We were out at a movie at Yonge and Eglington in Toronto (Made in Dagenham - terrific film) and went looking for a place to eat after the movie. Just south of Eglington on Yonge we happened across Zucca, a really good Italian trattoria serving simply prepared Italian cuisine with great attention to detail.
My appetizer was potato and green vegetable gnocchi with leek and Quebec blue cheese cream - utterly delicious! Kerry had a simple green salad, with a perfect (not overwhelming) dressing.
For my main I chose a simple grilled whole trout. It was perfect, moist and succulent with just a little lemon and salt. It came with grilled vegetables (potato, fennel and carrot). To be honest they were adequate but a little dry (particularly the potato slices). Kerry had a house-made pasta with bacalao (salt cod) cooked with tomatoes and white wine. It was unusual and tasty but didn't blow us away. The service with terrific - the server knew the food (and wine) and even poured us a couple of glasses of wine to compare with the wine we'd ordered.
We had a bottle of Salice Salentino 2007 (Cantele) - a nice rustic-style wine from Southern Italy. Plummy and spicy with plenty of acidity, it went well with the pasta (and ok with the fish). Interesting wine - not great but good with tomato-based sauces. Southern Italian reds look like they are going to be big in 2011 (you heard it hear first!)
We finished off with a couple of well-chosen cheeses and I had a glass of desert wine (not sure what it was - tasted a lot like a Beaumes de Venise but obviously it was Italian)
Nice meal - attentive service - I would definitely go back if I was in the neighbourhood.
Showing posts with label restaurant review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant review. Show all posts
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Luke's Gatronomy - Kingston Ontario, Nov 26, 2010
Luke is a 19 year old wonder kid who has been training as a chef since he was 11 in his parents restaurant in Kingston. When he was 15 he became executive chef and began his adventures in (molecular) gastronomy.
The restaurant itself is small and funky. Luke's food is amazingly inventive.
We started with a charcuterie plate. All the charcuterie is made by Luke from locally sourced meat. Particularly good was a fennel flavoured sausage.
I started with the Crisp Pork Belly Pizza with thyme, potatoes, capers, olives and onions. The pork belly itself was the "pizza" - a bit disappointing. The toppings were nice but the pork belly was dry and uninteresting (and I love pork belly!)
Much better was the Tete du Cochon (head cheese) with mushroom ketchup, preserved lemon and quail egg. The Tete was marvellous - creamy and tasty.
For my main I had Beef Cheeks, which was filled with vin sauce au chocolat, sweet pea, a garlic croquette (served in a bent spoon standing in a glass) and "umami". I asked about umami, which I understood to be the "fifth taste" (according to the Japanese). It was described - by Luke's mother, who handles the front room - as a mix of different ingredients which evoke "umami". Quite honestly I didn't get it. The beef cheeks were somewhat dry although the sauce was interesting. Not really a successful dish. My fellow diners tried the Blues Junkie Goat (goat, solid yogurt, coffee dust, chilles, dates and almonds. Meant to evoke the flavours of Yemen it was interesting and tasty. The Cosmic Duck was duck confit (good) with tomato and a marshmallow (!).
Deserts were also interesting - "Serendipity" which featured chocolate and blue cheese, and "Testosterone", which had tobacco ice cream (surprisingly delicious) and scotch (in the form of what looked like a cinnamon stick).
The restaurant itself is small and funky. Luke's food is amazingly inventive.
We started with a charcuterie plate. All the charcuterie is made by Luke from locally sourced meat. Particularly good was a fennel flavoured sausage.
I started with the Crisp Pork Belly Pizza with thyme, potatoes, capers, olives and onions. The pork belly itself was the "pizza" - a bit disappointing. The toppings were nice but the pork belly was dry and uninteresting (and I love pork belly!)
Much better was the Tete du Cochon (head cheese) with mushroom ketchup, preserved lemon and quail egg. The Tete was marvellous - creamy and tasty.
For my main I had Beef Cheeks, which was filled with vin sauce au chocolat, sweet pea, a garlic croquette (served in a bent spoon standing in a glass) and "umami". I asked about umami, which I understood to be the "fifth taste" (according to the Japanese). It was described - by Luke's mother, who handles the front room - as a mix of different ingredients which evoke "umami". Quite honestly I didn't get it. The beef cheeks were somewhat dry although the sauce was interesting. Not really a successful dish. My fellow diners tried the Blues Junkie Goat (goat, solid yogurt, coffee dust, chilles, dates and almonds. Meant to evoke the flavours of Yemen it was interesting and tasty. The Cosmic Duck was duck confit (good) with tomato and a marshmallow (!).
Deserts were also interesting - "Serendipity" which featured chocolate and blue cheese, and "Testosterone", which had tobacco ice cream (surprisingly delicious) and scotch (in the form of what looked like a cinnamon stick).
Monday, November 15, 2010
DeVino Wine Studio
On Saturday night we went with friends to DeVino Wine Studio on Preston Street. Since our friends had been before a number of times we were greeted by the owner, Antonio and sat at the bar. The bar is very cool as there is seating on both sides (so you can actually talk to the people you are with!). In our case we were facing the open kitchen so I could watch the two young chefs at work.
The restaurant is an interesting concept - basically an "enoteca", an Italian wine bar, serving small plates and unique wines, mostly imported directly from Italy by Antonio. There is a young and very engaging sommelier who explained the wines we were drinking (we all chose the $80, four course tasting menu with wines).
The food itself was fun, but somewhat inconsistent. Our first course was three "balls" - a risotto ball, a salt cod ball and a deep fried olive. The second course was a tasty salad of thinly sliced mushrooms, a "dry" gorgonzola, pesto and a mound of baby spinach. This was followed by papperdelle (a bit too al dente for my taste) with wild boar ragu. The final course was a small lamb "lollipop" served with Jerusalem artichoke puree, heirloom carrots and a small mound of risotto.
The service was pleasant but somewhat slow - there was a large group in the back room and the kitchen was having a hard time keeping up - and the food was somewhat inconsistent but it was fun and I'd definitely go back.
The restaurant is an interesting concept - basically an "enoteca", an Italian wine bar, serving small plates and unique wines, mostly imported directly from Italy by Antonio. There is a young and very engaging sommelier who explained the wines we were drinking (we all chose the $80, four course tasting menu with wines).
The food itself was fun, but somewhat inconsistent. Our first course was three "balls" - a risotto ball, a salt cod ball and a deep fried olive. The second course was a tasty salad of thinly sliced mushrooms, a "dry" gorgonzola, pesto and a mound of baby spinach. This was followed by papperdelle (a bit too al dente for my taste) with wild boar ragu. The final course was a small lamb "lollipop" served with Jerusalem artichoke puree, heirloom carrots and a small mound of risotto.
The service was pleasant but somewhat slow - there was a large group in the back room and the kitchen was having a hard time keeping up - and the food was somewhat inconsistent but it was fun and I'd definitely go back.
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