Nota Bene - New Look, New Menu

On February 18th, one of Toronto's most notable and established restaurants, NOTA BENE, relaunched with a new look, menu and concept. After seven years in the Queen West neighbourhood, Executive Chef and Owner, David Lee, decided it was the right time to "evolve and update the restaurant from top to bottom". 

Still located on 180 Queen St. W., one of the main focal points at the new NOTA BENE is the art piece, shown below. Treated with "Shou Sugi Ban", an ancient Japanese process of preserving wood by charring it with fire, the salvaged iron wood tree trunk is showcased at the front of the restaurant with a canopy represented by a 3-D printed installation.

The bar has been extended to accommodate more guests.

We started with a few cocktails and snacks in the lounge.

THE G&T (2oz, $17)

THE GIN - Hendricks (Scotland) - Cucumber, rose, honeyed citrus, juniper

THE FEVER TREE TONIC - Mediterranean - Thyme, citrus, quinine

THE ICE - Large - Slight chill, minimal dilution 

Made With Love Toronto 2016 Giveaway - CLOSED

Are you ready to experience an extravagant night of amazing cocktails? If your answer is a resounding "YES!" then enter my contest now for a chance to win a PAIR of tickets to MadeWithLove™ Toronto Regional Finals taking place on April 4th from 6-10pm at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex. The tickets are valued at $130! 

Founded in 2009, MadeWithLove™ (Twitter: @_MadeWithLove_, Facebook: MADE WITH LOVE) is the largest mixology competition in Canada. It has a mission to demystify the cocktail culture and to offer an experience where creativity and diversity come together in a casual environment. For one night only, the best bartenders in the city gather under one roof to showcase the Canadian cocktail scene. Since its inception, MadeWithLove™ has hosted more than 60 competitions across Canada and Mexico.
 Every year, they organize the competitions (qualifiers and then regional finals) in Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver to select the best bartenders in Canada. Once a year they invite all the finalists for a national final (this year in Montreal in May).

On April 4th, the MadeWithLove™ Toronto Regional Finals at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex will host 20 of the best bartenders in Toronto. They will be presenting exclusive cocktail recipes to impress the jury and the guests. The two winners of each category of Public’s Choice and Judge’s Choice will represent Toronto at the National Finals held in May 2016.
 
Judges and attendees will have the challenging task to taste and evaluate the cocktails based on originality, creativity and savour.

The Toronto finalists are:
 

Aaron Male, Miss Thing's

Albert Chan, Byblos

Alex Pearce, The Drake Hotel

André Aitchison, e11even

Brooke Banning, Freelance Bartender

Chris Flink, Café Belong

Danielle Yoon, Annette Food Market

Greg White, El Catrin

Ian Moores, Odd Thomas

Jamison Cass, College Street Bar

Joshua Oliver Prout, The County General

Matteo Gorla, Barchef

Matthieu Rajchman, East Thirty-Six

Michele Maffei, Balsamico

Nick Incretolli, Tavern on George

Parham Rahimi, Cluny Bistro

Sam Dobie, The Gaslight

Tyler Della-Nebbia, Lake Road Restaurant

Tyler Edward Newsome, Soho House Toronto

Will Howden, Freelance Bartender

Photo: Made With Love

Event: MadeWithLove™ Toronto Regional Finals

Date: Monday, April 4, 2016

Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Place: Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, 25 British Columbia Rd, Toronto, ON 

Prize: Two tickets valued at $130

What is included: Your tickets allow you and your guest to taste the 20 competing cocktails, and enjoy special food pairings so as to prepare you to vote for the best cocktail.



HOW TO ENTER

1) You MUST be following me (@foodieyu) on Twitter

AND

2) Tweet the following sentence, exactly as shown, nothing before or after it: 

Hey @foodieyu take me to the largest mixology competition in Canada @_MadeWithLove_! http://bit.ly/1QK5J8x #fjcmwl #enjoymwl

1. For your entry to be valid, you need to tweet the above sentence exactly as shown

2. You may tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Re-tweeting others do NOT count as a valid entry

3. Contest is tracked by the #fjcmwl hashtag. If you don't see your tweet in the hashtag stream it means there is no entry from you. Read this to find out the possible reasons why your tweets are not showing up

CONTEST DURATION

Contest starts on Thursday, March 10 and ends on Thursday, March 17 at 12PM. 

