Jen Is Eating...

WINTERLICIOUS: Tender Kabobs at Banu

2012-01-29T17:20:00.005-05:00

I had been meaning to check out Banu and was pleasantly surprised to find it on the Winterlicious list so I took the opportunity to make reservations. I don't profess to know much about Iranian food, but it was recommended by my friend Ata and I had trust he wouldn't steer me wrong.

We arrived to find Banu a casual chic restaurant on Queen West and greeted by an artsy cool server. I butchered the ordering of every item but he still encouraged me to try. We started with aash e reshteh, a potage (thick stew) of vegetables and buckwheat noodles nd a tasty spread made of olives and pomegranate molasses, which was surprisingly quite filling. Our main kabob choices were easy: koobideh, ground Angus sirloin, and the torsh, beef tenderloin marinated with pomegranate and and walnut. I love koobideh, the meat falls apart in your mouth. The torsh was prepared perfectly, each piece still a little pink in the middle. It was very tender and tasty! Our skewers were served with thin wraps on the side, to be combined with a light creamy garlic sauce and a turmeric powder on our meat. The desserts did not seem very exciting at first but I have to say, they were ultimately the perfect end to our meal - Soma dark chocolate with pomegranate pieces and Soma gelato in lemon sour cream flavour. Somehow the dark chocolate was just the right taste to wrap up our delicious dinner. The gelato was a little stronger than I had imagined, although I am still glad we tried the very unique flavour of gelato.

As I look through Banu's regular dinner menu, I'm intrigued by other kabobs like calf's liver and cornish hen with saffron. For the adventurous there is also cow's heart and lamb testicles marinated in vodka....do you dare? I just might when I return!

Banu

777 Queen St West

416-777-2268

www.banu.ca (click HERE for Winterlicious menu), reservations available on OpenTable

WINTERLICIOUS 2012

2012-01-14T14:01:00.004-05:00

Winterlicious will be upon us soon again January 27th to Feb 9th...have you made your reservations? Trying out new restaurants (or old favourites) can motivate you to leave the house on cold Winter days, nights and weekends. Last year, we tried Auberge du Pommier for the first time and loved it, having since sent others there for special occasions. Some restaurants do Winterlicious well and others do not - Auberge and North 44 are two that I guarantee will be a good experience. Trevor Kitchen is another favourite worth visiting if you have not been before.

I always try to check out places we have not been before and use the opportunity to catch up with friends over a nice meal. This year, we will be trying out Banu, an Iranian restaurant recommended by a friend, Noce (Italian), and Chiado, a Portuguese restaurant I have always wanted to try but found the menu pricy....this will be an opportunity to see if it's worth it!

I've posted my Winterlicious tips in the past - look for good value, be flexible, take recommendations or try places you've been "meaning to," be social, and don't overbook! If you have trouble narrowing down from the list of hundreds, check out Toronto Life's 62 top recommendations.

I'd love to hear where you're going, where you've been and how you'll Winterlicious this year! Check out the full list of restaurants here (hint to navigating: browse restaurants letter by letter, it'll feel less intimidating!).

Jen

CALGARY: Deliciously Wholesome Food at Boxwood Cafe

2011-12-31T13:57:00.010-05:00

When we visit Calgary, we prioritize only two sorts of meals: steak and Vietnamese Pho (the best of all the places we've lived in Canada!). We have abundant fancy meal options in Toronto so we don't make a ton of effort to scope out new restaurants. Lucky for me, my friends know how much I love food and are happy to suggest cool new places that have popped up in the city. While looking for a place to catch up with my friend Andy, I could only suggest my old faves, Living Room, Brava and Big Fish - and since they are all still around, I assume they are still good! Andy had a better idea, and that's how we ended up at Boxwood Cafe, sister restaurant to long standing River Cafe in Princess Island Park.

Boxwood is standalone restaurant in Central Memorial Park in the Beltline area (bonus: ample street parking free after 6pm!). Upon entering, I immediately felt the bright, warm and welcoming atmosphere, like walking into a friend's contemporary cottage. There are small dinner tables for an intimate gathering, a tall share table for a more social experience, and I chose to sit at the end of the bar for a quieter catch-up and overlooking the food prep. Boxwood focuses on wholesome and sustainable food with a big of tree-hugger feel and I was ready to indulge!

To start, we nibbled on spiced almonds and pecans followed by house cured tuna served on creme fraiche. The two were great compliments, one boldly flavourful and the other simple and fresh. We also enjoyed refreshing drinks of ginger beer (not too strong and reminded me or the aromas we experienced in Thailand last year) and an unsweetened wild berry iced tea. Perfect pairing for our meal ahead.

I had the lamb with mint and white anchovy salsa

verde, simply served and very tender. As I expect, I was not asked how I like it cooked because I expect a great restaurant to show me how to enjoy it! The simplicity of the food highlights how fresh the ingredients are! Andy had roasted chicken served with a roasted butternut squash and tomato stew that had a hint of curry. Both dishes featured juicy, tender meat that was

good on its own, with a side of freshly made accompaniment to add colour and character. I really enjoyed the clean, natural flavours. To share with our mains, we had a fantastic brussels spouts gratin done with pumpkin seed butter. I could have eaten this as a meal myself and is definitely a must-have at Boxwood. If you ever need to convince someone to eat brussels sprouts, this would be the way to go!

I was warned in advance that dessert was a must, and we chose to try to daily special

of apple tarte tatin and the server's favourite, saskatoon berry bread pudding - I can rarely turn down bread pudding, something about that homey, warm appeal! Our tarte tatin (an upside down flat tart) was great, served with vanilla bean ice cream, but I really loved the bread pudding, topped thinly with caramel sauce and spotted with chocolate chips, it was none too sweet and uber delicious!

Boxwood was a great experience and was definitely my highlight meal of the trip! I love that more cuisine options are showing up in Calgary, particularly one focused around seasonal and local ingredients. This is a great place to catch-up with friends or visit for a date over deliciously wholesome food. Be sure to save room for dessert!

Boxwood Cafe

403-265-4006

340- 13th ave SW

www.boxwoodcafe.ca

CALGARY: Christmas at CHARCUT

2011-12-31T00:33:00.011-05:00

Growing up, it was tradition for my family to celebrate Christmas with a steak dinner - with only 3 of us, making a turkey was kind of out of the question. Over the years, I've tried to pick different restaurants in the city to take my parents, including Caesar's Steakhouse, Murrieta's, and often settling at The Keg for my mom's favourite prime rib and lobster. This year, Tony and I decided CHARCUT would be perfect for Christmas Eve - we were fans of Connie on Top Chef Canada, co-executive chef and co-owner, and couldn't wait to try it out.

CHARCUT Roast House is located in the chic Hotel Le Germain Hotel in downtown Calgary, giving you an idea of the style and atmosphere of the restaurant. It's a modern charcuterie, trendy and spacious while serving rustic comfort foods. For Christmas, we were welcomed with a special 3 course set menu for $49, but if that didn't entice, you could also order separate starters, mains and sides. I thought this was great as restaurants often limit meals on special occasions to just the set menu, and who wants a table full of the same thing? My mom and I both went with the Christmas menu, starting with a delicious roasted buttercup squash soup with sage cream and pretzel croutons. The soup was creamy and savoury with a hint of spice that was just perfect. We both lapped up the entire bowl happily! Tony started with the grilled octopus and sausage, which was quite tender but we thought our soup was more spectacular. I couldn't pass up the organic rotisserie turkey (porchetta style!) served with lady apple stuffing for my main - it was Christmas after all! The turkey was really great,

juicy and flavourful, but the highlight was really the dressing with many chunks of sweet apple, served in a mini le creuset. My mom had the 2nd option, a leg of ham served with gruyere biscuits and a fantastic spicy pepper jelly. The jelly was the highlight for her dish, adding a great kick of flavour to the meat. Tony decided he couldn't pass up an opportunity to have great Alberta steak and opted for the Spring Creek Butcher Steak - served simply off the grill and was done perfectly. The steak did not disappoint! For dessert, we ordered one of

each option: upside down gingerbread cake, which was served in a small jar and more like a trifle, and the pumpkin cheesecake. I was initially far more excited about pumpkin cheesecake but the gingerbread dessert turned out to be quite delicious. The cheesecake was a tad sweet where there was extra sugar, but otherwise...also amazing and we finished both without question.

We enjoyed our meal at CHARCUT, with great service and food. Our starters came quickly to satisfy our hunger and tasty meat that did not leave us feeling heavy and unhealthy served with some unique accompaniments. I also loved that we were offered both still and sparkling water free of charge, which was a nice touch since most restaurants charge for sparkling. All the little details count and is what makes a meal and restaurant memorable! CHARCUT is definitely worth a visit if you're in Calgary, a hip place to visit with friends, celebrate a special occasion or entertain clients in style.

CHARCUT Roast House

403-984-2180

101, 899 Centre Street SW (in Hotel Le Germain)

www.charcut.com (reservations available on OpenTable).

CALGARY: Lunching at Brasserie Kensington

2011-12-28T14:19:00.009-05:00

I had to pick a lunch restaurant with co-workers last week and I struggled to come up with something fairly easy to access, to park and with good food. We were literally getting together from 4 corners of the city so Kensington became the destination of choice (that probably didn't meet the easy to park criteria but close enough!). After not living in Calgary for 4 years, I wasn't really sure what was good, so I turned to OpenTable for ideas. After some availability searching on OpenTable and then menu browsing, I settled on Brasserie - I can never resist a French bistro!

Brasserie is simple, bright restaurant overlooking Kensington Road. As I had seen online, there were plenty of delicious sounding options on the menu from salads, sandwiches, to house specialties. In the end, we each opted to try a different dish: Cobb Salad (with crab cakes!), breaded cod sandwich (was gigantic!), croque madame and croque moniseur. I had the croque madame because I like the fried egg on top of my Gruyere and ham grilled sandwich! It came with a nice healthy salad, but you can opt for soup or fries. Lunch was very good all around, and it looked like other patrons were enjoying themselves too - I should mention we might have been the only table not indulging in lunch-time champagne! It's not much for decor and style, but Brasserie was a great choice for our lunch get-together. The bustling crowd in the small restaurant made it a bit loud for conversing but it was part of the open and lively atmosphere. I'll have to go back and try the poutine - all fries done in duck fat :) I also recommend getting to Kensington early as parking can be tough right close to noon, but if you're lucky, you might snag parking right in front!

Brasserie

1131 Kensington Rd NW (upstairs)

403-457-4148 (reservations available on OpenTable)

brasseriekensington.com

A Cozy Experience at Union Restaurant

2011-12-04T22:52:00.015-05:00

The Ossington area is bustling with lots of options, but one we have not had a chance to not check out was Union. It was not top of mind, but as I scrolled through my Twitter for ideas this weekend, I noticed the daily menu posted on Thursday and was sold. Thankfully, we were able to secure a reservation for Saturday night!

We were a table of 5, but Tony and I opted to do a selection of the starters for our meal - we always opt to try more food than less :)

Elk Sliders - seeing elk on the initial menu sold me to call, and these sliders were delicious. Served as little meat balls on toast, was actually quite juicy.

Lobster Roll - perhaps odd to consider as a starter, but this creamy sandwich was tasty and sweet. It would have filled me up if I had it on my own as a starter.

Seared Scallops and Risotto - proportion of scallop to risotto was great, and although tasty overall and loved the scallops, I found the risotto a little hard.

Along with some starters, our friends ordered the pasta du jour to share, pappardelle with braised beef. It was nice to have something a little more substantial along with the assortment of starters. If we were to go again, I think we'd do 2 starters and one main to share - the trout sounded quite good, hopefully it will be on the menu again!

We also had two lovely desserts (be sure to save room for it): maple cherry bread pudding and apple walnut cake. I liked my bread pudding more but both were good, not too sweet and was just what we wanted to wrap up our meal.

Union was a great experience, and a perfect place for us to take visitors - unpretentious and cozy with good food selection championing "eat local." I could definitely feel the Parisian bistro inspiration, easily something found in Montmartre. This is a great restaurant to check out with friends or for date-night!

Union

72 Ossington

416-850-0093

www.union72.com

A Favourite in the City: North 44

2011-12-01T20:04:00.019-05:00

We were in a celebratory mood and decided to splurge on dinner at North 44, one of our favourite restaurants in the city; truthfully, we have only ever been during Winterlicious/Summerlicious but it was always an AMAZING experience and we were certain regular dining would be fantastic as well. I always say, it's important for restaurants to do Winterlicious/Summerlicious well.

I was surprised when we arrived at North 44, although there was definitely room it was decently busy for a Tuesday night. Some looked like they were celebrating an occasion and others looked like "regulars." The table next to us had their bottle of wine opened for them before they even arrived...how's that for service!

STARTERS:

First to come was the medley of lobster, crab and prawns, served with creme fraiche. This was an amazing seafood salad and I can still taste the fresh and succulent shell fish, served at a perfect cool temperature. The creme fraiche added to the refreshing and clean tastes of this dish.

Next we opted for one of the specials of the night, beef tartar with toasted capers. I really like capers with my beef tartar in general and this was particularly tasty toasted.

MAINS:

Tony had the pappardelle with braised veal shank (also available in starter portions!). I die every time I take a bite of delicious, thick, FRESH pasta. This was delicious, with hearty chunks of braised veal, a perfect homey dish for the cold night it was. I have no doubt this is a classic favourite at North 44 (pictured above!)

The first thing I spotted on the menu was the miso glazed BC black cod...

but then my eye was drawn away to the house special, pan seared Dover sole with saute of roe, chanterelle mushroom, lemon and brown butter. How can I pass up that description? There is seriously an art to menu writing, key is creating expectation and delivering! Little did I know this special dish was $65...and in a quick irrational moment I said fine. Eek. True to its name, the Dover sole is only found in European waters, so I guess the flight overseas makes it expensive! The fish was quite good, very well done and delicious. The mushrooms, served on the side, I loved as well. I don't know if it was $65 good (sorry!!) but apparently it's a MUST HAVE dish says Chef Jean Joho so I guess I don't have to have it again :)

TO FINISH:

Normally, I would never do this, but after a week eating indulgently in Madrid, we decided to have the medley of fruit with sorbet, which was EXACTLY what I wanted by the way. It was refreshing and clean tasting, exactly what we needed after our big meal. Don't ever think of "dessert" in the narrow sense, it's whatever helps finish your taste experience and this was perfect for me.

North 44

2537 Yonge Street

416-487-4897

www.north44restaurant.com

MADRID: A Paella Feast at Casa Benigna

2011-11-27T15:35:00.011-05:00

Paella was a high priority on our visit to Spain, one of my most favourite things to eat in the world. To my surprise, it wasn't abundantly popular among the tapas culture in Madrid and we spent most of our meals dedicated to small plates of cured meat, Spanish omlette, croquettes and even tripe. Fear not, we did not leave Madrid without an indulgence in paella - our friends, Jen & Andrew, had a plan to take care of our paella cravings and we were treated to a feast at Casa Benigna.

Casa Benigna is one of those "local" finds, tucked away on a quiet, residential street. Reservations are always needed and we were welcomed into the warm, intimate restaurant after a homey knock on the door, including greeting from the owner's mom. I always get a good feeling from family run food joints! Although we were given menus, I don't think I even flipped it open - part of the experience are the fresh and special dishes that can be offered off the menu....we let our friends take care of the ordering :)

Everything from the olive oil for our bread was an experience - one from Italy and one from Spain. The server poured both into glasses for us to pass around and smell like you would with wine. They were each distinct and simultaneously had crisp and smooth flavours to the smell. We had house soup to get our appetites roaring (not that we needed much help), followed by a delicious duck and eggplant starter. We couldn't pass up the recommended "scrambled eggs" and potato topped with fresh black truffle - the server had brought out the fresh truffle for us to smell upon ordering. It's truffle season! The food kept coming fast and furious, I barely had enough time to take it all in! Next we had a delicious salmon omelette with zucchini and some sea kept - it was a sweet tasting dish served with a light tomato sauce. This was one of the most memorable dishes of the night for me, truly unique and was a nice, light starter...despite it arriving on the table in a giant paella pan!

Now for the main affair: We wanted two paellas, and learned that traditional

paella preparation does not mix meat with seafood/fish so we decided to have one of each. We settled on a squid ink paella for our seafood choice - I love the unique, savoury taste if you can get past it being, well, black! It's definitely one of my favourites and I never turn down the opportunity to have it. We also had a vegetable paella with chicken done with jasmine rice, which was very aromatic and seemed even healthy! The jasmine grains was very unique and was a different flavour and texture to paella. Both were served in GIANT custom pans used by the restaurant (available for sale!)...it was a good thing there were 6 of us ready to indulge!

After polishing off the paella, pretty quickly I might add, we dived right into the AMAZING dessert - first a mixed platter to share including delicious gelato and chocolate cake, and then individual chocolate dipping cups for pastries (they reminded me of Chinese almond cookies!).

The whole experience at Casa Benigna was wonderful. We were well cared for the whole night, with the service professionalism of any high end restaurant, while still maintaining an intimate and friendly feel. I tried to look at what other patrons were having but was sure everyone was indulging in something different, which is exciting in itself, knowing you can have a very custom meal. Although the restaurant can certainly hold a decent crowd, reservations are highly recommended!

Casa Benigna

Benigno Soto 9, Chamartin, Madrid

91-413-33-56

MADRID: A Visit to Segovia for Suckling Pig

2011-11-16T18:00:00.019-05:00

We couldn't turn down the chance to visit the nearby town of Segovia, famous for the Roman built Aqueduct, a UNESCO recognized World Heritage site. The stunning architecture welcomes you to the town, a short 30min high speed train ride from Madrid. It's breathtaking! Some of the other sites include the Alcazar of Segovia, a residence of the monarch in the Middle Ages. When the Royal Court moved to Madrid, the castle became a prison for over two centuries. The Alcazar was destroyed by fire in 1862 and was later rebuilt to be used by the Artillery. As it was rebuilt, some of the rooms are fairly modern, including thrones that were surprisingly made in the 20th century...yes, you read that right. The rooms around the castle are named after small details in the room, such as pine-cone like decor from the ceiling of one room and cord-like decor surrounding doors in another. The room of the monarchs was most memorable to me, with facades of monarchs surrounding the space. It was a little Disney to me but still impressive. Housed at the Alcazar is also the Museum of the Royal Artillery School, including interesting technology and devices used throughout the years. We also made the 152 stair climb up the great tower which offers a spectacular view around the city and of the Cathedral of Segovia, especially beautiful surrounded by fall colours. We were surprised by the vastness of the Cathedral and intricate details. Its gothic style reminded us of the Notre Dame, although much less busy and "polished" but still quite impressive. Some highlights include the huge organ, intricate details throughout, detailed glass windows and vast corridors.

The sites in Segovia were beautiful and we had the luxury of wandering the city leisurely since it was low season; but truth be told, we were sold on Segovia because it is also known for its suckling pig (cochinillo)! Our first stop in the city was for a reservation at Jose Maria. The restaurant is known for its traditional fare and it was by far the busiest place we visited in Segovia - the place was packed! Jose Maria is also known for its service and constant concern for quality of his ingredients, most famous of course is the suckling pig that they raise and make special care for to ensure fine and tender meat.

This is not an experience for the squeamish, we were constantly surrounded by servers bringing out whole roasted piglets to serve...impressively carved with a dish (that's Jose doing it)! The tenderness of the meat and crispy skin were both AMAZING, I can still taste the juices from the meat. I couldn't imagine why someone would order anything else, although a dish of fish nearby looked incredibly good as well! We each decided to have suckling pig along with a side of asparagus (have I mentioned how hard it is to have vegetables in Spain?)...which also came with some delicious fried zucchini. There was no way I could finish my portion, it was HUGE. That entire slab of meat you see IS meat with just some rib-bones underneath. I think I got through half before I gave up. I ate as much as I possibly could, it was too tasty to turn away! This was no cheap meal but a MUST DO and totally worth the trip from Madrid. This may have been our most indulgent and memorable meal this trip!

MADRID: Tapas Galore!

2011-11-15T18:51:00.042-05:00

I have fond memories of eating in Spain from my backpacking days in Barcelona, we were thrilled back then to afford a good meal after spending time in London and Paris...paella, seafood and sangria galore! I couldn't have been more excited to visit our friends in Madrid, Jen & Andrew, who promised delicious tapas eating adventures!

La Latina: Tapas are, of course, core to eating in Madrid, and it is especially popular to tapa hop - think bar hopping but for food (and usually drinks too!). Our first night had us in the La Latina area of central Madrid. This area is known for the highest concentration of tapas bars...it was like a dream come true! Our first stop was Txirimiri, a modern, high energy tapas bar with mostly standing room only. I wish I had been warned to wear a sling bag! We did

manage to find a couple bar stools and enough counter space for our food - it's not uncommon to be left standing with your food, but there is a restaurant space in the back with seating if you are lucky to find it open and available. Stading andeating was part of the experience! We started with a delicious Spanish omlette on bread, looked almost like a piece of pie on top. It was sweet tasting from the caramelized onions. Next we had some delicious croquettes which would become a staple of almost every meal we have in Madrid. We were off to a good start but the best was yet to come: the special "burger" was a pile of meat served on bread, smothered in a stroganoff-like sauce. It was soooo

good. Then came the mushroom risotto with foie gras on top, hello heavenly! It was prepared fresh, hot and savory. I may have licked the plate clean myself if that had been appropriate. These last 2 items were definitely among the best we had! I can still taste them now :). We eventually made our way to a restaurant down the road that was a little quieter and specialized in cured meats, yummy jamón ibérico and chorizo to be had. That's the beauty of "bar" hopping, you can move from place to place to have their specialties or if you're just looking for a change in scenery.

Mercado de San Miguel: This gourmet food market is on the site of an old

"traditional" market in a beautiful glass structure with cast-iron frame not far from the popular Plaza Mayor. It slowly lost relevance as hygiene of street markets were questioned and the city's growth outpaced the ability of the market to meet everyone's needs. Mercdo de San Miguel was born out of an interest to keep the market alive, now filled with high quality fresh foods including stalls for sushi, assorted tostadas (shrimp, fish and other toppings on crostinis), croquettes, vermouth on tap and fresh juice. We also had mini foie burgers, cheese fondue, traditional seafood tossed in vinegarette and delicious chocolate cake and apple strudel to finish off our fun meal. It takes some patience to secure a spot at the share tables in the middle of the market, but most people were quick to eat and move on. This was a great way to try many different things under one roof, we took turns wandering the market for dishes and drinks to try.

Chimi & Churri: Tony and I stumbled upon this little place near Puerta del Sol that Andrew had pointed out during one of our walks. We wanted to escape the restaurants right around the plaza to avoid (best we could) over-priced tourist traps. We were starving by the time we sat down at the bar, and as we wrinkled our noses and squinted at the overhead blackboard in an attempt to remember what the Spanish words meant, the server kindly offered us a menu with English translation...whew. I think we would have managed anyhow but it was still a nice reprieve. We blindly ordered everything we had appetite for, completely underestimating the portion sizes: chorizo sausage, grilled sweetbread, ham with mushrooms, garlic shrimp tostada and a meat empanada. In true tapa style, we did not think much about the amount we ordered, but it turns out a couple of these were full entree size - I'm sure they wre on the tapas menu, maybe they should have specified for how many people. Oops. The food in this little cafe was good although I would have liked for the server to tell us we were in way over our heads! This was a simple, no frills place for some traditional foods. Had we not completely over-ordered, our meal would have been a pretty good deal :). Next time maybe we'll just try the 10€ prix fixe.

Viena Capellanes:

We were hungry for a quick bite before heading to the zoo on our last day in Madrid (how could I resist the opportunity to see baby pandas??). We passed by Viena Capellanes not far from Plaza de Espana and decided to stop in. Although a chain restaurant that does some catering, we were pleasantly surprised with the food. Our favourite was the tripe, a popular local dish, served tender and in a savoury sauce that was a bit curry-like. Yum! We also had another Madrid favourite, broken eggs with chorizo on fries and a blood sausage cannelloni with pine nuts. All delicious! We try hard to avoid chains or "tourist traps," but this place was pretty good.

