I recently had the opportunity to attend a session by food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier entitled Eating Words: The Art of Food Blogging, which was held at George Brown College in Toronto.  For those unfamiliar with Clotilde she runs the very popular food blog Chocolate & Zucchini which she started back in 2003. [...]]]>

I recently had the opportunity to attend a session by food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier entitled Eating Words: The Art of Food Blogging, which was held at George Brown College in Toronto.  For those unfamiliar with Clotilde she runs the very popular food blog Chocolate & Zucchini which she started back in 2003. I’ve been reading C&Z on off for a large part of that time.  I don’t remember when I first found her blog (likely through an article somewhere else) but it is definitely a good one.  I mean it blends my love for food and Paris into one well-written blog, what’s not to love? The internet and blogosphere was a very different place back in 2003 and as a result Clotilde was one of few bloggers at the time and has managed to turn her blog into a career.

A former software engineer, Clotilde was able to quit her day job a mere two years after starting her blog and receiving a book deal.  Not bad.  Clotilde now spends her days as a freelance writer and book author.  Pretty cool.  The world today is a much tougher place with many more blogs and many more people hoping to forge a path similar to Clotilde’s.  Alas her story is the exception and not the rule.

Clotilde lives in Paris but was spending time in Stratford at The Stratford Chefs School as their writer in residence.  She also popped into Toronto for an event at Nota Bene.

During the workshop Clotilde gave her top ten rules of food blogs and I thought I’d share them with you.

Clotilde’s Ten Rules of Food Blog

1. Choose your focus – choose your blogging niche and stick to it.
2. Look at what others are doing – get an understanding of the blogging landscape but don’t copy others.
3. Set yourself apart – now that you understand the landscape try to differentiate yourself.
4. Be genuine – have a voice. Have an opinion. Keep it real.
5. Focus on great content – self-explanatory.
6. Keep learning – stay actively learning whether it is about blogging or your area of focus.
7. Give credit where credit is due – if you’ve been inspired by someone else’s work give them credit.
8. Connect – don’t blog in a bubble. Respond to comments. Comment on blogs. Engage in social media.
9. Keep at it – Be consistent and don’t disappear too often.
10. Have fun!

These are some great tips for newbie bloggers, not just food bloggers.  I’ve been blogging (in various capacities) for the better part of 12 years (eek!) so much of this wasn’t new news for me but for someone who has just opened up their first WordPress.com account there is some good material here.

Thanks to Sizzling Communications for the invite.

I’m not big on doing restaurant review posts despite the fact that I eat out regularly.  There are so many outlets that do a good job at reviewing restaurants that I kind of don’t see a point.  With that said I always want to share with others when I’ve had good experiences at [...]]]>

I’m not big on doing restaurant review posts despite the fact that I eat out regularly.  There are so many outlets that do a good job at reviewing restaurants that I kind of don’t see a point.  With that said I always want to share with others when I’ve had good experiences at restaurants.  I’m going to try to do mini-roundups of what I’m loving these days a bit more often.

Enjoy!

LUMA
330 King Street West, Toronto, ON (647) 288-4715

I generally avoid the ‘Licious (Winterlicious and Summerlicious) because the experiences tend to be mediocre at best. This past Summerlicious I decided to check out Luma with a few ladies because the menu sounded delicious and like a good value. It definitely was. After my ‘Licious dinner I couldn’t stop thinking about the Seared Tuna dish with chickpeas and other goodness. So I went back a few weeks later just to have that. I also had the gnudi (fabulous), a bite of the steak frites (delicious) and my current fave cocktail, the Stompin’ Tom Collins (gin, ginger lemonade, candied ginger). Rarely does service make an impression on me but both times that I dined at Luma everyone was super nice and efficient. I need to return to give their brunch a try.

