A Great Meal with Unique Touches at Table 17

It was a lovely long weekend to stay in town - fantastic weather made for some inspired outings.  We spent Sunday in the Beaches area, a nice getaway from our usual downtown life, walking along the boardwalk and strolling through the neighbourhood shops on Queen East.  After spending an entire day in the sun, we were ready for a nice meal to cap off our day and I immediately thought of Table 17 in Leslieville, on our way back into downtown.  Table 17 has an ever-changing menu, inspired by local and seasonal ingredients.  Sunday and Mondays feature table d'hote menu, a 3 course prix fix for $35 with 5 options each for appetizers and mains and 3 choices for dessert - plenty for any dining party!  Some items have additional cost but we were not swayed away and led our taste buds lead the way.  Not that the delicious 3 courses were not enough, but we also wanted to try the polenta with braised lamb shoulder, something for the table to share.  It was DELICIOUS, very fresh and not too creamy as is often my issue with polenta.  It was a nice way to start off our meal.

Now on to the prix fix:  to start, I had the pan roasted scallops served with fennel puree and candied orange.  Every bite was tasty, the scallops prepared just perfect, and the candied orange a surprisingly nice flavour accent.  Tony opted for an "off-menu" item, soft shell crab, fried in a light batter, seasoned and served in a fresh ramp soup/sauce (our server told us the ramps were picked at a local farm, picked and used at various restaurants in Leslieville!).  I thought my scallops were amazing but the special soft shell crab was definitely one of the highlights of the night!  It was prepared oh-so-lightly and I savoured every meaty bite.

For our mains, I was immediately sold on the trout served with Barrie farm asparagus with ricotta gnudi (I had never had gnudi before yesterday - it is like a "nude" ravioli, pasta filling without the pasta wrapping!  And sort of like a gnocchi but not so chewy and doughy...was GREAT!).  My trout was done well, and I loved the thick and delicious asparagus, it was a nice light meal for a hot day.  Tony had the cider braised pork with dijon spaetzle (another unique item, a soft egg noodle) which was also very satisfying, every bite was satisfying.  Our meals were incredibly well made and delicious.  Great food comes from simple flavours and fresh ingredients!

Dessert was also a treat, I opted for the apple bread pudding, served with this AMAZING apple butter.  I was extremely full but basically inhaled the dessert.  Tony was sold by the chocolate brownie served with a black sesame brittle.  It surprised us that the brownie was not too sweet, but very satisfying for a chocolate craving, and the sesame brittle was a unique touch.

We really enjoyed our meal at Table 17, it has been a little while since we've had such a great meal (hence the low posting activity...sorry!)  I have been following Table 17 for some time and regret not visiting earlier...but it's never too late to add a new favourite in the city.  It is a nice restaurant for a casual night out, intimate and warm with that neighbourly feel, or visit for a special occasion - the great food deserves some celebration, and you will be welcomed with great service.  The menu offers familiar favourites for a comfort meal along with some unique tastes and accompaniments.  Table 17 opened my eyes to several new foods and flavours, can't beat that for a good food experience.              

Table 17
782 Queen Street East
416-519-1851
www.table17.ca (reservations available on OpenTable)

Fancy Rolls at Blowfish on Bay

It's been at least a couple years since I've been to Blowfish - King and Bathurst was just a little far for us to stop by ad hoc...but we were happy to find a new location on Bay and decided to check it out.  I initially thought that Blowfish had simply moved - seemed odd to give up the great King/Bathurst building, but a quick look at the website today confirmed Bay is indeed just a second location.  Congrats to Blowfish on the expansion then!

Similar to the King/Bathurst location, Blowfish on Bay is very modern and chic.  We were seated by the giant window facing Bay, which was almost a little odd as it felt soo close to the sidewalk.  We browsed through the menu of assorted sushi/sashimi, cold and hot plates and various rolls.  If you have not been to Blowfish before then you need to know that the ebi shooter (giant hand roll served in a shooter glass) is FAMOUS - giant tiger prawn with mango, avocado, tobiko and a whole lot more all wrapped in a unique soy paper.  My first visit to Blowfish years ago was a stop at the bar just to have a drink and an ebi shooter.  The ebi shooter did not disappoint and was as tasty as I remembered.  It was so good we ended up ordering a 2nd, but also tried the Bob shooter, a slight variation with tempura tiger prawn instead and wrapped with sesame soy paper.  The "original" ebi shooter is still best, but I liked the sesame soy paper better.