One Day in London: Borough Market & Tayyabs

2011-11-13T18:23:00.015-05:00

We had one day in London after flying red-eye out of Toronto - no better way to fight jet-lag than to head on out and keep busy. We basically kicked our friends out of bed (thanks Lis, JK and Simon) and headed for lunch at Borough Market. I loved it the first time I went and couldn't wait to taste (and smell!) that raclette cheese again, yummms! The market was busy as expected and we bee-lined our way to get some raclette and potatoes. It was scraped piping hot off the wheel, melted on our little bowl of potatoes. Amazing and every bit as good as I remember, maybe better! It was a good start to our eating. Next we made our way to get a duck confit sandwich (other end of the market) which was really good but the bread was more of a plate than anything for us :p. We also made a stop at Roast To Go and had a pork belly sandwich with apple sauce...highly recommend, it was so tender and tasty! I could have used more apple sauce on the meat though. So. Good. We made a pit stop at Monmouth for coffee and I happened to spy a little bakery next door: Konditor & Cook. After examining all they had to offer (mulled wine truffles were very tempting), I picked up a slice of raspberry hazelnut chocolate cake for the group, covered with chocolate fondant. It was every bit as good as that sounds, and very filling. You'd think dessert was the end of our eating, but we still made our way to the shellfish stall and had grilled scallops with bacon. Seriously, how can one resist?! We were temped by the giant wok of paella initially but were too full by the time we made it back and I had a taste of soup instead, minted asparagus which true to the name was very minty but a little too much for me. With happily stuffed tummies, we embarked on our day of walking along the bank to check out some sites.

After wandering from Tower Bridge to Millenium Bridge, exploring Tate Modern and some quick shopping at Selfridges, we made our way to the East end of London for some Pakistani food at Tayyabs. This place was packed, and is apparently always lined up outside but crowds were moderate when we arrived. It's BYOB at Tayyabs so we picked up some beer which helped us pass the wait for a table, which thankfully did not take that long. Upon entering, I discovered really how big the restaurant was, two floors packed with patrons! The food looked and smelled delicious, I was starving and couldn't wait to dig in. Our friend Vince took care of the ordering and we were treated to a feast of tandoori chicken and lamb chops on hot paltes, karahi gosht, a traditional Pakistani lamb curry dish, a delicious saag aloo (spinach) and some amazing nan, including a sweet nan with sesame that was fluffy and surprisingly really tasty - I had not imagined having sweet nan with my food but I wish I could have had more! Although we were fully stuffed from our abundant and flavorful meats, we could not turn down the chance to try Tayyabs's own yogurt pops that came in mango, pistachio and their original malai. My pistachio one was really good and the perfect way to cut down the spice flavours in my mouth. The most amazing part of the meal? Dinner was £15 a person, which was just a crazy deal! It was so delicious, came quickly and an unbelievable deal. No wonder there's always a line-up outside. Tayyabs was definitely a nice local secret to discover!

Can't complain about our quick jaunt in London, still managed to have some great food experiences! Borough Market is definitely an experience to be had and Tayyabs is a restaurant I'd love to visit again.

Duck for Brunch at Prohibition Gastrohouse

2011-10-23T18:58:00.008-04:00

When my friend Stella first told me about Prohibition and its menu full of confit, I knew I had to try it. Sunday brunch seemed like a good as time as any to indulge in flavourful, comfort foods on the menu at Prohibition Gastrohouse in Leslieville.

I had scanned the menu first thing in the morning before making our way to Queen East and had no doubt that I'd be having the benny canard, poached eggs with duck confit, served with potatoes and side of salad. If you weren't sure how eggs benedict could get better, it JUST did. Duck confit on my bennies was exactly the right mix amount of flavour and meat. There was plenty of duck confit piled on the delicious biscuit, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. It was perfect and not as heavy as you might have imagined it to be. I'm admittedly not a big salad eater, but the salad was fresh and a nice flavour cut into my indulgent brunch. There were other things appealing on the menu, such as stuffed french toast, pulled pork sandwich, but ultimately, Tony opted for the grilled cheese with pulled pork. He added mushrooms to the grilled cheese (nice touch!), and upgraded the side to duck poutine. The grilled cheese was very good, delicious bread served with side of fruit compote. The duck poutine, like my benny, was piled high with duck confit. Fries, cheese, duck and lots of gravy...this was not a dish for the weak of heart!

Prohibition Gastrohouse was a delicious treat for Sunday brunch, definitely worth the trek to Leslieville if you're not in the area. Might I suggest a stop at Bobbette and Belle for some cupcakes for dessert after, mango passionfruit is my fave :)

Prohibition Gastrohouse

696 Queen Street East

416-406-2669

myprohibition.com

Sweet, Succulent Lobster at The Lobster Trap

2011-09-17T10:57:00.015-04:00

I have always loved lobster, although since the discovery of curry crab at Saigon Star, my allegiance had slowly been diverting. We randomly treat ourselves to lobster, whether it's a full lobster served at Pier 4 down by the water, or lobster with e-fu noodles (yi mein) at Congee Wong. Not long ago, I came across an article about the long standing restaurant, The Lobster Trap, famous for the fresh shipments of lobsters from the East coast. With no dinner plan for Friday night, there was no better time to try out this Toronto favourite for the first time!

The Lobster Trap is a casual, friendly restaurant, complete with blue and white checkered table cloths, lobster nets adorning the walls and friendly live keyboard player for Friday night dinner (perhaps other nights as well?). We dined to the Entertainer, something from Phantom, Fur Elise and other "classics." It all added to the lovely, neighbourhood charm of The Lobster Trap. Despite the obviousness of what I would order, a moment of indecision came on deciding how BIG of a lobster I should have: The Lobster Trap serves by weight, starting at 1 lb. Our server recommended 1.5 lb dinner, which comes with soup, a side and a non-alcoholic drink. There was no doubt I was going to start with the lobster bisque (it's almost my life ambition to find the best in the world....Cannery I miss you!!), but I decided 1.5 lbs would be too ambitious and settled for 1 and a quarter :) Decision two was how the lobster would be prepared, steamed or broiled. Steamed was recommended by our server, broiled included bread crumbs in butter spread on the lobster halves and broiled. Naturally, we each chose one preparation so we could give the broiled a try.

I started with the lobster bisque, which was incredibly sweet and tasty.

Tony's clam chowder was stocked full of clams, every spoonful had plenty! Both were great but good clam chowder is easier had than good lobster bisque, so that I highly recommend. We had hot drawn butter with our lobster, which came whole but served in half. This was seriously some of the BEST lobster I have ever had - there was plenty of succulent meat (even in the legs and fin of the tail) and it was more flavourful than we expected, truly the definition of fresh, sweet lobster! And whether you like it or not, even the tamale had a deliciously sweet flavour. My steamed lobster (picture at top) was definitely preferred to Tony's broiled (pictured to the right), the bread crumbs were a bit greasy and took away from the delicious lobster meat on its own. We liked the fresh drawn butter, but really, the meat was sweet and flavourful on its own. We were in heaven!

The Lobster Trap is definitely an old neighbourhood gem, and a must-visit for family friendly service behind the delicious food. We were surrounded by other couples and families happily picking away at the lobster before them. Would anyone really order the 4 lb lobster available on the menu?? That just sounded insane!

The Lobster Trap

416-787-3211 (no reservations)

1962 Avenue Road

www.lobstertraptoronto.com

Great Casual Fare at O&B Canteen

2011-09-11T16:09:00.010-04:00

I've posted about Oliver & Bonacini's Canteen in the TIFF Bell Lightbox before, we made a visit when they first opened. We were happy with our meal but only found it average - a good place to go but not some place I was actively recommending. For TIFF this year, we planned ahead for food (eating popcorn for dinner last year wasn't ideal!) and made a pit stop reservation at Canteen between movies. We were pleasantly surprised with a great meal, served quick and excellent service (thanks for taking care of us Joseph!).

Canteen has a wide variety of choices, We were still left with a great

selection of starters, standard mains like pasta, and quickie ones like sandwiches. To start, remembering how great the chicken liver pate was we had to have it, and it was WAY better than we both remembered. There wasn't enough crostini for us to lap it all up! Next, we had the seared scallops served on a bed of curried cauliflower and raisins, a delicious and unique mix of flavours. Yum! For mains, we decided to give the sandwiches a try, which are also available simply for the grab+go counter. I had the beef brisket croissant with havarti and sauerkraut. The croissant was buttery and the brisket was actually pretty lean...the sandwich was heavenly and every bite was a 10! Tony had the pulled pork sandwich with bbq chipotle. It was pretty good but I still think mine was tops!

I highly recommend a stop at Canteen, whether you're in the area because you're checking out TIFF over the next week or if you happen to be downtown and need a quick, inexpensive and delicious meal. This is a worthy place to stop in for something casual or for some simple, unique flavours!

O&B Canteen

330 King Street West (Bell TIFF Lightbox)

647-288-4710

www.oliverbonacini.com/Canteen.aspx (available on Open Table)

High-end Italian at Mistura

2011-09-08T22:24:00.015-04:00

The Toronto International Film Festival is upon us again, one of my favourite times of the year here - the city is just buzzing with energy and celebrities! The funny thing when you eat out during TIFF is there is the notorious head swivel - everyone double takes to see if the next guest to walk in is someone famous. This really doesn't happen normally! I wonder if all the restaurants in Yorkville get a bump simply from people hoping to spot a celebrity?

We randomly went to Mistura for dinner tonight - if we're going to eat out, why not take our chances right?? The last time we were here was with our friend Merrill, and we had a fabulous meal. One very memorable dish was the beef carpaccio, so we just had to have that again. I truthfully can't tell you anything else we ate last time, but this is what we ended up with tonight:

Starters:

Beef carpaccio - although this was very very delicious, it was not exactly what I remembered and we could not figure out if we just confused the dish with another restaurant. What I recalled was a wonderful dish of beef carpaccio with truffle and lemon juice, but I don't remember it coming as a wrap around arugula. It was still very good but I aways vote more beef than veggies :P

Summer Fish Soup - something on the seasonal menu, this light yet flavourful soup was a great starter. I find fish soup often doesn't actually have much flavour, but this tasted like a nice slow boiled fish soup that had plenty of taste. Love that the chef isn't afraid of being a little fishy (in a great, fresh way of course!).

Mains:

I went for one of the "untouchables" on the menu, an appetizer size wild boar agnolotti. It was one of the first things that caught my eye and was just DIVINE! I savoured every bite and flavour of the stuffed pasta pockets, lapping up as much of the sour cherry and brown butter sauce as possible. I really didn't want to share with Tony...

Tony went with the pot roasted rabbit, which I was very glad for since it also looked enticing. It was a hearty, saucy dish served generously with two legs and a melange of vegetables. We were even given a spoon to lap up the sauce! It looked so incredibly delicious I couldn't wait to get a taste - every bit as delicious as expected, and although flavourful not overly heavy! That's the thing, good Italian food should not be heavy...

Dessert:

We managed to save a bit of room for dessert, deciding on the semifreddo (a kind of frozen dessert), served with hazelnuts. I'm not actually a huge dessert fan in general but found it a nice way to finish off dinner.

Mistura is a delicious, quality restaurant. It's a bit of a splurge but nothing outrageous and certainly worth it. It looked like the table behind us may have had a custom menu (Chef Massimo stopped by) but I can't be absolutely sure...it sure looked and smelled good! All the well heeled patrons looked like they had delicious meals on their plates and lovely wine accompaniments. I should mention we also had a glass of cab, which often is sub-par to selecting a nice bottle but this was really great!

Mistura

265 Davenport Road

416-515-0009 (available on OpenTable)

www.mistura.ca

VANCOUVER: Mouthwatering Fresh Sushi at Ajisai

2011-09-05T19:17:00.013-04:00

Priority for every visit to Vancouver is to eat as much sushi/sashimi as possible...but having not lived in the city since 2004, I feel like I'm no longer "in-the-know" on the best places to indulge. There's always the famous Tojo but one of the main reasons Vancouver is one of my fave places to eat is because you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for great fish. An old favourite in Vancouver is Ajisai Sushi Bar in Kerrisdale, so we decided to stop in for lunch last Saturday, a timely visit to the area for a sunny walk during Kerrisdale Days. Arriving just before 11:30, we were fortunate to arrive before most of the crowds and chose to sit at the sushi bar. We always love sitting at the bar, it allows us to to be close to the food action and see everything going on. There is mostly just raw food at Ajisai, with some selected cooked/grilled items but largely, the menu is raw and made quickly by the 3 chefs standing behind the sushi bar. It was amazing just to watch them make and serve beautiful assorted sushi plates, colourful chirashi special, create unique rolls, and even torch pressed salmon sushi. Sitting at the bar was definitely part of the great experience, it was fast and impressive! Watching them reminded me of the article I read in David Chang's Lucky Peach about Japanese chefs, how they pride themselves on doing one thing well and refining their expertise and skill over time instead of branching out to new forms or cuisines.

Our taste buds were treated to the following at Ajisai:

miso soup: you may wonder why waste precious stomach space with "ordinary" miso soup, but this was served with large chucks of fresh tofu!

special assorted sashimi: this included tuna, salmon, amaebi (sweet shrimp), scallop, octopus and others. Every bite was satisfying...this was finally the fresh fish we desired!

hokkigai (surf shell clam) and sea kelp salad, marinated in miso, a crunchy, light appetizer dish.

Ajisai special roll: this was truly a GIANT roll, and was amazing. The fresh crab meat alone is worth ordering and definitely the highlight and best part!

half orders of wild sockeye salmon sashimi (really, there is no other!) and toro sashimi (falling apart like it should be and simply heavenly!).

special unagi roll: although we were mostly full from our

initial order, we asked the chef if there was anything he recommended (I'm sure he could see us salivating over every creation coming over the bar). Truthfully, I don't remember anything he said but we thought if he can recommend it, we'll eat it! What we received was a delicious and healthy tasting roll made with unagi, asparagus, chopped scallop and avocado topped with wasabi tobiko. Although the many flavours masked the unique tobiko, I tasted it on its own and it had a nice tempered spike to it. No regrets on this roll!

There's no doubt why Ajisai has continued to be one of the most popular and favoured sushi spots in Vancouver. We'l be sure to stop in again next time we're in town...but willing to take any and all other recommendations! We can never have enough sushi on the West coast :)

Ajisai Sushi Bar

2081 West 42 Ave.

604-266-1428

VANCOUVER: Knock-out Flavour at Vij's Rangoli

2011-08-29T19:09:00.008-04:00

For once, we showed up in Vancouver this past weekend without an eating plan. This is extremely rare as Vancouver is one of my favourite place to eat in the world, but we have been extremely busy with visitors this month and barely booked a flight out West to begin with so we literally just showed up. One of our first stops was South Granville for a visit to Williams-Sonoma....and to our most pleasant surprise, we saw activity near Vij's. I was convinced it was just deliveries, but Rangoli, which doubles as a market and restaurant, was actually just opening for lunch! We've tried to revisit Vij's in our last couple trips, but always too impatient (or hungry!) for the long line. I can't tell you how excited I was to have an unplanned opportunity to eat at Vij's Rangoli!

We decided to sit inside, right at the door, because I like to see all the activity in the restaurant. It's a casual, modern place, including doors hidden in the back wall behind wood panels (I heard one staff tell another the majority of his job is telling people where the bathrooms are!).

Sleek, but not pretentious...perfect. We were excited to crack open the menu and were quick to decide what to eat: I ordered the goat and jackfruit in creamy curry with coconut cabbage salad and Tony ordered my second choice, spicy pulled pork with sour cream chutney. We couldn't possibly just have 2 dishes so we also started with lamb, beef & lentil kebabs. This was the highlight of the meal - colourful and full of flavour! There were 4 kebabs, I made the mistake of stuffing the first one quickly into my mouth without indulging in the date-tamarind chutney. First, it was kind of spicy (but in a delicious "I could eat this all day" kind of way) and the chutney helped to cut the heat...but more importantly, the chutney was the BEST CHUTNEY EVER. It was so delicious, I was obligated to pile on as much as I could in every bite in my 2nd kebab. This is a MUST have at Rangoli. I was ready for more explosions of flavour in my mouth with the goat and jackfruit curry, but relative to the kebab, it was actually

pretty tame. I LOVE goat curry and this was every bit tender and delicious although not as creamy or spicy as I expected. The coconut cabbage was FANTASTIC. I lapped up every bite of curry, goat, cabbage, naan and rice on my plate. Don't worry, they are healthy lunch portions and I was not over eating. In fact, our meal felt pretty healthy, unlike most Indian meals we have had where I feel deathly after from the heaviness. Tony's spicy pork must be a regular favourite, it just had "staple dish" all over it and again, not too spicy. Honestly, I think we could have used a bit more spice but I also think we had the flavour knocked out of us by the starter kebabs.

Eating at Vij's Rangoli is a total experience. A suitably diverse crowd buzzed in and out of the market/restaurant, picking up frozen and ready-to-eat dishes from the market. There were also a number of single diners, finely dressed and also dressed down enjoying the food with a good book out on the patio. Someone also pulled up in a spectacular white Lamborghini - good food reaches all demographics :) While the restaurant was still quiet, I was able to interrupt my way into a conversation among the staff about David Chang's first issue of Lucky Peach after overhearing a familiar discussion about Ivan Ramen. It is the most amazing food journal, and yes, I have a subscription, thanks to my very thoughtful friend, Surina! Great food, great crowd, and crazy food lovers...what could be better? Oh right, being in Vancouver!

Vij's Rangoli

1488 West 11th Ave, Vancouver BC

604-736-5711

www.vijsrangoli.ca

VEGAS: Glorious Food in Sin City!

2011-07-16T14:19:00.023-04:00

Vegas is one of my favourite places to eat in the world. You wouldn't expect a strip in the middle of the desert to have great seafood and Japanese food for example, but you can really find anything GREAT in Vegas. Here are some of the favourites and new places we visited for my friend's bachelorette...it's really not a complete trip without great food, right??

Bouchon: This Thomas Keller bistro only offers brunch on Sunday, so we just had to make a stop. My last visit was nothing short of amazing, including indulgence in chicken & waffles...how can you go wrong?The unfortunate part of a good and popular restaurant is that there was a long wait. We managed to find 5 seats at the bar eventually....but the challenge of eating at the bar is also that the bar tender kind of has another job to do too! It was also too bad they ran out of the special, which sounded just delicious: lobster and mushroom benedict! I decided on the corned beef hash, as I recalled Merrill's was so tasty the last time we were there. Lis ordered a pastry basket, which turned out to be quite large! But have no fear, we packed it up for a late night/morning snack in the room :) The food was good as expected with BIG portions but our experience tempered

by the long wait both for a table and food - I don't recommend Bouchon brunch if you come hungry! However, I do appreciate the attention to customer service, with the bartender treating us to a champagne cocktail to make it up. Yum!

Shibuya: I LOVE Shibuya...no one ever goes to Vegas without my

insistance they must try this restaurant at the MGM. Sometimes I worry I've hyped it too much and will leave people disappointed; but so far so good! Shibuya is best enjoyed family style, so we just plo

wed through the list and ordered a number of cold, raw, hot and tasty tapa dishes. I can never resist the rich-but-so-delicious lobster and scallop in uni butter or the king crab miso soup, but we also had kanpachi sashimi with truffle oil and yellowtail with yuzu - both fresh as can be! For warm dishes,

we had soft shell crab tempura with lemon shichimi butter sauce, black cod and kurobuta pork crisp (I ordered because I didn't know what it was) which was actually quite delicious - braised pulled pork rolls with seared tofu on top. We also wanted a bit of starch so we shared 2 bowls of shrimp tempura udon, and the tempura is nothing to turn your nose at for being normal because that was some really good, fresh, and hot shrimp tempura! Even the simplest dishes are outstanding at Shibuya!

Society: This was my first time eating at Society in the Encore. I had looked up the menu online previously and thought the brunch menu looked pretty inviting! I liked the extensive "classics" selection in addition to a menu of various sliders...who doesn't like sliders!? I ended up with the "ultimate steak & egg slider", which was seriously the best breakfast sandwich ever, a filet mignon with scrambled eggs and creamed spinach (I had mine on the side but ended up piling most of it on anyways) on a bacon-cheddar muffin. SO GOOD! They also had a "lunch box" menu, which was a really good deal for a smaller 3 course lunch. We all tried different things, with Julie and Kris trying out the cream corn soup, ahi tuna sliders with shrimp chips (which really didn't look like sliders, imagine a white soft taco...like a Chinese mantou - steamed bun), and Jenn had the Oscar benedict (poached eggs with crab cake, asparagus and hollandaise). After our BIG brunch at Bouchon yesterday, we all thought Society was quite perfect - the food was good and just the right portion for us. The menu is extensive and I highly recommend a visit! You can also make a reservation in advance :)

L'Atelier: I've frequented MGM several times, so no doubt many of the restaurants I like are also there, including Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier. We wanted a treat for Julie and no better than some French share plates. We were kicked off with a unique amuse bouche, an avocado and grapefruit jelly which I quite enjoyed. Our mix of dishes included Iberico ham, a very smooth beef tartar (which I think Julie and I ate most of!), a veal which honestly kind of tasted like salmon, suckling pig confit, sea bass with chorizo, snapper marinated with lime and tomato, which was one of my favourites for its very light,

fresh and unique flavour. A highlight was again, another seemingly simple dish, the L'Atelier spaghetti (carbonara) and we just couldn't enough! We even had room for some outstanding desserts - I just LOVED the red berries with coconut sorbet and the pineapple cream, vanilla wafer, with lime and lemon grass sorbet. Both surprisingly light and refreshing! We were also treated to a selection of sweeter treats to celebrate Julie's stagette, a little taste of everything was just perfect. Always be ready for a rich meal when going French, but it was oh-so-tasty!

Late night: I cannot live without late night eats, and I favour noodles and soup! There are two places to visit if you manage to scramble out of the bar before 2am: Noodle Asia at the Venetian, which offers traditional noodles, dim sum and congee - nothing fancy but definitely hits the spot; and Noodles at Bellagio, which is by far way tastier but also a bit pricy for a bowl of noodles! Noodles is normally a must-stop for me in Vegas, whether it is late night or during the day. I had beef stew noodles this time around...soo good and absolutely hits the spot! Authentic and delicious, can't ask for much more!

WASHINGTON, DC: The José Andrés Experience - A Conversation & A Taste at Jaleo

2011-06-13T22:14:00.016-04:00

No, I did not have the fortune of a personal conversation with José Andrés...but it sure felt like it! As Tony and I were leaving the National Archives (a visit to the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence is a must in DC!), we stumbled on a little t-stand sign that said "America Eats" and "José Andrés." Tony was already half way out the door as I stood there staring at the sign and pondered...isn't that....? And yes, it was....THE Chef José Andrés, giving a FREE lecture at National Archives, and we were just in time for tickets and a prime seat! We saw a profile on Chef Andrés on 60 Minutes, and was intrigued by his molecular cooking. At the time, we were amazed there was such a foodie experience in DC...who knew!? For those unfamiliar, Chef Andrés was named Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 2011 and is behind a number of great restaurants in the US, mostly in DC, including Jaleo, Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico and Minibar. I remember the 60 Minutes segment because it wasn't just about his food and his restaurants, but also about his dedication to food kitchens and his food is not just about fancy restaurants and kitchens - everyone deserves good food. I thought it said a lot about this man. And here in DC, we were lucky enough to be part of an intimate conversation with him, moderated by Corby Kummer, currently a senior editor at The Atlantic and previously restaurant critic at New York Magazine and winner of five James Beard Journalism awards!

