Café Boulud Dinner Series with Tyler Shedden and Carl Heinrich

For Café Boulud's third Guest Chef dinner in its #CBDinnerSeries, chef Tyler Shedden (@tylershedden) teamed up with chef Carl Heinrich (@chefheinrich) of Richmond Station (@richmondstn). Together the two chefs presented a six-course Vancouver island inspired dinner.

(Photo by @cafebouludto)

Each course was paired with Café Boulud's Wine Director Drew Walker's selections.

Below is a recap of the collaboration dinner. Can you guess which chef prepared which course?

CHARCUTERIE

Duck Liver Pate, Strawberry-Rhubarb Chutney, Pain Perdu

Capicolla

Veal Piedmontaise Salami

Pate en Croute, Sweetbreads & Morels

Saucisson Sec au Patis

Foie Gras Terrine, Huckleberries

Blue Moountain Brut NV, Okanagan

CHAR-GRILLED SPOT PRAWNS

Liquorice Root, Nori Cracker, Porcini Mushroom, Dashi

Momo Kawa Junmai Ginjo, Oregon

Café Boulud Yet Again

This marks my fourth post on Café Boulud (Twitter: @CafeBouludTO, Facebook: Cafe Boulud Toronto & d | bar) which will now be tied with Splendido as being the most blogged about restaurant on Food Junkie Chronicles. I know it's redundant to blog about a restaurant that many times but hey, this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. Heh, just kidding! Actually, no, not kidding...

But honestly, I shouldn't have to bring my big a$$ camera with me. There's really no need for me to write yet another post on Café Boulud (it should be obvious by now that I love the place). However, I still spend hours on my photos, writing and editing because I want to share with you all the incredible things they're doing there. Simple as that.

So if you're interested in what I have to say about Café Boulud yet again, please read on :)

We started off with some cocktails (and mocktail). We also ordered a bottle of 2010 Thirty Bench Riesling ($62)

DARK & SPICY ($16)

Barrel aged, hot pepper rum, pear juice, ginger beer

NOT NORMAL ($9)

Mocktail (sorry I forgot what was in it)

BREAD BASKET

CHEESE GOUGERES

There has been a few changes to Café Boulud's dinner menu since the last time I was there, so more the reason to write about them again, right? Okay, I'm gonna stop defending my decision.

NOVA SCOTIA LOBSTER SALAD ($26)

Iceberg lettuce, marinated quail’s egg, cucumber, avocado cream, marie rose

Bier Markt / Goose Island Brewmaster's Dinner

On Thursday April 10, Bier Markt Esplanade (@BierMarktEsplan) hosted a special #bonkersforhonkers "Bier Dinner" to celebrate the exclusive Canadian availability of Chicago's Goose Island Honker's Ale on draught at Bier Markt (Twitter: @BierMarkt, Facebook: Bier Markt). Goose Island Brewmaster Brett Porter and Bier Markt's Executive Chef Michael Cipollo narrated each course and shared tasting notes for Honker's Ale, Goose Island's Sophie, Pepe Nero and Matilda.

You'll now find Goose Island Honker's Ale on tap at all Bier Markt locations. Here are the Brewmaster's notes on Honker's Ale:

"Inspired by visits to English country pubs, Honker’s Ale combines a fruity hop aroma with a rich malt middle to create a perfectly balanced beer. Immensely drinkable, Honker’s Ale is not only the beer you can trust but one you’ll look forward to time and again."

FYI: Brewed for the first time in 1988, Honker's Ale was the first beer that Goose Island ever made!

Aside from Honker's Ale guests also had the following Goose Island beer pairings to go with each course:

Below is a recap of the evening (as well as a sneak preview of Bier Markt 's new menu debuting on April 24):

SALT SPRING MUSSELS

Baked Salt Spring BC mussels, smoked bacon & aromatics, herbed bread crumbs, beurre blanc

Pairing: Honker's Pale Ale | 4.5% ABV

Sake Bar Kushi (Kushi Izakaya) in Midtown

Sake Bar Kushi opened quietly this past summer on 257 Eglinton Ave. just east of Avenue Rd. The restaurant, with a name which boldly states its specialties as being kushi and sake, is actually selling itself short. How so? Well if taken literally, one would think that the restaurant offers merely kushi (Japanese for skewers used to hold / pierce food for grilling and frying) and sake...but don't be fooled guys! After my dinner at Sake Bar Kushi (Facebook: Sake bar Kushi) last week I realized that this midtown Japanese restaurant offers much, much more than just skewers and sake...

...But more on that later. Lets take a look at Sake Bar Kushi's decor. I love all the dark wood here, every bit of it. I know some of you may think it's too dark but really, it works, especially with the long straight lines and wide panels. The warm lighting also brightens up the space so it's not dark at all and is in fact, quite cozy. The statement piece in the room is definitely the communal table in the middle which separates the semi-private booths on both sides. The display of sake and beer bottles dividing the table is also attractive and fun.

