for the last two when the asparagus was like a side dish for the almost "main" venison. We could have gotten by with four as the two big ones were really main courses - they were bigger than some "big plates" restaurants!
Bruschetta of edamame, grilled green onions, moroccan olives and sicilian tomatoes - love the ground edamame and the mix of the olives and tomatoes really enhanced the flavour!
Salt cod cake with piperade and chipotle crema - the piperade was a nice contrast to the salt cod in both taste and texture
Seared scallops done to perfection with ragout of artichokes, cipollini and piquillo peppers - this is more like a "big plate"
Duck magret with trinxat and violet mustard sauce - duck tastes great, no sauce needed although the sauce was quite interesting
Venison anticucho with a warm red cabbage salad and asparagus with lemon pepper aioli - again aioli hardly needed because the asparagus is so fresh and sweet. But the venison was the best ever! It was tender and tasty. Not normally a cabbage fan, I enjoyed the flavour of this soft pickled red cabbage.
Lemon pistachio baked alaska with saffron-pepper cake and sherry-poached pears - the pistachio ice cream is the best I have ever tasted - I can actually taste the pistachio!
Apparently Cava make their own desserts, which explains the long dessert list. The baked alaska was the first item on a list of eleven items! I just noticed a Valrhona chocolate souffle with Spanish coffee sauce - now why didn't I see that earlier?! This definitely calls for repeat visits!
And to top it all off - there is free corkage (at least for now) on Sundays! This really made this a good value restaurant in spite of complaints about the prices.
What better way to try different things on the menu than to have tapas - small plates of food (like dim sum except they can be complete meals). We tried them many years ago at Casa Barcelona in Bloor Street Village, then the real thing in Madrid. Both were quite good but what overwhelmed us a little was the way the dishes were brought out all at once. The mix of tastes confused the palette.
Small plates restaurant have become very popular in North America. We visited one when we were in California, The Basin in Saratoga. Food was not great but we also shared the small plates between 5 people, too many, I think, to get a real taste of the food even if you ordered many plates - everyone wanted to try everything. Ideally, a small plate should be shared between two, maximum three and if you have a larger group, order two of the same.
We had an excellent small plate experience at Cava, in Toronto. For good reasons, this has been rated one of the top ten restaurants in Toronto (by critic Joanne Kates) with Chef Chris Mcdonald at the helm. We tried six dishes and they were served individually except for the last two when the asparagus was like a side dish for the almost "main" venison. We could have gotten by with four as the two big ones were really main courses - they were bigger than some "big plates" restaurants!
Small plates restaurant have become very popular in North America. We visited one when we were in California, The Basin in Saratoga. Food was not great but we also shared the small plates between 5 people, too many, I think, to get a real taste of the food even if you ordered many plates - everyone wanted to try everything. Ideally, a small plate should be shared between two, maximum three and if you have a larger group, order two of the same.
We had an excellent small plate experience at Cava, in Toronto. For good reasons, this has been rated one of the top ten restaurants in Toronto (by critic Joanne Kates) with Chef Chris Mcdonald at the helm. We tried six dishes and they were served individually except for the last two when the asparagus was like a side dish for the almost "main" venison. We could have gotten by with four as the two big ones were really main courses - they were bigger than some "big plates" restaurants!
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| Salt cod cake with piperade and chipotle crema - the piperade was a nice contrast to the salt cod in both taste and texture |
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| Seared scallops done to perfection with ragout of artichokes, cipollini and piquillo peppers - this is more like a "big plate" |
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| Duck magret with trinxat and violet mustard sauce - duck tastes great, no sauce needed although the sauce was quite interesting |
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| Venison anticucho with a warm red cabbage salad and asparagus with lemon pepper aioli - again aioli hardly needed because the asparagus is so fresh and sweet. But the venison was the best ever! It was tender and tasty. Not normally a cabbage fan, I enjoyed the flavour of this soft pickled red cabbage. |
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FRIDAY, 21 DECEMBER 2012
Alsatian food in Toronto?