Other rolls that tempted us were the golden king crab roll, which was tasty but the pine nuts sounded better in concept than in taste - overwhelmed the crab a bit, the truffle albacore tuna roll, which was our favourite although very little truffle oil taste, and finally the spicy tuna roll with rock shrimp, which was the Blowfish variation of typical ebi mayo.  Rolls are definitely the highlight at Blowfish, some unique combination of ingredients and flavours.  We also had the wagyu beef carpaccio, which was drowning a bit in ponzu sauce (a little less would have been better for the very thin beef) and the miso marinated lamb chops, and lobster and shrimp dumplings (kind of like expensive har gow for dim sum fans out there).  All the food was ok, but I'd stick with the rolls, which I think Blowfish does best.

Blowfish is a chic and sophisticated place to have Japanese fare, even if you're not interested in a full meal (it is a bit of a splurge), it's worth a stop by for some tasty saketinis and of course, an ebi shooter.

Blowfish Restaurant
Bay & Adelaide
416-860-0606
www.blowfishrestaurant.com (reservations available on OpenTable)       

ORLANDO: Away from Theme Park Food at The Ravenous Pig

I was thrilled to be visiting Orlando last weekend - mostly a trip to Universal Studios to Wizarding World of Harry Potter - but there was no way I was going to stick with park food. Orlando isn't quite a foodie capital but I went to my reliable Chowhound for my research, asked some friends who had recently visited the city and landed on one must-visit spot: The Ravenous Pig.

The Ravenous Pig prides itself on fresh and local sourcing, with the menu likely to change from time to time. We wanted to try as many dishes from the delicious sounding menu as possible so we opted for sharing tapa style from the the pub and starters menu and squeezed in a salad.

First came the lamb confit, charred octopus and Zuckermans farm

asparagus. The lamb was served with a refreshing lemon yogurt and cucumber-dill slaw. This was one of Tony's favourite dishes, the lamb incredibly tender. The charred octopus with squid ink and potato salad was good but not extraordinary compared to the rest of our dishes. We LOVED the asparagus, which barely qualifies as a salad was it was wrapped in prociutto. The farm asparagus was fresh and crisp, and the accompanying bernaise, almonds and lemon vinaigrette all delicious. This was my favourite dish of the night.

Our server brought our 2nd course of 3: delicious rock shrimp tacos, both meaty and tasty - my second favourite of the night (the asparagus wins on originality of freshness and flavours), shrimp grits with corn and chorizo oil. The shrimp was incredibly fresh and sweet! Finally, very tasty clams served in a hearty and delicious broth with garlic sausage, creamed leeks, and squid ink croutons.

We couldn't resist dessert and settled on the chocolate truffle cake, I was sold on the raspberry creme fraiche ice cream - very unique and delicious! On our server's recommendation, we also had the strawberry rhubarb crisp, served with toffee crunch ice cream. This, too, was also delicious and we enjoyed both homey, sweet desserts.

Located in Winter Park, The Ravenous Pig is definitely worth the short drive from whatever theme park vacation you might be taking in - particularly for those who are having an adult visit to the happiest place on earth (or like me, a "magical" one!). This American gastropub is not open Sundays and is always full so be sure to plan ahead! We were surrounded by families, dates, couples...good food is good for everyone :) No wonder our friends opted to visit twice! This was the only restaurant consistently recommended by foodies and I am happy to pile on.

The Ravenous Pig

1234 N. Orange Ave, Winter Park, FL

www.theravenouspig.com (reservations available on OpenTable)

407-628-2333

ORLANDO: Tips for Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Pardon the divergence from food, but I thought it was worthwhile to share our recent experience at Universal Studio's Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is not just about the rides, but the magic of seeing Harry's world come to life! This corner of the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Park was transformed into the wizarding village of Hogsmeade. Few details are spared, from Hogwarts Express at the entrance, to Honeydukes candy store, Zonko, Three Broomsticks and Hogs Head Pub. The details are all very impressive - there's a quidditch set in the sports store, Sprintwitches, and wands

galore at Ollivanders! Don't miss these details in all the windows. The one downside is that "Hogsmeade" is very narrow - while there are many shady nooks to escape the heat, it can be congested and challenging to make it through the village and store to store to see all the details. Honeydukes is definitely worth a stop, where you can pick up cool treats like chocolate frogs, complete with trading cards, every flavour (jelly) beans and more! You actually cannot buy a wand at Ollivanders, inside is a demonstration of the wand selection process...but adjacent (and connected) is Dervish and Banges where you can scoop up all sorts of Harry Potter merchandise, including wands! My favourite was Hermione's wand, but it was cool to see all of them. Rarely a child would leave the Wizarding World of Harry Potter without a wand!