Acadia
50C Clinton St, Toronto, ON 416-792-6002

There has been a lot of hype around Acadia since it opened a few months back. Sometimes hype makes me stay far away from places but in this case enough people whose opinions I respected gave it enthusiastic thumbs up so I had to check it out. The space is small so definitely make reservations. This place had me at hello. The cocktail list is long and inventive. I had a great ginger-based drink in a tiki glass. Fun! While waiting for our food we were presented with a board of various pickled goodness including okra, garlic scapes and other goodness. We also were give cornbread. This was a problem… a very good problem. To start I split halibut cheeks and shrimp and grits. I didn’t know what to expect with the halibut cheeks but they were fantastic. Really meaty, breaded and deep fried and served with a sugarcane chowchow. What really had my heart were the fish and grits. I put a bit into my mouth and was in heaven. This was soupier than I was used to as the shrimp and grits were served in a pool of ham hock consomme. Everything about this was creamy, smooth and filled with so much flavour. For my main I had snapper with bacon, chantrelles, sea island red peas and savoury. Amazing. What I loved about this plate is that you didn’t need to have meat to have a good time. They rock their fish dishes.

Khao San Road
326 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, ON 647-352-5773

People are pretty ride or die for Khao San Road. I feel like very few people are ever “meh” about it. I checked it out a few months ago at lunchtime and had the Pad Thai. No lie, it was probably the best pad thai I’ve ever had. When it came time to choose a birthday restaurant I decided on dinner at KSR. To start I had the garlic shrimp that were really garlicky and had this really great sweet, tangy sauce. I kind of wanted to lick my plate. For the mains we split the Sam Roas Pad Thai (again) and the Massaman Curry with Beef. The Massaman curry was spot on. Perfectly spiced and great layers of flavours. The beef was perfectly cooked and I loved the variety of textures from the potatoes and crispy shallots. I had a thai iced tea and it was a perfect accompaniment.

Beast
96 Tecumseth St., Toronto, ON 647.352.6000

Beast is currently one of my fave picks for brunch. They do a lot of your fave brunch items but with a twist and constantly change things up. I can attest to the fact that their maple bacon doughnuts are great, they do a great grits special and if they have pancakes on the menu, you should probably get them. Oh, and get the tater tots. Just do.

Marben
488 Wellington Street West, Toronto, ON (416) 979-1990

Marben is fantastic. I checked it out for the first time with my friend Jess who was visiting from NYC and we did shared plates and had a great meal. It was one of those meals that wasn’t fussy at all but really stuck with me. We had fiddleheads, a salad with a poached egg on top, some really good gnocchi and their famous burger. The burger is about as good as you’ve heard. Marben is all about local, seasonal and all that jazz so the menu changes frequently which kind of makes it a new experience every time. The burger is a constant though. As is the ice cream sandwich… which is huge and worth splitting for dessert.

La Société
131 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON 416.551.9929

I’ll have to preface my endorsement of La Société by saying it’s kind of obnoxious. It has two huge patios, one located on prime Yorkville “see and be seen” territory. It’s big, it’s loud and is designed for people to be seen. Not really my scene at all. With that said it’s definitely one of the better (and more accessible) dining options in Yorkville and is a really nice space. For brunch they make a really great French Toast and for dinner they have a pretty good prix fixe option if you’re feeling price conscious. I really want to try their Grand Plateau seafood platter but at $145 we might have to wait a bit.

This year I was lucky enough to be invited down by the Stratford Tourism Alliance to enjoy Savour Stratford weekend. I enjoyed the festival last year and was super excited to visit once again.  Not only did I buy a ton of produce at the market and consume my fair [...]]]>

This year I was lucky enough to be invited down by the Stratford Tourism Alliance to enjoy Savour Stratford weekend. I enjoyed the festival last year and was super excited to visit once again.  Not only did I buy a ton of produce at the market and consume my fair share of Apple Frits but I did lots of other fun stuff too.

Here are a few highlights…

Wine and Cheese Tasting

The first order of business when I arrived on Saturday was attending a wine and cheese tasting with Chris from Chateau des Charmes and Ruth from Monforte Dairy.  Sure it was only 11am but that’s not too early for wine, is it? We tried 6 wines from CdC and 6 cheeses from Monforte.  I cannot even begin to express how happy this made me. For me the standout of the wines was the Aligote.  Aligote is a varietal that you don’t see often in this neck of the woods at all.  In terms of cheeses they all made me happy but I really enjoyed the Piacere with rosemary and juniper as well as a cheese that Ruth described as being a French cheddar-style cheese.