One lucky winner will be chosen randomly from www.random.org and I will announce the winner shortly after.

GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

The Winners of the One Of A Kind Spring Show 2016 Giveaway are...

@verycutekitties
@loucheryl
@EldoLai
@Adds29
@dreamflyer100

Congratulations! You've all just won a pair of tickets to this year's One of a Kind Spring Show taking place from Wednesday, March 23 to Sunday, March 27 at the Enercare Centre Exhibition Place. Get ready to meet 450+ artisans, shop local and support handmade! Please email me at foodjunkiechronicles@gmail.com to get your e-tickets :)

A big THANK YOU from me to the 52 contestants who participated in this contest! 

Here's a snapshot of the Excel spreadsheet where I tracked the #fjcooaks16 hashtag from day one of the contest. The tracking was done using chronological order, as in, #1 was the first person to enter the contest. To enter, the person had to tweet "Hey @foodieyu I want to #win a pair of tickets to @ooak_toronto! http://bit.ly/1QSqEYU #fjcooaks16 #ooaks16". Each person could tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Once the contest was over and everybody's entries were accounted for, I checked to see if they follow me (@foodieyu) on Twitter. Below are the 106 valid entries:

I used "True Random Number Generator" from random.org to pick five winners for me:

New Café Boulud (Lunch)

I've written about Café Boulud a total of four times on Food Junkie Chronicles. No other restaurant, besides Splendido, holds that kind of record (FYI I have five posts on Splendido). Now that Splendido is *sadly* shuttered, Café Boulud (Twitter: @CafeBouludTO, Facebook: Café Boulud Toronto & d|bar) will soon take over as "the most blogged restaurant" on Food Junkie Chronicles because I got this lunch post up now plus a dinner post scheduled soon (that post will be fairly long since it'll combine my three dinners there).

In any case, all this clearly indicates one thing, that I'm a big supporter of Café Boulud. I was already a fan of the "old" Café Boulud - I had countless meals there with my friends and family - and not surprisingly, I'm now an even bigger fan of the "new" Café Boulud ever since its "transformation" last September.

Located at the Four Seasons Hotel, the new Café Boulud features a stylish redesign by London-based designer Martin Brudnizki. The ribbed wraparound banquets upholstered in jaguar green and the 1950s-shaped chairs in ruched leather mixes classic with contemporary. The dining room is elegant and sophisticated, yet warm and inviting.

If this doesn't scream "French brasserie" I don't know what does. I love the retro-modern look of this dining bar counter which is constructed in wood panels painted in a high gloss lacquer and topped with marble. It features a bronze and glass gantry, and eight leather bar stools.

Café Boulud's new menu highlights both bistro classics and contemporary dishes inspired by Chef Daniel Boulud's family growing up in Lyon. Deeply rooted in French tradition, the menu was created in collaboration by Chef Boulud and Chef de Cuisine Sylvain Assié.

My friend and I went for lunch two Saturdays ago to celebrate his birthday. It was my first time ever having lunch at Café Boulud and this visit marks my fourth time at the new Café Boulud.

When you're at the restaurant, whether it's for lunch or dinner, make sure you start off with a cocktail! My favourite cocktail there is the Led Zeppelin with tequila, amaro nonino, aperol and lime. It's so delicious! Cocktails I also enjoy includes Watermelon Smash, Elderflower Fizz and Sazerac.

MARTIN BRUDNIZKI ($14)

Gin, jack rudy special batch tonic, lemon

ELDERFLOWER FIZZ ($15)

St. germain, chambord, lemon, prosecco

One Of A Kind Spring Show 2016 Giveaway - CLOSED

I'm giving away FIVE PAIRS of tickets to this year's One of a Kind Spring Show #ooaks16 taking place from Wednesday, March 23 to Sunday, March 27 at the Enercare Centre Exhibition Place! Each pair of tickets is valued at $26.

The mission of One of a Kind (Twitter: @ooak_toronto, Facebook: One of a Kind Show and Sale) is to provide a marketplace to bring together makers and buyers who share a commitment to handmade excellence. Since its inception in 1975, One of a Kind has been cultivating creativity, craftsmanship and connection in order to deliver an inspired shopping experience.  

Did you know there's also food at the One of a Kind Show? Take a look at the show's website and under the "Flavours" category in "Explore The Artisan Profiles", you'll find profiles from over 50 artisans specializing in food & beverage.

