Rock 'n Roll

In an impressive display of brand loyalty, RT ate at Shizen Sushi three times during our 4-day stay in Victoria, BC. Apparently, the Highlander Roll has addictive qualities. Not to be seen on the menu and ordered only by regulars in hushed tones, the roll is truly one-of-a-kind (just try googling it): Lining the center: tempura shrimp, avocado and ginger. On the outside: a wrapping of thinly sliced rare beef, topped with hoisin, tabasco sauce, honey and chopped spring onion. In Toronto I eat sushi once a week at least and have never had anything like it. Spicy and sweet...I'm thinking beer sales go through the roof on this one! Also not to be missed: the asparagus tempura roll.

Shizen Sushi

1706 Government St, Victoria, BC

http://www.shizensushi.ca/

Leslieville Hotspot

Nothing special outside - feeding frenzy inside

Be prepared to shout when you have dinner at Tomi-Kro on a Saturday night. When the place is packed, the servers are swirling and the percussion is pumping, it can be awfully loud! But once the food starts to arrive and you settle in for some serious eating, you quickly realize why this place is on fire: the kitchen knows what it's doing!

As four adventurous eaters with no food allergies or issues, we ordered a range of dishes to share:

*Peppercorn teriyaki striploin with tempura onion frittes (the peppery meat was seared and served in thin strips alongside a mount of frittes that should also be a side order option on their own...)

*Miami ribs with a soy, honey and ginger-chili glaze (the hit of the evening, the meat was "fall off the bone" tender and the sticky glaze nailed the right balance of hot and sweet).

*Roasted beets with chevre, balsamic vinegar and pistachio (an homage to Jean-Georges's much-loved goat cheese royale, roasted beet marmalade and toasted crushed pistachios?)

*Butter chicken with raita and chili chick peas (the chicken was overdone a tad and could have used a bit more sauce...)

*Sweet chili shrimp, with roasted pineapple and rice noodles (a

*Edamame, with butter and sea salt (served already peeled, this was the one dish we could have been fine without)

*Tempura lobster maki balls (another hit, these perfectly round balls of juicy lobster and rice are best dipped in soy sauce and eaten right away while they're hot and crunchy!).

*Asian greenery with vegetarian oyster sauce (sounds bland but they were an ideal match for the bold, flavour-forward dishes we ordered).

Note to foie gras lovers: there were several options on the menu we didn't end up ordering but which looked pretty amazing:

*Foie gras creme brulee with lingone berry jam and red onion pickle

*Seared scallops with wilted spinach and mushroom foie gras jus

It would easy to simply characterize Tomi-Kro as a pan-Asian or fusion tapas joint, but those wouldn't do the menu and its execution justice. Rest your voice and come ready for a great meal inspired by the cuisines of Japan, China, India, Thailand, Greece, France and Italy.

$260 for four, including a bottle of wine, two scotches and two decaf espressos
Tomi-Kro
1214 Queen East @ Leslie St.

Tel. 416-463-6677

Crystal as Restaurant? Thumbs Up!

As Gallery Space? Not So Much...

Walking up Bloor to the Royal Ontario Museum this evening, the Michael Lee-Chin crystal was an impressive sight. Without a doubt the best time to see it: gleaming in the moon-lit sky.

Friday evenings are a hoot at the ROM. Open til 9:30 pm with half-price tickets, the place is abuzz with families of toddlers greeting dinosaurs with glee, bands of self-obsessed tweens, and young couples smooching in the dark corners of the crystal. Not a bad spot for illicit behaviour - but possibly one of the worst gallery spaces I've ever seen. The harsh angles make crazy shaped corners that serve no functional purpose. Vertical display cases clash with the triangular walls, distracting from what is an impressive collection. Even more disappointing - considering the serious financial investment backing it up - are the many dings and cracks and amateur painting evident on second glance. If I were a family member of any of the donors who's names appear on the gallery walls, I'd demand a refund or a serious re-design!

Enough said.

c5, on the other hand - the restaurant on the top floor of the crystal - couldn't have found a more perfect home. With the lights twinkling from nearby buildings casting a romantic glow on the dining room, we took our seats and settled in for the 2-hour extravaganza.