I call this wall "The Great Wall of Kushi"!

Following the The Great Wall of Kushi will lead you to Sake Bar Kushi's party room at the back. With three long tables stretched across, the room can comfortably accommodate 30 people. This is really great for birthdays and private parties.

Toronto Popup with Chef Trish Gill

The organs and trimmings of a butchered animal, or offal meats, often get a bad rep. This bad rep usually stems from the opinions of the "anti-offals" - individuals that can't get past offal’s stigma.  Some anti-offals are not totally against these trimmings; for them it depends on presentation. For instance, a lot of anti-offals eat sausages without realizing that its skin is often made from intestines. Some anti-offals are even okay with devouring chicken liver pâté or foie gras on toast because it is less daunting compared to eating heart or brain. However, if they take a minute and cast aside their biases, they will likely find themselves enjoying these mildly grotesque yet delicate and affordable cuts of meat because they are actually quite delicious, as well as nutritious (using these cuts also shows respect to the animal).

Being Chinese, I've grown up with eating livers, brains, blood, feet and kidneys all my life. Almost every animal part is used in Chinese cooking so I've embraced these entrails ever since I was little. There's always a place in my heart stomach for offal (how sappy) especially offal in different cuisines which is precisely why I was really excited about chef Trish Gill's (@gilltrish) offal-centric menu at Toronto Pop Up (Twitter: @Toronto_PopUp, Facebook: Toronto Popup). Here's a recap of chef Trish's five-course "Curious Cuts" dinner at Monarch Tavern:

First course at the pass and ready to go.

FIRST COURSE

THREE BITES: CHEEKS, HEART, LIVER

Wine - James Oatley Tick Tok Chardonnay

Craft Beer - King Pilsner, King Brewery

The Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern

At the corner of Bloor and Lansdowne is The Whippoorwill (Twitter: @WhippoorwillTO, Facebook: The Whippoorwill Restaurant & Tavern), a new brunch / happy hour / dinner / bar spot that took over Bloordale Pantry last November. Co-owners of the new rustic restaurant are friends Shawn Creamer (also owner of The Dakota) and chef Tyler Cunningham (formerly of Mildred's Temple Kitchen). In a span of ten days, the duo transformed the previous Pantry space into a homey, retro restaurant that has now attracted the attention of the Bloordale brunch crowd (brunch is available from Friday, Saturday and Sunday). My friend Karen, who lives in the neighbourhood, invited several of her friends, including moi, to The Whippoorwill for dinner recently. Why? Because Karen fell in love with the restaurant ever since it opened and really wanted more people to know about the fantastic food and cocktails there.

The red booths, red bar stools and the black and white checkered floors give the space a very cool, vintage vibe. 

An old Detroit tire shop sign is now part of the bar at The Whippoorwill.

At the back is a painting of The Dale, the restaurant which occupied the space before Bloordale Pantry.

Mogette Bistro

It was a very nice change of scenery, a much needed one, when I stepped foot into Mogette Bistro (@MogetteBistro) on Mount Pleasant several weeks ago for dinner. A midtown restaurant away from the craziness of downtown Toronto, Mogette Bistro serves classic French bistro cuisine. Not fusion. Not "French-inspired". Not "with French flavours". Classic French cuisine. Almost unheard of nowadays in the city. When was the last time you had classic French food?

The decor at Mogette is clean, simple yet elegant. Framed black and white photographs hung above classic wainscoting, silver table settings on white linens, beautiful wooden floors leading to a small bar at the back....nothing here is over-the-top fancy. Everything feels just right. No loud music. No hipsters. A perfect date night spot.

Started the evening off with a bottle of BenMarco Malbec.

Bent Revisited

Despite a few minor hiccups, my first visit at Bent earlier this year made a lasting impression on me. It was an excellent meal. So when my friend Nic (@NicCanCook) suggested taking me to Bent (Twitter: @BentRestaurant, Facebook: Bent Restaurant) for my birthday, there was absolutely no hesitation on my part. I was eager to go back!

We had an early seating at 6 pm on a Wednesday night.

I ordered Bent's Asian Caesar because I really enjoyed it last time. Adorned with a more elaborate tomato garnish, the cocktail was just as savoury and tasty as I remembered. Maybe I'll order a different cocktail next time...maybe.