There wasn't a lot of moderation needed. Every person in the 290 seat theatre hung on to Chef Andrés's every word right from the start...and he didn't just show up to answer some questions, the man came prepared, with a "short" slide show (I use quotations because he barely got into it). With each picture, he told great stories and expressed his passion, love, and understanding of food. What I really took away was his dedication to the origin of food what it means to food and people. He started by talking about paw paws, a fruit I had never heard of before that day, but is in fact, native to North America! It sort of looks like a green mango and is essentially a giant berry, apparently similar in taste to banana and mango. Chef Andrés's fascination with paw paw was all around its origin in America, and yet, NO ONE knows about it. His point was that a true "speciality" was the ability to leverage locally. Another example he gave was the Clam Chowder. This was the first dish he tried to re-invent and elevate in America. This was the start to an engaging talk on his inspirations - Chef Andrés doesn't believe in a "right" and a "wrong" in food, it is about creating an amazing experience, and that can source from many and any place. He talked about how food should inspire - we shouldn't force kids to eat healthy food, but think about how to create food and provide perspective so that kids will understand food and ask for it. He told the story of the origin of apples and truthfully, he could have convinced me to eat anything!

Chef Andrés spoke of many origins that we have adapted and changed today: the original shrimp cocktail has grapefruit and horseradish (that sounds AMAZING), and the burgoo was supposedly made with possum and used to be an aristocratic food - the French made it with blackbirds! His point was that in food, the melting pot of America shows up - it may be confusing what "American" cooking is, but it is an evolution of old dishes with new influences and new ingredients. Chef Andrés helped create the "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam" exhibit at the National Archives, a look at the relationship between government and food over the years (butter was food group...and in fact, so was "all other"). His genius shows up in his dedication to the message, he was about to turn Cafe Atlantica into America Eats as a live extension of the exhibit. How INCREDIBLE is that? True genius and cultural integration by bringing words and images to relevance today.

I'm sad to say we did not stay to the end of the lecture, we were actually heading out to a dinner reservation...but we stayed to the very last minute! The session was supposed to evolve into Q&A, but like someone close to us said quietly, it seemed everyone in the room was just content on listening to him talk more about the history, the origin, and the evolution of food. José Andrés's dedication to food showed him as more than just a great chef in creating good food, but that he was a great chef because of his passion and thoughtfulness about food.

We couldn't leave DC without a visit to one of his restaurants, and we decided to visit Jaleo for a Spanish tapas lunch; afterall, Spanish food is what he is known for. As a testament to the chef's dedication to the "origin" of taste and food, the bread came served with olive oil, fresh rosemary and fresh crushed garlic...why substitute the flavours with anything but the real thing?? The menu was extensive and we barely knew where to start, but the freshly made paellas immediately caught my eye - I LOVE paella! We decided we simply couldn't pass up the opportunity and settled on the black rice with squid ink, cuttlefish and porcini mushroom paella, served with aioli. It is as good as it sounds :D And believe it or not, we cleaned up the entire pan!

It's not as deep as it looks, in case you thought we were crazy! While we were waiting for our amazing dish, we started with some smaller bites: a cold almond soup with garlic, crab meat and grapes - perfect for the hot weather outside and no less flavourful than a "traditional" soup, it was served with fresh crab lumps, almond flakes and raisins....we licked the bowl clean; we also had rabbit confit on a delicious apricot puree, and Jaleo's famous garlic shrimp. I regret not ordering the fried pasta paella - I only had this dish once while in Barcelona, and it was amazing, but there was really no way I could have fit more food in my stomach! I really need to go back!

Having the opportunity to hear Chef Andrés was definitely a highlight in our trip. He was so inspiring and gave me new perspective on food. I obviously love food, but his passion was really something else. We'd love to go back to DC for a visit to MiniBar (plan a month in advance!) or any other one of his restaurants. Just knowing the thought he's put behind every dish makes me appreciate it all the more.

Jaleo

480 7th Street NW, Washington, DC

202-628-7949 (resevations available on OpenTable)

www.jaleo.com

WASHINGTON, DC: A Food Adventure at Komi

2011-06-13T22:13:00.004-04:00

I'm a sucker for style, and for restaurants, I like the style of one that surprises me. Our first experience with a "no menu" menu was at Momofuku Ko in New York, a genius restaurant by David Chang. Tony and I reminisce often about the amazing shaved foie gras with riesling jelly. When I discovered Komi, (as always, thanks Chowhounders!), a restaurant featuring a multi-course meal with no printed menu, I decided this would be the right place for a special night out in DC. First, the challenge of getting a reservation. In truth, I'm not sure how hard it is, but Komi takes reservations starting one month in advance, Tuesday to Thursday between noon and 5pm....I was not about to risk not getting a reservation, so I called exactly one month in advance, the first chance I had. I would say that the phone was busy for a while, so I was relieved when someone picked up and I managed to get a reservation. Whew.

Komi is located in the Dupont Circle area, lined with restaurants and great vibe of the gay and lesbian community. We had a chance to walk around the area after and loved the young, lively neighbourhood. Komi itself is not flashy - we arrived to find a simple house, belying of the multitude of tastes ahead! You'll have to use your imagination through this tasting tour, as no pictures were allowed and I wouldn't have wanted to ruin the experience of other patrons in the dark, intimate setting.

After starting with a refreshing Japanese white beer, Kitachino Nest, we were ready to start our tasting menu, a diverse food adventure at Komi. We started with a number of small dishes making up the really big appetizer course, the mezzethakia:

House smoked trout roe with Greek yogurt on warm brioche - this was a one bite dish and the thing just exploded with taste in my mouth. This was probably one of the most memorable dishes we had all night...what a way to start!

Two sashimi style fish (I'm sure that's not what they called it but you get the point), South pacific king fish with green tomato, which was interestingly slightly salty and Scotland salmon.

Scallop 2 ways: sliced raw with cured crab roe served on the half shell, which was extremely clean, fresh and delicious (this was one of Tony's favourites of the night); the second serving of scallop I was not so fond of, diced with cilantro and coconut which was a bit too sticky and creamy.

Crispy purple artichoke with apricots and ailoi - a very interesting dish that probably looked better than it tasted. The concept was very good and unique, but the artichoke was a bit chewy and the aioli was overpowering.

One bite spanakopita with liquid center which literally burst with warmth and flavour in my mouth. I was really enjoying these one bite dishes! They were always great surprises.

Egg yolk ravioli with shaved smoked tuna, shaved truffle (real truffle!) and local asparagus. This was another very memorable dish for me, very tasty although the ravioli was just a tad thick. But don't get me wrong, we absolutely loved the flavours and left the dish sparkling! It was just so tasty.

Half smokes with tomato marmalade and pickle zucchini - essentially, a fancy spicy hot dog. The marmalade was like a relish, spicy, sweet and sour all at the same time. It was just PERFECT. I definitely could have eaten a full size Komi dog :) This was another of my favourites for the night.

Foie gras with pickled chantrelle mushrooms, pickled vegetables with a green pea puree. We normally love anything foie gras, but the other flavours were over-powering. This dish was sadly, a bit disappointing...

Oven roast date with stuffed marscapone topped with fleur de sel - was very warm and sweet. I don't care much for dates normally but I found this dish to be quite exciting - perfect warm temperature for the blend of flavours and texture.

Well if you can imagine that we had any room and taste buds left for more dishes, we moved on to a heartier pasta, a tagliatele with salt caper berries flash fried (we loved these), and current with pine nuts in a tomato sauce. Not much needs to be said for fresh, simple pasta. And the star of the show was goat shoulder, served family style for sharing! Imagine a simple, giant slab of meat, and that is exactly what was served before us - forget all the intricate, small dishes we had before, this was straight up meat. You can also only imagine my excitement to be served something as unique as tender goat shoulder, and a selection of sauces to accompany: fresh tzaziki, this was incredible and probably some of the best tzatziki I've had; pepper mustard, a smooth hot kick; lemon salt, least used by Tony and I but certainly was very complimentary with the goat meat; hot pepper, which was a bit too fiery for me. I really enjoyed the meat, I would likely most closely to beef brisket. It was very satisfying, although I was too full to have too much (just enough to try it "bare" and with all the sauces). Good thing I had a hungry husband so as not to waste any food!

And yes, there was dessert to finish, and never just ONE, but a selection:

Cheese course with lemons, a simple dish to almost cleanse the pallet.

Rolo with cardamom - I did not know what cardamom was before, so this was a unique chocolate treat!

Ginger snaps and ginger beer sorbet - this was very refreshing with great ginger flavour.

Greek donuts with cream and blueberries - the donuts reminded me of these Chinese donuts I like, which are sugary, fluffy and light. The cream was also light and the blueberries tasty. This dessert was my favourite.

Ginger lollipop - our parting gift, but I was simply overloaded with flavours and tastes I could not fathom a lollipop on top!

We had a great time at Komi and would certainly recommend it to anyone planning to visit DC and looking for a unique tasting experience or to celebrate a special occasion (there were a lot of birthdays!). We liked some dishes more than others, but that was really part of the fun, to taste and try things out of the ordinary - we felt the Greek influences in ways we never imagined and really enjoyed it. It was also a treat to have the chef and owner himself, Johnny Monis, serve us some of the dishes. We appreciated the extra personal touch, even if the did it slyly...you never would have known he was the chef if you didn't recognize his picture from the website :)

Komi

1509 17th Street (between P and Q streets), Washington, DC

202-332-9200

http://komirestaurant.com

WASHINGTON, DC: Great Service and Charcuterie at Proof

2011-06-13T22:09:00.012-04:00

Our first dinner in DC was at Proof, a late edition to our overall eating itinerary but we were no less excited to check it out. As with many of the restaurants I chose, Proof is in Penn Quarter, across from the National Portrait Gallery and close to the Verizon Center (home of the Capitals and the Wizards). Besides the short wait we had for our table, we were treated exceptionally the whole night through. We were welcomed with champagne for Tony's birthday - I loved that they actually read the notes in the Open Table reservation!

After flipping through the extensive menu, we settled on the chef's four course tasting menu, which seemed like a great deal at $59 per person. We couldn't resist the charcuterie board and despite our fear it would be too much food on top of the tasting menu, we went for it, ordering the Chef's Full board with a plan to pack some of it home. I truthfully can't recall all that was on the board, but the selection of prociuttos, salamis and pate were all delicious. I was pretty excited to be taking a snack back with us to the hotel!

Our tasting menu started with crispy "pig's head," which was one of the more intriguing items on the menu although I'm not really sure what it was made of (I assume pork). They were fried squares filled with meat and lentil salad with horseradish. Our 2nd course was roasted salmon with fennel cream, which was tasty but nothing extraordinary (what's special about Scottish salmon??). The 3rd course was honey and spice glazed peking duck breast, an item no doubt influenced by the restaurant's proximity to Chinatown.

The sweet potato puree with pomegranate emulsion on which the duck was served was an unexpected surprise. I often consider mashed potatoes or such puree to just be filler sides; but I couldn't get enough of this dish, it was sweet and savoury all at the same time and absolutely delicious. For dessert, Tony and I alternated the warm chocolate hazelnut cake and a selection of cheese.

We entrusted the cheese selection to our server, who asked about our general preferences as a guide: Red Hawk (cow) was our favourite, a California soft, triple cream mushroomy cheese...taste described as "funky" but it was just all good to me! Le Chevre Noir is a French hard, aged crumbly cheese which we have had before that I'm not a huge fan of; our last cheese was the Cambozola Black, a German semi-soft, creamy, mild cheese which was typical of what we generally like. The cheese selection was as impressive as the charcuterie and I was impressed with our server's knowledge of the assortment.

I guarantee you will find something to your liking at Proof. The menu is extensive and there is definitely something for everyone, although I thought the charcuterie board and cheese selection were our highlights. The cocktails were good as well, particularly the Brown Derby, made of bourbon, grapefruit juice and honey. I especially loved the extra efforts to make our visit special (given it was for Tony's birthday) - with the champagne to start, and some birthday gelato after our dessert course. The efforts were much appreciated and show the restaurant's concern for great guest experience, which says a lot.

Proof

775 G Street NW, Washington, DC

202-737-7663

http://proofdc.com (reservations available on Open Table)

WASHINGTON, DC: Southern Goodness at Georgia Brown's

2011-06-13T20:37:00.009-04:00

We were very excited to visit DC for Tony's birthday. I don't know when I discovered it was a bit of a foodie haven, but it totally is! We were eager to hob knob among the political elite while taking in the great monuments and museums for the first time. We had no plans for lunch upon arrival on Thursday, but lucky for us, Georgia Brown's was a close walk from our lovely hotel, the Sofitel. I was definitely craving some good Southern comfort food! We were happy to find a lunch prix fixe for $24. Although intrigued by the fried green tomato, we both opted for the seafood chowder to start, which was very hearty with lots of goodies to inhale! For mains, I couldn't resist the Carolina Gumbo, a stew of shrimp, sausage, crab, chicken, duck and veggies on red rice. It was AMAZING, a bowl of perfect goodness and hit the spot for our slightly late lunch. I lapped up the entire bowl without hesitation. Have I mentioned I love hearty, comfort food?? I should also mention that the lunch portion was just perfect, I couldn't even imagine having a "full" portion, it would be way too much and too tempting to overeat because it was so good :) Tony ordered the Southern Fried Chicken (we just HAD to have it) and it was totally worth it, marinated in buttermilk and served with delicious mashed and gravy. We're pretty sure we ordered the 2 best things on the menu, but I guess we'd have to make another visit to really judge! Our lunch ended with 2 desserts, which I was too full to have but Tony really enjoyed.

Although we would have many more amazing meals in the next couple days, starting off at Georgia Brown's for fine Southern food was was definitely in the right direction. It was quality food, a perfect stop for a good, quick lunch in a comfy restaurant. This is no doubt, a must stop, for those visiting Washington, DC. Although it had not been planned, we were very glad to have had time to check it out! Hmm Southern, country goodness!

Georgia Brown's

950 15th Street NW, Washington, DC

202-393-4499

www.gbrowns.com

ATLANTA: Fun, Food and Drinks at Top Flr

2011-06-13T19:49:00.010-04:00

I rarely rely on restaurant recommendations found in hotel magazines but with not a lot of options, I decided to start browsing. I wanted some decent food at a good price for a group of girls from work. In my quick read through, I happened to come across the menu for Top Flr. I TOTALLY judge a book by it's cover, because the cool name stopped me, and the menu seemed appetizing enough at a reasonable price. I decided the short ride to mid-town for dinner would be well worth it! I should mention that the random magazine I was reading in the hotel room actually had the WRONG phone number for Top Flr, that was very frustrating as I was trying to call and make reservations. Thank goodness for mobile internet these days because I was determined to give the place a try!

Top Flr was the perfect place for 7 girls to have a fun dinner - the restaurant/bar is a cool 2 storey house, and has a young, urban chic (but unpretentious) vibe. We were welcomed with a cocktail list, but our server's suggestions for bubbly cocktails were more enticing (I had a St. Germain...sold by the "elderflower").

Now the main event, food. Top Flr is probably best enjoyed family style, ordering a selection of dishes for the table to share...but we opted for a modified version, grouping off to share certain selections. Marie and I shared the tuna tartar served on flatbread. It wasn't quite what I expected (I think I overlooked the "flatbread" part in the description) but it was very good with a bit of spiciness. As my main, there was no doubt I would have the smoked duck breast.

It was prepared just perfect, very tender and delicious. I think I shared a bit but I mostly gobbled it up quickly myself :P I was sad no one ordered the hand cut pappardelle (probably my favourite pasta) with rabbit confit, but one of the girls did treat me to fresh tagliatinni with shrimp, tomato and basil....and it was DELICIOUS! I am a super pasta snob and totally judge if the pasta isn't freshly made because you can't definitely taste the difference! We also had fantastic sides to share - I recalled somehow that the mac n cheese was notable, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try (thanks Amber for sharing with me!). It was indeed very good, and not too heavy as mac n cheese often is. It was JUST the right balance for a side dish, done with cheddar, gouda and panko crust. Yum!

Finding the right "social" place can be a delicate balance of food (not too polarizing), cost (not too pricey), and ambiance (not too noisy but lively enough). I was relieved Top Flr ended up being a good choice, a lot of pressure to pick a good place for the group...and I only judged by a quick read of the menu in a random magazine. Sometimes, it's just a gut feeling :)

Top Flr

674 Myrtle St., Atlanta, GA

404-685-3110

www.topflr.com

MONTREAL: Brunch délicieux à Le Cartet

2011-05-15T19:55:00.011-04:00

I was in Montreal this past weekend for a stagette with 7 other girls, and a weekend in Montreal is incomplete without some great food (I should mention that this can happen without much planning because there is so much of it!). Thankfully, brunch is the bride-to-be's favourite meal and so we started our adventure filled Saturday with brunch at Le Cartet. It is a chic, open and friendly restaurant lined with long communal tables, which I love for the fun atmosphere, and also individual tables if you prefer. The restaurant was buzzing with people and by lunch, the front door was jam packed with those waiting for a table and others waiting to pick up a coffee or maybe some pastries and other goodies. We were treated to a deliciously moist and fluffy pastry with chocolate as an amuse bouche, and it was AMAZING! I knew there would only be good things to follow. Weekend brunch at Le Cartet features some big (individual) platters, allowing you to get a taste of many things - the brunch Cartet was popular, which included scrambled eggs, ham croissant, salad, goat milk cheese, salmon cake and more (the picture above is the brunch Sante with poached eggs...but you get the idea!). Although this platter of goodness was very inviting, I couldn't resist the call of the brunch du mois, a stuffed scone with shrimp and crab, served with salad and fig and papaya on the side. I swear it sounds even better in French! My stuffed scone did not disappoint, it was every bit as good as I expected with generous shrimp and crab (including a claw for good measure!). Even the salad was beautiful, looking so perfect it could have been fake, and fresh fruit is always welcome for brunch, particularly unique selection like figs and papaya. I enjoyed my buttery scone and lapped up every last drop of the shrimp and crab!

Le Cartet was a great experience - a fun, buzzing restaurant with good food is perfect for weekend brunch. I would definitely go again, if even just for another taste of that amazing pastry! Thanks MAB and Catherine for taking us to this great spot :)

Le Cartet

106 rue McGill

514-871-8887

lecartet.com

Calgary: Great Steak at Vintage Chophouse

2011-04-25T21:42:00.011-04:00

We've been living in Toronto for over 3 years now and truly miss Alberta beef. You may not all agree, and I'm sure there are good butchers around, but we miss good steak, surviving mostly on Costco tenderloin and the Keg. On our first visit back to Calgary in 9 months, a steak house was definitely in order. We have been to Vintage Chophouse in the past and I often reminisce about the delicious lamb popsicles and Andretti wine I had the first time I was there (thanks Merrill!!). The server also treated me to my first glass of red ice wine, yum!

To start, we had escargots served on a baguette. The sauce was creamy and delicious but I prefer my escargot straight up without the bread. I also couldn't resist the beef tartar (made from prime tenderloin!), topped with a fried egg and accompanied by some delicious crispy toasts. I normally avoid the "sides" that are filler, but the toasts were so good! Needless to say, we quickly polished off the whole dish!

Without a doubt, we had an assortment of STEAKS for dinner: Tony opted for the New York striploin, and while I normally always have prime rib, I felt like the occasion called for indulgence in the rib eye, and my mom stuck with the old favourite, prime rib. Our steaks each came with a side, which came out family style so we could all share the sauteed mushrooms, asparagus and broccolini. On top of the standard sides, we also added the truffle mac & cheese (a bit too heavy for me) and lobster mashed (SUPER good and a MUST have).

Our server also brought us a selection of the sauces available: Vintage steak sauce, creamy peppercorn, chimichurri and bearnaise. Our favourite was the creamy peppercorn, but the chimichurri was quite good as well. My rib eye was best of all "naked," the great beef flavour medium rare was all I needed! Each of our beef selections tasted amazing and different, and of course, mom and I couldn't finish. We probably could have just shared one steak but I have no regrets in my rib eye indulgence. The best part was, our "expensive" steak meal was STILL CHEAPER than the average meal we have in Toronto. Amazing.

Vintage Chophouse is a great place for a special occasion, romantic night out, or a fun night out with friends over good food and drinks. The service is great and definitely a must-stop for visitors to the city.

Vintage Chophouse & Tavern

320-11th Ave SW

403-262-7262

www.vintagechophouse.com (reservations on OpenTable)

Dinner by the Water at Lake House

2011-04-10T22:16:00.010-04:00

On our way back from our first cross-border shopping trip last week, we made a quick decision to stop in the Lake House Restaurant. A friend had told us about it before, but being quite out of the way, we never made it out. A phone call on the way secured us a lovely window table and beat the rush that was soon to fill the restaurant.

Starters:

I had a GREAT clam chowder, exactly what I was craving - hearty, full of clams and corn. Tony had a good warm mushroom salad, served with goat cheese and balsamic. Our friend Stephen had some tiger shrimp to start that were prepared with garlic butter. We were all happy with our starters and the speed with which they came! Perfect for our post-shopping hunger.

Mains:

After reading over the menu, I settled on a delicious mushroom risotto,

topped with fried leaks, which was a really nice touch, and seared scallops. The risotto was amazing, although half the portion size would have been more than enough for me.

Tony had the prime rib, which is the dinner special for Saturdays and Sundays. It was HUGE and really good, perfectly prepared at medium rare. As true Albertans, we don't often find good steak, but you can't go too wrong with prime rib. The accompanying mashed potatoes are worth a mention as well, they were not your usual mashed...I hazard a guess that they were actually Yukon gold; in any case, they were very flavourful (no gravy required!).

Stephen also had good beef, the filet mignon recommended by the waitress, served on a bed of gnocchi. We were pleasantly surprised the meat was all very good, but still think my risotto was the highlight :)

Dessert:

I gave up dessert for Lent, in case you had not noticed that sweets have been lacking my posts of late, but Lake House offered up "mini-dessert," for just a taste of something sweet. Stephen opted for the shot glass of creme brulee, which had looked very enticing on the menu, and Tony had a single scoop of sour apple gelato. Both got their small taste of sweets before we were back on the road.

Lake House was the perfect stop, our food was all hot and fresh and we were lucky to have arrived before the restaurant really filled up around 6:30pm. You can tell it's an "old favourite" kind of place, with several groups celebrating birthdays with their families. A summer seat by the window with boats on the lake would certainly make a very nice, romantic dinner.

Lake House Restaurant

3100 North Service Road, Vineland, ON

905-462-6777

http://www.lakehouserestaurant.com/index.htm

Adventurous Eats at The Black Hoof

2011-04-10T21:17:00.008-04:00

The Black Hoof has been well received and reviewed in Toronto since its inception 2+ years ago. Regrettably, we never made our way there because of the "no reservations" policy...I am not always keen to line-up, especially given there are so many options in the city. On the warmest weekend of the year yet, we decided to head out to Dundas West and try our luck. I should mention that driving there was probably a mistake - Dundas West is currently under some major road construction with parking at a super premium. It also kind of explained why the area seemed a bit quiet for a Saturday night. We love the neighbourhood and hope the businesses are not suffering too terribly under construction, like those on St. Clair have. But I digress! We walked into a full house around 7pm, not surprising since the restaurant opened at 6pm (parking seriously took some time!), but the hostess was quick to take our number and suggest a place for a drink down the street, The Press Club. I'd probably never walk into the Press Club on my own, but it's a dive'ish-neighbourhoody kind of place, I have no doubt some great times have been had there! Once we arrived, we were pretty sure the rest of the patrons were waiting for tables at the Hoof (we jokingly asked the bar tender if they open early just for those waiting for a table...I think it's true!). We were told it would take up to 45min for a table, but something opened up for us before I could even finish my drink, so back to the Hoof we went for our food adventure!

The Black Hoof's menu is found on a blackboard at the back end of the restaurant - simple sounding items, yet not for the unadventurous. A sample of the food offered can be found on the website, but it's just a sampling of what you might find in person. Although we don't really find the menu all that "adventurous" or crazy, it's definitely not your average restaurant!