For ride aficionados, you may be a bit disappointed as there are only 3: Duelling Dragons (a re-purposed roller coaster), Flight of the Hippogriff (a kid friendly coaster), and the star attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey in Hogwarts Castle (a motion adventure coaster). The Forbidden Journey is everything you may have heard or read about it and MORE - it was AWESOME. Like the entire park, it is more than just the ride itself, it is the entire experience of heading into the magnificent Hogwarts castle and walking through the castle to the ride. You'll walk through Professor Sprout's botany green house (with mandrakes behind a cage), experience a gallery of talking paintings, including a Salazar Slytherin, walk through Dumbledore's office and the defence against the dark arts classroom. You'll see the sorting hat and be welcomed by holograms of Dumbledore (in his office) and Harry, Hermione and Ron, including various special effects as they tell you about the journey ahead (we saw it "snow" one time!). Of course, the first time you go through the castle, you may anxiously race through and fear getting behind - we went through the castle 3 times and took time to explore and watch each presentation/skit (you can stand aside). There is also an option to just walk the castle while not going to the ride...but why miss the ride? The motion coaster has 4 seat in a row, and I have to say, each time we went through, we had a slightly different experience - sometimes the dragon breathes in your face, sometimes not. Sometimes you hear the dragon behind you, sometimes you see the footprints as you fly through the observatory. If you're game for the repeat line-up, the repeat is worth it! We did not go on Duelling Dragons but we did take a spin on the Flight of the Hippogriff - it's not a very exciting ride but you do get to see Hagrid's Hut while in line and Buckbeak while on the coaster!

Another must do: butterbeer! There are carts in

Hogsmeade, including a giant barrel in the center...but it is also available at Three Broomsticks (where you can grab breakfast or lunch) and also Hog's Head (there is seating when it's not peak hours inside and out). Carts throughout also sold bottled pumpkin juice, which I was hesitant about before but it was actually quite delicious, tasting largely of the nectarine puree it is made of. Butterbeer comes regular or frozen - it is essentially butterscotch and gingerale (tastes like cream soda), which can be a little sweet, but the frozen version is a very nice dessert and tastes completely different. If you have a chance, I'd recommend trying both! We had one with lunch (the sweet butterbeer was nice balance to my turkey leg) and the frozen served as a nice afternoon snack break at Hog's Head.

TIPS: As I mentioned, the Harry Potter park of the park is not big, is by far the most popular and bound to be very crowded. We did some research before going and want to share some of the great tips we learned and discovered. One great site we found was secretsthatmatter.com, where a father writes about his experience in the early days of the park opening. Reading through gives you an idea of the layout and tips to bypass the crowds and lines. Some of the tips are out of date (ie. there is no longer a "no bag" short cut for the Forbidden Journey), but this was by far the most useful site we read.

Early Entry is key. As I mentioned, the park is very busy. Early entry, 8am, means you beat the masses at 9am. The best way to secure early entry is to get a hotel package that includes it and stay on-site. The other benefit of staying on-site is that you don't need to bother with transportation. We stayed at the Hard Rock, which is less than 10min walk to the park entrance. When you're getting up early to beat the 8am rush, that closeness is bonus. There are water taxis available at the hotels, but for the Hard Rock...just walk! As we headed out on the path, there were also rickshaws available - we never did figure out if they were free (likely tip based), but they only got you as far as City Walk anyhow which is not a long walk...HOWEVER, the rickshaw ride would have allowed us to bypass some of the others trekking from the hotel. Something to consider for future! We had planned to head out around 7:30am and there were others who beat us out the door...and by the time we arrived, Universal had opened their gates (I was imagining a mad rush as crowds gathered!).

TIP SUMMARY:

- Stay on-site if you can, you get early entry and express pass included (does not work for Forbidden Journey but TOTALLY worth it for all other rides unless you're ok waiting at least an hour everywhere you go...we mostly walked straight up to rides). PLUS, you can send anything you buy inside the park back to your room - no lugging around souvenirs! Yes, I did send my $10 chocolate frog back to the hotel.

- Upon entry, head STRAIGHT to Hogwarts for Forbidden Journey, key while the crowds are thin. And if you come out and see no line-up outside the castle, GO AGAIN. It will never be that light again until late afternoon. By the time we came out the 2nd time, there was already a long time.

- It is a single line into the castle, and there is a locker area for bags - go without bags if you can (I went fanny pack), this will save you the time and mostly the hassle of getting a locker.

- After Forbidden Journey, head straight to Ollivanders. The line for the experience is at least an hour long any time of the day - unlike Forbidden Journey, we did not think it was worth the long wait so you might as well check it out before it gets insanely long. If you have a 2 day park pass, then go first to Forbidden Journey the first day and straight to Ollivanders the second.

- Fear not if you miss the early morning, the crowds thin out a bit in late afternoon (long day for kids). We returned around 3 or 4pm and managed to get on Forbidden Journey again. Our deciding factor was whether or not the line extended outside the castle - that's a 90min wait.

- There is only one restaurant, Three Broomsticks, and it starts to get busy around 11:00am, with line-ups at noon. Beat the rush with an early lunch - get there by 11:00am.

