East Thirty-Six: New Restaurant and Bar on Wellington St. E.

East Thirty-Six (Twitter: @EastThirtySix, Facebook: East Thirty-Six) on 36 Wellington Street East is the newest restaurant and bar to open in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood. The restaurant, which occupies the former Olde Towne Bistro and Oyster Bar space and before that, Lucien, is the newest venture from husband and wife team Julien and Devon Salomone of Church Street's Boutique Bar. With a strong focus on house made ingredients for cocktails and a menu of share-able dishes, East Thirty-Six's restaurant and bar concept is ideal for patrons who enjoy expertly crafted cocktails and eccentric plates. 

Although considerably "brighter" than Lucien, East Thirty-Six's interior is still on the dark side (I've never been to Olde Towne Bistro and Oyster Bar so I cannot comment about its decor). However many details have been updated with more modern touches resulting in a much more approachable space. Gone are the dated crystal chandeliers (thank goodness!) which have now been replaced with contemporary steel light fixtures. The ceiling in the main dining room also has this cool purple'ish-blue back light.

Banquette seating at the back of the restaurant is perfect for large groups (East Thirty-Six comfortably seats 70).

A semi-private, raised "purple room" occupies the northeast corner of the restaurant. 

Lamesa Filipino Kitchen's New Menu

I still have very fond memories of the tasting menu I had at Lamesa Filipino Kitchen a year and a half ago. I remember describing it as a "rock-solid meal" which is why, to this very day, I still recommend this Queen West restaurant to my friends whenever they are looking for something different. Something unique.

Responsible for putting modern Filipino cuisine on the culinary map here in Toronto are second generation Filipinos Rudy Boquila and Les Sabilano. With Lamesa, the duo has successfully combined traditional tastes of the Philippines with modern takes and local ingredients. As Sabilano puts it Filipino food, the Lamesa way, is “all about taking a regional approach to Filipino food. Each of the 7000+ islands in the Philippines has developed their own style based on their customs, surroundings and what is locally available. For us, Toronto is just another island. Our style is shaped by our environment and where and how we grew up.”

Last week, I was invited to Lamesa's (Twitter: @LamesaTO, Facebook: Lamesa) new menu launch where I sampled numerous dishes spanning their brunch, dinner and late night menus. Aside from the updated menu, Lamesa's bar also received a dramatic makeover (check out how the bar was before). I personally love the new bar especially the psychedelic glow in the background. Pretty trippy :) 

Speaking of bar, I enjoyed several cocktails that evening. My favourite would be this classic hip hop inspired Lolo Cool J cocktail which consisted of ginger, bourbon, pineapple and cinnamon syrup, lemon juice, and ginger ale.

Live music throughout the night courtesy of DATU. These guys are fantastic.

Here's a look at what I had at the media tasting (note that these are all sample sizes specially made for the evening):

CRISPY PATA (brunch / dinner)

Deep fried pork trotter with pickles and housemade dipping sauces

Lot St: Locally Driven, Ontario Proud, Toronto Inspired

Did you know that in the early 1900's, Queen St. was called Lot St.? Paying homage to the neighbourhood's history, Lot St., which opened in August of last year, has also used "LOT" as an acronym for what diners can expect at their Queen West restaurant:

Locally Driven

Ontario Proud

Toronto Inspired

I was not at all surprised by the clever wordplay. Head chef Peter Pietruniak (@ChefPeteTO), who took over the Lot St. (Twitter: @LotStreet Facebook: LOT St) kitchen in September, has always been an advocate of local food. Petruniak once told me...

"Even before getting into this profession, I always try to eat local and make the effort to look for grown-in-Canada products. I also try to avoid eating at major chain restaurants. Supporting local has many benefits; it helps local farmers and small businesses, as well as reducing carbon footprint.  I will take a fresh Ontario peach over ANY tropical fruit; it is fresh and not ripening on a truck as it crosses the border.  I have read about many chefs who try to really show what their country has to offer. The best chefs Adria, Keller, and even Edward Tuson at Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island want to know where their ingredients come from.  Every chef should want that and every chef should know that food doesn't just come from the back of a truck."

There are both warm and cool tones at the restaurant. Reclaimed wood and exposed-brick keeps the room warm while the stainless steel and copper pipes elements give an industrial feel to the space.

We sat at the bar last Friday night. Chef Pietruniak was working away just 5 ft from us the entire evening.

Recipe For Change 2014

FoodShare (Twitter: @FoodShareTO, Facebook: FoodShare Toronto) is a Toronto non-profit community organization whose vision is Good Healthy Food for All, founded in 1985 to address hunger in our communities. Working "from field to table", FoodShare focuses on the entire system that puts food on our tables; from the growing, processing and distribution of food to its purchasing, cooking and consumption. FoodShare programs, which reach over 155,000 children and adults per month in Toronto, include: 

Student Nutrition, Field to Table Schools, The Good Food Café, Focus on Food youth internships, the Good Food Box, Mobile and Good Food Markets, Fresh Produce for Schools and Community Groups, Baby and Toddler Nutrition, Community Kitchens, Field to Table Catering, the Food Link Hotline, Power Soups, Community Gardening, Composting, Beekeeping and Urban Agriculture.