No surprise that we tried to order as much as we possibly could (until the waitress tells us it is too much food...but we still find they generally underestimate how much we can eat!). Below is how our indulgent food adventure went:

House cured meats - a fantastic assortment of...well, house cured meats. I can't honestly recall all that came on the platter, but it was plentiful (bigger than I expected, enough for a table of 4+ really!) and we enjoyed all of it. The meat ranged from light to strong and was served with some good, grainy mustard. Loved this, and if you're going to visit a charcuterie, this really is a must have! There wasn't any meat on the board I didn't enjoy.

Bone marrow - served with sea salt and chimichurri. This was a small yet indulgent dish, even the bread that accompanied was indulgent, drenched in butter or oil of some sort. It was, however, quite delicious...the sea salt and chimichurri gave it just a hint of flavour to kick it up a notch.

Smoked beef tartar - this is a pretty standard dish for us to order, but it was not served standard at Black Hoof. It came with bread pressed with garlic and soaked in egg yolk. I am actually not a fan of egg yolk so it felt a bit much for me...but the beef tartar was really AMAZING. GREAT beef taste, and not at all mushy, which some tartars can be. This was very well prepared (minus the heavy bread in my opinion, but I can see how it could be enjoyed by others). I enjoyed it just in its simplicity.

Duck taligatelle - confit with current, brussel sprouts and almond chips, this dish was fantastic...nothing like FRESH pasta (it's a basic expectation from a good restaurant, right?). After the heavy egg-dipped bread from the tartar, I wasn't too thrilled the pasta hid an egg to be mixed, but on another day, I probably would have liked it. Overall though, the pasta was light and delicious, and was almost a pallet cleanser from our heavy, meaty meal.

Glazed pork belly - no doubt we HAD to order this. It was as good as expected (fatty of course, so don't be surprised!), and the accompanying apples were quite delicious. It was the perfect size for the 2 of us to share.

Beef heart and seared scallops -

this was our last dish, but boy, did we save the best for last! I'm glad we didn't sacrifice this in our long list of menu items. It came sort of like a deconstructed salad, but no salad this was (but there were greens!). The beef heart was perfectly seared, softly red in the middle...imagine perfect ahi tuna if you will for the preparation. The delicate, tender flavour was well matched with the seared scallops, seasoned cauliflower and puree. I was so stuffed by the time this dish came (with the pork belly) but I couldn't stop eating! This was definitely our favourite, and most outstanding dish, of the night.

We had a great time at The Black Hoof and were glad we finally made our way there (I'm sorry it took so long!). We have only heard good things from all of you who have stopped in; and yes, it is as good as they say :) It's worth a little adventure out to Dundas West!

The Black Hoof

928 Dundas Street West

416-551-8854

www.theblackhoof.com

Vive La Brunch at Bonjour Brioche

2011-04-03T18:35:00.006-04:00

Brunch is very much a part of living in Toronto, there are options galore all over the city, and most are small, quaint little places that have unique offerings with varying specials week to week. Some of our favourite places include Saving Grace (amazing but I recommend visiting on a not-so-hot day!), Aunties and Uncles (the BEST waffles), and Queen and Beaver (this is a dinner post, but the brunch is something a little different and in a lovely setting). This weekend, my friend Julie and I stopped in Bonjour Brioche in Leslieville for a visit. Brunch is great because it's a chance to catch up with friends and enjoy some great comfort food. I often thing brunch could be one of the most unhealthy meals, but oh-so-good, right!? Like most other favourite brunch locations, there are no reservations and it's first come first served...and your whole party better be with you. This worked to our advantage this time, as Julie and I were the first in the line-up to be a "complete" party, and so we were quickly seated on the covered patio, intimately at our little table, ready for our meal! Bonjour Brioche offers daily specials for omlettes, quiches, and sandwiches. The asparagus, brie and apple quiche was very tempting...but I also couldn't resist the call of the croque madame for a savoury taste. I should mention at this point that we had just come from another GREAT place in Leslieville, Bobette & Belle, for cupcake tastings...that is definitely a MUST STOP in the area (try the mango-passionfruit, I guarantee you won't be disappointed, I don't even like cupcakes that much and I love!).

My croque madame was great, with a perfect fried egg on top, served with a healthy side of salad. Julie had the omlette with smoked salmon and caviar - the egg was actually a tad bland but I supposed you really had to mix up the caviar. Our highlight I think was the passionfruit juice - it was fresh and delicious; and best of all, no skimpy little juice glass which is often my pet peeve!

I think I will definitely have to give the quiche and sandwiches a try. There's always next time!

Modern Japanese/Korean Fare at KOKO! Share Bar

2011-03-13T20:24:00.014-04:00

We were struggling where to have dinner on Saturday night on our way out from Holt on Bloor. First, I tried to make a last minute reservation at Sushi Couture for Omakase (no luck, need one day's advance notice); next, I tried Swish by Han, a Korean hot pot place near by, suggested by a friend....completely full. Finally, we decided to try One at the Hazelton. We've always wanted to go but never made it and partly wanted to save it for a special occasion. Well, we never made it there. As we were walking, I thought of KOKO Share Bar, which I had read about at some point, but I didn't know where it was...and right there, was the restaurant. We took a quick look at the menu and decided to give it a try.

KOKO Share Bar is a small restaurant, with only about 8-10 tables and one longer table for groups (fits only about 6). It is clean, simple and modern, but not pretentious. Our very personable waiter brought us our menus, gave us some time to look it over, and took us through some of the favourites by section - appetizers, mains, modern and traditional sushi. First, the cocktails were calling my name, some unique drinks mixed with soju. I had the honey ginseng martini - not for everyone but I like ginseng, and Tony had the citrus twist which was delicious in a very understated way - a drink that grows on you more and more one you could sip and drink all night!

We quickly made up our mind about dinner. We started with some modern sushi, the Maguro roll with yellowfin tuna and kimchee mayo. It came topped with okra and was delicious, not overly spicy or with too much mayo - simply delicious. We also had the butterfish sashimi, which was actually torched and served with ponzu, also quite good. For our mains,

Tony had the baked sea bass served with a sweet miso butter and king mushrooms. The fish was served whole and was baked with parchment paper just right, with the perfect firmness for the fish. A bowl of miso butter was served on the side to spread on the fish as you like. This was a nice healthy dish! I decided to have the spicy seafood boullaibaise hot pot.

I imagined some version of one of my favourite dishes, Korean tofu with seafood. The hot pot was a lovely modern version of what I was expecting, a spicy broth infused with seafood flavours and filled with black cod, prawns, scallops and mussels. It's not as spicy as you would get at a traditional Korean restaurant, but the milder taste combined with seafood flavour was just right for me. I slurped up the entire personal pot!

Around us, tables ordered the signature share dishes - you can choose between a Korean platter with pork belly, spicy chicken and Korean bbq or a Japanese platter with assorted sashimi, soft shell crab, and tempura. They looked plentiful and delicious, and with some friends, we'd love to try both out! Overall, we were happy to have stopped in KOKO Share Bar, we enjoyed the modern interpretations of traditional foods, done with respect to the clean, natural flavours of the food itself. The menu is diverse, a good place to visit whether you are normally adventurous or conservative with food -I'm sure you will find something to your liking.

KOKO! Share Bar

81 Yorkville Ave

416-850-6135

www.kokosharebar.com

(reservations available on OpenTable)

Vancouver: Ultimate Comfort Food at Burgoo Bistro

2011-02-26T23:09:00.011-05:00

I love Burgoo. It must be one of the restaurants I miss most about Vancouver (plus the general seafood and fresh sushi, of course!). The Burgoo I frequent is off West 10th - since then, other locations have opened in North Van and on Main Street. This was a favourite of mine when I lived on campus...the perfect comfort food in a cozy, rustic setting. Who wouldn't love a restaurant that specializes in stews and soups??

Favourite items at Burgoo include the decadent French onion soup, Kenturky Burgoo, lamb tangine, cheese fondue and for dessert, the chocolate banana bread pudding. I originally fell in love with Burgoo over a Singapore Laksa, but it's been a long time since it disappeared from the menu...sadness. They always change and expand their menu, adding items of different origins and also a lighter offering during Summer, more suited for the warm weather. The Winter stews and soups, of course, are why I love it though!

Without any fixed plans on our "free" day in Vancouver last week, we made our way to Burgoo for lunch. Sure, we could have gone to Main Street, but I'm emotionally attached to the West 10th location :) We stopped in just before 1pm, and funny thing, it was PACKED. Late lunch for a lot of people on a balmy Friday afternoon I guess! The menu has expanded since I was last there, but the old favourites remain. We started with a delicious wild mushroom pate that was topped with salted hazelnuts. It was served cold and MUCH bigger than I expected. If I really had to eat 50% of it, I probably would have been full! Luckily, if anyone loves mushroom pate more than me it's probably Tony! We also couldn't resist ordering the Fonduemental fondue - Guyere and Emmenthal melted with white wine and other herbs, served with grapes and bread. Sooooo good! As you can imagine, we were already quite full after our "starters." But we pressed on, with a new item on the menu (new for me!), paella. It was quite big, so it's a good thing we didn't each order a "main."

It was as deliciously savoury as I had imagined, but I think not as unique as some of the favourites I like. Still, we inhaled it all. And sure enough, we bravely ordered the chocolate banana bread pudding. Even the waitress was impressed we could still eat....BARELY, but it was worth a try. The chocolate banana bread pudding is really AMAZING, with melted chocolate chips on top, it's actually not too sweet either, because it's dark chocolate with banana bread. The fruit crumble is actually quite good as well, but really, how can you have room for more than one dessert after all the amazing food to start?

Burgoo, will you please open in Toronto? I promise to visit all the time!

Burgoo Bistro, Vancouver

4434 W10th Ave/3 Lonsdale Ave (North Van)/3096 Main St

www.burgoo.ca

Valentine's Day: A Phenomenal Meal At Lee Lounge!

2011-02-18T13:49:00.018-05:00

I wasn't sure where we were going for Valentine's Day...it was going to be a surprise! But I had a sneaking suspicion when by chance, I found Susur on twitter last weekend, and noticed that Lee Lounge was going to be open for the 14th, and I was right! Arriving at Lee, we quickly discovered Lee Lounge was really an extension of the always popular Lee, breaking through the East wall of the existing restaurant into a more laid back and open lounge/restaurant area. A case of mismatched expectations, we thought Lee Lounge would be a totally different restaurant like Susur and Madeline's had been in the past, but it actually shares the Lee menu. To be fair, we've always really liked Lee, it just wasn't what we were expecting for whatever reason. We were excited to see Susur in the house and knew we'd have a good meal ahead! There is a refreshed menu, which still boasts favourites like the Singapore slaw, braised beef, cod, orzo and others, but with some new items we were eager to try. Lee was also featuring a "double happiness" Valentine's special menu. We ultimately ended up with a phenomenal feast, a party for our pallets, and one of the best meals we've had in a long time. Susur, we've missed you!

We started with half a dozen oysters from the Valentine's feature menu, topped with a bit of salted chili, shallots and calamansi lime. It added just a hint of flavour to enhance the delicious oysters. And we were on our way for the food adventure! Next came something from the Lee menu, spicy tofu served on a thick honey glaze, coated with a secret mixed spice, aptly named "golden dust" and topped with mushroom and pepper compote. This tofu was AMAZING! You may read a lot of "amazing" in this post, but the tofu was one of the most surprising and enjoyable dishes we had all night. The firm tofu cubes was just loaded with flavour, and not actually too spicy. Every bite was exciting!

Then came the seared diver scallops, also from the regular menu. They were gigantic, seared just right of course, and boasted a familiar old school dim sum flavour while not being traditional at all. I can't tell you exactly what that familiar flavour was, but we felt like the scallops really embodied "modern" Chinese food with traditional influences. No one integrates flavours quite like Susur. We also had the peking duck from e Valentine's menu... served with a deliciously light foie gras mousse. This dish was so intricate and detailed, from the delicate rice wraps, to the exceptionally tender (and plentiful) duck, to the assortment of cucumbers, green onion and persimmon strips that accompanied. It was a fun course, making our fancy little duck wraps and topping it with foie gras, you really can't go wrong. It was light and just enhanced the taste perfectly! Could our meal get any betterr??

The answer is yes. Next came a new addition to the Lee menu, Susur's dish from Top Chef masters, where he scored the highest score on the show: green curry chicken with chili mint chutney and sun fried tomato jam. I don't exactly remember the episode to recall the judge's reactions, but simply this dish was WOW! I was expecting some normal curry dish (sauce like) with chicken; but instead, was served breaded chicken with a unique infusion of green curry flavour accented with other great Thai flavours scents. It tasted so amazing I felt obligated to tell the couple next to us they had to order it (they were already spying on our dishes, I might as well!). This is a MUST-HAVE if you are stopping by Lee, no over-rated dish here.

Needless to say, we were pretty full by the time we got through our dishes, but couldn't possibly pass up dessert. We had the combo platter with chocolate lava cake (always good and a favourite on the menu) with black sticky rice pudding (black barley), and also the new French and Chinese tong-yuen (glutinous rice balls filled with sesame, nuts and other goodies) served on individual spoons. Sooo good and totally worth stuffing our already stuffed bellies.

Lee did not disappoint us this Valentine's Day! We have found some V-Day menus to be sub-par in the past, but Lee's renewed menu along with the new, more luxe and spacious Lee Lounge was definitely a treat for us. Definitely one of the best meals we've had this year! Please stop by and eat the green curry chicken, the tofu and the tong yuen! My one recommendation for Lee Lounge is they need a bigger assortment of cocktails to live up to the lounge name :)

Lee/Lee Lounge

603 King Street West

416-603-2205

http://www.susur.com/lee/

A Chic Experience at Scarpetta Toronto

2011-02-13T15:24:00.023-05:00

We don't often head out for fancy Italian, French is more our cuisine of choice, but I had a craving for some good carbs last night. There were a couple restaurants that had opened in the last year that I had been interested in checking out but never made it to...it was a toss up between Enoteca Sociale and Scarpetta. I was craving some good tagliatelle, and Enoteca Sociale's offering with goat ragu was definitely calling my name; unfortunately, they were full for the night (with a chance of walk-in availability of course). But we were quite hungry and didn't want to risk having to search out another restaurant should it be full.....so we went to Scarpetta instead for some New York charm.

I've stayed at the Thompson Hotel before for a stagette, where Scarpetta is housed, it's a swanky hotel that exudes the uptown, sophisticated New York vibe it's going for. I was always a little skeptical but the Thompson has done a fine job. It is definitely a very chic crowd. Apparently, this crowd is there 7 days a week, which amazes me more...where do they come from??

Scarpetta is an extension of the chic charm of the Thompson, not unexpectedly of course. I was amazed by the number of service people on staff...so much there probably wasn't enough for everyone to to do, since I noticeably saw them sitting around, but I'm not one to complain about dedication to service. I'm not going to lie, I found there to be an air of snobbery, but it was the food we were there for and for that, I couldn't wait. We had previewed the menu online and there were a couple items I already had in mind.

Before our starters even came we were served a great assorted bread basket. I was most excited by the bread that kind of looked like a cinnamon bun with layers of prociutto (or some other ham) in between the layers. It was sooo good! I bypassed the rest of the bread although it looked very good...had to save room for my main starches!

STARTERS:
Yellowtail Sashimi: it was ok, nothing spectacular. I'm not sure why I decided to have this, because choosing sushi in an Italian restaurant doesn't really make sense, but I must have come across a couple reviews that had mentioned it, rendering it a recognizable item on the menu I felt like we had to try. I've had "fusion" sushi/sashimi dishes before at other restaurants where added ingredients really are great, but in this case it wasn't anything spectacular. The fish was certainly very fresh, but the oil it was served with was not to my liking. I just prefer good, fresh fish if it's going to be simple. It wasn't BAD, but I can't say it was my favourite or something I'd have to have again.

Raw Waygu Beef: Raw beef is a favourite of mine so of course we decided to give it a try. A tight cluster of tartare was served with wild greens, mushrooms and a side of hazelnuts. I don't know what else it was made with but it was really delicious! The beef was very fresh, firm (I hate mushy raw beef) and prepared with simple accentuating ingredients. Even Tony enjoyed the accompanying greens and he would normally never choose salad :) I thoroughly enjoyed this modern dish.

Polenta with Truffled Mushrooms: I can't say I would have picked this dish right off the menu, other than the obvious attraction of "truffled mushrooms." But I did stumble upon a review that claimed having the polenta was like he had died and gone to heaven. That is a pretty big statement! Thankfully, it did not disappoint! The polenta came in a little bowl, and the truffled mushrooms in its own accompanying pot. Our server spooned a small amount on the pollen, and we of course drenched some more on our own plates. I was wonderful, and I liken it to having high-end, adult mashed potatoes and gravy....same kind of comfort and satisfaction. This was Tony's favourite appy while mine was the beef, but I would definitely want to order this again, one of those great dishes you can not get enough of.

MAINS:
Duck and Foie Gras Ravioli: Little triangle pockets of duck and foie gras made up this dish. I loved the one bit triangles, although it was hard to discern if I was tasting more duck or foie gras. It a very distinct taste, almost like duck egg. Although it was very good, and certainly very unique, I'm not sure I could have finished a whole plate by myself - probably would have been too filling.

Rabbit Tagliatelle: Since this is what I was craving, I was immediately drawn to this item on the menu. It did not disappoint me - the tagliatelle thick. I really enjoyed it but not sure if it was actually fresh pasta, it didn't have that lightness that fresh pasta, quickly cooked and ready has. It was a little more starchy and heavier than fresh pasta usually has. In any case, it was still very good, I actually quite liked the big thick noodles, and the braised rabbit was exactly what I wanted, and even a little lighter than I expected so it all came together nicely. I easily could have eaten the whole dish, but I did spare Tony some to try!

DESSERT:
Coconut Panna Cotta: This was truly delightful, made with caramelized pineapple bits (amazing!) and served in a guava soup (again, amazing!), and topped with a sorbet to refresh your taste buds should it be a litle sweet, and also a really good deep fried coconut crisp. Sometimes, crisps served on dessert are a bit stale and soggy, but this was crunchy and very good! All the elements worked nicely together, making for a wonderfully refreshing dessert to finish a great meal.

There was also the option of assorted cheeses, which I was too full to completely indulge, but like any good restaurant the server was happy to bring me the one cheese that did catch my eye, a cow/goat/sheep soft cheese. It was served with a simple fruit chutney that perfectly complemented the taste. Was great! It also came with a bubbly biscuit (lifesaver like in shape) which I didn't have much of since I was alreayd full and didn't feel like it added anything.

Scarpetta was a good splurge. The food was unique, delicious and beautifully served, just what I expect from a high-end dining establishment. I was previously concerned it was overrated but I am thoroughly satisfied with its quality and appeal. This is definitely a place to celebrate a special occasion...or if you're like us, just randomly want a nice night out with some good, specially prepared food. A couple of watch outs - the tables on left side of the restaurant when you enter leave the person sitting on the banquette facing the window AND the parking lot across the street, I had some bright lights in my eyes a couple times...not bliding but a bit annoying. I did appreciate, however, that they did not fill all the tables in the section, so you actually had some privacy when dining. And speaking of the parking across the street, it was not readily available as we had expected and that lot charges $15, same as valet. We did find street parking a block or so away which was only $4 something...the street parking right by the lot was mysteriously blocked by pillions.

Scarpetta (@ Thompson Hotel Toronto)
550 Wellington
416-601-3590
http://www.scottconant.com/restaurants/scarpetta/toronto

WINTERLICIOUS: Contemporary French at Celestin

2011-02-13T14:39:00.015-05:00

Another Winterlicious has passed us and time to reminisce about our last meal of the "season." Our first taste of Celestin was several years ago when Tony bought me a delicious birthday cake from the bakery. Truthfully, I had heard mixed things about the restaurant so I couldn't wait to check it out for myself. And really, you can't go wrong during Winterlicious - even if a 3 course meal were bad, it's not like you blew a lot of money trying a new place out.

Celestin is a fairly small intimate restaurant, contemporary in nature but not too sleek and still holds some traditional charm. The good and bad thing about Winterlicious is you don't need to spend a lot of time studying the menu, you only choose between a couple set options, but part of the fun is evaluating the options and deciding what to eat! In any case, we were quick to browse the menu and made our decisions.

There was no doubt what started I would have, the lobster bisque, one of my most favourite things in the world, how could I ever resist?? It was as delicious as I expected, with a light froth and solid lobster meat (it is my pet peeve when there is no actual lobster meat!). I definitely could have used more in my little bowl. Tony had a delicious ricotta gnocchi, was light and just right as an appetizer.

I had a braised lamb shoulder with prawns and white beans as my main, which was quite good except that I don't like white beans very much (I must have overlooked it on the menu!). Tony's roast sea bream was really good, the fish was prepared just perfect and served beautifully. Although both our mains were tasty, I thought the fish was more exceptional in its preparation. I love good fish when it is cooked to the right level with just enough flavour added.

I can't say the portions were exceptionally large so I definitely had sufficient room for dessert - a Creme Arlequin which was some version of a creme brûlée topped with this amazing layer of dark chocolate. It was amazing! We also had a Winter Pudding with caramelized apples, which was also very yummy. i think the best part was that the desserts were delicately prepared and not too sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed them both, but the Creme Arlequin was definitely the better surprise of the two.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience at Celestin. The food was good, the restaurant nice and quiet enough to catch up with friends, and the service was friendly and intimate. It's a little more modern than Auberge, but food still quite good, although more simple. I appreciate when a restaurant doesn't overbook themselves for Winterlicious. We felt comfortable and had a nice time. As we looked around the room, it looked like a lot of regulars visiting. A nice side benefit is that there is a public parking lot across the street from Celestin - having parking is an underrated asset. We've wasted a lot of time driving round and around the block to find street parking in the mid-town areas and is very annoying, enough to deter me from visiting again.

Celestin
623 Mount Pleasant Rd.
416-544-9035
www.celestinrestaurant.com

WINTERLICIOUS: Quality Food, Service and Ambiance at Auberge du Pommier

2011-02-05T15:19:00.008-05:00

We were most excited about our Winterlicious reservation at Auberge du Pommier, a lovely French restaurant in North York. Although minutes from my office, it has always been a bit far to trek on the weekend. This year, we got an early reservation to drop in right after work with our friends Al and Gloria...perfect!

I think Auberge is one of those restaurants that really takes pride on delivering a great Winterlicious/Summerlicious experience, which can't be said about all participating restaurants. When you make a reservation at Auberge, you know it will be a quality experience. It was our first time at the restaurant so we were eager to start eating.

To start, Tony and I were both most interested in the puff pastry with goat cheese...but since we always want to try as much as possible, we also ordered the sweet shrimp cocktail salad. The puff pastry did not disappoint - it was a simple dish (not to understate the actual complexity to make!), delicious, and served beautifully accompanied by delicate. The shrimp cocktail salad was a VERY good choice, it came as a tower of shrimp served with dill and tarragon and was super tasty! I felt like I could have had a whole second plate and was eager to sweep up the remaining sauce with bread. It always pays off to try more items on the menu! In the end, I think this was my favourite dish of the night.

Choosing mains was tough, all 3 options sounded good. We ultimately settled on peppered Wellington County beef and baked pickerel, giving up the coq au vin. The beef was very good, had great "beef" flavour, which is always hard to find. The flavour was almost baked into the meat, it was slightly dry but great flavour made it for me. My fish was prepared just perfect, although not outstanding in any particular way, I still really enjoyed it. It's not always easy to serve baked fish with just the right texture, tenderness and flavour.

For dessert, I opted for the cheese plate with "Le Blackburn" and

Tony salted caramel mousse with caramelized white chocolate torte and banana chocolate sorbet. My cheese plate was good, but a little disappointing. I was expecting an assortment of cheeses - simply my misunderstanding. The cheese was actually quite good, but as I prefer soft cheeses, I think I "under" enjoyed it. Tony's dessert, on the other hand, was wonderful. Everything on the plate was good! I was initially hesitant because I am not in love with caramel, but the salted caramel mousse was really tasty along with the torte and the sorbet...it all came together beautifully. Having chocolate banana sorbet is just awesome - who doesn't like chocolate and banana??