HOW TO ENTER

1) You MUST be following me (@foodieyu) on Twitter

AND

2) Tweet the following sentence, exactly as shown, nothing before or after it: 

Hey @foodieyu I want to #win a pair of tickets to @ooak_toronto! http://bit.ly/1QSqEYU #fjcooaks16 #ooaks16

1. For your entry to be valid, you need to tweet the above sentence exactly as shown

2. You may tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Re-tweeting others do NOT count as a valid entry

3. Contest is tracked by the #fjcooaks16 hashtag. If you don't see your tweet in the hashtag stream it means there is no entry from you. Read this to find out the possible reasons why your tweets are not showing up

CONTEST DURATION

Contest starts on Wednesday, March 2 and ends on Wednesday, March 9 at 12PM. 

Five lucky winners will be chosen randomly from www.random.org and I will announce the winner shortly after.

GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

Recipe for Change 2016

30 diverse chefs, 3 craft brewers, 4 local wineries, 1 cause. FoodShare's seventh annual Recipe for Change took place at Toronto's St. Lawrence Market South Tent on Thursday, February 25th. For those of you not aware, Recipe for Change (#RFC16) is an annual fundraising event that supports FoodShare, Canada's largest community food security organization. Founded in 1985, FoodShare (Twitter: @FoodShareTO, Facebook: FoodShare Toronto) is a non-profit organization that works with communities to improve access to healthy, affordable, sustainably-produced food through innovative school food programs like rooftop gardens, healthy cafeterias, hands-on cooking workshops and youth-employment focused farming.

Presented by Tangerine, this year's fundraising event collaborated with chefs, brew masters, winemakers and skilled food artisans for a "Party for the Future of Food" edition of Recipe for Change. From 6-9pm, guests were served an elaborate menu from Toronto's leading lights and long time supporters of the cause, mixing in a healthy dose of new arrivals and hidden gems designed to please carnivores and vegetarians alike. 

Over 30 sweet and savoury dishes made with love by some of the city’s best chefs and 4 VQA wineries and 3 craft breweries pouring drinks all night, there's no question that Recipe for Change is one of the city's finest dining events (this year marks my fourth executive year at Recipe for Change)!

"FoodShare's Recipe for Change event so deliciously and wonderfully supports Food Literacy in schools," says Debbie Field, FoodShare's Executive Director. "It raises needed funds to teach thousands of school aged chidren how to cook, grow food, compost and more. And it reminds us all that children of all ages are delighted to eat healthy food, become food conscious, competent and literate."

Bar Begonia

Bar Begonia is so good, guys. I had dinner there two weeks ago and I still can't think of one bad thing to say about the place. From ambiance, service, drinks to food, Anthony Rose's sixth spot gets nothing but praises from moi. Bar Begonia is killin' it.

Just down the street from Big Crow and up the street from Fat Pasha (both Rose's), my friends and I arrived at the newly opened Bar Begonia at 6:30pm sharp on Friday night. We managed to snag the last four-top. Boy, did I feel extremely lucky at that point, especially when there wasn't one empty seat left in there. To celebrate we immediately ordered a bunch of cocktails to start. Not having to wait for a table on a Friday night is a damn good enough reason to get our dranks on (note that Bar Begonia remained packed for the next three hours we were there).

Before I get to the booze and the food here's a bit about Bar Begonia. Open from 11am to 2am, 7 days a week, Bar Begonia (Twitter: @barbegonia, Facebook: Bar Begonia) is a 40-seat Parisian-style cocktail bar serving craft cocktails and snacks with a French flair. The kitchen is helmed by chef Trista Sheen, formerly of the now shuttered Crush Wine Bar. Although Bar Begonia doesn't take reservations (it does but only for parties of 8 or more) I was thrilled to hear that they'll have a patio set up by this summer.

"Draw me like one of your French girls".

Behind the bar is general manager Oliver Stern and bar manager Veronica Saye. I've been a big fan of Oliver's cocktails ever since my Toronto Temperance Society days. I say it that way because I used to go to "TTS" a lot, some of my favourite cocktails from the speakeasy were their Earl Grey Sour, Whisky Sour, Petey's Muddle, Old Fashioned and La Hoja. So, when I found out Oliver was the GM at Bar Begonia I had no doubt in my mind that their cocktails would be excellent.