FoodShare's Recipe for Change fundraiser is a celebration of food with a purpose that supports FoodShare’s innovative and groundbreaking work in schools, getting students to grow, cook and eat more good healthy food. Thanks to Mary Luz Mejia of Sizzling Communications, I was invited to this year's 5th annual Recipe for Change. Held at the St. Lawrence Market North on Thursday, February 27th, the event included tasting plates from 30 chefs, 20 VQA wines, and 6 local beers.

This year's fundraiser also featured a dazzling silent auction which included a dual-fuel convection range, weekend getaways, food experiences and more.

It was impossible to try everything at every single booth but I did the best I could :) Here is my recap of the delicious evening:

Queen Margherita Pizza (Baby Point)

Last Friday night I paid a visit to Queen Margherita Pizza's second (also newest) location at 785 Annette St just east of Jane. Opened about a year ago, this 115-seat industrial-looking space at Baby Point is quite massive compared to their original location in Leslieville (I've never sat down and had a meal at the Leslieville location but I did attend a wine tasting & pizza making event there last year). Neapolitan pizza aficionados and / or followers of Queen Margherita Pizza (Twitter: @qmpizza, Facebook: Queen Margherita Pizza) should also know that QMP's co-owner John Chetti has secured their third location at 772 Dundas St. slated to open soon.

Late last year, former Langdon Hall Chef Jonathan Gushue joined the Queen Margherita Pizza team taking on the role of director of culinary operations. Gushue's task was to oversee all three QMP locations with a focus on revamping the mini-chain's appetizer menu (Gushue will also lead a new QMP restaurant set to open later this year).

QMP's tiled wood-burning pizza oven is the centre of attention in the restaurant's large open kitchen.

A shot of a cage chandelier.

The Saint Tavern / Amsterdam Brewery Brewmaster's Dinner

On Thursday, February 20th, The Saint Tavern (@thesainttavern) hosted their inaugural Brewmaster's Dinner. The restaurant teamed up with Amsterdam Brewery (@amsterdambeer) to kick start the exciting dinner series.

The four-course dinner consisted of select beer and collaborative food pairings by The Saint Tavern's Chef, Jesse Vallins and Amsterdam Brewery's Brewmaster, Iain McOustra. 

Here's a recap of the evening:

TO START
PARKER HOUSE ROLLS, CONFIT POTATOES, HOUSE FRUIT KETCHUP
Cooked sous vide in butter and herbs, the potatoes were then breaded with potato starch and dried potato flakes before deep frying.

FIRST COURSE

IRISH ORGANIC SALMON TARTARE

Everything bagel, cream cheese, pickled beet puree, shaved onion, dill pesto

Pairing: Order and Choas - Chardonnay Barrel aged Wit. Aged with Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus for one year

SECOND COURSE

HEIRLOOM CARROT AND IPA SOUP

Carrot bacon compote, shaved carrot salad, birch syrup

Pairing: Boneshaker - Classic American style IPA

Bar Buca: Italian Snack Bar on King West

The much-anticipated Bar Buca (@barbucatoronto) has finally opened! Brought to you by King Street Food Company (owners of Buca, Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse, The Saint Tavern), this 38-seat café / bar at 75 Portland St. opened less than a month ago on January 30th. Serving diners 7 days a week from 7am - 2am, the Italian eatery caters to just about everybody. Go for a cup of coffee in the morning, a quick lunch, a few drinks after work, even a casual dinner Bar Buca's got you covered. And because Torontonians can't get enough of brunch Bar Buca also serves weekend brunch. There's something here for everybody and at any time of day.

Situated right at the entrance is Bar Buca's coffee bar. Ultimate convenience for grabbing a quick coffee before work.

Lunch for us started off with these specialty coffees:

CAFFE CON ZENZERO (left) - Espresso, ginger syrup, cinnamon ($3)
CAFFE BOMBON (right) - Espresso, dolce de leche ($3)

Executive Chef Rob Gentile (@Robb_Gentile) created a shareable menu consisting of cicchetti (small bites), fritti (fried), piatti freddi (cold plates), schiacciata (stuffed focaccia), hot plates (spuntini) and spiedini (skewers). 

CICCIOLI ($4)

Pork cheek, chili, lemon

Shiso Tree Cafe: Yōshoku Restaurant in J-Town

Aside from Shiso Tree Cafe (@ShisoTree) in J-Town I am not aware of any other restaurant in the GTA that serves Japanese-style pasta (please leave a comment below if you know of others!) Japanese and Italian restaurants are a dime a dozen in the city but when it comes to Japanese and Italian fusion, specifically pastas (think unagi don pasta with cream teriyaki sauce or sukiyaki pasta with shoyo sauce garnished with shiso, nori and green onions) this little cafe at 404 and Steeles pretty much dominates the scene.