We had a great experience at Auberge - it is a solid French restaurant, a rustic house adding to the simple and understated charm. I also appreciated the exceptional attention to service, our plates always came with two servers at a time...these small details matter. I always feel a tad rushed for Winterlicious meals, but and although our food came quickly Auberge did not compromise quality or service.

Auberge du Pommier - guaranteed for a good Winterlicious experience!

Auberge du Pommier

4150 Yonge Street

416-222-2220

Click here for Winterlicious Menu.

WINTERLICIOUS: Great Braised Rabbit at Globe Bistro

2011-01-30T20:42:00.006-05:00

Our first stop for Winterlicious this year was Globe Bistro on the Danforth. It's one of those restaurants we've always meant to try but never got around to it...and Winterlicious is one of those great opportunities to get a taste.

We were pleasantly surprised stepping into the modern restaurant at how far big it actually was, stretching deep to the back and with a second (and maybe third?) floor, where we were seated. The hosts at the front seemed a bit scrambled, Winterlicious is probably an exceptionally busy time, but we were quickly taken to our seats. We dined with our friends Julie and Daniel, and we knew right away what we wanted:

To start, we had the elk broth and salumi plate. The broth was tasty but nothing extraordinary, and the salumi plate was quite good...I'd say the salumi plate was the better choice. For mains, we had the roasted wellington country rib, which looked and smelled delicious but was a bit on the dry side. The braised rabbit accompanied by polenta and a rosemary froth, on the other hand, was fantastic - every bite was tender, flavourful, and just amazing. After passing it off for Tony to try, I quickly tried to steal it back! The rabbit was definitely the best main, but I recommend anyone going to visit to maybe try the Ling Cod, we couldn't decide between that and the rib. For dessert, I had a tasty walnut butter tart while Tony had originally ordered the goats milk panna cotta...but when he received the espresso chocolate mousse cake made the wise decision to keep it (he had a taste of the panna cotta from Julie and Daniel).

Overall, we were pleased with our Winterlicious experience at Globe. The rabbit was really outstanding enough to warrant a return at some point! The restaurant is very modern and would make a great place for a small party or gathering.

Globe Bistro

124 Danforth Ave

416-446-2000

Click here for Winterlicious Menu.

My Great Love of Porchetta

2011-01-16T17:57:00.009-05:00

I am always on the hunt for great porchetta, and I was happy to have found a new place had opened on Dundas West.

My love of porchetta started in 2005, when my friend Lorena and I went to the south of France and stumbled on this amazing stuffed pig at a deli in the Nice market. Our face pressed against the glass in awe led a lovely lady to come greet us....who turned out to be American and cut us a small slice to try it out. It was stuffed with lots of herbs and other sweet-meats, it was amazing. We were in heaven, and I have been in love ever since.

When we were in NYC last year,

we made our way to Porchetta, a small deli on the East side. And this week, I discovered that a porchetta deli had opened right here in Toronto, Porchetta&Co.! I, of course, felt obligated to go and try it out as soon as possible - could it be as good as in France?? We made our way there for a late brunch today (Sunday), which was the right choice given there's really only 4 stools, it's kind of a grab and go kind of place...and very very similar to the one in NYC, no idea if they are related. We did manage to get a seat along the bar, facing out to Dundas St. We each had a porchetta sandwich topped with truffle sauce (if you get this, I recommend not adding too much mustard afterwards...takes away from the truffle!), and a side of black lentil and beef short rib soup to warm up from the cold. Next time I think I'd like to add the rapini on my sandwich. It was a very good sandwich indeed, similar to what we had in NYC; but sadly, not like the porchetta I had in Nice. Don't let my mild disappointment fool you, it is good, simple and hearty food, and definitely worth a visit. Don't expect a seat (it's a bonus if you get one), but drop by to grab a sandwich on your way out on weekend errands.

Porchetta & Co. 825 Dundas St. West

www.porchettaco.com

@porchettaandco

Tues-Sat 11am - 9pm

Sunday 11am - 4pm

Redemption: A Tasty Meal at Coquine

2011-01-16T17:23:00.005-05:00

It's not often that we'll return to a restaurant we've had a bad experience in, but the exception is usually made for gatherings because it's not really about the food, there's always something acceptable to eat, it's about the people. We made a return to Coquine Bistro on Yonge this weekend for a friend's birthday. Long time followers of my blog know I generally don't write "trash" reviews - why share bad experiences? I'm here to celebrate food! I have shared some mediocre experiences in the past, usually to express my disappointment more than anything. Coquine was one such experience more than a year ago where we stopped in for a bite after picking our friends up from the airport and were served a disappointing meal that came slow and cold. I was disappointed because the menu had looked so good online! Well today, we have redemption! We had a wonderful meal last night and are glad we had the opportunity to return.

To start:

I had escargots, which were baked with lots of ooey gooey cheese. They were hot and delicious and exactly what I was expecting. Tony had French onion soup, which was also delicious. The soup was not super salty as it is in most cases, but had a rich, sweet onion taste. We were both pleased.

Mains:

I was still a little skeptical of the restaurant when I ordered,

so in debating between the veal bourguignon and seafood linguine, I decided to go with the safer linguine - how can anyone screw up pasta right? My seafood linguine ended up being AMAZING, probably one of the best seafood pastas I have had (imagine that!). It was served with copious amounts of seafood, I could barely finish the giant scallop, mussels (done just right), shrimp, clams...let alone the fresh pasta. It was all served in a little peppery white wine broth and was just perfect. I lapped it all up in the end! Tony had veal liver, and he was also very happy with his meal, asking for it rare, it came more like medium rare, but actually quite perfect how it arrived. Served with a savoury sauce of onions and mushrooms, Tony said it was some of the best liver he's had in years.

Dessert:

Our meals were such large portions that I was too full to indulge in dessert, but the waitress kindly brought over a chocolate lava cake and creme brulee for the birthday girl that was passed around - I had a small bite of the cake which was oozing chocolate; no doubt, having a whole dessert would have been good too!

I'm very happy to write about what a great meal we had, especially since we were so disappointed the first time. Our waitress was also quite good, no wine glass was ever empty or had to be filled by the group themselves. Hopefully Coquine maintains its consistency and our bad experience was pure bad luck! We are definitely happy to recommend and return to Coquine now!

Coquine is at 2075 Yonge Street, phone 416-322-6767.

It's Time for WINTERLICIOUS!

2011-01-13T09:08:00.005-05:00

Well it's time for Winterlicious again! Reservations start today for a great deal on a number of restaurants across the city - whether you need a place for a night out or just interested in trying some new restaurants, this is the time to do it!

This year, Tony and I have settled on 3 restaurants to check out: Globe, Celestin, and Auberge du Pommier. It will be our first time at all these restaurants - very exciting.

Where will you go??

For some tips on the Winterlicious experience, see my post from 2010: How to Winterlicious :) I also shared some great experiences at North 44 and Trevor's Kitchen from last year, 2 restaurants I highly recommend. Reservations open today, so start calling!

Chiang Mai: Wonderful Food, Markets and an Elephant Camp Visit

2010-12-26T11:17:00.017-05:00

We made our way to Chiang Mai on Christmas Eve, and it was the perfect city to spend Christmas - a small, quaint city, we felt comfortable as soon as we arrived. As they say, "location is everything," and our hotel, Le Meridien, had the perfect location right by the popular night bazaar. Our days in Chiang Mai started great, with our dinner the first night at Just Khao Soy. Khao Soy is a northern noodle dish, noodles in a rich curry-like soup base with coconut milk. Several sites we had read recommended this restaurant, including the Nancy Chandler map, known to provide some unique local details. We found this homey restaurant not far from our hotel, and were welcomed into the air conditioned room for our dinner. Imagine sitting at a fancy noodle bar - that's what our experience was like. The restaurant is a full experience and education on khao soy, a must visit for anyone in Chiang Mai. Our menus were a guide to what and how to order: what kind of broth, thick or round noodles, and toppings etc. It's even vegetarian and allergy friendly! I chose chicken with bone broth while Tony had seafood. The meal that came was comprehensive and exciting, accompanied by assorted side dishes that small, street stalls also serve, but here, I had the benefit of a great placemat educating me what each item was for. Our side dishes included bananas to help sooth the mouth of spicy flavours, coconut milk to make the soup more mild as needed, pickled vegetables, onions, sugar, lime, fish sauce and more. It was a great learning experience to eat at Just Khao Soy, I think I could have eaten there everyday! We also had mango sticky rice for dessert, and unique assorted ice cream (basil, coconut and amaretto). A great first meal really set the tone for our trip!

We spent Christmas Day at an elephant camp north of the city.

We saw an elephant show that demonstrated how smart the animals are (playing soccer looked kind of fun!). We also had a very "chill" bamboo raft ride through the valley and an elephant ride on a trail through the mountains. It was nice to spend the day outside and in the beautiful valley. We probably could have done probably without raft ride or the elephant ride all together because the highlight was just playing with the elephants before the show - they were playful, gentle and kind. We were careful about choosing the elephant camp initially, some are better than others in how they treat the animals; but ultimately, they are still animals in captivity. If we had to choose again, we would go to the elephant sanctuary instead where they rehabilitate elephants because we really enjoyed just feeding and playing with then. Nonetheless, I think we developed a greater appreciation for elephants by going.

After returning to the city, we had a fabulous Christmas dinner at Sila Aat, a great restaurant in the Kalare Night Bazaar a stone's throw from our hotel. The open restaurant is known for its seafood, so we took our server's recommendation on the fresh catch of the day, red snapper (steamed with lemon and chili...it was AMAZING!). I also had shrimp khao soy and Tony had an order of seafood with flat noodles. I can't recall if I had mentioned it before, but we discovered that squid tastes incredible in Thailand, and we tried to have it as much as we could. And of course, we had to finish with some mango sticky rice - here I think we had the biggest mango to sticky rice serving so far!

On our last day in Chiang Mai, we decided we should visit the Doi Suthep Temple on the mountain overlooking the city. The spot for the temple was chosen many years ago, apparently by sending an elephant (believed to be holy) up the mountain and the site was chosen where-ever the elephant stopped. Honestly, after going to Angkor Wat and seeing the fantastic temples in Bangkok, we didn't expect to be overwhelmed by this temple, but what we did experience was Sunday worship. It was fun to experience the lively and festive crowds. After visiting the temple in the morning, we went to an afternoon cooking class at Smart Cook. Chiang Mai is known for its many cooking classes and schools - the one I had originally read up on at the Four Seasons was ridiculously expensive but we wanted to have th experience anyhow. Smart Cook was a good choice for us, it is a quaint teak house with a garden kitchen (we each had our own cooking station) and prep area - perfect for a small group. We started with a market tour, and because Tony and I were starving, the lovely owner stopped to pick up some fresh pork and red bean buns for us. These were seriously some of the best buns I have ever had! The market was an essential part of the cooking class, our teacher told us about the different vegetables that make up the lovely fragrant flavours of Thai food (and finally we learned what some of the mysterious vegetables we had seen in our food!). Did you know there are some 6 or 7 types of eggplant? And the only one they DO NOT cook with are the ones we have in North America! I think a cooking class without the market tour would be a real miss. The class was intimate and lovely, we each got to choose 4 dishes to make. I made tom ka gai soup, pad thai, green curry (from scratch!) and mango sticky rice. Tony made shrimp tom yum soup, cashew chicken, red curry and spring rolls. The class gave us an even deeper appreciation for Thai cooking - it is always made to individual servings with fresh ingredients. We ate what we made, and it was delicious (whew!). It was kind of fool proof to be honest! There are also full-day classes available but the half day was already a full experience for me.

We had our last meal in Chiang Mai at Huen Phen,

a restaurant in an old northern Thai house decorated with an abundance of cultural artifacts. We had Burmese spicy pork, which was quite good but was kind of like spicy bolognaise. We also had banana flower and pork rib soup - which was spicy although it did not look it. It reminded me of clear Chinese pork bone soup with some spiciness from Thai vegetables. Although spicy I couldn't get enough! We also had a unique papaya salad with local salty crab - it was a very different mix of flavours, salty, sweet and sour at the same time. Finally, we finished with a young coconut sorbet and Chinese grass jelly - both perfectly refreshing for the end of a hot day. On a side note, the funny thing about all the spicy food is that because it is made fresh, our stomachs never got upset - it is all very "clean" flavours!

We really loved our short stay in Chiang Mai and would happily go back again. The night bazaar was fantastic itself - everything was cheaper AND nicer than other markets we had been (Chiang Mai is an artisan center!), and we also braved the Saturday and Sunday markets with the locals, which seemed to go on forever and were PACKED. We thought we'd be "done" with markets, but each are different in some way and have a different feel and character to them. The markets of Chiang Mai had great finds for half of what you'd find even at the night bazaar, and good food! We picked up some great items like bamboo placemats and silk pillow cases for a mere fraction of what we'd have to pay here in Canada....all well made and beautiful. Chiang Mai is definitely worth a visit if you are going to Thailand - we have no regrets skipping the beaches of the south and making our way North to this lovely city instead!

Bangkok: Highlights in Eating

2010-12-26T11:07:00.014-05:00

We did not get to eat around Bangkok as much as we would have liked, using the city to fly in and out of other destinations meant we were often rushed or too tired to be super adventurous; but nonetheless, we did have a couple great meals found with minimal effort and here are the highlights:

One of our first nights in town, we decided to check out a Chinese seafood restaurant nearby our hotel, Lebua. Somboon was probably a hidden gem at some point, but is now very tourist friendly....not that it's a terrible thing, but good in a different way. We were welcomed into a bright, clean restaurant with an extensive seafood menu (with bright colourful pictures!). Everything looked so good we didn't know where to start! Of course, we had to have the well-known curry crab (regular followers will recall our love for curry crab at Saigon Star in Toronto). This curry crab was prepared a bit different - less heart-stopping rich, but still very delicious. The crab came cracked, and the curry chilis were mixed with egg that toned down the "hotness". The fresh chilis used also tasted wonderful, without the awful mouth burning we sometimes experience from chili oils. We also had steamed sea bass and a small plate of grilled squid...yes, we were on our way to a trip of very high cholesterol! The food was very affordable and we wanted to eat it all!

Best value: $4 meal at food stall outside Tha Chang pier. The seafood fried rice with shrimp paste and egg is still one of the best dishes Tony had on this trip, and I loved my bowl of fish maw noodle soup. I regret not having another bowl!

Best "sit down" meal: Taling Pling - the most delicious spicy soft shell crab and butterflied fried sea bass with fish sauce. Although I initially wanted to stay away from fried food, I could have eaten the whole plate of spicy soft shell crab by myself, every bite was crispy and tasty. We couldn't possibly go a meal without curry, so we had red curry with duck breast, which was very tender albeit a tad spicy for me. While it's tucked on a quiet street by night, the area is completely safe and Taling Pling is definitely worth checking out, great food in a comfy restaurant at of course, very reasonable prices!

Best Tom Ka Gai soup (coconut chicken): food stall at Soi Pradit Market. This street lined with food stalls was a short walk from our hotel so it was one of our early stops for a meal. We stopped in for lunch the second day we were in Bangkok, and just randomly stopped in one of the many lining the street. We had a delicious bowl of coconut chicken soup, full of incredible fresh flavours - lemon grass, cilantro, bay leaves, ginger peppers and more (I can't name it all!). The flavours all blended beautifully and tasted great! That was one of the most amazing things about eating at food stalls - the food is all made to order, made fresh, and has a wonderful complexity of hot, sweet and sour purely from the fresh vegetables used. This was one of the first instances we really appreciated Thai cuisine and its true complexity.

We really learn about Thai cuisine and what makes up the fragrant flavours when we take a cooking class in Chiang Mai...but more on that later!

Siem Reap: Food, Shops and a Visit to the Spa

2010-12-25T09:55:00.009-05:00

note: updated 12/26/10 with pictures!

Our sole focus in Siem Reap was really to see Angkor Wat, as with most visitors, but we were lucky to cram our planned destinations in our first 36 hours, which left us plenty of time just to wander the town. Here are some of the highlights:

First the food: When we first arrived, we ate at a nice, comfy restaurant called Champey. It offered traditional Khmer fare, but was a bit pricey vs "local" menus (the far simpler restaurant across the street offered meals for $1USD while our meal came to over $20). We had Siem Reap sour soup, amok (local coconut curry flavour) with fish, and bar fish with vermicelli in a clay pot, which had a lovely onion sweet both. It really hit the spot as we were starving from landing after lunch. The restaurant, like many in town, offers AC upstairs, but we were happily cool sitting downstairs in the open restaurant. Champey was also our first realization that Siem Reap operates in USD - there was no need to change money!

Our 2nd day in the city was our visit to Angkor, which started at 5AM. We had a breakfast stop after the sunrise back in town at a Chinese-Cambodian restaurant called Thida Spean Neak. We were happy to wolf down a delicious hot breakfast: I had Chinese noodle soup with shrimp (which ironically, boasted the flavour of "Cambodian noodles" I have often had at pho restaurants in Calgary). The noodles were some of the best I've had - in addition to the great soup flavour I love, the egg noodles were freshly made...I suppose that is a great side benefit of eating food where ingredients are made fresh everyday because preservatives/freezers are not so common. Tony had a local dish, loc lac, which consisted of beef cubes marinated with a black pepper gravy, served with rice and a fried egg. We made a second trip back to this place on our way out of Siem Reap (around the corner from our hotel) and although I had different noodles, they were still incredibly fresh and the broth very tasty. This was definitely an unexpected, yet simple, highlight the city!

Our day of hanging out in town started with lunch at Red Piano on Pub Street (or Bar Street) in town. This entire lane is filled with restuarants targetted at tourists - there is almost always AC upstairs, and always an English menu (with some propped up prices as well). We chose the Red Piano because I was sold by the Tomb Raider drink on the menu, created in honour Angelina Jolie who visited while filming. Although I did not end up having the drink, the restaurant was good - I had crab fried rice which was hot and tasty. It never ceases to amaze me that food that sounds so unhealthy comes rather light on oil vs what we usually get in North America.

After lunch, we wandered up and down the few lanes of Siem Reap. A great discovery were the cute boutiques in The Alley, one street over from Pub Street. The lane is quiet and lined with many individual and unique shops, not just tourist trinkets and souvenirs. I will warn you that these unique designer items also came with Western prices. Two of my favourites were the cheeky store Poetry and jewlery from Garden of Delight. It was great just to wander in and out of the local designer shops, a nice escape from the heat and the hustle of the rest of town.

As in any hot city (can't believe it's winter here!), a couple hours of wandering around meant we needed a pit stop to cool off and re-energize. We decided to stop in the popular Blue Pumpkin, which has a cute bakery downstairs and a "cooling" lounge with a fusion menu upstairs. We were happy to plop down along the white couches and let our bodies rest. We also had a taste from the menu, an Amok Fish Ravioli, which I LOVED! I don't know if I was just really hungry, or the fusion was a welcome change, but I basically inhaled the delicious dish and would be happy to return for a taste again. Yums! Plus, Blue Pumpkin boasts free wifi, a great bonus!

Speaking of wifi, the first night we were in town, we ended up hanging out at Island Bar found in the night market. We were exhausted from walking around and just wanted a couple beers...but also found free wifi while hanging out on our daybeds lined with mats. Who needs to pay $15 a day for internet at the hotel when I can hang out over a couple beers with internet for $5?? It was amazing, and chilling out at Island Bar will be one of those "small" treasured moments from our trip.

Back to our day in the city - our day did not end at Blue Pumpkin. We had plans to hit a dinner show to see Cambodian dance, but had an hour to kill...no better way than to visit the spa! We hopped next door to the Bodia Spa, which was a GREAT choice. The spa was beautiful, with excellent service. It's a little pricier than some smaller and simpler massage places around town, but our couples massage was still only about $20 each, so a great deal anyhow. It also gave me a laugh to discover that the face cream I have been using was $15 cheaper than at Sephora in Canada...in Siem Reap! Imagine that. We LOVED Bodia and recommend anyone who is visiting to stop in for some R&R. The service and ambiance were both fantastic.

As I mentioned, we had decided to have our last dinner in Siem Reap at a dinner show. We chose The Dining Room at Le Residence de Angkor for the a la carte menu vs buffet at other places. The restaurant, not unexpectedly, was quite ritzy. In fact, the crowd seemed a little snotty, but we decided to stay anyhow. There was a reasonable 3 course meal for $35 (mind you, a $35 meal in Siem Reap is more than we had spent on any meal to date), but we opted for a couple items that peaked our interest on the menu. I started with a fish soup, that came with a tower of fresh fish served with a lobster froth. It was also served with shredded cheese, and all combined was delicious, I couldn't get enough. Unfortunately, that was the best part of our meal. Tony had a crab risotto to start, and although the crab was fresh, the risotto was a bit hard and even truffle oil couldn't save the dish for me. Our mains were king crab legs (the feature) with wasabi mayonnaise, which was too heavy for the crab. We also had a wok of seafood in Cambodian coconut broth, which came with an abundance of beautiful vegetables...but it was actually too much and in the end, I did not enjoy it. Overall, we were disappointed by our experience, even though the dance show was lovely. The people of Siem Reap work so hard for every penny, and our "lavish" meal just didn't seem worth what we spent.

We loved being in Siem Reap, and although we still have more to travel in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, expect that it will be a highlight in our trip. It has become a bit of a tourist town, with most businesses catering exclusively to tourists, so there is a weird economy. Bring lots of USD, especially $1 bills - it is the default denomination and while little to us, means so much to the people of Siem Reap! Tip generously, the people depend on tourism for a living and your generosity rewards how hard they work for every penny. And finally, haggle with a smile at the markets, it'll go a long way and be more fun for everyone :)

Siem Reap: An Eye Opening Experience at Chong Kneas Floating Village

2010-12-22T13:07:00.010-05:00

As if visiting Angkor Wat wasn't enough excitement for a day, we made our way to Tonle Sap lake in the late afternoon to see the floating village of Chong Kneas. It's a small ways from central Siem Reap but a very worthwhile trip. As we made our way towards the lake we began to see what we were about to experience - very poor villagers living in one room huts and large families with children born to help the family sustain a living. We were a little unprepared for the floating village.

Our guide from Angkor Wat, Thy, helped us secure a private boat and came with our for the visit. The water level changes significantly between dry and wet season, changing how far the road stretches into the village on land and where Chong Kneas is found in the water. As our boat made its way through the village, the "novelty" quickly melted away and life on the lake dawned on us. Power is run from car batteries and tv from antennas. Fish are pulled in on individual long boats with nets. The boathouses are one room homes, with the lake as their livelihood and wash basin; some homes were barely staying afloat. Children paddled around in wash tubs and played with snakes hanging around their necks. Women paddled around with kids in their boats, appealing to tourists to give them money for taking their photos. I was overwhelmed by all that I saw and made me reflect on how we live in North America, how much we have and how fortunate we are. I just wanted to give them everything...take it all! But as much as it tugged on our heart strings, we didn't want to encourage the women who were throwing their children at us for money, the kids who were foregoing school to help their families survive...the only life they know. I will profoundly remember the little boy who was barely old enough to walk or to speak, but knew on cue in front of tourists and at the sight of a camera to stretch his little hands out and boldly ask for money.

We were overwhelmed by what we saw at Chong Kneas, a reality that we know little of in North America. I guess this is why we travel, to get in touch with the world and reflect on the fortunes we have in our lives. I highly recommend a visit to the floating village - this is something we all need to experience. I also suggest donating to reputable charities to ensure your money is going to the right people for the right causes. I am no expert on "good charities," but we were touched by the work at Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Siem Reap, founded by Swiss doctor Beat Richner (provides free medicare to children, one of 5 across the country). We saw women carry their children in from rural areas before dawn to line-up for care. They have had great success, so if you can help, consider this a good cause. And of course, there is always World Vision Cambodia.