Charcuterie Tasting

Given my current interest in charcuterie I was particularly excited for this session with Fred from Perth Pork and Connie de Sousa from Top Chef.  We were served a glass of wine and given a plate of meat to feast on while Fred and Connie spoke.  Unfortunately there were no demonstrations at this session and Fred and Connie sort of spoke generally about charcuterie vs. related directly to what we were eating.  Despite this, I definitely enjoyed my snack plate of meat (even though there were no crackers or bread to make consumption easier).  The highlights were the prosciutto and perhaps the silkiest pâté I’ve ever had.  The elk terrine with blueberries was also very unique and delicious.

BBQ in the Square

This BBQ event was new to Savour Stratford 2011 and thank goodness! It was GREAT!  $30 got you a ticket which entitled you to a half rack of ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, baked beans and a roll.  PLUS your choice of either Creemore beer, wine or Harmony Organic milk. All while dining at long tables in the square in Stratford while listening to music.  The setting itself was fantastic.  The vibe was really chill and luckily the weather was nice enough to sit outside.  The true star of this party was the food.  The ribs were provided by Boss Hogs and they were DELICIOUS.  Some of the best ribs I’ve had in awhile.  I go back and forth about whether or not I enjoy dry or saucy ribs more.  These ribs were saucy and had me leaning towards that side easily.  This was definitely a highlight of the weekend.

Savour Stratford Tasting

The tasting is the main event of Savour Stratford weekend.  Restaurants are paired with local farmers and suppliers to prepare goodness for all to enjoy.  I ate a ridiculous amount of the above-photographed Chiang Mai-Style hot dogs with lemongrass mustard. These steamed buns were also right up there as my favourites.  Much wine was consumed by some of my favourite local wineries.  I even snuck in a few ciders and beers too.  Another great year for the tasting.

A little while back I was invited to experience a new-ish restaurant that was totally not on my radar: e11even.

e11even is part of the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment group which runs the Air Canada Centre, BMO Field and [...]]]> e11even
15 York Street (outside Air Canada Centre)
Toronto, ON
416-815-111

A little while back I was invited to experience a new-ish restaurant that was totally not on my radar: e11even.

e11even is part of the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment group which runs the Air Canada Centre, BMO Field and many other venues. They also operate the ever-popular Real Sports. e11even marks their foray into fine-dining.

On this evening the folks at e11even took a group of blogger-types through a few of their appetizers and desserts.

Enjoy!

First up was this bread.  Fresh out of the oven and served in cast iron with a generous sprinkling of salt on top, this bread was fantastic.  I could have eaten this whole thing but knew there was much more to come so I held off.  So good.

Without a doubt this crab cake ($21) was the best thing I had to eat all week.  This isn’t your traditional crab cake that’s more filler than crab.  Instead you have to go searching for filler because this is pretty much all generous chunks of crab.  Yes, the price tag is hefty but the crab cake is substantial and is literally the best crab cake I’ve ever had.

Yes, this is a bacon appetizer ($11). I’ve never seen bacon as an appetizer on a menu before but given how much people like bacon I’m not mad at e11even for capitalizing on that and charging $11 for two strips of (thick) bacon.  The bacon is finished with a maple sherry glaze.  This one is definitely worth trying if you can get past the fact that you’re paying $11 for two strips of bacon.

I’m a big fan of spinach and artichoke dip ($16) so I was excited for this – and it didn’t disappoint.  Served with fresh tortilla chips, the tip was the right mix of cheesy and veggie.  A great one to share with table if you’re just stopping in for drinks.

Tuna tartar ($19) is one of those things that I can easily take or leave.  While this was refreshing and I enjoyed the flavours and the contrast between the creamy avocado and the tuna, I don’t feel compelled to give it another shot.  I’d rather spend my money (and calories) on the crab cake.

Yes, this is a giant meatball ($20).  Made with Kobe beef, this seems like a dude’s dish for me.  I have a hard time getting my head around a $20 meatball (in fairness, it’s huge) but have an even harder time getting it when the meatball isn’t flawlessly executed.   I found the meat to be underseasoned which made the dish fall flat.  It’s a fun idea though and makes for a great presentation on the table.

Another one of my favourites was the whipped sheep’s milk ricotta ($13). This is one of those ridiculously simple appetizers that you wished you’d thought of making for your last dinner party.  It’s just ricotta that has been whipped with some herbs mixed in and sprinkled with cracked black pepper and drizzled with olive oil.  So simple and delicious.

