Category: Food / drink

I couldn't C5 things on the menu that I wanted

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Last night five of us (it should’ve been six but one of our party took one — a kid’s fever, specifically — for the team) had dinner at C5. We had booked dinner with the intention of participating in the Crosstown Kitchens event Stop For Food, but when we arrived we were disappointed to find that, unlike Winterlicious, there was no choice in the courses. Since the lone price fixe menu option didn’t impress, the five of us opted for the regular menu. So much for going easy on the pocketbook.

The food we ordered from the regular menu was good, not great. The buffalo mozzarella amuse-bouche was excellent. My pork belly and calamari starter was decent…really, I’ve had better pork belly and the calamari may as well have been left out. My venison was quite good, and the other touches — sweet potato puree, beets, etc. — were delicious. Our wine — a Morgan Pinot Noir — was excellent. Nothing on the dessert list appealed so I passed. Nellie enjoyed her meal less than I did. I got the sense that our other dinner companions were up and down as well, and no one seemed blown away. I feel like what I had wasn’t the best that C5 had to offer, especially given that Toronto Life just ranked it the 10th best restaurant in the city, but compared to a recent visit to Nota Bene or yet another return trip to Canoe (which TorLife ranked #1 this year) it just doesn’t stack up.

However, in such pleasant company, the evening was still more than enjoyable. And the space, it should be noted, is spectacular. I would happily come here for drinks, especially if my other option in the immediate neighbourhood is Lobby.

Decongested

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Good start to the day: went out on a beautiful winter morning to pick up bagels at St-Urbain, pretzels from the north market and a nice warm drink from Hank’s. The cold and the early hour made for a pretty pleasant Front Street too: not many impromptu cocktail parties or aggressive stroller-pushers to contend with on the sidewalks this morning.

I’m really happy to be out from under this cold, so it feels good to have an active, productive day planned. I didn’t even mind staying late(ish) at work last night…it felt good to be functional and not hell ass balls congested. Nellie finally seems to have turned the corner on her cold as well. She’s taking advantage of a lazy Saturday to sleep it out.

Right, I’m off. More errands to run and lovely February day to enjoy.

How do I get Rideau this cold?

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As my brother has been blogging, his wife surprised him by flying him to Ottawa for a long weekend with friends and, as an added surprise, Nellie and I. He flew back to England this evening; Nellie and I returned to Toronto yesterday. It was a fun few days for us. I’ve known many of his friends since 1996 when I lived there with him for the summer, and it was good to hang out with all of them again. It was good to see Ottawa again too; I’ve not been there in a while, but it still feels a little like home. Best of all, though, was getting to help celebrate my brother’s 40th birthday in such great circumstances.

Highlights: an awesome Porter flight to Ottawa; surprising (kinda) my brother at our hotel; the food and drink at the Wellington Gastropub, including the Beau’s and a 2005 Raymond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (also overheard a great Grant Lee Philips cover of Echo & The Bunnymen‘s “The Killing Moon” on the stereo there); getting silly (where exactly did “chicken sodomy” come from anyway?) and reliving some memories at a Royal Oak (warning: awful, obnoxious music embedded in site); struggling the next morning until I could get some sausage and toast into me at the Elgin Street Diner; Winterlude ice sculptures; marveling at just how far Lego has come since we were kids; awesome homemade pizzas at mblogler/imspycat‘s place; playing the Wii with the kiddies; breakfast at the Metropolitan Brasserie with our aunt (where we loudly berated the Senate, even as Art Eggleton dined next to us); more pizza and beer at the Prescott where people who used to work with my brother were invited out to see him (funnily enough, three of them walked up and started talking to me, thinking I was him…by the third I just said, “Hey, how are you? That’s Tim over there.”); cheap pub breakfast at the Aulde Dubliner in the market; walking (not skating…couldn’t be arsed) down the Rideau Canal to the hotel before flying home.

That’s obviously an abuse of the word “highlights” but it really was a great weekend. My biggest problem with it was that I got very, very sick. Saturday night I felt a cold coming on; by Sunday morning it was severe, and by Monday morning it was brutal. It kept me in bed most of Sunday, made me miserable for all of Monday, and made our plane’s descent into Toronto excruciating. But it could have been worse: I could’ve been sick the entire weekend, or worst of all, my brother might have been sick. So it all turned out for the best. I didn’t even mind the cold; chilly as it got, the sun stayed out most of the time.

It was a great weekend. I’m really glad I got to be part of it.

[UPDATE: Ooh, ooh, almost forgot: the brother and sister-in-law brought me some Pierre Marcolini chocolate from Belgium. Zowie.]

I do have two whole years to make up for, after all

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I’m hungry just thinking about it.