Our main purpose in heading to the ROM was to sample and vote on the 3 contenders for c5's signature cocktail, the ROMtini - so we began with a flight of "weeny-tinis." Each had a distinctive ingredient added to the Grey Goose vodka: vanilla, hypnotique (a berry liquer), and prosecco. The first was ruled out right away because of it's medicinal after-taste. I voted for #2 (it's Cosmo-like flavour and blue hue won me over) and nodrog went with #3. The result of the vote will be announced on February 29th!
http://www.rom.on.ca/news/releases/public.php?mediakey=m3y1f0dm7g

An amuse-bouche of perfectly grilled squid accompanied by "yucca charcoal" arrived as we sipped our cocktails. I'm not sure how the yucca was prepared but its smoky flavour made the dish a memorable one.

We had no trouble deciding what to order - there were a number of inviting choices, but several stood out as "no brainers":

*For me: The $65 prix-fixe bar menu (a new offering at the ROM): braised beef ribs with foie gras and wild mushroom tartlet, seared duck in a port reduction with barley and a dessert I'll describe below. A "glass and a half" of shiraz complemented both dishes well (an interesting wine menu option I've never seen before).

*For nodrog: Quail and foie gras, beef and sweetbreads (and half of my dessert!), accompanied by a "glass and a half" of gewurtz and shiraz.

Everything came beautifully presented and skillfully prepared, although the portion sizes were anemic for the prices ($25-40/dish). We both agreed the highlight of the meal was the sweetbreads with their nutty flavour and cracklin' texture. Especially for me, who never orders them and mistakenly thought I wouldn't like them.

The dessert - a light way to end the meal - was creatively laid out on a huge white plate: dollops of fluffy goat cheese cheesecake, each speared with a ginger snap (were they really shaped like dinos or were we just drunk?), with a small bowl of grape granite.

Our only complaint about c5: the harsh lighting of the open kitchen means that half the dining room is way too bright (we asked to be re-seated to the other half because of it). A frosted glass enclosure would still allow diners to view the kitchen activities.

ROM members note: don't forget to ask for your 10% member discount like we almost did!

$230 for two, including about $80 for alchohol (what can I say? it was a stressful week)
Our ROM member discount saved us 20 bucks
c5 at the ROM
http://www.rom.on.ca/dining_shopping/dining/crystal5.php

Bulldog Barista is Anything But

Contrary to what you might think, wikipedia indicates that "the temperament of the Bulldog is generally docile, friendly and gregarious."

Not judging by the behaviour of the Bulldog Coffee barista on the morning of our visit!


*Our friendly banter while ordering was greeted with a scowl.

*When we asked what the place looked like before a major make-over, he mumbled, "You'll have to watch the [TV] show to find out."

*When my friend switched the chairs around to get one with a cushion, the barista barked at him even after explaining he had a bad back. "This place is my home," he growled.

*As we got up to leave, we thanked him for the excellent espresso and when my friend tried to shake his hand, he pulled back and said "After years in the food service business, I never shake a customer's hand."

*As we headed out, his angry stare revealed his displeasure with the new seating arrangement, so we quickly moved the chairs back to their original location before zipping out the door.

The saddest part about it all? My double macchiato was the best I've had yet in Toronto! Smooth, smoky, chocolatey and delicious on its own - no sweetener needed. Will I go back? Probably - but next time, I'll order it to go!

Bulldog Coffee
89 Granby Street
http://www.bulldogtoronto.com/home.htm

The Chocolate Messenger

Yes, that's right - "same day delivery in GTA (if ordered before noon)."

And we're talking chocolate that rivals the quality at SOMA, which for many involves a schlep to the Distillery District. The truffle flavours are delicious (not too sweet) and the colours whimsical. My personal favourites are pistachio and strawberry:

Chocoholics rejoice!