Western-influenced cooking in Japanese cuisine is not a new phenomenon. Here's a bit of history. For many years, Japan isolated themselves from other international cultures. However at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration (around 1868), national seclusion was eliminated and the Meiji Emperor declared Western ideas as means to Japan's future progress. As part of the reformations, the Emperor lifted the ban on red meat and promoted Western cuisine (which was viewed as the cause of the Westerner's greater physical size). As a result a style of Japanese cuisine known as yōshoku, or “Western food,” was created and unlike the typical Japanese cuisine at the time, yōshoku relied on meat as a common element (meat = taller). Nowadays yōshoku establishments usually serve set menus with a main entree, soup, and salad. Most provide both chopsticks and cutlery (knives, forks, spoons) so you can choose which works best for you. The yōshoku category is broad, and includes dishes that have become so integral to the diet that many Japanese wouldn't consider them "Japanized" Western food at all, but simply Japanese food. 

Shiso Tree Cafe in J-Town is a quaint little yōshoku restaurant that specializes in Japanese-style fries and pasta.

Shiso Tree Cafe's two-page food menu consists of 5 varieties of fries, 4 salads and 16 pasta dishes plus a soup of the day, garlic bread and a smoked salmon starter.

2014 Chinese New Year's Eve Feast

I have written about my Chinese New Year's Eve dinner every year on this blog for the past three years. This very important annual "reunion dinner" is where we all get together to celebrate the New Year ("we all" is really just my parents, my brother, my sis-in-law and my niece because I don't have any relatives here). The food we eat at Chinese New Year ("CNY") has traditional meanings related to CNY which helps to bring good luck, longevity and harmony for the upcoming year. For instance, dumplings play an important role in New Year food because of their shape which resembles the ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots. Some of us even avoid meat on the first day of CNY because each new year carries the name of an animal. While my parents are 100% Chinese I'm glad that they are far from being traditional (we be eating meat!) or superstitious (we be washing our hair on New Year's Day!) because in my opinion, most of those taboos are just plain ridiculous. When I think about it I realize we don't do much for CNY besides getting together and eating and giving out red envelopes (especially important for me LOL). When it comes to food we are not obsessed about what we must have for CNY dinner. My Mom will always make several key traditional dishes but she has no problem making - and the rest of us have no problem eating - food that has nothing to do with CNY. Just as long as there's food on the table, we're game.

We never eat out for CNY because we much prefer my Mom's cooking. But this also means a whole lot of work for her; she starts prepping several days in advance and she'll be in the kitchen the whole day on CNY Eve. We are always thankful that she puts in so much time and effort in making all this delicious food for us - not just on CNY but all the time :)

Like last year, aside from making her usual New Year's Eve dinner, my Mom made three different kinds of New Year puddings. My favourite this year is her turnip pudding which had tons of turnips, dried shrimps, Chinese sausage and Chinese bacon. 

From L to R: Chinese New Year cake or Nian Gao "年糕", Turnip cake "蘿蔔糕", and Water chestnut cake ("馬蹄糕")

The cakes were sliced into thick pieces, coated with whisked egg, pan-fried then served with congee for lunch on New Year's Day.

This year my Mom also made these deep fried glutinous rice balls (“煎堆”) with lotus seed paste filling (“蓮蓉”). 

Made with glutinous rice flour and sweet potato, the dough is rolled into balls, wrapped with lotus seed paste, dredged in white sesame seeds then deep fried (these rice balls can also be filled with red bean paste).

I was hooked on these after just one bite.

Winterfeast at Ten Restaurant

I can always count on Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar (Twitter: @tenrestaurant, Facebook: Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar) for a great meal; not once have I left the restaurant disappointed. Best thing? Ten is only a 15-minute drive from my house - it's pretty much the only restaurant I dine at in Mississauga (aside from pho at Pho Mi Asia). 

Last Sunday night I took my parents to Ten to take advantage of the restaurant's limited time Winterfeast menu. From January 28 to February 11, diners can enjoy a three-course lunch for $14.98 or a three-course dinner for $29.95 (plus applicable taxes). What an amazing deal!

‘SEED TO SAUSAGE’ MEAT + CHEESE BOARD ($18.98)

Daily charcuterie, condiments, crackers

Fennel salami, pickled wild cucumbers, spiced soppressata, toulouse seche, devils on horseback, goat cheese, pepperoni, Branson pickle, bacon mustard, German wiener, artichoke mustard

This was not part of their Winterfeast menu but there's absolutely no way I can walk out of Ten without having charcuterie and cheese. I've had Executive Chef Nic Prong's (@niccancook) charcuterie & cheese board numerous times and I never get sick of it! Chef Prong always has a wonderful selection of meats, cheeses and condiments.

Here's a look at Ten's Winterfeast menu:

APPETIZER

POTATO LEEK SOUP

Grilled potato bread

SOFT POLENTA

Mushroom ragout, arugula

MAIN

ARCTIC CHAR 

Salsify, caraway butter crumb, smoked yam, gherkin