The appetizers that we sampled at e11even were for the most part hits.  For me this wouldn’t be an everyday kind of restaurant based on the price point but it’s a good option for the pretty desolate area around the ACC.

e11even also has a great patio for the warmer months (which I have yet to take advantage of) which features an $11 patio menu.  This definitely makes e11even more accessible for a casual hang session.  I’ll have to stop by before the weather turns on us!

Bloom
2315 Bloor St West (Bloor West Village)
Toronto, ON M6S 1P1
Tel: 416.767.1315

One of the fun things about being a food blogger is getting invites to try places that I wouldn’t normally make it to. The lovely folks at Sizzling Communications invited me to [...]]]>

Bloom
2315 Bloor St West (Bloor West Village)
Toronto, ON M6S 1P1
Tel: 416.767.1315

One of the fun things about being a food blogger is getting invites to try places that I wouldn’t normally make it to. The lovely folks at Sizzling Communications invited me to join a media/blogger dinner at Bloom to sample their new menu. I jumped at the chance because I’m always on the lookout for new Latin spots in Toronto. Having spent 6 years living in New York one of the things I miss is being able to easily (and cheaply) enjoy Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican food. Toronto’s Latin food scene is sadly underdeveloped so I was hoping to find a hidden gem in Bloom.

Bloom has been around for years but was definitely off my radar as it’s located in the Bloor West Village area of Toronto. BWV is a cute neighbourhood with lots of little shops, but it’s not really on my regular route of life so I rarely make my way over to that part of the city.

On a sweaty Monday after a LONG LONG day at work I was thrilled to be greeted with a mojito. I’m generally a fan of mojitos and trust me when I say this one was pretty lovely.

Soon after we were brought out an amuse of Cassava Frites with Mojo Dipping Sauce. These absolutely delighted me. First of all, I love any kind of mojo dipping sauce. I could definitely see this sauce going well with some tostones. The frites were a great match with their soft and starchy interior and golden crisp interior. I literally could’ve eaten a dozen of these.

Next up was the ceviche. The ceviche featured sustainable OceanWise halibut with tomatoes, habanero peppers, lime juice, garlic and spices. The fish was very fresh which was lovely and I really enjoyed the hit of heat from the habanero and the acidity from the lime juice. Interestingly enough, the ceviche was served on top of a sweet potato slice. I thought it was an interesting idea but it didn’t add much to the dish. I think it would have been fun to serve the ceviche on top of cassava chips or something… but that’s just me.

For the mains and desserts Celine of Plato Putas and I decide to split the selections so that we could get a full sense of the menu. This of course was a brilliant idea.

The first main was a flank steak with chimichurri. I have a serious weak spot for steak and chimichurri. Yes, I enjoy a regular steak but who wouldn’t want the addition of herby, garlicky goodness? Luckily this dish really delivered. The steak was perfect cooked and the sauce was perfectly spiced.

Next up was a sesame crusted tuna. I was excited for this as I’m often one to pick a fish dish and I was intrigued by the idea of a tofu-wasabi dressing and roasted vegetables. Alas the dish was just ok. I didn’t get any tofu from the dressing and although I enjoyed the roasted vegetables I found the addition of wasabi peas a bit bizarre. The fish itself was lovely but there was just a lot going on… a bit too much. The steak was definitely the winner.

For dessert we were treated to a Cuban Flan and Churros. I have a complicated relationship with flan — sometimes I hate it, sometimes I love it. My funny feelings aren’t limited to flan however, I often feel the same way about panna cotta. This was a dulce de leche flan, and while I enjoyed the flavours I found the texture a bit too eggy for my tastes (and remember, eggs often freak me out). BUT the churros… oh the churros! I could eat churros every day of my life (and when I’m in Chicago I try to). The churros were served on top of vanilla ice cream with a drizzling of chocolate sauce and were pretty darned perfect.

Dinner at Bloom was lovely. Weeks later I’m still thinking about the cassava frites and the steak. They offer a prix fixe for $35 which features an appetizer, main, dessert and choice of coffee or tea. Bloor West Village is lucky to have Bloom.

(Photo borrowed from Food & Co.)

