Antler Kitchen & Bar

Who's got game? Antler's got game. Literally.

I had dinner at Antler Kitchen & Bar with a couple of friends just before the new year. I had a feeling our meal would be good but not this good; I didn't expect it to knock my socks off or anything but it totally did! Antler is now one of my favourite restaurants in the city.

With the aim to showcase local Canadian cuisine, Antler (Twitter: @antlerkitchen, Facebook: Antler) focuses on sourcing regional ingredients, Canadian sourced farmed-raised game and foraged foods. Chef Michael Hunter, formerly of Scarpetta and Reds Wine Tavern, broke away from the corporate kitchen earlier this year and alongside Jody Shapiro, a filmmaker/photographer friend of Hunter's, the duo opened Antler in October. 

My friends and I sat at the chef's rail where the great outdoors, specifically deer skull from the first buck Hunter shot, was right above us. The chef's table at Antler fits three people perfectly; it was a bit of a tight squeeze for the four of us but we managed.

Raised on a horse farm in Caledon, Hunter (@thehunterchef) has been passionate about foraging and hunting wild game ever since he was a little kid. "I’m inspired by the seasons and what I find when foraging and hunting. Food simply tastes better when it is freshly harvested because it’s growing in its natural habitat. I am and always have been a strong, vocal advocate for wild game, conservation and hunting. Animals should be free to roam and free from cramped pens. This means they are healthier for us because wild game is therefore free from growth hormones and unnecessary antibiotics." Hunter describing his style of cooking in an interview with Butter PR.

Chef Hunter caught me taking a picture of him. What does he do? He takes his phone out and starts taking pictures of me taking pictures of him. Ha!

Hunter's Wine Dinner at Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar

In support of Movember, Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar (@tenrestaurant) in Port Credit hosted a Hunter's Wine Dinner this past Tuesday. The fundraising dinner brought together eight talented chefs who each donated their skills and time for a great cause. In case you live in a cave (that is, a cave with internet) Movember is responsible for the sprouting of mustaches on men during November of every year to raise funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. Personally, I'm not a big fan of facial hair...I like my men clean shaven...makes me kinda glad that today is the last day of Movember :D Sorry I digress...

  The Hunter's Wine Dinner was held on the second floor of the newly renovated Ten Restaurant, a perfect venue for private events and parties.

Rosewood Estates & Winery (@Rosewoodwine) provided all the wines and mead cocktails for the Hunter's Wine Dinner. By the way, I absolutely adore Rosewood! They have such great wines and they throw the best events (I attended All-Stars In The Vineyard and the Bees, Mead & Cheese class earlier this year...both tons of fun).

Krystina Roman from Rosewood giving guests a short intro about their wines and meads.

A stellar line-up of wines for the night. 

Montreal Food Journey - Day 1: Le P'tit Plateau

Before leaving Toronto, a friend highly recommended Au Pied du Cochon, supposedly one of Montreal's best restaurants. I looked on their website and fell in love - bison tongue, guinea hen liver mousse, head cheese croquette, and duck carpaccio are just a few of the appetizers they had, along with a full array of foie gras, pig, lamb, and other meats for their main courses. I was so excited to try this place! Unfortunately, when my boyfriend and I went around 6pm on Friday, they said nothing was available till 10:30pm, and they were also fully booked for the next night...and added in the extra info that some people make reservations one month in advance (kinda like "*hint hint* make reservations next time!" ). Bummerrrrrr. So it was back to the drawing board (a.k.a my Excel sheet). With the help of the GPS, we found out Le P'tit Plateau, a restaurant that I was planning to go to the following night,  was 10 minutes away from where we were (it's one of the BYOW restaurants too!). I remember seeing some good reviews for this restaurant, and knew I wanted to go for sure after reading this blog.

Le P'tit Plateau is a tiny little restaurant, no big signs or anything in front of it, tucked inside two small streets right at the corner. When I saw it, I thought this is the perfect place (I'm anti big, franchise restaurants). Inside, the restaurant was cozy with small tables and chairs, and because the place was surrounded by huge glass windows, it captured the sun setting and created a lovely ambiance with the light shining in. Better yet, they had an open kitchen! My favorite! I love this place already. 

Love the contrast between the wood and the aluminum looking ceiling.