Siem Reap: The Wonder and Majesty of Angkor Wat

2010-12-21T04:47:00.021-05:00

Despite mild panic the morning we left Bangkok (we didn't have photos for visa to Cambodia - which we did get, but would have just cost an extra dollar at the border), we arrived safely in Siem Reap, home to UNESCO World Heritage Site, Angkor Wat.

Our first day in the city, we made our way to Angkor to see the sunset at Phnom Bakheng temple (getting a pass at 5pm is valid for next day entry!). It turned out to be a bit of a hike up the mountain (runners are key!), and we were joining hundreds of other tourists making the trek. It was possibly a nice experience at some point in time, but when you're fighting crowds, it doesn't exactly feel serene. A tip for those who still insist on going, there are stairs around back, they were useful for us to avoid the hordes trying to leave - the stairs were fairly steep and I didn't trust the crowds not to push me down in the mad rush to leave! Following the disappointing sunset view, we head back into town for an early start to the night market. Nothing compares to the amazing market in Bangkok, but we did duck into the Island Bar for some beers and food while hanging out on comfortable Thai mats. Did I mention free wifi?? Was perfect!

We had an early start the next day with our driver, Pop, who we hired after chatting with him en route from airport. He seemed like a nice guy and you never know who you might get from the hotel randomly. He was also happy to recommend a licensed tour guide, which was convenient for us as well. He picked us up just after 5AM so we could see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences. We just hoped it wouldn't be crazy like the night before! We got there early enough to get a "front row" seat at the tip of the north pool, known to be the best spot. It was busy, but relatively thin crowds - takes some serious dedication to wake up that early and trek in through the dark! But it was totally worth it - was incredible watching the sun slowly rise behind the majestic towers of Angkor Wat. It truly is oen of those "wow" moments. After taking in the grand view, we made our way back to town for breakfast (yummy Cambodian noodle soup) and to pick up our guide, Thy. Our first visit of the day would be Angkor Wat itself (tour groups usually do Angkor Thom first so this seemed like a brilliant plan to avoid the big crowds!). We spent 2 hours or so walking the grounds. Thy told us about how the Wat is literally a representation of heaven on earth, about its Hindu origins in honour of Vishna (uncommon), and its transformation eventually into a Buddhist temple while maintaining the original designs and structures. The etchings and carvings were incredibly detailed, from the dancing aspara to simple designs on the walls. Thy also showed us cool little things like the one dancing aspara that smiles with teeth showing, took us to the echo chamber, and told us the legend of the churning of the ocean of milk (suddenly a lot of statues we've seen even in Thailand made a lot more sense!). One thing that stood out to me was on the 2nd level of the Wat, the meditation level, that had 4 pools (now dry of course) representing the 4 major elements: earth, wind, fire and water. Patrons were to cleanse themselves at the pool matched to their astrological sign before meditation, a real testament to how big astrology was. We also climbed to the third level, historically meant just for the King, and got to experience the wonder from above (note: you must be properly dressed as it is a religious site). It was beautiful and peaceful, and as access is regulated, you can afford to spend some quiet time admiring the towers and the view all around. Other than up the highest point, there are many paths to explore the expansive Angkor Wat, and many places to sit and take in the beauty and incredible work...or just as relief from the heat. The sheer enormity of the Wat is amazing to take in...how did they possibly build it?? Oh right, 40 years and 400,000 people!

Our next stop was the ancient city of Angkor Thom, once a capital, and centered by the temple Banyon. Banyon's highlights are the 4 faced towers, said to resemble a combination of the King and his god (no modesty here). It is a much smaller temple vs Angkor Wat, but details make up for what it lacks in majestic size. Our walk through Angkor Thom was about a kilometer and although we made a brief stop at another temple on the way out, I was wiped by the time we were through...exhausted mentally from taking in all that our awesome guide was telling us and physically from hiking the temple grounds in the heat. We had a very welcome lunch break nearby, and we were grateful that our guide and driver took us to a restaurant NOT packed with tour groups.

After a long leisurely lunch, much needed for us to recuperate and re-energize, we made our way to the much anticipated Ta Phrom, commonly recognized for a scene in Tomb Raider (although in reality, scenes were shot at various temples). Ta Phrom is widely known as the jungle temple, seemingly overgrown by moss and trees - these amazing spung trees that over time, grew on the boulders of the temple with its massive roots stretching over and on top of the walls. The tree is light enough not to crush the temple completely, but certainly a lot of damage was done. Ta Phrom was probably the most "tourist friendly" of the temples, as it is flat, and had wood boardwalks throughout the ruins. We could see why this temple is a favourite spot to visit, it was beautiful and almost a bit magical - it felt like you were seeing the temple just as it was discovered, hidden away in the trees for thousands of years.

I can see why there is need to get a multi-day pass for Angkor Wat, we only made it to the main temples and were exhausted by the time we finished at Ta Phrom. They varied in structure and design, and were all incredible in different ways with different stories. It was also interesting to see the restoration work in progress, truly a world effort with projects done largely by the French, but also the Japanese, Germans and others. It's amazing in itself to think of the world coming together to preserve this wonder. I also can't imagine what it would have been like for Henri Mahout, the naturalist and explorer that "stumbled" on Angkor Wat and helped popularize the temple. This eventually lead to further French exploration of the area and discovery of the other temples. We were also blessed to have our guide, Thy, who had a real passion for the history of Angkor and knew nooks and crannies that we never would have found ourselves; in fact, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have made it past just Angkor Wat! He kept us engaged and learning the whole way - I highly recommend him for any future travelers! And our driver, Pop, too, was also great, so all in all, our experience was really made by the great people we met.

For an awesome English speaking guide: Thy - email: thyda_ing@yahoo.com/phone: (855) 12 933 730

Friendly English speaking driver: Pop (real name Kosal) - email: kosal_som11@yahoo.com/phone: (855) 97 57 57 572

Bangkok: A Day for Shopping

2010-12-18T12:01:00.012-05:00

Although we did not quite plan it 0ut, Saturday was our only "weekend" in the city of Bangkok, so without a doubt, we made our way to Chatuchak Weekend Market. Although our guidebooks told us it was the biggest and most intense market, we were still surprised by the sheer size! And because everything we do in travel reminds us of some adventure on amazing race, we felt JUST like we were embarking on our next challenge - to find something.

We made our way to the market on the wonderful BTS skytrain, fairly new and super convenient. Our first stop was the tourist information center to secure a general map of the market. We knew right away there was no way we could see everything, so we centered in on the clothing, massage and art areas. The market was sort of orderly, but also CRAZY! You can walk around the outsides and enjoy drinks and snacks along the way, or brave the smaller thoroughfares to escape the sun and heat. There is something to be found for everyone, this wasn't a junky market of trinkets but full of things you need (or don't need) and is a showcase for local designers. it really wasa great shopping destination. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and stalls but still managed to find a good bargain for silk scarves (typical, I know...but when in Rome!). After a couple hours of wandering we also stopped for a 45min massage, a relaxing and welcome break for my feet right in the middle of the market. On our way out, we made our way to the art section, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. I was expecting some typical cheesy "tourist" art, but the art corridors were really like exploring an art show, every stall was unique. We saw some great art we'd love to take home...oh but the trouble. Overall, I am so glad to made our way to the market, despite my initial hesitation to brave the crowds. Chatuchak Weekend Market is definitely a must-see in Bangkok, even if you don't need/want to buy anything, it's an adventure just to look around and experience the orderly chaos!

It was dark by the time we left the market, you can really get lost in time just walking around. And since malls here are open until 10pm, we decided to stop in Siam on our way home to check out some of the mega department store complexes. We decided on Paragon Shopping Centre, which was ridiculously big! After stopping for a quick bite, we started to explore. I don't know if I was just "shopped" out or it was just too much, because the store just seemed too sparkly and full of product that I had no interest in really "shopping." We did some walking around, but like walking around a museum you're not that interested in. Paragon is well known for carrying interational and high end brands, which was actually a little boring. Why would I buy Nine West shoes in Thailand?? Nonetheless, I can vouch for the shopping mecca that Siam is, it certainly was a sight to see.

What a day we've had of "shopping," although not actually a lot of buying (probably a good thing). We're off to Cambodia tomorrow and will be back to Bangkok in a couple days for more city adventures :)

Bangkok: A Day on the Chao Phraya River

2010-12-18T10:46:00.010-05:00

After 20 hours of travel, Toronto -> Zurich -> Bangkok, we arrived to Winter in Thailand...and this I can certainly deal with, a balmy 20+ degrees for WINTER! Our first day in the city was perfect for sightseeing: not too hot or humid. We wasted no time and set on our way to power through our jet lag with a busy day of exploration.

The Chao Phraya River is central to the way of life, and so it was only appropriate that we embarked on our day of sightseeing by getting a boat day pass to hop-on-hop-off, much like bus tours in other cities. We started with the Grand Palace, also home to Wat Phra Kaew, Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The temple grounds were extraordinary - from the murals surrounding the grounds to the colourful and intricate halls and monuments, it was all beautiful and picture perfect. We found the Emerald Buddha seated high in the main hall, dressed in "winter" robes and surrounded by spectacular murals - the King himself changes the monastic robes draped on the Emerald Buddha every season.

Next we made our way to Wat Pho, featuring a 46m reclining gold Buddha! It was quite impressive in person and definitely worth the visit. A little more time in the area would allow indulging in a massage at the temple, but hunger simply took over so we head on our way. We found ourselves at the food stalls right outside Tha Chang pier. After a quick look around, we settled where a nice lady waved us in. I was sold on the duck noddle soup, which unfortunately ended up being sold out; but, it took me no time to settle on the too-honestly named "gastric fish stew." The lady at the front was sweet and took me over to the simmering fish maw stew to ensure I knew what I was getting into - no problem at all! It was a bowl of gooey goodness with vermicelli. Tony had shrimp paste fried rice with seafood, which was hot out of the wok and realy hit the spot after our hours of temple wandering. The best part, was that our meal (plus a bottle of Pepsi), cost $4 CAD! Amazing.

After the food energy boost, we decided to contiue our day of exploration. As dragonboat nerds, we decided to make our way to the Royal Barge Museum. This was an interesting adventure - our "river guide" was a little off describing where exactly the museum was. It ended up being quite a zig zag trek through a riverside neighbourhood, although we were encouraged along the way by signs telling us we were not lost. It allowed us a glimpse of how some local Thais live. The modest museum (I'm being generous here) showcased some of the famous royal barges, still used for traditional processions along the river. The boats really were beautiful, but our trek to the museum was probably more interesting given that there were only 5 or 6 barges parked for us to walk around and admire. There were some "survivors" of the world war...which I think it would have been obvious that the teak boats wouldn't hold up well to guns and canons??

We decided we still had energy for one more stop before we head back to our hotel, so we made our final stop for the day at Wat Arun, a temple very different from the lavishness of Wat Phra Kaew or Wat Pho. Truthfully, Wat Arun was more impressive from afar because of its architecture, similar in style to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We were able to climb the stupa and get a great view up and down the river; plus up close, I could see the interesting china detail. The stairs were a short but steep climb, worth the careful effort.

As the sun was beginning to set, it was time for us to put our feet up on a day of historical sightseeing along the river. We hopped on the express river boat with tourists and locals alike and made our way back to central pier. We were grateful to have seen some wonderful sights, ate some delicious food, and experienced the gentle kindness of the Thai people along the way.

Thanks for a great first day Bangkok!

Lamb and Belly Dancing for Dinner at Sultan's Tent

2010-11-30T21:22:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I have strange, indiscernible food cravings...and when I'm hungry, deciding where and what to eat becomes increasingly difficult as I get more hungry and agitated. Last week, I was craving something homey and simple, but didn't want Asian and didn't want to spend a ton. I'm not sure what inspired me to look up Sultan's Tent, but it's been at least 3 years since I've been. Lamb was suddenly calling my name! I took a quick look at the menu online and decided it was enticing enough...$39.99 for a 4 course meal.

We raced to the restaurant, as they don't seat once the belly dancing starts at 7pm. Yes, belly dancing! The main dining area is lined with intimate couch seating along the perimeter with a wooden dance area in the middle. We, unfortunately, were seated at a table in the "dancing" area. It made me fear just for a second I'd be forced to "participate." I had already decided what I wanted....but upon careful reading, I realized that certain items on the 4 course menu cost additional, and OF COURSE everything I wanted to eat cost more. sigh. So much for that $40 four course meal!

Course 1:
Duck Breast Salad and Beef Burgone - although both sounded great on the menu, they were only average. The beef burgone didn't look very exciting but it was very tasty. The duck was generally disappointing.

Course 2:
Trio of Hummus and Maftoul (hand rolled pastry stuffed with beef and topped with spicy aioli) - these were part of the 'base' men, since nothing really stood out to us, and in fact were great! The hummus was actually quite tasty (and filly) and the spring-roll-like pastry rolls were satisfying.

Course 3:
Braised Lamb - part of the base menu, and I'm sure is what I had the last time I was there. It is falling-off-the-bone good, served on a bed of couscous. It was exactly the kind of comfort meal I was looking for.
Seafood Royale - I can never turn down a seafood platter, particularly when served with rice in a saffron and fennel broth. In truth, it was pretty plain...tasty, but uninspired. It also cost an additional $10 to my meal and I wouldn't do it again.

Course 4:
Assorted Moroccan Treats and Brulee Royale - the Moroccan treats were surprisingly good, and the brulee was just average, a little too thick for my liking, but it was topped with pistachio, which was a nice touch. We also finished off with a delicious tea, which was really nice and enjoyable.

Our dinner at Sultan's Tent was decent for a relatively quick bite and something a little different. The belly dancer (yes, she did come out during our dinner!) was beautiful, and had some audience participation which I happily avoided (whew!). I recommend sticking to the "base" menu items - we found those were actually the best tasting, and the best value, particularly the lamb. Those items, I guess, are what they are best at!

A Savoury Seafood Feast at Casa da Ramboia

2010-11-15T22:27:00.005-05:00

It seems like a long while since we stopped in a new restaurant - having visitors the past month meant we've made lots of visits to our favourite places, but not a lot of time to try new ones! After spending Friday lunch hearing about my friend's recent Portugal travels, it was the only food I could think of that night!

But where oh where?

When I first moved to Toronto, my friend Julie brought over AMAZING leftovers from some Portuguese restaurant "around Bloor and Dufferin," I STILL remember it fondly, an amazing platter of seafood that I think about now 3+ years later. Unfortunately, I've never found it and don't know the name, and so I am continually on a hunt for a great Portuguese restaurant. We often rely on Toronto Life, and this week, I decided to take my recommendation from Yelp. Searching "Portuguese Restaurant" didn't yield as many results as I had hoped, but luck would have it, the top one was not too far away on Dundas West, and that is how we ended up at Casa da Ramboia.

You can't miss the restaurant, with a brightly lit Orange sign (and actually, is next to Enoteca Sociale). The restaurant is like a small neighbourhood pub, complete with the L-shaped bar and semi-circle benches along the side, where Tony and I were happily seated at a table that could have easily seated 6. We're always happy to have extra room for extra food :) You know what kind of restaurant you're in when the person who greeted us had conveniently popped up from his party of 10+ right by the door to ensure we were seated. The big party sure looked like they were comfortable and having a good time!

Took us no time to decide on food, not after our server (and probably owner?) gave us the daily fish specials, including bass and grouper. While both were enticing, I couldn't go for Portuguese and pass up trying the Cataplana, a delicious and soupy melange of pork, chorizo and assorted seafood served in a brass pot. To start, we stuck with seafood and had jumbo grilled prawns flavoured with delicious piri piri sauce (African bird's eye chili). Despite its very plain demeanor, it was savoury and satisfying, I never realized how much I like the taste of piri piri! We initially asked for rabbit as our second entree (I was craving some good meat!), but unfortunately it was not available, so we took it as fate that we order the "cornucopia of lobster, clams, mussels and rice" served in a traditional clay pot. The rice was saucy, homey and delicious. We couldn't have asked for two more flavourful dishes! The only downside was that our mains were hard to share on plates - we wish they would have given us bowls. But we didn't find it hard to adjust, Tony and I simply took turns diving into the brass pot of soupy goodness or the clay pot of hot and satisfying rice dish. DEFINITELY best eaten out of the original containers :)

We were happy to have discovered this little gem (thanks Yelp!) and will certainly be back. Who can complain about a restaurant's authenticity when it boasts little granny cooking away in the kitchen!? And if anyone has some good Portuguese recommendations for me...please send!

More Cowbell

2010-10-17T01:11:00.006-04:00

I've shared our experiences at Cowbell in the past, but we made a return visit last night and couldn't help but post more about the great food. It was perfect for a late dinner on Friday night...and I was starving! I was thinking of the Cowbell burger before we even got to the restaurant!

Last night, we had the Cowbell charcuterie, which of course, changes all the time: head cheese, elk and cherry, tenderheart liverwurst, curried coppa and venison chocolate chorizo. I liked the liverwurst the best but the rest were all tasty - the curry, cherry, and chocolate flavours were unique but not as foreign to the taste-buds as they sound! We also had the beef tartar which has such a great meat flavour because of how it is prepared...a must have.

I didn't stray from my craving and was rewarded with mortadela on my precious Cowbell burger...YUM! It felt so indulgent yet sooo good! Did I mention it's one of the best burgers ever?? Tony's duck confit with consomme smelled absolutely amazing and he inhaled it so fast I only managed to snag a quick bite!

Cowbell is always a reliable stop for good, fresh meat. The menu changes all the time, depending what fresh meat is being prepared - this week elk was popular on the specials chalk board, but who knows what will be on the menu next time we go :)

A Delight at Luma

2010-10-17T00:31:00.007-04:00

It's been a busy couple weeks and I never had a chance to share our experience at Luma, the new Oliver & Bonacini at Bell Lightbox on King. It is an upscale restaurant in the heart of theatre district - what I loved is that the moment we sat down, our waitress asked if we were under any time crunch to hit a show. Even if you think that is a given for restaurants in the area, I would never take that for granted so I really appreciated the ask (even though we were not on our way anywhere!). Luma is spacious and contemporary, with large windows facing out on King. We sat along the back of the restaurant and had a great view of the space.

The menu is varied and offers many options. We, of course, had taken a preview on-line before settling in on the restaurant for the night...and here's how we filled our bellies:

Appetizers: We had tuna tartare, grilled octopus and foie gras torchon. The tuna tartare (pictured) was a surprising dish - very colourful and fresh and perfect as an appetizer. There was so much stuff in it! The grilled octopus, with a bit of kick, was also quite colourful and uniquely prepared. It was good, but I would have liked the octopus a bit more tender (I was thinking Mediterranean style). The foie gras was also quite a surprising experience - not because we don't know how foie gras tastes, but this was one of the better perparations we have had. It came with brioche (which we could have used more of) and pineapple salsa, which added a unique flavour we have not had before. We happily inhaled our beautiful appetizers.

Mains: I am usually a fish girl and Tony goes with meat, but on this night,

I opted for the steak frites (how could I walk away from lemon pepper rub, mushrooms and truffle butter??) and Tony went with roasted cod. My steak frites came piled high and delicious, it smelled amazing even before my first bite and really hit the spot. It's always a bonus to have LOTS of mushrooms! Tony's cod was a stunning dish, served also with mushrooms and porcini cream...and foam! I love foam on my fish! We were both very pleased with our mains, and happy they continued to elevate our experience at Luma after our wonderful appetizers.

And yes, we made room for dessert. Actually, I was quite full, but Opera Cake was just calling my name to try. It was a 3 part dessert, centered by the almond sponge cake with mocha butter cream and chocolate ganache accompanied by popcorn ice cream and caramel popcorn. I'm not big on caramel popcorn but it was an interesting flavour mix in any case, the most unique dessert on the menu.

Overall, we had a great meal at Luma and would be happy to visit again. The flavours were fresh and colourful - loved the use of some new flavours with some very typical dishes which made it unique. Next time you're down to see a show and in for a little splurge, try Luma!

CURRY CRAB at Saigon Star!

2010-09-18T23:55:00.006-04:00

Although we love to eat, we don't know enough about places off the beaten path and rely in particular on our "local" friends for recommendations on Asian food places in the burbs. Our good friends Jon and Stella brought us to Saigon Star during the Summer, and we were in LOVE. Saigon Star serves Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, and is most famous for its curry crab. This crab is no joke - it is heart stopping rich and indulgent, and is like no other crab or curry you have had before! The crab comes hot and fresh, drenched in delicious curry yet still has the sweet, fresh taste of crab meat. After our first time there, we knew we'd be back to try other crab preparations. The next time we accidentally found our way to the restaurant was just Tony and I. We confidently ordered a crab, pineapple fried rice (you always need something to have with the curry sauce!), and water spinach with shrimp paste sauce (tung choi). Obviously, we were way too ambitious and finished nothing but the crab. The servers were so gracious, although we got to the restaurant around 10:30pm (closes at 11:00pm), they assured us we could take our time...but we felt really bad anyhow, the staff was getting ready for their dinner!

On Friday, we made another trip to Saigon Star with friends. I was excited to revisit with more people - we wanted to try the beer crab and needed people to share it with! We made reservations and did our best to get their early - the restaurant is always packed. So many things on the menu look delicious at Saigon Star, I've always wanted to try the hot pot seafood rice pilaf with coconut milk & curry...but after curry crab it just seems like too much. We went with the standard: curry crab, hot pot beer crab served with clear noodles, pineapple fried rice and roti (a must for mopping up the curry), grilled honey pork neck meat (another famous dish), Thai tom yum shrimp soup , our veggie favourite the shrimp paste water spinach. Yum! Our meal was spectacular as usual, starting first with the curry crab, which you can't possibly eat without making a mess! The beer crab was also fantastic and I'm glad we had a chance to order it - it's very different from the curry crab, not as intensely flavoured, but delicious in a different way. The hot pot broth was very tasty, filled with vegetables and chewy clear noodles...I couldn't get enough. I can barely decide which I prefer more; but ultimately, the curry is the real outstanding dish. If curry crab were a 10 beer crab would be a very close 9.5...and felt a bit less dangerous to my heart.

It was a perfect meal for a Friday night, we were all ready to just collapse from food coma. Saigon Star is a real gem and is starting to be a regular spot for us to take visitors. Best crab in the city, I think! Having a cold beer or some young coconut juice is the perfect accompaniment to the meal...it's like being on a tropical holiday, a brief escape via food and drinks :)

A Feast at Banjara Indian Cuisine

2010-09-18T18:36:00.004-04:00

I had a craving for butter chicken last week, and too hungry to wait on the great food at Matagali (although delicious, sometimes the wait is just too long!), we started to look up where else we could go. Bread Bar is always a favourite, but then we were also too lazy to drive north. There are plenty of great Indian places around town, and I thought of a place our friends Stella and Andrew recommended - the best butter chicken in Toronto!? Worth a try!

Pulling up to the front of Banjara Indian Cuisine, Gloria immediate recognized it as a place she had been before and said the food was good....so we were off to a good start. They don't take reservations (I tried), but it seems we arrived at just the right time, and the first round of diners were just finishing up so we were seated within 10min. Banjara is what you would expect from an Indian restaurant - lively and colourful! There is also abundant space on the patio for a hot Summer night. The menu is extensive - we had already browsed it while waiting so we wouldn't have to waste time deciding what to eat :)

Here's what 4 hungry people settled on:

- 2 orders of butter chicken: we were foolishly hungry and the metal bowls at other tables didn't look that big!
- goat curry: I had been craving this since we had it at our friends' wedding in Calgary at the Taj Mahal restaurant. It was the first I had it and was so delicious!
- shahi shrimp: we ordered this because we had never had it, shrimp cooked with coconut and green spices.
- palak panner: done with spinach and cream.
- bheendi masala: another dish we had not had before, okra done with onions and tomatoes.
- sides of saffron rice (my favourite), plan naan and garlic naan.