Contrary to how things appear on this blog I don’t go out to eat that often.  Realistically (if I’m not travelling) I’ll go out for dinner maybe twice a month.  Don’t get me wrong, I [...]]]> Enoteca Sociale
1288 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
416-534-1200

(Photo borrowed from Food & Co.)

Contrary to how things appear on this blog I don’t go out to eat that often.  Realistically (if I’m not travelling) I’ll go out for dinner maybe twice a month.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to go out but I love to cook and I love to stretch my dollars.  For me going out to eat is a social engagement.  I rarely entertain at home so chances are if I’m meeting a friend it’s over brunch, dinner or tea.  Recently I was tweeting with my girl Courtney (of Polysh Magazine) when we realized that we were overdue for a dinner date. The lovely Kesha jumped in on the convo and a few e-mails later we planned to check out Enoteca Sociale.

Enoteca Sociale is by the same folks behind one of my Toronto faves, Pizzeria Libretto. When I heard they were opening up a non-pizza based restaurant the place jumped to my list of “must dines”.  As the name suggests, Enoteca Sociale has a heavy focus on wines and is inspired by the Italian enotecas.  In this case the wines are “value-driven” and also feature a lot of “by-the-glass” selections.  Under the enomatic system they also serve tasting portions of wine as well.

While you can’t really compare Enoteca Sociale and Pizzeria Libretto one thing I can comment on is the fact that Enoteca accepts reservations (insert sound of angels at the gates).  I love being able to make a reservation for dinner at a potentially popular spot.  Enoteca is also concerned with being a casual neighbourhood spot so they only accept reservations for half of their seats.  What they don’t mention on the website or when you call to make a reservation is that walk-ins are really only for the patio, the bar and for the communal high tables along the eastern side of the restaurant.  Kind of off-putting if none of those options appeal to you.  Luckily when we arrived none of the high tables were occupied so we had a relatively private dining experience.

I was so excited for my meal that I knew exactly what I was going to order from that morning.  Because of a totally frustrating day the only last minute addition was wine.  The menu, while fairly brief does seem to have something for most people (i.e. a fish, a poultry, a meat etc.).  To start I had the artichoke fries.  HEAVEN.  Imagine vertical slices of artichokes (they almost look lamb chops in shape) lightly battered and deep fried.  They are served with this creamy, lemony dipping sauce that just made it perfect.  If I didn’t know better I would have ordered two of these and just called it a meal.

For my main I had the Braised Oxtail with Polenta.  I know, I’ve been on a huge oxtail kick recently, I’m not even sure why!  If I see oxtail on the menu I immediately want it to get in my belly.  This oxtail was no exception.  It’s cooked in a tomato-based sauce and likely spiked with wine and served over creamy polenta.  The portion didn’t look that generous when brought to the table and if I hadn’t had the artichoke fries I probably would have been hungry.  I was served two pieces of oxtail each about 2-2.5 inches high.  Now if this was a Jamaican restaurant they would have served up a LOT more oxtail!  If it were a Jamaican restaurant I would have also felt comfortable picking up the bones and sucking on them to free the last strands of meat.  Alas I was in a trendy Italian spot so this was a no-go. Courtney had the Spaghetti Caccio e Pepe which she seemed to enjoy.  It did however look like the portion was tiny.  The server didn’t mention upon ordering whether pastas were satisfying enough on their own or if they are meant as a first course.  If you go be sure to ask about that one.

For dessert I ordered the zeppole and Courtney had the flourless chocolate cake (Kesha ended up not making it to dinner – sad face).   The zeppole was served with a hazelnut cream and was really satisfying although not sharing-sized.  The flourless chocolate cake was SO rich!  And huge!  Definitely a dessert for two.  It was so rich it had me wanting a glass of milk to wash it down with.

I asked the server to recommend a wine by the glass for me.  He immediately recommended something in the $15 per glass range until I told him I wanted something less.  I settled on a $9 Primitivo (which I generally enjoy) which was a lovely pairing with my oxtail.  If I were feeling particularly fancy I would next time do the tasting menu with wine pairings because I’m sure it would be great.

Service was overall lovely.  Our waiter was really friendly and generally attentive.  When I asked about the upcoming cheese cave (which was opening the next day) he gave us directions on how to sneak a peak of it when we went downstairs and gave us the lowdown on the cave.  I would love to spend a future evening at Enoteca trying cheeses and sampling some wines.