We are not sure how authentic this is, not having been to Alsace, but the restaurant said it's "inspired by modern Alsatian cuisine plus all things in season" which made it quite an attractive offering. We decided to give it a try one fall evening after a trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario (it's a convenient 5 minute walk). Alsatian food, the real thing, is known for its German flavour, Alsace being right on the border of France and Germany. The region is also known for its gastronomy and apparently has the most starred restaurants in France. Food tends to be heavier and richer - perfect for cooler weather.
We were told that the tarte flambee is a must try and so we did. It was superb! The crust was very light, almost like phyllo. The tarte flambee (French) is one of the most famous Alsatian dishes and is called variously flammekueche in Alsatian, flammkuchen in German. It is like a very thin crust pizza, often rectangular, covered with white cheese, sliced onions and lardon. The one at this restaurant has bacon, onions, white cheese and gruyere.
Four of us each ordered a different dish. The one below is Baeckeoffe - a traditional Alsatian meat casserole with beef, lamb, pork and potatoes. It is very intensely flavoured and differentiated by the contrasting textures of the various meats.
Scallop and braised pork belly on a bed of smoked potato puree. Certainly a unique combination, reminding me of the two solitudes - both excellent but they don't mix!
This is a special that was not on the menu - a rabbit casserole so bland I'd forgotten what it tasted like.
But what a flaming finish! The apple tarte flambee is a traditional Alsatian dessert and it's guaranteed to make you add stars to any review when you finish your meal with this dazzler.
The restaurant - Elle m'a dit on Baldwin St. in Toronto.
We were told that the tarte flambee is a must try and so we did. It was superb! The crust was very light, almost like phyllo. The tarte flambee (French) is one of the most famous Alsatian dishes and is called variously flammekueche in Alsatian, flammkuchen in German. It is like a very thin crust pizza, often rectangular, covered with white cheese, sliced onions and lardon. The one at this restaurant has bacon, onions, white cheese and gruyere.
Four of us each ordered a different dish. The one below is Baeckeoffe - a traditional Alsatian meat casserole with beef, lamb, pork and potatoes. It is very intensely flavoured and differentiated by the contrasting textures of the various meats.
This is the Sauerkraut (also called Choucroute) with grilled pork loin, pork belly, smoked sausage and fingerling potato. Not being a sauerkraut or sausage fan, I didn't order this dish but tried it nevertheless. It tasted good enough.
This is a special that was not on the menu - a rabbit casserole so bland I'd forgotten what it tasted like.
But what a flaming finish! The apple tarte flambee is a traditional Alsatian dessert and it's guaranteed to make you add stars to any review when you finish your meal with this dazzler.
The restaurant - Elle m'a dit on Baldwin St. in Toronto.
SATURDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2012
Pork belly in Richmond Hill 肉夾包
We're on a roll here! After Akujiki took us from 18th century Yangzhou, China via his Le Creuset pork belly in California to noodle shop in a Shanghai alley, I got into a frenzy over the mere talk of pork belly. We had lunch at Delicious 好清香, a Fukien style restaurant in Richmond Hill, just north of Toronto. It is usually my destination for Hainan chicken. But as we were finishing, I noticed the table beside us packing up one of the signature dishes of chef Patrick Chuang - braised pork trotters 红烧元蹄. It was too late to order one to take home for dinner - Patrick said it would take an hour to make another one but he offered me his own 肉夾包 (Pork belly bun) which would only take a few minutes. What a treat it was!
The melt in your mouth pork belly was topped with orange day lily and cilantro in between a mildly sweet bun. What a wonderful contrast in textures and taste! It's authentic Fukienese flavour - and you don't have to go all the way to downtown Toronto to Momofuku (or pay the much steeper price) to taste the now trendy pork belly bun.
After lunch, I found an unbelievably lean piece of pork belly at the butcher's. Guess what's for dinner tonight! I plan to try Akijiki's Le Creuset pork belly without the Le Creuset pot. Sacrilegious, I know, but worth a try...
