Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Oyster Boy's New Menu Tasting

Chef Deron Engbers (@TheDeron) invited me to Oyster Boy's (Twitter: @OysterBoyTO, Facebook: Oyster Boy Restaurant) new menu tasting two weeks ago. Engbers, who helped out part time at Oyster Boy for five months prior to his full time gig as executive chef at the end of July, was given the task of updating Oyster Boy's menu by putting his own spin on it while continuing the Oyster Boy tradition.

When asked about what his philosophy for food was, Engbers said it is "all about cooking food that people can identify with...that they can understand....and that once in awhile, produce a "WOW" moment for them." After being in the kitchen since 17, chef Engbers have done every style of food from casual to the highest level of fine dining but says his current favourite style is fun bistro food.




Started things off perfectly with some fresh, plump oysters.


Smoked Salmon - Cardamon crepes, fennel orange slaw, candied salmon


Ontario Trout Tartare - Spicy herb puree, fried jalapeno, crispy tortilla


Lobster Pogo - Triple crunch honey mustard sauce



Shrimp Taco - Ancho marinated shrimp, spicy slaw, lime crema, fried queso


Baked Oysters - Double smoked bacon, pesto goats cheese


Grilled Black Pepper Calamari - Tomato confi, kalamata olives, cornbread croutons 


New Dixie Style Slaw


Mac and Cheese - Orecchiette with goats cheese


Gulf Shrimp Ravioli - Celery root, sage cream, toasted walnuts, rapini


Pan Seared Pickerel - Corn soubise, roasted red peppers, pearl onions, basil pistou


Albacore Tuna Nicoise - Fingerling potatoes, olives, egg, boston lettuce, caper vinaigrette


My favourites:

Oyster Boy's oysters...obviously!
Ontario trout tartare - The mild heat from the puree and jalapenos made this tartare really tasty.
Lobster pogo - Succulent lobster meat in pogo form? Yes! Loved the mustard sauce too.
Baked oysters - Can't go wrong with oysters + bacon + goat cheese :)
Pan seared pickerel - A really balanced dish, the pickerel was perfectly seared (with crispy skin!) and the corn soubise, roasted red peppers and onions were nice and hearty. 

So what else can we expect from Oyster Boy in the near future? Well, chef Engbers have started doing his own smoked salmon and will be exploring the idea of a fully housemade seafood charcuterie board in the new year. Exciting times ahead!


Oyster Boy on Urbanspoon


 Oyster Boy at RestaurantGuideBook.com