- The store next to and attached to Ollivanders is not the only place to get wands, in fact there are many places you can get them so no need to stick out the crowds. For one, there is a cart outside the exit of Forbidden Journey with all the wands. And of note, most of the Harry Potter merchandise is available in the general souvenir store near the park entrance - stop by there on the way out instead.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter is definitely a must for any and all fans of the book - even those who are not will likely enjoy for the magical experience. Part of the enjoyment is sharing with all the other fans in the park - young and old, everyone is just excited to be there. How amazing is that? I'd go again and can't wait to see the park expansions planned! Will they build Diagon Alley?? The Burrow? Ministry of Magic? Guess it's too much to wish for a quidditch pitch.

OTHER Island of Adventure Attractions: We fully took advantage of our express pass to enjoy the rest of the park (we almost felt bad for all those waiting patiently in line, we never waited for much longer than 10, 15 min). Jurrasic Park is worth visiting, although is a water ride so be prepared to get wet....but not as wet as Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (killer are the water guns at the end of the ride that spectators can pay to shoot you direct! Yes, we were victims). The Marvel Super Hero island is also cool, with a 3D Spider Man ride and the Incredible Hulk Coaster. In Seuss Landing, you can experience The Cat in the Hat ala It's A Small World (we found the ride a little jerky). DO NOT go to Poseidon's Fury. It is not a ride, it is a standing theatric experience and anything but thrilling. DO NOT waste your time here.

LINKS:

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Secrets That Matter (tips)

WINTERLICIOUS: A Great Meal at Chiado!

There have been many instances where I searched for best Portuguese in Toronto on a night where we weren't sure where to eat, Chiado has always come up as the best but we had yet to make our way there - it is a fine dining establishment and I always found it a little pricy for just our average night out. I was happy to have made a reservation for Winterlicious, finally a chance to try it out and see if it's worth it!

For our $45 3-course dinner, we had a "bonus" amuse bouche, a fresh cheese served with balsamic and my preference, the honey with rosemary. The cheese was good, not very strong and served at the perfect cool temperature. Our mouths were "amused" indeed. For the first course, I had the lobster and shrimp bisque done with saffron and cognac. It was very tasty and the shell fish fresh in the soup. My friend Jen had the salad which was colourful and fresh looking - an enticing salad as any.

There were a lot of options for our second course but I decided on the pan seared skate fish on coriander risotto. It was AMAZING! The fish was perfectly flavoured and flakey, prepared just...well, perfect. I savoured every delicious bite. Tony had grilled squid, a popular dish in Portuguese restaurants, tossed simply with garlic and lemon. The thing with squid is not over-cooking and it was done just right, with just enough flavour. Needless to say we were both very happy with our dishes.

To finish off our meal, we had a white chocolate flan, which was tasty and not as sweet as I thought (since I'm not a fan of white chocolate). Flan is also traditional to Portuguese cuisine so I'm glad we had a taste of that. I tried molotoff for the first time, a traditional meringue dessert that was also well done.

We loved our meal at Chiado and can finally claim to know what all the buzz is about. We'd be happy to return to the restaurant at any time and can't wait to try out the regular menu.

Chiado

864 College St

416-538-1910

www.chiadorestaurant.com

WINTERLICIOUS: Fine Italian at Noce

Our 2nd Winterlicious adventure this year was at Noce, a fine Italian restaurant on Queen West. It was packed when we arrived last Saturday, filled with what looked more like regulars than just the Winterlicious crowd. Looks like Noce is an old favourite! We were warmly greeted by staff at the front and seated in one of the intimate dining rooms.

Although we normally try to taste as many different

dishes as possible, we both had the pappardelle with lamb ragout to start (the salad was not enticing and I'm not a fan of bean soup). Our food came quickly and well prepared, but the pappardelle was just warm and not quite hot enough.

My personal preference is also for fresh pappardelle vs egg noodles but it was still tasty and we finished it quickly. For mains, I had a perfectly seared trout on broccolini. This dish was an indication of the fine dining establishment Noce is, the fish was well prepared and the skin seared crispy and tasty. Tony had the braised veal cheeks, with mushrooms and leeks on mashed, a homey, saucy dish. Finally for dessert, we had gelato and a very frothy tiramisu that I could never finish on my own.

We had a nice meal at Noce but did not find it extraordinary or an exceptional value ($45 dinner menu - but perhaps a good deal vs regular menu prices). I appreciate that Noce did not skimp on the details for their Winterlicious menu and I have no doubt the restaurant has excellent standards and can live up to it's fine dining reputation for Italian lovers out there. This is the kind of restaurant to take your parents/in-laws to, solid performance.

Noce

875 Queen St W

416-504-3463

WINTERLICIOUS: Tender Kabobs at Banu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.