Last night, in an early celebration of Nellie’s birthday, we had dinner at Jacob’s & Co. with T-Bone and The Sof. And what a dinner it was. After a drink downstairs in the bar we settled around a big comfy table. More drinks — beer for the guys, sparkling wine for the ladies — followed before we opened our menus. Our server Harry walked us through the details and intricacies of each cut of meat they had that night and we made our choices.

I started with the lobster bisque (which contained, like, half a lobster). T-Bone had steak tartare, The Sof had oysters and Nellie ordered the Caesar Salad. That salad was prepared tableside and tasted, according to Nellie, better than any Caesar’s salad she’d ever had. All our wines were paired nicely as well. So far, so good.

Then…oh, then, the meat arrived. T-Bone and The Sof split a 28oz USDA Prime Black Angus bone-in ribeye. I opted for the 14oz version. Nellie had an 8oz Wagyu striploin. My ribeye was so tender my knife just slid through it; Nellie’s was almost like butter. Amazing. A lot to handle, too…I’m not sure how I finished it. I guess it might have been that I largely stayed away from the sides of mushroom, broccolini and duck fat french fried potatoes, though I did enjoy the pureed potatoes quite a bit. The whole affair went down with…I think the sommelier said a Cabernet, but I can’t really remember. It were tasty.

No one had a lot of room for dessert, though I did feel like having a single scoop of house-made coconut ice cream and Nellie got some sorbet. T-Bone had port, natch. The Sof skipped dessert, and concentrated on trying to digest the 14 ounces of meat he’d just eaten. Before heading back downstairs for one last drink, Harry dropped off four house-made muffins for our breakfast the next day. Nice touch.

Jacob’s is a beautiful space, and the food was spectacular. So, as one would expect, were the prices. Economic downturn be damned, though – that room was full last night. We enjoyed our experience there thoroughly. And, in a perfect little coda: the muffins this morning were delicious.

Oh, murgh makhani, how I've missed you

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Just back from a Winterlicious dinner at Amaya Bread Bar. It’s the more laid-back, TTC-friendly version of Amaya Restaurant. The food’s the same (which is to say, delicious) though we were limited to the ‘Licious menu. The wine selection was shorter, but that didn’t bother me; I like beer with my Indian. The only one available — Cobra — went nicely with my pakora starter. We shared the four mains — lamb roganjosh, butter chicken, seafood xacutti and a veggie trio — and washed it down with more Cobra. I won’t lie, I enjoyed asking the waiter to bring more Cobra. It’s fun to say. Cobra. Cobra cobra cobra cobra. Cobra.

For dessert T-Bone and I had Greg’s mango ice cream; Nellie and The Sof had the spiced brownie, but neither of them came close to finishing.

Tasty, not too heavy, and reasonably priced. And a quick walk to/from the subway, or would have been, had we not we caught a ride down to Summerhill. We will likely go back. Missionlicious accomplished.

Turns out I own clothes that I've never even worn

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Each weekend starts with the intention of seeing The Wrestler. Each weekend ends with us having failed.

Friday night would have been an ideal candidate but, well, being tired and wanting to watch BSG won out. Put another way: we are old. Yesterday Nellie and I were both busy, and we went to Mercatto for dinner on a lark…very tasty. I can see that becoming our regular Italian place. Anyway, long story short: it was cold as balls outside so we didn’t stray far from home. Plus, we don’t relish the idea of the Scotiabank theatre on a Saturday night, chock full of middling teenagers ambling into screenings of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

Today the timing just didn’t work, especially after Nellie undertook her ideal Sunday pastime of sleeping until noon. I used this alone time to destroy her best time in Wii Fit Advanced Snowboard and other similar accomplishments. Then we had breakfast, got groceries and went on a badass cleaning binge. I’m talking an almighty purge, people…stuff getting thrown out, recycled, put on Craigslist*…there’s a Goodwill pile here the size of a Shetland pony.

Time for the weekend summary. Pluses: relaxing, tasty, productive. Minuses: boring, lame. 3-2, w00t!!

* speaking of: anybody want a slightly used Roomba? Two wooden Ikea folding chairs? A crystal punch bowl?

Note well

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Friday night I thanked Nellie for putting up with four years of MBA nonsense by taking her to dinner at Nota Bene (not that a meal should cover it, but she’s easily bought off). It was our first time, and we were anxious to try it to feel the contrast with David Lee’s other restaurant Splendido. Which we loved. Duh.

We arrived early to have a drink at the bar. Best way to start the night off right for patrons: make their first drinks big ones. My Oban on the rocks was enough for two, and Nellie’s glass of Cabernet Franc was a solid one. Just as we were wondering if we should check in for our table, a server collected us and brought us into the main room. Both it and the bar are really quite nice, a good mix of polish and vibrancy.