1645 Bayview Avenue (south of Eglinton at Fleming)
Tel:(416) 488 1414
http://www.chocolatemessenger.com/

Mad Search for Berbere

It seemed easy enough to find berbere, the essential spice for our Ethiopian dinner. I'd checked out the Ethiopian Spice Market in Kensington Market in preparation for just such an occasion, delighted to find not only berbere but many of the other ingredients we'd need (turmeric, cardamom, freshly made injera). But alas, on the day I actually needed it, they were sold out. The reason, I was told? An unexpected boost in sales since the last shipment arrived. Apparently they hadn't calculated that with the popularity of Ethiopian food, non-Africans like nodrog would try to make it at home.

What to do?

I quickly moved into "problem solving" mode and started dialing Ethiopian restaurants. "Do you have any berbere?" I asked. Would you sell some to me?" Success on the first try - the woman who answered the phone at Dukem told me she'd set some aside and I could pick it up that evening.

When I walked into the restaurant, I discovered a candle-lit oasis from the hustle and bustle of the Danforth. The woman was nowhere to be found, but her husband seemed familiar with my request and told me he'd sell me some. It felt like a clandestine drug deal, as he handed over a plastic baggy with the bright red powder and I handed over my $10. Within seconds, I was out the door, the goods stashed in my handbag, and boarding the TTC at Donlands.

It all seemed to have gone off without hitch - until nodrog tested a dish with the stuff. "It's been cut with too much salt," he exclaimed, as he sampled a sauce that looked and smelled just right but was way too salty to eat. Back to square one - what to do now?

Well, it turns out that the Ethiopian Spice Market isn't the only place to buy berbere in Kensington Market. Just around the corner, I found dozens of packets of the stuff at the House of Spice...

Crisis averted!

"Can't Get a Meal Like this in a Restaurant"...

...Dad would say looking at the home-cooked meal set across our dining room table. He was probably right, considering it was pretty much a suburban wasteland for eating out where we grew up!

Fast forward to my life now in Toronto, as food-obsessed a city as I've ever eaten in (a list that includes NYC, San Francisco, Sydney, Barcelona, Paris, Lyon, Bologna...) and his remark seems rather naive. Well, that is until Rob and nodrog go at it in the kitchen...

The purported premise of the evening was "a celebration of our wives" which I'm not sure I deserved but I happily played along as if I did! Weeks in the planning and days in the making, it was truly a labour of love that paid off beautifully in an homage to Jean-George and Thomas Keller. When you tally up the number of bottles of wine we went through, you'll see there's no way I could have recounted each dish here were it not for the printed menu we were given to take home as a souvenir! Following in the tradition started by Craig Claiborne, we signed each other's menus with reflections on the dinner. Marg summed it up best when she wrote, "I'm thinking that the chefs need to give up their day jobs."

Smoked wild salmon with creme frache and caviar (a tiny wedge of lemon burst onto the scene as a surprise ingredient - the first hint of the whimsical delights to come) & Louis Rodere Brut 2000.

Foie gras on brioche with roasted strawberry and balsamic fig glaze(blow-torching the glaze on top into a brulee was a genius maneuver!) & Chateau d'Yquem, 1983 (yeah, you read that right...all I can say is that urologists have way more grateful and gift-giving patients than critical care docs do)
Pan-seared wild Alaskan black cod in Asian-style consomme (the smooth & succulent fish swimming in crystal clear broth made in a most unconvential manner: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/dining/05curi.html?emc=eta1) & Zind-Humbrecht, Pinot Gris, 2005 (a pleasant budget surprise from the LCBO)
Braised lamb shank served with baby spinach and cannellini bean puree with roasted garlic and black truffle (savouring every bite, my mind wanders...how can lamb possibly be this tender? how can I rent a villa in Italy during truffle season and write it off as a business expense?) & Chateau Margaux, 1983 (ditto my comment above about urologists...tonight's wine pairing is just over the top!)

Goat cheese panna cotta with roasted beet marmalade and pistachios (served in a glass in horizontal layers, one spoonful down and up reveals a heavenly mix of flavours and textures - how does nodrog do it without a recipe, relying only on a "taste memory"?).

Coffee and assorted SOMA chocolates (because it's not dessert without chocolate).

And yes, even the new puppy is pampered tonight. For Miles, a course of Purina Pro-Plan Kibble paired with the finest tap water in the GTA, vintage 2008!