Cresta (formerly Pastizza)

New year. New menu. New name.

At the beginning of January, Pastizza - located on a cobblestone street adjacent to the historic St. Lawrence Market - was renamed to Cresta. I was told by Cresta's general manager, Dimitri Petropoulos, that the reason behind the change was because the owners thought the name "Pastizza" was conveying an inaccurate impression of the restaurant to Torontonians. As in, the name "Pastizza" sounded like a fast-casual Italian eatery serving only pizzas and pastas. Since that was far from the case, the owners of Pastizza decided to rename the restaurant to Cresta, after Cresta Ridge vineyard of Thomas George Estates, a California vineyard owned by Cresta's co-owner, Thomas Baker.

Despite the name change and menu overhaul, the interior of Cresta (Twitter: @cresta_TO, Facebook: cresta) remained pretty much the same (I didn't see any noticeable changes anyway).

Compared to Pastizza, Cresta's new menu offers a wider variety of appetizers and seafood options. The menu, overall, also carries a higher price tag than before. For example, the carbonara and lasagna I had at Pastizza were both priced at $13, whereas all the pastas at Cresta are now $20+. Another example would be the entrees; the guanciale di manzo (or braised beef) I had at Pastizza before was $25, all the mains at Cresta now are $34+.

I was invited by Cresta to try their new menu. As usual, we started off with cocktails. As you may have guessed, the cocktail menu was also revamped.

THE CRESTA NEGRONI ($13)

Bombay sapphire gin, campari, dolin dry vermouth, sparkling brut, grapefruit

ISLAY HOLIDAY ($14)

Tromba tequila blanco, bowmore 12 scotch, grapefruit, lime, grapefruit bitters

WHISKY SOUR

Morton's The Steakhouse

Morton's The Steakhouse has been sizzling up steaks ever since 1978. Founded by Arnie Morton and Klaus Fritsch, the restaurant chain now has 74 worldwide locations in the U.S. and in major cities worldwide such as Toronto, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Shanghai, and Macau. Morton's (Twitter: @Mortons, Facebook: Morton's The Steakhouse) prides itself on quality service and serving the best USDA prime-aged beef (which are aged for 23-28 days and custom-cut per Morton's specifications). I've been to Morton's in the States once but never in Toronto, so when the kind folks at the steakhouse invited me in for dinner I jumped at the chance. Who can say "no" to steak?! Vegetarians, yes, but certainly not me!

Located in the trendy Yorkville neighbourhood, Morton's at the Park Hyatt Hotel offers a classic dining experience. Get ready to step into the past with their white tablecloths, wood paneling, hanging lights and booths buffed to a serious shine. 

The old-school traditional steakhouse charm at Morton's is as good as it gets.

My friend and I started the evening off with cocktails. The drinks come strong and deep at Morton's, and I love that.

DEATHS DOOR NEGRONI ($17.50)

Death's Door Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth garnished with an orange wheel and a lemon twist

DOUBLE CROSS VODKA MARTINI ($21.95)

New Savoury Menu at Sweet O'Clock

On January 22 the Taiwanese dessert shop Sweet O'Clock (Instagram: @sweetoclock.tor, Facebook; Sweet O'clock) expanded their menu to include savoury appetizers, snacks, rice dishes and noodle dishes. To celebrate the launch, from January 22 to February 10 Sweet O'Clock will be giving diners who have liked their Facebook page or followed them on Instagram a 15% off discount on their bill (desserts excluded) when they check in at the location.

(Photo credit: @sweetoclock.tor)

I was invited to the North York eatery a couple of days before the official launch date for a sneak peek tasting. I wrote about Sweet O'Clock last month and commented on what I personally liked and didn't like from their dessert menu (click here for my blog post) so I'll be doing pretty much the same thing this time for their savoury menu :)

My friend and I started off with wintermelon teas. We both loved our drinks. My friend orders wintermelon every time he sees it on a menu because not a lot of places offer wintermelon. Sweet O'Clock's Signature Tea Selections come in regular size ($4.2) and large size ($4.7).

HERBAL JELLY WINTERMELON TEA ($4.2)

QQ WINTERMELON TEA ($4.2)

There are 25 appetizers, 10 rice dishes, and 6 noodle soups on Sweet O'Clock's new food menu. Here is what we tried:

OXTAIL NOODLE SOUP ($12.99)

JELLYFISH SALAD ($8.99)