Yeah...it was a lot of food! Don't let those little bowls fool you, we forgot how rich things like butter chicken can be and ended up with leftovers. The food was all good and satisfying, we often found ourselves staring at the table and wondering what we should eat next! The best of the night was the okra, most unique and delicious. While we were very happy with our food, it was served just warm, not hot enough in temperature...and in fact, also not spicy enough. We had ordered all our food "medium," I was the weakest link, but it really was mild so next time I think we would definitely go spicy.

A Good Quick Meal at O&B Canteen

2010-09-06T17:28:00.007-04:00

We're gearing up for TIFF this week, and thought no better chance than now to get acquainted with the new O&B Canteen at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. We're not expecting it'll be an easy place to get a seat once things get busy down on King Street, although it is unfortunate the rest of the building doesn't appear to be quite ready for the festivities. No worries - Canteen is ready to serve!

Canteen is modern with simple lines for decor and lofty high ceilings. I especially loved the giant blackboards that cover the back wall (kitchen) boasting grab and go items to the left and market cafe dining menu to the right. The half open-kitchen concept has various le Creuset serving pieces sitting along a long stainless steel rack. I was tempted just to order just whatever was served in the Moroccan Tangine! The restaurant offers different specials by day in slightly different variations - Saturday was burger day, a turkey burger. We, however, decided to skip the special.

There was no question what I would have to start, picked easily off the paper menu/placemats - potted shrimp! Tony ordered the chicken liver parfait, which was AMAZING!!

It was probably the best chicken liver parfait we have ever had, incredibly smooth, rich and we just couldn't get enough. It was served with cumberland sauce, which had a bit of kick and was quite complementary, but we loved the parfait just as it was. My potted shrimp was served chilled in a mason jar, and more just like a cold shrimp salad, although it was still quite delicious. For mains, I had mussels in white wine sauce (served in a creuset, yay!). The broth was great, and I only wish it had been served with some French bread rather than the little toasts - didn't soak up the broth as well! It's about a pound of mussels, so not for the super hungry, but was sufficient for me. The mussels were also served with a side green salad, which was probably one of the nicest side salads I've had, including candied peacans. Yum! Tony loved his gnocchi with braised lamb, although I found the gnocchi a little bit crumbly. A really nice touch was the fresh parmesan grated on top. We were quite full after dinner, and the dessert wasn't calling out to me, but next time, maybe I will try the brownie.

When I think about good restaurants vs bad, there are always several elements: food quality, service, efficiency, and ambiance. Overall, O&B Canteen is a solid choice for any meal - I didn't find the food extraordinary but I enjoyed it, the service and ambiance were both good, and most importantly for a theatre district restaurant - it was quick and efficient. It's definitely a great "go to" restaurant, and maybe next time I'll try that burger special and definitely have some more chicken liver parfait!

Eating at The Beast!

2010-08-15T22:22:00.010-04:00

I was sad to learn not long ago that Amuse Bouse had closed down - it was a great little French restaurant tucked away between residences, delicious although a little pricey. Our fabulous realtor, Holly, had introduced us to Amuse Bouche, and so it was only fitting that we tried the new restaurant in its place with her! I was sold on The Beast after taking a scan through the menu online - pig's head pasta? That sounded interesting enough for me to try it out! We had a lovely table on the patio, perfect for a hot summer day. The menu, from starters to mains to dessert was all very appealing - and the healthy eaters we are, we wanted everything! The waitress was a bit concerned for that all that we ordered, but she did not know how much we love to eat :)

Starters:

Of course, I had to have the Pig's Head Pasta, which was actually agnolotti and was DELICIOUS and my favourite dish of the night. It was served with an egg cracked on top, and was amazing...comfort food at it's best! We also had lamb ribs, which were tasty and had us licking our fingers, but admittedly, not that memorable. The smoked black cod was served uniquely with beet root and caperberries - I have never had caperberries before! And finally, we also had fried green tomatoes, which I actually really enjoyed even though I don't really like tomatoes that much! It was served with bacon and spot prawns that of course, made it extra yummy.

Mains:

Holly had the rainbow trout while I had duck confit with papardelle (that's a combo that I cannot resist!) and Tony had the braised wild boar with mac n cheese. Honestly, with those items on the menu how can anyone resist trying the restaurant? My duck confit was amazing - he duck leg was tperfectly done, served at the right temperature (I hate when it is mildly warm) and the papardelle was delicious. I, unfortunately, was first to tap out and too full to finish my main - not to worry, I packed it up to be indulged in later :) Tony's braised boar was another case of comfort food at it's best - it was saucy and tender and we lapped up every piece on the plate. We also had sides of green beans and mixed mushrooms - the mushrooms are a MUST if you visit. I know I'm biased because I love mushrooms, but it was truly a delicious preparation and plenty to go around.

Dessert:

Yes, somehow we still had room for dessert - a frittura dolce with corn ice cream and blueberry compote. I have never had anything like it and loved every bite - it wasn't really sweet, and was so unique, you couldn't stop eating it! The waitress told us it was a bit of a home made recipe from the chef's Italian mother. LOVED! We also had cream puffs with cherry mousse - these were delicious as well, and basically melted in your mouth. I was resistant to dessert being so full from mains, but I'm so glad Tony and Holly dived in because I loved both and it elevated my meal experience!

The Beast (I just love saying it) was delicious and unique - it is a bit of a splurge, but then again, you don't have to try and eat everything on the menu like us :) I guarantee anything you pick you will like. The food was just phenomenal. Items on the menu can change weekly, and I am eager to go back and eat more agnolotti and dessert!

Vancouver: Tapas off the Beaten Path at Judas Goat

2010-08-14T14:13:00.011-04:00

Vancouver is one of our favorite cities to visit and eat - we get delicious, fresh food for much less than we spend in Toronto. Perhaps it just appeals to our preferences, with great seafood and sushi options! Only making it out for a couple days each year has limited our "tasting" experiences as we always want to visit our favorites, but we met up with our friends Jen and Andrew this time around and had the chance to visit Judas Goat, in Blood Alley Gastown, for a fabulously fun dinner!

I never knew what or where "Blood Alley" was, feels like one of those unique destination that I should have known about having lived there for 4 years, but I chalk it up to being a newer destination (no idea true or not). The popular Salt Tasting Room is also located there, tucked away in Gastown. There are no signs, at least none that we saw, and so Tony and I drove around several times before concluding the restaurant had to be located down this sketchy looking alley. Judas Goat is a small, modern restaurant, with large windows and bar seating opening up to the alley. The rest of the restaurant is made up of a share table and several small round tables along a banquette. My one complaint about the restaurant is I wish we had bigger tables for all the food we were about to have!

Six of us at dinner was just perfect to try everything we wanted - thankfully everyone is a good eater (which one of my friends aren't??) and we proceeded to check random stuff of the menu. It was another case of order by "elimination," where we mostly just agreed on what we didn't want. The menu is divided into Bocadillos (here was a re-invented Spanish sandwich) , Hot, Pressed/Potted/Cured, Salads, Condiments and Sweets. We ate almost everything on the menu - that's the beauty of tapas! Some of our favourites were:

Braised pork belly: while I feel like pork belly is everywhere these days, I'm not quite sick of it yet. This pork belly was prepared very similar to some Chinese dishes, (fatty and saucy!) and of course, we had to have seconds of this!
Warm lamb cheek with cabbage and white truffle oil: it smelled so delicious and just melted in your mouth.
Cacciatori from local artisan butchers: this was ordered on our second round, since none of us were sure that this was - but it ended up being a good plate of cured meats to nibble on, plenty to go around.
Rabbit rillette with carrot panna cotta: rillette is a pate like preparation of meat, which was very good and the carrot panna cotta was surprisingly delicious, Jen and I really dived into it (and maybe just the two of us!).
Scallop tartare with pork rinds: when we ordered this, Jen described it as "crunchy." The pork rinds were indeed VERY crunchy, like "can't hear yourself" crunchy...but very good! At least I was a fan, and have had an odd craving for it since then.
Potted prawns with pistachio butter: The pistachio butter was deliciously rich, although it was hard to share the 2 prawns in the "pot," so of course, we had seconds!
Foie gras with rhubard foam: foie gras is rarely, if ever, better than in Quebec, but this was quite good indeed, and I particularly loved the rhubard foam - very unique and added a nice, unique flavour!

Judas Goat was a really fun place to eat and I loved that each dish was served and prepared quite differently with unique flavours paired together - rabbit and carrot (haha!), foie gras and rhubarb (do geese eat rhubard?) etc. It appealed to our particular preference for indulgent meats and spreads. I recommend going with a group so you can maximize what you eat...but be warned that you'll have to sit and eat intimately - the two little round tables we shared table simply weren't big enough for all the food we ordered! Thanks for introducing us to this fun place Jen & Andrew!

A Day in Stratford with Dinner at Rundles Sophisto-Bistro

2010-08-02T20:05:00.010-04:00

It's rare that we hang around town on long weekends, since we usually make our way back out West, so with the beautiful weather, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to make a day trip. We had heard great things about the town of Stratford so we started asking around about things to do and places to eat. A friend recommended Rundles to us, a highly regarded restaurant in the little town - reviewed by Fodor's and Frommer's. Of course, Stratford is also home to the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival, a celebration of theatre through classic and contemporary plays and musicals May through early November. The most popular play this year is likely The Tempest starring Christopher Plummer (for those who don't know, he was Captain von Trapp in Sound of Music, and is famed originally for Shakespearean plays). While The Tempest was playing during the Sunday matinee we were hoping for, it was sold out. Fortunately, we found great tickets for Evita. One of the great discoveries we made while researching plays was becoming a Play On member - it is a program designed to promote theatre to those under 29, and offers $25 tickets for great seats at various shows! We ended up with fabulous orchestra left seats, row E, right beside some uber expensive seats and the view was great.

Evita: The show was good and very intense, with scenes moving quickly through. The music, of course, was wonderful, done by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Although most reviews had celebrated the actress Chilina Kennedy over the play, we loved Josh Young the most, who played Che and narrated the story. The story was powerful and captures just a small part of the glamour and mystery behind Eva Peron, but enough to give you a taste into her strength, determination and ambition. For better or for worse, the story is captivating.

Matinee was the perfect time for a show - we left Toronto around 10am, pretty leisurely for us, and made it to town in time for lunch and a quick walk around. We came out of the play around 4pm and had time to paddle boat along the river before heading to dinner. It was a beautiful day, and we were lucky not only to paddle boat but also to enjoy music on the barge that was going on - a really nice summer day to be out!

Rundles is located right by the river, in a beautiful building - a mix of traditional and contemporary style. We arrived at the restaurant a tad early but they were able to seat us. We originally made reservations for the restaurant (which was actually quite full) and ended up being seated in Sophisto-Bistro. We didn't know this until we saw the menus, but after taking a peek through, we were happy with what we were seeing and decided to stay. Sophisto-Bistro offers a 2 course prix-fixe menu for $44.50 and 3 courses for $55.50.

Appetizers:

Lobster bisque with salt cod croquettes - the bisque was light yet flavourful and frothy. I wouldn't normally consider bisques really healthy, but it did seem that way! The salt cod croquettes were also a pleasant surprise - i've never had good ones before, they are normally underwhelming friend dough balls, but these actually tasted of cod and were quite good!

Grilled calamari with shredded green papaya, kohlrabi and mango - the calamari was served on a skewer, grilled to just the right tenderness, and the salad had just a slight kick to it.

Mains:

The braised short ribs of beef was amazing!

It was tenderly falling apart as it should, and we were given a utensil resembling a fish knife for the meal - a telling sign of its tenderness. We've had great braised beef before, but what took this meal over the top was the fantastic horseradish cream. It looked like whipped butter, and because of the large portion served, we weren't even sure what it was. Eating the horseradish, as Tony said, was like eating a vegetable. It was light and you could put as much as you wanted on the short ribs and not be overwhelmed by its flavour.

I had seared sea scallops with peking duck and green mango salad, in a brown butter flavoured with yuzu. The sauce was amazing and I couldn't get enough. I cut my scallops into little portions to maximize the surface area to soak up the brown butter! Needless to say, I also made the most of my bread to soak up the sauce!

Dessert:

Vanilla-flavoured crème brûlée and chilled lemon grass soup. It was a really complex dish, very fragrant and with an assortment of flavours that all came together nicely in the crème brûlée, the ice cream it was served with, and the lemon grass "shooter" it came with. A truly unique and delicious dessert.

Dark chocolate cream praline, with espresso granita and "Indian Summer" zabaglione (light whipped custard). I LOVED the zabaglione, served with candied pistacios on top. I also dug deep for the dark chocolate, but I guess in my hurry to pick a dessert I skipped by the "espresso" part, and those who know me will know I'm not a fan of coffee. It was all delicious of course, but in the end I swapped for Tony's fabulous crème brûlée so we wouldn't waste the granita as I desperately picked through the top and bottom layer :P

We had a great time at Sophisto-Bistro and wonder how amazing the "restaurant" menu might have been, but just means we should take another trip back. In the end, we were happy with the menu choices and our delicious meals for a really great price.

We had a wonderful day in Stratford, and we were glad to have made the drive out (was under 2 hours), see a show and have a fabulous dinner.

Contemporary Italian at Buca

2010-08-02T19:13:00.005-04:00

Saturday night, I was craving something homey but couldn't quite put my finger on what. I finally settled on Italian and debated between Mercatto and Buca. Truthfully, I was hoping that Mercatto at Eaton Center had opened already so it would just a hop away from dinner...but alas, it's not ready. Ultimately, we decided to go to Buca. We have been before for a friend's birthday, but we arrived too late to eat and only had a chance to check the place out but not the food. Fortunately, even on Saturday night, they found us 2 spots at a communal high table. I have to admit I'm 50/50 on communal tables - you really have to be in the mood for them. I often find myself physically closer to the person sitting next to me rather than Tony; as a result, I struggle to focus on our conversation because I can hear down the table easier than across. I don't dislike them, but as I said, you really have to be in the mood to be friendly and interactive. Regardless, we were happy to get a table and were not joined by other guests until well into our meal.

To start, we decided to on the 3 salumi platter (a selection of 3 house cured meats). Our favourite was the eye of round. Our charcuterie plate was also accompanied by various house preservatives that were a nice complement to the salty meats. Our waiter also kindly recommended we order some bread, which we were hesitant at first, but ultimately ordered the nodini, bread knots flavoured with garlic and rosemary.

As I was craving some comfort food, there was no doubt I would do pasta as a main and I was immediately drawn to the Bigoli: duck egg pasta noodles with duck ragu, mascarpone and basil. I was actually a little disappointed by my dish, because the noodles were thick and chewy...which I should have expected from duck egg noodles, but it was not quite what I was expecting. In the end, I was craving some light, fresh pasta, which fortunately, Tony had! He had the Farfalle: hand cut pasta with baby octopus, artichokes and preserved chili (pictured). This was my second choice on the menu, so I'm lucky Tony cooperated :) The wide bow-like pasta was freshly made, thin and lightly tossed with chili (not spicy) and braised octopus. It was a delicious and well-made dish that I'm sure to return to eat next time.

Although we stuck to pasta mains, Buca does offer a traditional Italian experience - there were diners around us who did salumi to start, pasta as seconds, and meat/fish for mains. Buca is also a versatile restaurant with a warm yet contemporary feel. Patrons were young and old, casual and dressed to the nines - I loved the couple that had their baby with them by their side sleeping away in a stroller. It's something I've learned to love about Toronto, that young couples still dine out and have a downtown lifestyle even after kids...amazing!

Scrumptious Brunch at Saving Grace

2010-07-24T17:26:00.003-04:00

Some of the best brunch places in the city are a little out of the way and usually one-of-a-kind. Saving Grace is one of those local secrets, a little restaurant tucked away on Queen West, almost hidden behind trees and with no obvious signage. We met our friend Jen there for brunch last week and were glad to have make the short trek out West.

There are no reservations at Saving Grace, but a waiting list on a small clipboard just inside the door that you need to put yourself on...and the wait can be long, but it is worth it! We enjoyed the cool breezes in the shade outside on a bench while we patiently waited for a table. Fortunately, there were only two tables ahead of us.

Once seated, we quickly discovered the one major downside of the restaurant - no AC. I hate to sounds like a brat, but no AC really is an issue! I just prayed that the food would prove me wrong and suffering the intense heat would be worth it. While Saving Grace has a regular menu, it was the specials on the chalk board that intrigued us. I decided on the open omlette with capicolla ham, caramelized pears and provolone, and Jen had poached eggs on spicy Italian sausage. My omlette was every bit as delicious and satisfying as the description sounded, with plenty of ham and cheese and sweet pears.

Saving Grace serves an almost hippy, artsy crowd, with savory and unique dishes. I'd bear the "no AC" heat again (they provided lots of water!), but would definitely prefer cooler weather to visit and try more/new items on the menu. I also recommend going early, because Saving Grace is a secret no longer, even being featured on Daily Candy's Toronto guide this past week!

San Francisco & Napa Hotels!

2010-07-18T23:38:00.012-04:00

I know this blog is mostly about food, but as I often travel and eat the whole experience is important to me; and thus, I've decided to share my thoughts on the hotels we stayed at in the San Fran area.

SAN FRANCISCO: THE W

We flew in and out of SF and stayed at the W Hotel on 3rd, a swanky property in the SoMA district, surrounded by galleries and art schools; in fact, it is right next to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). It is in a great location - a short walk from Union Square and Market Street. It was a very pleasant and convenient area, including a close walk to other hotels and restaurants, coffee shops, and other casual cafes.

Having these conveniences is always important to us in the city, and we did take a stop at The Grove Cafe on our way out to Napa for lunch on the run (had a great pear and gorgonzola grilled cheese!). Other features we loved about the hotel was the concierge - we called in advance to ask about car rentals for our trip into Napa, and found that the deal the hotel had was far better than anything we could find on our own online, so that was a huge bonus. The hotel also features a complementary Acura car service, which we did not need to take advantage of but is certainly a nice option to have!

We were upgraded to a King corner suite on both our initial stay and after our return from Napa - great views of the city and Bay bridge! The decor was very modern, and the crowd pretty young, although not as young and hip as I had been expecting. The trouble with stylishness of W hotels, I suppose, is that it has to be current - and I felt that while our room looked great while we were there, it would easily look dated in a couple years...it is not timeless. Oh, and lest I forget that I loved the Bliss bath and shower products provided in the rooms - that was a nice perk!

YOUNTVILLE: HOTEL LUCA

In Napa, we lucked out and found a great deal on expedia for a new hotel, Hotel Luca, a beautiful yet intimate hotel modeled after Italian villas - with only 20 guest rooms, it was a great little space for us to stay. We were welcomed to the friendly and intimate hotel with a glass of bubbly while we checked in - seated in huge leather armchairs, a much more intimate and comfy experience. Our room had a cute little balcony and a spectacular bathroom- it is what I will model my future bathroom after, complete with heated floors and double sinks! This time, we had H20 bath and shower products!

Our first night there, the hotel offered a complementary wine tasting session in the late afternoon, which we did not end up taking part in because of the

all our wine tours, but appreciated the effort nonetheless! The beautiful courtyard was a great location for hotel guests to gather. Of course, we were also welcomed to our room with a small bottle of Chandon bubbly (a gift for the newly weds!) and received cookies as our treat for the 2nd night. The hotel staff offered to valet our car each time we came in and out - but honestly, the parking lot is RIGHT next door, we couldn't be that lazy. We also loved that the hotel charges a flat $25 fee in lieu of cash tips everyday -

I think that is very fair for all the staff, and saved us the trouble of scrambling each time! The hotel concierge was also wonderful and called to help us secure winery tour reservations after learning what we had in mind, and the spa staff also eagerly followed-up on our requests through the concierge to ensure we had all the information we needed (although we did not end up going). Hotel Luca is a lovely hotel that offers a 5 star personal experience and is luxurious in its accommodations.

San Francisco & Napa: A Solid Meal at Redd

2010-07-18T02:56:00.002-04:00

Without a doubt there are plenty of great dining spots Napa - if only we had the time and luxury to try them all! Maybe in due time. In addition to the famous French Laundry, we also made a dinner stop at Redd, in the heart of Yountville. It had a very different feel - more casual (but that's relative), more modern, and a crowd that all seemed very comfortable in the restaurant. We felt a little like we were intruding on an average night out for locals at Redd!

We were excited and overwhelmed by the menu to start, there were so many delicious sounding items. We had to consult our waiter in what we could reasonable eat! By looking around the room, we could tell the portions were healthy and we didn't want to over-order. Ultimately, we decided to start with the special lamb bolognaise and rabbit mole. The lamb was unfortunately pretty disappointing, tasting no different that "regular" bolognaise, although the fresh gnocchi was quite good. The rabbit mole was savory and unique - intense in flavor with a homey feel. It was served with cheddar grits and tortilla salad. Think of it has a high end taco salad! I thought nothing much of it at first, but with each taste I liked it more and more.

I knew what main I would have the moment we arrived, because I had spied some delicious plates around the room, particularly the John Dory - a white fish served in a mélange of clams, chorizo, and curry on jasmine rice. It looked and smelled delicious. It was tasty as I had expected, and I believe it is the best dish on the menu.

Overall Redd was good, but not an exceptionally exciting dining experience. I have no doubt the quality remains consistent, but it was not the "must experience" kind of restaurant we had believed it to be.

San Francisco & Napa: Legendary Culinary Experience at French Laundry - Worth All The Hype!

2010-07-15T12:00:00.004-04:00

When thinking about honeymoon and mini-moon locations, we knew we wanted some place that offered us great food; afterall, we live to eat! I don't quite recall how we ended up picking San Francisco, but perhaps it was the alluring possibility of visiting The French Laundry. We learned later that the little town of Yountville actually has the highest concentration of Michelin Star rated restaurants - boy did we pick a great place to stay! At first, we resisted The French Laundry - it seemed like an obvious restaurant for us to visit, but one, it's quite pricey, two, Tony had been before, and third, getting a reservation wasn't exactly easy. In the end, we decided that it was our mini-moon after all, and if we had to cut-back on other meals, this had to be worth it. We enlisted the help of our Amex and Visa concierges, who both managed to get us a reservation...and on this incredible food adventure we went.

The French Laundry is very nondescript, one could easily drive right by and not know they had passed one of the most famous restaurants in the world. It looks just like a European cottage. Before stepping into the garden of the restaurant, we visited the garden across the street - this is where the restaurant sources much of its fresh fruits and vegetables. Probably the most expensive garden ever to raid?? I wondered if there were video cameras! We had a short wait for our table, second seating, and had a chance to walk around the small, intimate garden - it was like being in the most beautiful backyard ever, pristine and with a quiet air of elegance.

We were welcomed to our seats in a cozy nook of the restaurant - inside is also pristine yet intimately warm. We were shown two menu's: chef tasting menu and the lighter, vegetarian option. Although I have no doubt the vegetarian one would be more unique than anything we have ever had, neither of could turn down the allure of rabbit and veal in the chef's tasting! The restaurant actually does not offer a standard wine tasting accompaniment, but the sommelier was happy to inquire about our tastes and recommended several over our "9" courses. I put that in quotations because the 9 on the menu did not include all the additional dishes we had - in the end we must have had at least 12 courses! I've numbered the official courses below.

*To start, we had a lovely pastry ball (malteser size) filled with something light and savoury, but I've already forgotten what!

*We were also served the famous salmon tartare coronets with creme fraiche. You'll find this recipe leading the French Laundry cookbook.

1. Oysters & Pearls: this was the first and probably my favourite course (what a way to start), pearl tapioca with oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar. Was a bit creamy, savoury, rich but not at all heavy or overwhelming. Was the best caviar serving I have ever had!

*White truffle-oil infused custards with black truffle ragout: We were ecstatic to have this "bonus" dish, as Tony had made this for me for my birthday - how nice to experience the "original". We devoured every bit of it - love!