Here’s what others have said about Enoteca thus far…
BlogTO
Spotlight Toronto
National Post
Globe & Mail

Photo borrowed from Blog TO

The Black Hoof has been on my list of restaurants to try for months.  The thing is it’s not the type of place that you [...]]]> The Black Hoof
938 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
416.551.8854
Twitter: @theblackhoof
(no website)

Photo borrowed from Blog TO

The Black Hoof has been on my list of restaurants to try for months.  The thing is it’s not the type of place that you can take just any friend.  For example a vegan or even a vegetarian.  There is nothing on the menu to satisfy either (well except for the beverages).  Even your typical omnivore might be put off by the menu.  You need a friend that doesn’t mind trying some “alternative” parts of the animal. You won’t be eating Sirloin.

The Hoof (as many affectionately call it) is on a random stretch of Dundas West.  I’ve lived in Toronto most of my life and had only been on that stretch while whizzing by on the streetcar.  With that said it’s easily accessible by TTC and I can’t imagine parking being too much of a problem.  If you’re looking for a sign that says The Black Hoof you’re screwed.  Instead look out for the brown awning that says charcuterie.  The inside is rustic and small.  The Hoof brings the concept of open kitchen to a new level.  The kitchen is pretty central in the dining room meaning that all patrons have a clear view of the standard stovetop and oven that they use to churn out the food.  I mean standard like Toronto rental apartment kind of standard.

I met up with @foodie411 (who is always ready for some Hoof action) and new friend @somethinglemon to finally pop my Hoof cherry.  I was content to let the other whittle down the selections because I know had I gone there by myself I wouldn’t have ordered half of what we ordered.  I likely would have played it safe and ordered the pork belly or something (and yes, at the Hoof the pork belly is playing it safe).  I was more than willing to be “forced into” a few more extreme things.

We started out with the roasted bone marrow.  Imagine a bone about 8 inches long sliced lengthwise to expose the marrow-y goodness on the inside.  The bone is then roasted and served with bread.  The idea is that you scoop out the marrow and spread it along the bread.  The best way to describe it would be meaty butter.  The marrow is smooth, flavourful and delicious.  If you think too hard about it I could see why it would be totally gross but seriously, it was sooo good.

Then it was on to the country fried sweetbreads.  For some reason I always thought sweetbreads were brain but turns out it’s actually the thymus gland.  Whatever it is it was pretty delicious deep-fried.  So it starts with crunch bits of deep-fried sweetbreads sweetbreads layered on top of creamy collard greens, surrounded by hot sauce – all on top of a hunk of cornbread.  The key to enjoying this dish is creating the perfect bite each and every time.  You have to get a bit of each component.  So good.

Then it was on to the tongue sandwich.  Okay tongue is a hard one for me to wrap my head around.  I hate going to the supermarket and seeing tongue in the meat case.  They are always so big and so grey and so … tongue-looking.  But alas this tongue was sliced super thing… like sandwich meat.  You wouldn’t even be able to identify it as tongue as the meat is a lovely vibrant pinky colour. It’s served on a great brioche.

Last but not least was the raw horse sammie.  Nothing about the name was endearing to me.  I mean raw? Knowing that it’s meat, not my fave.  Horse?  All I could think of Black Beauty.  And sammie? Conjures up images of Rachael Ray.  But I forged ahead.  And let me tell you this may well be the sleeper hit.  First off the sandwich doesn’t taste raw at all despite containing not only raw ground horse meat but a raw egg as well.  It’s served heavily spiced and with raw onion AND a fantastic hot sauce.  It was so flavourful and was truly delicious.  I may even say it was my favourite.  I’m not sure if I could eat a whole sandwich in one sitting but dividing it amongst three people was good enough for me.

So clearly the Hoof isn’t a typical dining experience but is truly one of the more unique players on the Toronto dining scene.  Jennifer Agg and Grant Van Gameren really have something special going on here.  So special that they’ve opened a cafe across the street aptly named The Hoof Cafe.  THC is open for brunch/lunch as well as in the evening for dinner and cocktails.  I’ve been there for brunch (fantastic) and ended up over there for dessert after our dinner.  If you wanted to ease yourself into the world of the Hoof then start with the Cafe as they have a few more middle of the road choices as well as some more unique menu items (like pig tails… so good.  Think BBQ ribs).