Addendum
The melt in your mouth pork belly was topped with orange day lily and cilantro in between a mildly sweet bun. What a wonderful contrast in textures and taste! It's authentic Fukienese flavour - and you don't have to go all the way to downtown Toronto to Momofuku (or pay the much steeper price) to taste the now trendy pork belly bun.
After lunch, I found an unbelievably lean piece of pork belly at the butcher's. Guess what's for dinner tonight! I plan to try Akijiki's Le Creuset pork belly without the Le Creuset pot. Sacrilegious, I know, but worth a try...
Addendum
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Pork belly made with Circulon pot - not having tasted the one made in the Le Creuset, can't really compare. But I think next time, I'll make this with the fermented red bean paste my mom used to braise pork with. She would brown the pork (trotter or belly) with chopped onion, add the red fermented bean paste with sugar, then braise it on the stove on low heat. This would result in a naturally reduced sauce at the end of the 2 hour cooking. In the dutch oven, there is very little liquid reduction. So what do you do with the sauce?! I'm sure Akijiki would have a creative response.
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SUNDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER 2012
Learning to cook in farm country
What better place to teach the production and preparation of food than in farm country! The Niagara College Canadian Food and Wine Institute is doing precisely that. In addition to learning how to cook, students also learn how to grow food and grapes for wine. The Institute is at Niagara-on-the-Lake, right in the middle of fruit and wine country. There is a full service restaurant Benchmark right on campus, providing practical experience as well as paid jobs for the students and high quality local food at very reasonable prices for the public.
We drove up to the quiet campus and enjoyed a quiet lunch in the spacious glass enclosed dining room. It was a bonus not to have to fight the crowds at Niagara-on-the-Lake on a long weekend! You can check out the menus and the amazing prices and maybe find another culinary institute closer to home that offers you similar value. I look forward to hearing about other experiences with culinary institute restaurants.
I had the prix fixe menu called "Trust Us" and had never been such a happy guinea pig. It started with the crunchy chopped green salad with smoked trout, followed by a pan-fried pickerel with rice and summer squash paired with an oaked chardonnay produced at the school. One might question why fish in both appetizer and entree but they tasted so different I didn't mind. My luncheon companion ordered a la carte starting with a delicious pepper bisque the recipe for which they promised to email us. The smoked pork ribs were smothered in a little too much sauce but scored a pass nevertheless. Dessert of creme brule provided a smooth finish. Too much food for lunch but we promised ourselves (alas not too convincingly) that we'll skip dinner...
We drove up to the quiet campus and enjoyed a quiet lunch in the spacious glass enclosed dining room. It was a bonus not to have to fight the crowds at Niagara-on-the-Lake on a long weekend! You can check out the menus and the amazing prices and maybe find another culinary institute closer to home that offers you similar value. I look forward to hearing about other experiences with culinary institute restaurants.
I had the prix fixe menu called "Trust Us" and had never been such a happy guinea pig. It started with the crunchy chopped green salad with smoked trout, followed by a pan-fried pickerel with rice and summer squash paired with an oaked chardonnay produced at the school. One might question why fish in both appetizer and entree but they tasted so different I didn't mind. My luncheon companion ordered a la carte starting with a delicious pepper bisque the recipe for which they promised to email us. The smoked pork ribs were smothered in a little too much sauce but scored a pass nevertheless. Dessert of creme brule provided a smooth finish. Too much food for lunch but we promised ourselves (alas not too convincingly) that we'll skip dinner...
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| Chopped salad with smoked trout |
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| Pan-fried pickerel with summer squash and rice |
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| Creme brulee |
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| Pepper bisque |
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| Smoked ribs with sweet potato frites and cabbage slaw |
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The dining room and patio |
THURSDAY, 30 AUGUST 2012
Eating in Ontario farm country
We spent a day in Ontario's farm country this week, starting with a visit to the St. Jacob's farmers' market - an annual ritual for us. We arrived just in time for an early lunch at one of the best fish places in the area - Vandijk's Fish truck offering Alaskan pollock in a light crunchy batter at the fantastic price of $6 served on your choice of multigrain or white bun. This is topped off with the yummiest apple fritter ever - this comment from someone who wouldn't go near a donut. There is usually a lineup out the door for this treat on weekends. A weekday visit makes this a more pleasurable experience - you head straight to the cashier, pay your dollar and a freshly made fritter is in your hands!