*We were also served a wonderful pain-au-lait, cross between a croissant and brioche with salted and unsalted butter. The unsalted butter was amazing - incredibly smooth with great "butter" flavour although unsalted! Genius, and I wish we could have taken some home. Normally, I don't indulge much in bread (filler!) but the bread and butter here were so fantastic....more below....

2. Foie Gras (we upgraded from the Endive Salad): was served with a peach consomme - should not be surprised that this was one of Tony's favourite dishes. It wasn't the foie gras that made the dish for me, but that it was accompanied by fantastic brioche toast and 3 salts to be sprinkled on the foie gras. I had not tried it this way before and it brought out some different flavours when consumed together.

3. Sauteed Kanpachi: a lovely white fish.

*Another of my favourite courses (albeit bonus), handmade tagliatelle with black truffle. The dish looks so simple and tasted so fresh and amazing. Although I knew scarfing down pasta would not help me through this "9" course meal, I could have had another full bowl if given! This, I have to learn to make!

4. "Deconstructed" Caesar Salad with lobster: Don't be mistaken, this was not anything like a salad, but more like lobster inspired by caesar, served with petite lettuce and parmesan foam and compressed roe shaved on top. Nice touch! And honestly, it was salad the way I liked it - more lobster than vegetables :P

5. Rabbit: Even the potato salad it was served with was quite delicious - we were starting to appreciate the incredibly fresh vegetables our dishes were selectively served with.

6. Veal: This was the MOST amazing veal, served with a side of delicious vegetables - sweet pureed corn, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, and swiss chard served in a tarragon jus. (see top pic!). The veal was definitely one of my favourite courses.

7. Assorted cheeses

8. Apricot Sorbet served with a light foam on top (I love foam!).

9. French Laundry garden strawberries with pistachio and white chocolate sorbet: this was light and a great way to finish dinner; I even enjoyed the sorbet and I don't like white chocolate! Tony had the ricotta cake, which was very unique and served with blue berries and pine nuts and buttermilk sherbet.

*Of course, dessert was not quite done, we were also served a fancy peanut butter and jelly tart - upscale Reece's peanut butter cup, but light, flakey, and of course....delicious.

The French Laundry was really a wonderful experience. I expected it to be stuffy, but all the staff were warm, pleasant and chatty. The service was, of course, impeccable. Several times, I noticed our course being brought out to be served by our waiter - but because of any reason, like water was being poured, our neighbouring table was being served, or one of us was out of our seat, the server would quickly (and almost invisibly) disappear and return when we were ready for our food to be properly plated. Seamless and amazing. We also had the most spectacular wines - we loved in particular the whites that the sommelier recommended. Just smelling one in particular, Tony and I found it exciting. I don't think I could have ever described a white wine as exciting before! And he recommended just the right amount - a glass for every couple courses so we were not downing glass after glass without really enjoying it. And although we did not love the reds, they were great accompaniments to the meats and we recognize they were great recommendations.

I loved simple things like bread and unsalted butter, salt for my foie gras, simple (?) pasta, simply prepared veal, and even a P&J tart! Speaks to the exceptional quality of the ingredients used and the high level understanding of how to combine flavours, meats, and vegetables to bring out their best naturally. We would not have traded this experience for any other meal - it was simply AMAZING and we were thrilled to have celebrated our mini-moon there.

Once in a lifetime experience - must go!

San Francisco & Napa: A Delicious Retreat at Meadowood Grill

2010-07-11T23:39:00.008-04:00

We were so thrilled by our lunch at Domaine Chandon, we didn't want to waste our last day in the Napa area without a great meal. Tony had read some great reviews (2 Michelin stars!) about Meadowood, but since it was a bit further north, we did not consider going - there are so many options close by where we were staying. Since we were leaving already, we decided to make the short 20min drive from our hotel as a departing treat.

Meadowood is an exclusive retreat, well hidden in the hills of Napa Valley. From the highway, you would never know there was a huge resort, golf course included, beyond the trees! We drove the winding and narrow road into the resort (it felt like a hiking trail), to be greeted by security who directed us to the Grill. We were treated to a fantastic seat on the porch, overlooking the spectacular golf course - we even saw some hummingbirds fly by, what a treat! It had a very serene, country club feel.

The food was SPECTACULAR and we are still so glad we decided to go afterall. To start, I had dungeness crab soup served with a bit of paprika oil - which was incredibly fresh and delicious. Finally, comparable to the best bisque I have ever had at The Cannery (albeit lobster). We could have licked the bowl clean if it wasn't inappropriate! Tony had calamari lightly dusted with curry powder - which is probably the best calamari we have ever had, I was still savouring the tastes long after we left lunch. For mains, Tony had tuna fish tacos, which was freshly served with avocado and slaw, and I had a flavourful prawns & garlic pasta - the fettuccini was a bit thicker than I like, but the melange of ingredients came together in sort of an exciting way: garlicy, sweet and sour done with red and yellow cherry tomatoes and basil oil. The prawns were exceptionally sweet, skewered on rosemary. It was a lot of flavour that I never would have imagined together but was so delicious and paired perfectly. Although we loved our mains, it was the appetizers that left us salivating for more!

Meadowood Grill was a wonderful treat and worth every visitor to the area's drive to the secluded resort for a delicious meal....and, it was actually one of the cheaper meals we had all week! You get great food for a very reasonable price!

San Francisco & Napa: A Tour of Wine Country Highlighted by etoile at Domaine Chandon

2010-07-11T16:16:00.018-04:00

We couldn't visit San Fran area without heading into Wine Country of course. Although we do not consider ourselves wine enthusiasts, we gratefully took recommendations for those more knowledgeable than ourselves. I think we if we lived closer, we might very well become wine lovers as the wineries we visited were all great experiences.

Beringer: This was our first stop in the Napa area, a Taste of Beringer tour booked by our hotel. It came highly recommended and did not disappoint. The winery is beautiful and full of history - from the Rhine house to the 200 year old leaning oak. Beringer was actually only one of two wineries to stay open during prohibition (the other was Beaulieu Vineyard). Our tour guide, Jack, was awesome - an older man with a passion for wine and matter-of-fact quips. Some of the more interesting things we learned and wines we tried as we toured the property:

Smell your glass after it is emptied - the taste and smell was a new experience for us!
The tunnels are all man-made, by "the same people who built the railroads" (Jack said he had to be PC).
Caesar changed storing wine in clay pots to casks - wine was stored in barrels from there on.
There are 7 gardeners dedicated to keeping the property beautiful.
If you don't think there is enough to do on the property already, there's a picnic area and bocci ball court!
The Wines: We had a chardonnay to start with a strong "butterscotch" after taste, a zinfandel, a cab, and a cab port. The portions were plenty and poured fast - I had to chug my zinfandel just to get going on the cab! We left with a bottle of the cab port, a unique fortified wine that was none-too-sweet.

Domaine Chandon: While we did not actually do a tasting here, Domaine Chandon is an absolute must stop. It is just on the edge of Yountville, and is grand from the moment you enter, driving through an arch with the vineyards in the background. We were lucky to get a lunch reservation last minute at the restaurant etoile. The Chef, Perry Hoffman, literally grew up in fine dining, as his parents were the original owners of French Laundry. We were treated to a wonderful table on the patio, overlooking the garden (which could have fooled me as a well manicured fairway). Of course, we had to try some of the sparkling wines Chandon is famous for - I had a pinot noir rose and Tony had a reserve chardonnay. We learned afterwards that several of the sparkling wines were favourites at events hosted by the Bush administration. Our lunch was....AMAZING, one of my favourite meals on the trip.

Appetizers: A delicious beef tartar topped with black truffle, served with toasts and crostinis. This beef tartar may have surpassed my favourite at Living Room in Calgary! Tony had hamachi sashimi with his summer prix fixe menu.
Mains: I had a wonderful lobster crepe served with a yuzu foam - best crepe ever of course! Tony had perfectly caramelized scallops, served at just the right temperature.
Dessert: Tony's prix fixe came with a summery strawberry tart.

The experience was so serene and pleasant - don't let Hoffman's young age fool you, he is a culinary master already earning a Michelin Star! Even if you don't stop in for a full meal, the bubbly bar offers a range of mouth watering snacks, like caviar and dungeness crab. Who couldn't use a bubbly stop??

Stag's Leap: This was a highly recommended winery stop - there are actually TWO Stag's Leap wineries as it is the name of the area, but we found the "older" one. We tasted 4 estate wines: An un-memorable chardonnay, Fay cabernet which from where it comes from in the vineyard, is a lighter wine, SLV (Stag's Leap Vineyard) and the Cask23, with grapes from the best of Fay and SLV. I liked the Cask23 while Tony was happy with the SLV - Stag's Leap wine is an indulgence for sure, but I have to say, neither of us were learned enough about cabs to appreciate the quality at $200/bottle for the Cask23, so we left without a bottle.

Pine Ridge: This was the second winery that came highly recommended. We had a flight of cab tastings here: Napa Valley, Oakville, Stag's Leap , and Fortis. The Napa Valley was a standard red wine you could throw down with any red meat, Oakville had a lingering oak aftertaste that I surprisingly enjoyed, The Stag's Leap was one of the best cabs I've had, and so easy to drink and I could have finished the bottle! We regrettably did not pick up the Stag's Leap, but were happy to have experienced such a lovely wine. I would definitely visit this winery again!

Opus One: I had only heard of Opus for its...well...opulence. We had noticed the winery on our first day in the area, its out of the world building. We of course, did not make an appointment for a tour or a tasting, but were still given a "partner" card to the retail store (think cigar room) to purchase. Pretty hard to fork out so much money for a wine we didn't have the opportunity to taste....but I still have to say, the winery is worth a visit if even just for photos. You can buy a bottle and enjoy it on the stunning roof top. We ran into some fellow Canadians who were doing just that (and complaining about how to ship wine back via Air Canada!). An experience, albeit stuffy, for sure, and maybe next time we will go with friends and enjoy it's grandeur.

Mondavi: Our last winery stop was Robert Mondavi - thankfully open until 5pm! Their tasting was more flexible, with a number of reds and whites, 4 to your liking. We decided to have some whites for a change (and I was a little cab'd out). We had an unoaked chardonnay that I quite enjoyed, fermented in steel tanks. Mondavi brought the fume blanc to the region, but it was not a wine I was a fan of. No doubt, I enjoyed the sweet Moscato d'Oro, but alas, I think our Canadian ice wine is better and not worth my packing. We were happy to get in a last tasting, but but it was none too spectacular.

V.Sattui: Although we did not have any wine here, this is a must stop in wine country because of its deli! We stopped by for a snack between wineries that was much needed - V. Sattui features a lush, green picnic area where we indulged in prociutto and cheese. We were introduced the "hottest" in cheese, Carboncino, which is a combination of cow, goat and sheep's milk, and although I laughed when the guy told us it was the latest and greatest in cheese....it really was delicious! There is also a Dean & Deluca conveniently located across the street, but we preferred the food we found at V. Sattui.

San Francisco: Tastes of Fusion at Ame

2010-07-09T02:46:00.006-04:00

Tony poured over reviews and enlisted the help of Chowhounders to find the best restaurants for our short visit to SF. Ame at the St. Regis hotel was one that came widely recommended based on our tastes and favourites, and thus, was our first fine dining stop in the city! Luckily, it was only a short walk from our hotel, the W, walkable even in Louboutins :) (an awesome gift thanks bridesmaids!!!).

Back to the food: Tony and I were most excited by the sashimi bar menu, and thought to do as we have in the past - just eat that list! But there were also mains that caught my eye - always the tragedy of a great menu, we cannot decide what to eat! In the end, we opted to do the Taste of Ame Sashimi Bar (which had a nibble of everything we wanted), and still had room to try other appetizers and hot mains.

The Taste of Ame Sashimi Bar included the daily crudo, served simply with olive oil and lemon; uni bruschetta, which I think had no uni taste so was a bit disappointing; tempura poke, which again was a bit disappointing because we loved having poke in Hawaii so much, it felt like the "tempura" took away from the experience; a "kaisen" sashimi salad that was quite delicious; and our favourite, cuttlefish noodles tossed with sea urchin (this dish was tasty!), quail egg, fresh roe, avocado, seaweed and some young jalapenos to give it a kick, all served in a cute little bamboo container. To go again, we would just have the cuttlefish noodles - but we were glad to have had a taste of everything.

Next we followed up with the Chawan-mushi, savoury Japanese custard. We LOVED this dish the first time we had it in Japan at a Hokkaido restaurant. The Ame version featured lobster and mushrooms...yum! In previous tastes, the "good stuff" was always hidden at the bottom of the custard - Ame's version included some lobster right on top, but also hid some of the delicious seafood and mushrooms within the large bowl....the biggest bowl of savoury custard we had had. No complaints!

We still had room for the mains, Alaskan black cod in a shiso sauce with shrimp wontons and mushrooms, and grilled liberty duck with sour cherry cabernet sauce and foie gras. While I liked the cod, we have a lot of good cod these days even in Toronto so it did not stand out to me, and the shrimp wontons were only ok - made with fresh pasta, but I did not feel like it added anything in particular to the dish. The duck was really well prepared, just perfect and with more than enough to share between us. The sauce had a nice flavour and how can you really go wrong with foie gras on top?

We still managed to have room for dessert, and had a chocolate mousse with burnt marshmallow (think s'mores!) and soy caramel. Was very unique and glad we had a chance to try it.

Overall, Ame was a good experience. We managed to "accidentally" order a whole 750mL bottle of sake, which of course we didn't finish, and they graciously let us take the rest of the bottle home :) We would go again to eat some of the favourites like the cuttlefish noodles and the custard, but as a Michelin star restaurant, we left a little bit disappointed. We feel like we've had some more elevated culinary and service experiences at less recognized restaurants in other cities.

San Francisco: Fresh Crab at Fisherman's Wharf!

2010-07-09T02:44:00.012-04:00

One of the main reasons I love SF is for Fisherman's Wharf - I love the casual, crowded atmosphere in which to get some delicious food! Delicious seafood-streetfood!? I was in heaven! It was our first stop as soon as we arrived in San Francisco - I needed to see the ocean and get some sourdough and chowder in me! We explored Pier 39, which was more bustling than I remember, crowded with tourists and restaurants at every corner. We quickly ducked into Chowders for white (New England) clam chowder in sourdough bowl and a crab and shrimp poorboy. It was tasty and satisfying! We also ventured over to the seafood stands on Taylor street - this is what I came for! We managed to indulge in a bowl of lobster bisque from Nick's before happily heading back to the hotel.

But of course, one visit was not enough. After touring some of the best restaurants in SF and Napa area, I was craving just some good ol' crab! We made one more visit to the wharf for an early lunch before leaving the city. Getting down there early was key, as the stalls were not yet crowded and we had the luxury of scoping out each stand before making a decision. I had read some good reviews on Aliotos online, and was ready to even fork out for a restaurant sit-down meal....but alas, the crab stand was the best deal and featured a small patio seating area for patrons (being early also allowed us to find a table without any problems!). We ordered a small crab, cracked and guts included (honestly, what a waste otherwise!) which took up two paper trays, a crab sandwich (which had the best reviews - amazingly sweet crab meat), and even some clam chowder. This was probably one of my favourite meals in the city, and was exactly what I was craving - delicious and sweet fresh crab while enjoying the beautiful weather! I like to think we were attracting a bit of a crowd as I happily enjoyed my crab, since many stopped to watch us dive through our cracked crab. Yummmmm. I have no doubt the restaurant is fantastic, but if you ask me, the crab stand is the way to go - my whole succulent crab only cost me $13 and is prepared the best way possible, STEAMED and FRESH! Restaurants will run you $30+. We even took a crab sandwich to go for the flight! In truth, I can't really say it is better crab than the other stands, but we had such a great experience, I'd be happy to go back any day!!

A Taste of Kaiseki at Hashimoto

2010-06-17T16:02:00.004-04:00

Every year, we look for the top Japanese restaurant on the Toronto Life list, and every year, the only 5 star is always this mysterious Hashimoto that was out in Mississauga. For Tony's birthday this year, I decided it could be the unique experience I was looking for, and worth a rare drive out to the burbs.

Hashimoto only seats 6 people a night, so I felt lucky to get a reservation at all. It's very discrete, located in a random strip mall near the airport - you'd never believe there was an acclaimed restaurant tucked into the corner. Beyond the store front's standard glass door is a sliding door - felt like a secret entrance, and you step inside to a different world. The windows are covered and the interior is quite dark, but serene and intimate. The decor is all very deliberate, to transport patrons to a traditional Japanese kaiseki house, where meals are had in private rooms. It is all about the experience of being one with the exquisite food you are about to have.

We were greeted by a young and articulate Japanese man, Kei. As there is no menu at Hashimoto, there was nothing to look over. He asked us if we were interested in sake and then brought out two small imported bottles and started telling us about the origins and how they were made contributing to the taste. We ultimately went with a small draft that the chef said would be a great one to start with. We knew we wouldn't drink a lot because we still had to drive home, but could not resist our love for great sake.

Our 8 course meal began soon after the sake was poured, and we were the only patrons in the room. Talk about exclusivity!

The appetizer course was a sign of things to come: two small plates, one with a matcha sesame tofu in a sweet pea sauce. The second was an assortment of goodies including firefly squid in a miso based paste (had a mild wasabi/horse radish taste that was amazing), a beautiful mountain potato infused with cherry blossom to give it a pink colour and shaped as a star (honestly, was so cute I didn't want to eat it!), and fresh squid fried in such a light and tasty batter, you could barely tell it was fried, not oily in the least and so delicate.

Course 2 was sashimi, a porgy fish (aka bream), which is the same family as snapper. It was served on an elevated white porcelain platter, the lid adorned by a crane. The sashimi slices were presented like flower pedals, accompanied by fresh wasabi (so amazing!). I dabbed a little wasabi in my pedals of sashimi...yum.

Course 3 was soup, it smelled amazing as soon as I removed the lid. It was served in a bowl like your avg miso soup, and so the surprise inside was all the more spectacular. Duck breast was served on a lotus root paste and edamame egg custard as the center piece in a deliciously thick sweet pea soup. Amazing.

The next course was grilled salt water eel, served with the spine deep fried on the side and a lime-like sudachi fruit. The boxed eel also came with a yellow and purple potato and sweet potato pallet cleanser - it looked like a playdough ball, was so cute. Loved this dish, was very tasty.

Course 4 was a stewed eggplant purée, lightly fried to keep it's shape and served with slivers of fried ginger on top. The purée was amazing.

The meat course was probably our favorite. Waygu beef served with matcha salt (I want to put this on everything!), a side of fresh corn very lightly fried (to hold the sweet kernels together). The corn was incredible!! We had two little bundles, and I wish we had more. This dish also came with Hashimoto's signature daicon crane. I really didn't want to eat it, but the wings and tail all detach to be dipped in a carrot sauce. Crazy detailed and intricate.

The main course was 3 dishes: steamed porgy on rice (Tony loved the rice!), and soba infused with cherry blossom to give it a slightly sweet taste, served with fried shrimp in Japanese bread crumbs in a delicious broth. The third dish had Japanese pickles, including daicon marinated in squid ink and topped with sesame. This dish is traditionally meant to fill guests, so much to Tony's delight, we were offered seconds! Despite the delicate nature of the food and seemingly small portions, I was actually quite full already!

The final course, dessert, was spectacular. It was a plum preserved for 7-8 days combined with jelly made from the juices to create a crystal looking dessert. It was served on shaved ice with red bean and condensed milk. The dessert was absolutely beautiful and an incredible work of art.

Hashimoto was amazing. It is an intimate and beautiful experience that really allows you to focus on food. Everything was prepared lightly and delicately, using the freshest ingredients by season and smartly combined to create a wonderfully simple yet complex set of flavours. Nothing short of genius. The total menu generally changes every season, but the dishes can change in nature day to day. It is an experience to be had, everything carefully planned and executed I loved that many of the courses were served with lids - it was like opening a present each time! Our experience was topped with a meeting with Hashimoto himself! He was such a sweet Japanese man. He told of his sadness leaving the Mississauga location they had been in for 20 years, the first ten as a catering company before he pursued his dream to open a kaiseki, which he was formally trained. We learned that our host, who told us in detail about each dish, was actually his son, one of two who are pursuing studies in kaiseki to take over the family business - one in Kyoto at a time. All the more meaningful that his sons will continue this exquisite art form.

Hashimoto, you were worth the drive! And we couldn't take photos, that would obviously ruin the experience, but visit the site for some beautiful pictures.

Eating Our Way Through London!

2010-06-04T16:12:00.020-04:00

Many of you already know that I am soon to be married. When my girls asked what kind of stagette I would like, I naturally thought of far off places and great food. Thankfully, they were all up to the challenge and so to London we went! Here are some of the food adventure highlights:

Red Fort: our first stop in London was an Indian restaurant of course, in Soho. Red Fort was newly renovated and offered a great deal for lunch: 3 courses for 12£. I, of course, ventured off the set menu and had a monk fish tiki to start and prawn risotto. Overall, the best value was still the 3 course meals, which came with more than enough sides for all of us to share. You really can't go wrong with Indian food in London.

Olivomare: good thing we walked around a lot because dinner found us at Olivomare, a Sardinian restaurant featuring lots of seafood! It was a funky place with a great vibe and plenty of delicious sounding items on the menu to choose from. I had cuttlefish with squid ink to start, which was literally a giant slab of cuttlefish (yum) and shared the sea urchin crostini. My general belief is that sea urchin is only good in Japan...but the crostini was pretty good. I still prefer sea urchin fresh and sashimi style, but it was uniquely prepared here, boasting a nice, sweet flavor. For mains, Lorena and I shared a Sardinian stew, which frankly was a bit disappointing although filled with lots of fish, and a more impressive salt crusted sea bream. The fish was uniquely prepared and the highlight of my meal. For dessert, we decided to try the one thing on the menu we didn't recognize, the sebada. essentially a light, puffy cheese fritter dipped in honey. It was delicious!

The Woseley: This is the hottest new place for brunch in London! It is so popular, in fact, there was no way for us to get a weekend brunch reservation so Friday it was. And of course, it was still packed! We were welcomed with a lovely pastry basket to celebrate Lorena's birthday and my stagette (although it said happy birthday to us both but whatever), thanks to Marissa. After a big start, I still found room for my crepe complet - a savory crepe filled with eggs, cheese, and bacon...lots of bacon. In fact, there was lots of bacon for everyone! A delicious brunch at this grand cafe, definitely worth checking out, but make early reservations!

The Orangery: A visit to London, and in particular, Kensington Palace, would not be complete without high tea. We had our taste of traditional tea (albeit iced because it was far too hot for regular tea) at the beautiful Orangery that was built for Queen Anne. There are an assortment of wonderful teas, cakes and pastries. I indulged in a delicious chocolate hazelnut torte. And the highlight? We ran into Stella McCartney on our way out!! What a bonus to have a celebrity siting - Stella with her kids and husband in tow for high tea. Felt like we were hanging with locals :)

Salt Yard: Friday night found us at this small casual chic restaurant, which reminded me of Trevor's Kitchen in Toronto. We were ready to go tapa crazy. Lorena, Rita and I arrived first and we were quick to order a charcuterie and cheese plate to start, we opted for the Spanish selection for both. While we had lots and lots of food, the highlights were the mackerel crostini (great suggestion from Marissa), the mackerel tartar, confit of pork belly, and roasted spring chicken with truffles macaroni. We ordered some vegetable dishes, but frankly none were very good. Stick to the meat and fishes!

Borough Market: Saturday was a new food adventure as we explored Borough Market. It was like foodie heaven! It was packed with goodies of all sorts, and plenty bustling as well. Our first stop was also my favorite, raclette melted on potatoes. The cheese smelled extremely strong, so i was a bit worried to start, but it was absolutely delicious! We got 2 between the 6 of us, which was more than filling enough. Our other stops included wild boar sausage, served with both cranberry and peppercorn sauce, and seared scallops served with bacon. The market also boasted a number of other homey items like a mushroom pate we would have all loved to take home but was just too inconvenient to carry around in the heat. Borough Market is a must stop.