Now that I’ve tried The Black Hoof I can’t wait to go back.  The menu changes often so you can have a different dining experience there fairly regularly.  I have my eye on their famous charcuterie plate and would also love to try their pork belly. Can’t wait!

Check out the links below to see what others have said…
Blog TO
The Globe and Mail
Toronto Life
The Toronto Star
NOW Magazine

(Photo borrowed from Toronto Life)

Truth be told when I first heard about Ruby Watchco I wasn’t too excited.  I had heard the name Lynn Crawford [...]]]> Ruby Watchco
730 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON
M4M 1H2
t. 416 465-0100
f. 416-465-7119
e. info@rubywatchco.ca

(Photo borrowed from Toronto Life)

Truth be told when I first heard about Ruby Watchco I wasn’t too excited.  I had heard the name Lynn Crawford before (Manhattan Four Seasons and Food Network Canada Star) but it didn’t resonate for me in a meaningful way.  The restaurant is a bit east of my usual stomping ground (Queen and Broadview). AND it’s a set menu where you only find out what’s being served the day of. ANNNNDDDD it costs $49.

I had pretty much written off the place until I started hearing great things about it.  Sure a lot of people are bandwagon jumpers and excited by the names behind the place but as I started looking at the menus the food sounded delicious.  So my work bestie and I decided to make a reservation for a few weeks out so that we could do a day-by-day menu analysis to make sure that we wanted to go.  And yes, we really did study the menus every day!

As I mentioned earlier Ruby Watchco is the brainchild of Lynn Crawford (former executive chef at the Four Seasons and star of various Food Network Canada shows) and husband and wife co-owners Cherie Stinson (Restaurant Makeover) and Joey Skeir.  Stinson’s background  is in design and it’s apparent throughout the restaurant.  The space is gorgeous.  I fell in love with the wall of drawers at the front immediately as I walked in.  The restaurant features an open kitchen and a finishing table that juts more out into the dining room.  The space is elegant without being stuffy and definitely has an edge to it.  I’m also in love with the Ruby Watch Co sign that takes centre stage inside and incidentally was picked up at a store years before the recipe was even an idea.

What sets Ruby Watchco apart from  restaurants in the city is that they do one prix fixe each night that changes nightly.  It’s a really neat concept.  In interviews Crawford compares the lack of choice available to her patrons to going over to someone’s house for dinner.  You don’t get a choice in what you eat, you just eat (although the typical dinner party doesn’t cost $49…).  With that said it’s a dinner party prepared by one of the best chefs.  It’s also served family style.  If you have any special dietary issues (vegetarian, gluten-free etc) you can inform the restaurant when you make your reservation (although they did ask us when we arrived AND confirmed once we looked at the menu).

The menu for our meal was as follows:

RUBYS’ PICKLED WATERMELON, WILD LEEKS and MUSTARD GREENS SALAD
FETA CHEESE WITH HAZELNUT VINAIGRETTE

RUBY’S CHICKEN CACCITORE
TRUFFLED MAC and CHEESE, GRILLED BABY ZUCCHINI WITH BASIL BUTTER,
SWEET CORN PEPPERONATA

FROMAGERIE TOURILLI’S BOUQETIN CHERVE
ONTARIO RHUBARB CHUTNEY, COUNTRY BREAD

LEMON PANNA COTTA
BLACK PEPPER and BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES

Things were off to a good start with the salad.  It was one of the freshest meals I’ve had in a long time.  All of the produce tasted and looked like someone had just foraged for it.  I had never had pickled watermelon but I really liked the texture and taste that it contributed to the salad.  Overall there was a nice balance of flavours and textures in the salad and everything really worked well together.  I now want to eat wild leeks all the time.  The one downside here was that I didn’t really get a lot of hazelnut flavour from the vinaigrette, but it was still great.  The salad was also served with some cheddar and maybe chive biscuits and some house-churned butter.  Clearly they had me at hello.