On the way out, as the market neared closing time, we got great deals on cantaloupes (look at the size!), big juicy peaches, and leeks, cherry tomatoes and potatoes.
We next headed to Stratford for the afternoon performance of 42nd Street followed by a leisurely dinner at a new restaurant at the Mercer Hall Inn in the old location of the former Tango restaurant. It was a complete makeover - all tastefully done, in more ways than one - and best of all, the focus is local.
Reminded of the California ban on foie gras, we decided to "indulge" as the menu suggested on the foie gras appetizer. You can see how puny each of the 2oz servings were - they looked like sides with the ample serving of crustini. My rating - serving too small to provide meaningful "indulging" - although it was uniquely good, as only foie gras can be! What was actually a better deal were the seared scallops - done to perfection. The seared duck on pulled duck and rice was excellent. The schnitzel, a bow to Mennonite farm country, was an unexpected delight - two pieces of thin moist pork in light batter served with a warm potato and bacon salad with fennel and green apple slaw. It was one of the best schnitzel we've had, certainly comparable or even better than the ones we tried in Berlin, if only because it was a more delicate serving size and likely local. It was a wholly satisfying day for the palate!
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| Fried fish from Vandijk's |
Vandijk's truck
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| Apple fritter! |
On the way out, as the market neared closing time, we got great deals on cantaloupes (look at the size!), big juicy peaches, and leeks, cherry tomatoes and potatoes.
We next headed to Stratford for the afternoon performance of 42nd Street followed by a leisurely dinner at a new restaurant at the Mercer Hall Inn in the old location of the former Tango restaurant. It was a complete makeover - all tastefully done, in more ways than one - and best of all, the focus is local.
Reminded of the California ban on foie gras, we decided to "indulge" as the menu suggested on the foie gras appetizer. You can see how puny each of the 2oz servings were - they looked like sides with the ample serving of crustini. My rating - serving too small to provide meaningful "indulging" - although it was uniquely good, as only foie gras can be! What was actually a better deal were the seared scallops - done to perfection. The seared duck on pulled duck and rice was excellent. The schnitzel, a bow to Mennonite farm country, was an unexpected delight - two pieces of thin moist pork in light batter served with a warm potato and bacon salad with fennel and green apple slaw. It was one of the best schnitzel we've had, certainly comparable or even better than the ones we tried in Berlin, if only because it was a more delicate serving size and likely local. It was a wholly satisfying day for the palate!
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| Diinner?! |
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| Foie Gras (on the side!) |
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| Seared scallops |
Seared duck and pulled duck confit with wild and red rice
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| Local pork schnitzel |
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| Can't go wrong with chocolate ganache finish |
Monday, 21 May 2012
What made it special
It was the scallops that did it for me at Frank's, it's scallops that did it again for me at the Crown Princess Restaurant on Bay Street in Toronto. The first time I had scallops at this location, they smothered them in XO sauce even though it's perfectly fresh scallop in the shell. But I was pleasantly surprised when I returned and ordered scallops the "Chinese" way - stir-fried. The wonderful thing was it's not your typical Chinese scallop stir-fry where the scallops were thinly sliced and often bland and tasteless. (The only tasty exception I'd encountered was in a Chinese restaurant in downtown Halifax, but then that's seafood heaven, it would be hard to botch although there is still not enough "bite" to the scallops when they are thin sliced.) The ones at the Crown Princess are whole flavorful scallops, perfectly cooked and presented, with pine nuts, green onions and sugar beans for a contrasting crunch.