ASIAN CAESAR ($16)

Sobieski, Clamato,chili oil, Sriracha, coriander, hoisin, soya, sesame seed, ginger, house rim, pickled radish

PICKLED VEGETABLES WITH MUSTARD (amuse)

FRANK - Discovering the Taste of Italy

Back in May, I was invited to Art Gallery of Ontario's (Twitter: @agotoronto, Facebook: AGO - Art Gallery of Toronto) Revealing the Early Renaissance: Stories and Secrets in Florentine Art exhibition which took place from March 16 to June 16. Yeah I know this post is long overdue...so sorry guys!

(Giotto di Bondone,  Italian, about 1266 – 1337, The Peruzzi Altarpiece, The North Carolina Museum of Art)

Presented in partnership with the world renowned J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Revealing the Early Renaissance: Stories and Secrets in Florentine Art was a large-scale exhibition that brought together an unrivaled collection of more than 90 paintings, including Giotto’s five-panel Peruzzi Altarpiece, two painted and hand-written copies of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Bernardo Daddi’s Virgin Mary with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Paul, along with numerous manuscripts, sculptures and stained glass from the 14th century.

(Left: Bernardo Daddi, Italian (Florentine), about 1280 – 1348, The Virgin Mary with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Paul, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles) 

(Right: Bernardo Daddi, Italian, Triptych with the Crucifixion, National Gallery of Scotland) 

 Subdivided into various themes, the exhibition explored how the Florence's burgeoning economy of the time fostered a unique demand for artworks both religious and civic, the collaborative nature of artistic production, the workshops of artists and a closer look at the stories behind the works and their subjects and insight into conservation research.

(Pacino di Bonaguida Italian, active 1302-1340, Tripytch with the Crucifixion, the Lamentation, and the Ascension of Christ, The ALANA Collection) 

Sasha Suda, the coordinating curator led the tour and provided a lot of insight and anecdotes that we wouldn’t otherwise have known about had we been left on our own. Thanks for the great tour! It was refreshing to hear from someone who is so connected and passionate about the works in the gallery!

A huge thank you goes to Sasha Suda, assistant curator of European art at the AGO, for guiding us through the fascinating exhibit!

(Left: Puccio Capanna, Italian, Madonna and Child with Angels and Female Saints, Musei Vaticani)

(Right: Master of the Dominican Effigies, Italian, Pentecost / Leaf from the Laudario of Sant'Agnese, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles)

Bymark (Summerlicious)

Five days left for Summerlicious folks! Have you taken advantage of the amazing prix-fixe deals yet? If your answer is "no" then well, good news is there's still time - Summerlicious ends this Sunday, July 21 so get on it! Make some resos! If your answer is "yes" then...um...make more resos? ;) Yesterday night, my friend Audrey and I made our way to Bymark (@BymarkDowntown) for their $45 Summerlicious dinner prix-fixe (they are also offering a $25 lunch.) Below is the rundown on our meal:

BYMARK - Chilled Absolut Citron, pink grapefruit juice, champagne ($15)

BYMARK PIMM'S CUP - Hendrick's gin, Pimm's No. 1, mint, fresh ginger ($15)

APPETIZER

Albacore Tuna Sashimi

Pineapple, jalapeno, yuzu mayo, black garlic

Ricotta Gnudi Salad

Arugula, shaved parmesan & brown butter

Viamede Resort (Part II)

After a much needed nap from the day's adventures, Cindy and I made our way to The Inn at Mount Julian, Viamede Resort's fine dining restaurant, for dinner. The Inn at Mount Julian boosts a cellar collection of 100 different wines, a 7-course gourmet tasting menu and seasonal dishes, house-cured charcuterie and items foraged directly on site.

The Inn at Mount Julian is one of the two oldest buildings on the Mount Julian property. Based on an 1873 survey and development plan, The Inn at Mount Julian was probably built some time between 1865 and 1875. 

We were in beautiful room....

Toronto Popup with Chef Deron Engbers

Founded by chef Deron Engbers (@TheDeron), Timeless Food made its debut this past Sunday, May 26th at Toronto Pop Up (Twitter: @Toronto_PopUp, Facebook: Toronto Popup.) Engbers, who has always been an advocate of classic cuisine, prepared a charming 5-course tasting menu at Monarch Tavern which took guests back in time by means of "Deron's Delorean time machine." Cheeky ;)

Through Timeless Food, Engbers is committed to providing diners unique and accessible dining experiences. The company aspires to recreate classic dishes using new techniques coupled with Engbers' own creative twists. For this particular "Back to the Future" pop up dinner, Engbers focused on presenting a re-invention of traditional favourites of the past, while using organic and sustainable sources where possible. 

The classic, vintage table settings were a perfect backdrop for Timeless Food's debut dinner.

A couple of cocktails to start the night off:

Madre Teresa (left): Gin, Aperol, orange, egg whilte, bitters ($9)

Timeless Caesar (right): Basil, rosemary and thyme infused gin, caesar fixings ($10)