I was pretty indifferent when I saw that our main was Chicken Caccitore.  I’m not a huge chicken fan and I probably wouldn’t order Chicken Caccitore but I figured that it would be some pretty darned good chicken.  The chicken was really tender and juicy and I enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away.  What really stood out for me were the sides!  Truffled mac and cheese? SO GOOD! Grilled baby zucchini? I didn’t even know baby zucchini were an option!  They were so fresh tasting and were so zucchini-y. I was also a fan of the sweet corn pepperonata although I could have used more if it.  I think Lynn Crawford should have a restaurant called Sides and serve only side dishes. Heaven.  Shout outs go to the use of Le Creuset pieces to serve everything.  So cute!

The cheese course brought out the most laughs.  It was a goat cheese but it was SO goat-y.  It kind of tasted like I was sucking on a goat udder (not that I’ve ever done that).  Or as I said at dinner “It tastes like a barn”.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a goat cheese but this was a bit too much even for me.  I did enjoy the country bread and the rhubarb chutney.  I could have eaten about a pound of that.

Is it just me or is panna cotta popping up everywhere all of a sudden?  I’m usually pretty indifferent about panna cotta, I can take it or leave it.  I have to say I was ALL ABOUT this panna cotta.  It was super lemony and tarte which was just what I needed after the cheese.  The flavours were so bright and fresh.  I also loved the strawberry compote on top.

At the end of the meal I wanted to make a reservation to come again. It was that good.  The service was attentive and comfortable.  The space was gorgeous. And the portions were more than generous for two people.  We left stuffed.  While Ruby Watchco isn’t an everynight kind of restaurant for me it’s definitely on my list of places to hit up when I want a “nicer” meal.

Check out the links below to see what others have to say…

The National Post
The Toronto Star
Now Magazine
The Globe and Mail <– my fave review (even though it’s super negative). Joanne Kates was ripe on this one!

I love burgers.  I particularly like having a good burger within walking distance.  The area right near my house has been in a burger drought for some time but all of  a sudden [...]]]> Gourmet Burger Company
2419 Yonge Street West
Toronto, ON
M4P 2E7
Phone: 647-349-6555

I love burgers.  I particularly like having a good burger within walking distance.  The area right near my house has been in a burger drought for some time but all of  a sudden things are booming.  First came Bamburger and then an outpost of South St. Burger Co. opened up. Now we have our own Gourmet Burger Company.  GBC has two other locations in the city, one south of Yonge and Bloor the other near Parliament and Carlton. The other day I was rushing out to an event and decided to try their one of their burger to-go.  Well, really I wanted just onion rings since I read on Blog TO that they have pretty darned good onion rings but decided to make it a meal.

Without a doubt GBC has a great burger menu.  You can choose between a beef burger, chicken burger (whole chicken breast), veggie burger and even a lamb burger.  Well played GBC, well played.  A lamb burger is a pretty neat choice to add in there.  What really gets me is the assortment of complimentary toppings.  Sure you have the usual lettuce, tomato and onion but you can also load up gratis on avocado, caramelized onions, beets and roasted red peppers, among other things.  For a buck you can add things like cheese, bacon, pineapple or a fried egg.  If you don’t want to worry about choosing your own toppings they have some pre-determined burger options as well.

I ordered a beef burger with lettuce, tomato and caramelized onions.  Instead of doing ketchup and mustard I asked for some GBC sauce which has ketchup, mustard, hot sauce and some other stuff in there.  My burger was ok. They cook all burgers to medium-well but my burger was more like past well.  It was really dry.  Sure I got take-out but the walk home is less than 5 minutes away.  My burger was super goopey hence the splotchy bits on the bun.  I liked the toppings, they were all fresh and the GBC sauce added a nice kick.

The onion rings on the other hand were GREAT!  They are beer-battered and pretty darned good with thick slices of sweet onion nestled within a generous coating of batter.  The order is really generous and at $2.95 is a great price.  It will require a lot of discipline to not just pop in every day for an onion ring treat.  They also have sweet potato fries on the menu, equally dangerous.

While the burger was a disappointment I’m willing to give it another try.  I like the concept of GBC and love that use Canadian beef that they age for 30 days and that the toppings are prepared in-house.  I didn’t love that my burger was dry but here’s to hoping that next time it won’t be.  The onions rings are definitely on my snack food list.

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