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| Not recommended: Scallops in XO sauce |
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| Sweet and sour pork
Honourable
mention went to the moist and tender chicken with crunchy skin,
described literally as "hand poured" - a process that is quite
complicated. The chicken is first steamed so that it is cooked. It is
then dried and then put on a rack over a pan of hot oil. Oil from the
pan is then scooped up and poured over the chicken to crisp its skin
without dipping the whole chicken in oil. This way, the skin is crispy
but the meat is not greasy or dry. In some restaurants, it's called
"oil poured" but here it is called "hand poured", likely just a
marketing thing to avoid mention of oil and to emphasize the
"hand-made" aspect - as if anything cooked could be otherwise.
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| Crispy "Hand-poured" Chicken |
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| Pumpkin Seafood soup with lots of seafood chunks |
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| Bamboo fungus and bean curd sticks with baby bok choi |
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| Plain tasty shrimp |
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Great presentations: Fish and Chinese broccoli Egg tofu with mushrooms and greens |
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Presentation is a key part of the style but in the end, it's fresh ingredients that made the meal.
FRIDAY, 11 MAY 2012
Frank at the Art Gallery of Ontario
After a focused couple of hours at the Art Gallery of Ontario, taking in the shows Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris, and Zhang Huan: Ash Paintings and Memory Doors, we thought we would treat ourselves to dinner at Frank, the restaurant at the AGO. What a superb dinner it was!
We started with two appetizers which we shared - perfectly done seared sea scallops wrapped in what looked to be Spanish prosciuto (they called it jamon serrano). But what I really loved was the shaved asparagus. I can't remember if I've had asparagus shaved lengthwise before, but this version is definitely memorable - it's crisp and soft at the same time, a great textural contrast to the scallops. I doved right into the scallop without taking a photo - borrowed the one below from the Frank website but it's really not the same dish.
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| Photo from the Frank AGO site |
The salt cod croquetas were delectable, especially with the black olive tapenade. This was followed by the seafood paella which was so flavourful I could easily have another plateful. This must be the "haute cuisine" version of the paella, I've never seen such a miniscule portion of the rice dish! The seafood were all done just right. There were lots of bay scallops and enough mussels, but they could have thrown in a few more shrimps (they called the lone ranger a prawn, but it is really a shrimp).
We wrapped up dinner with a "tarta de santiago" which is really a flourless almond torte - great texture and not overly sweet. The service was attentive and thoughtful - it was one of the better dinners we've had for a while.
SATURDAY, 5 MAY 2012
Among the first thoughts of spring are the foods that come along with it - asparagus, fiddleheads, and...er, goose - yes, roast goose! While Chinese BBQ roast duck is very common now in North American cities, roast goose is still hit and miss. We have a favourite eatery where we regularly visit in the spring and fall for this delicious dish, one up from the ubiquitous roast duck. I love it for its slightly gamey flavour and the thicker, firmer flesh. That first bite into the inch thick breast meat is a sensation that can't be put into words. This is no fancy eatery. Just a stall in the food court in Markham Place in Markham, north of Toronto. Goose is not readily available in the average Chinese restaurant without pre-ordering.
Here is an interesting set up. There are two BBQ takeout stalls side by side in the food court. Long lineup at one place, no lineup at the other. Instinct is to go to the one with the long lineup. But the first time we were there, we were attracted by the red sign that said in Chinese "Just in, fresh roast goose" and decided to take our chances with the stall with no lineups (not advisable generally). We were pleasantly surprised; in fact, we have become regulars at Van's, especially during goose season, which starts in the spring around May, goes on for a couple of months until the young goose supply is gone. The goose is plumper in the fall with even thicker flesh. The season finishes around early November. I have no clue how this jives with the breeding season of the bird but derived this just based on experience with disappointment when we would brave the weather to go up to Hwy 7 thinking of the roast goose only to be told by Van "that's it for the season".
We were up there looking for goose a few weeks ago and was told by Van to come back first week in May. Today, we had our first bite of goose in 6 months. It was worth the wait.
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| Van's BBQ Markham Place |
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| Van proudly showing off the goose |
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| Mmmm... |
Now it would be interesting to hear comments from readers about their experience with roast goose in other parts of the world, China, Europe, etc.