Before I get to the food, I have to mention the service. At Splendido the service is as much part of the meal as the food, and they take care of you in every way possible. Nota Bene was slightly different: while the service was still excellent, it seemed like they were trying to remain as unobtrusive as possible, and let the food speak for itself. Servers, the sommelier, plate runners…we must have had a dozen different people come by the table, and never for more than a few seconds. If someone saw our wine glasses were half empty, they’d stop and pour, even if they’d never been to our table. The sommelier picked up my card and brought it to the station. It never felt rushed (the meal was 2.5 hours; how could it?), just efficient. It’s a tough balance to strike, but I appreciated it.

Now then, the food: I had the mozzarella di bufala w/ sundried tomato, grilled radicchio & olive oil to start; the grilled rock cornish hen w/ rosemary, lemon & bacon; and the flourless chocolate fudge cake w/ dulce de leche ice cream for dessert. Nellie had the mafalda pasta w/ truffle-scented mushroom bolognese to start; the mediterranean sea bass w/ forest mushrooms, potato gnocchi & basil pesto; and the small cheese plate (and Tawny port) for dessert. Well, she thought it would be small, but they brought three fairly large hunks of cheese for her enjoyment. One was roquefort, one beemster extra old and the other was…well, she can’t remember, but she seemed happy with it. This whole affair (after my initial glass of Okanagan Meritage and Nellie’s glass of Prosecco) was washed down with a bottle of 2007 Tenuta Maiolo Campania Lugana, a recommendation from the sommelier, and one that worked quite well.

The food was, as expected, exquisite. I can’t speak for Nellie, but my appetizer was delicious, my main was perfectly sized and seasoned (bacon + green beans…who knew that combination worked?!?) and my dessert was absurd. All things considered — food, service and the relatively low cost compared to similar dining experiences I’ve had elsewhere — it was a fantastic meal, one I’d like to repeat.

Five years later…

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So…yesterday was our anniversary. Our fifth, thanks for asking. We celebrated (after our little shopping excursion to HMV and Duggers) by meeting up with my brother for some drinks at Seven Wine Bar, then enjoying a quiet, delicious dinner for two at Fid Cuisine. Fid’s been there since 2000 but we’d never tried it, and until recently I’d never even heard of it. Not surprising; it certainly wasn’t the sort of place a student would try. Here’s the lineup (some of it is from the website’s outdated menu, some is from memory):

  • Amuse-Bouches: green curry mussels. I don’t particularly care for mussels, so I tried one and donated the other to my lovely wife. Happy anniversary, darling.
  • Appetizers: Nellie had the caramelized scallops (which included some other bits of meat that I thought were quail) while I had the goat cheese.
  • Mains: Nellie had the beef tenderloin with kale (maybe?) & artichoke. I had the pork belly with choy sum and a pureed sweet potato that we both agreed was amazing. This was my first time having pork belly; it was tender and very tasty, but really fatty and rich. I’m glad I spaced it out with the rest of my food. We had this with a powerful New Zealand Pinot Noir (can’t remember which, but it was strong enough to keep up with Nellie’s beef while not overpowering my pork) and cleansed our palates with a tea-flavoured sorbet.
  • Dessert: ginger creme brulee for Nellie, outstanding molten moelleux au chocolat for me. Nellie had a ten-year-old port, I had a local Muscat dessert wine.

Sated, we stumbled out into the miserable night. The earlier snow had degenerated (as it so often does in Halifax) into freezing rain, made worse by biting wind and slippery sidewalks (and us in our fancy shoes!). We got all the way back to the hotel when Nellie realized she was missing an earring…one of the pair I’d given her for Christmas two days earlier. This wouldn’t do. We put on some shoes more befitting the Canadian winter and set back out, knowing it would be nearly impossible to spot a silver earring on the snow-and-ice-covered sidewalk, but we had to try. We retraced our steps all the way to the restaurant with no luck, double-checked the entryway, and left again for the hotel. Happily, I spotted the rogue earring about twenty steps from the restaurant’s entrance, and the evening was saved. We slid back to the hotel to warm up, dry off and digest in agony.

This morning we woke up early to have breakfast with our friend Karen and her new fiance, then made for the airport. Cab ride: no problem. Check-in: no problem. Security: bigger line than usual for Halifax, but no problem. Boarding: no problem. Flight: no problem, save some bumps at the end and a supremely annoying Newfoundland mother sitting right behind us. Luggage collection: no problem. Cab ride home: no problem. All in all, a pretty painless winter travel experience, and a far cry from last week’s fiasco.

Now we’re home, surrounded by presents, being abused by bitchy cats, completely lacking in the grocery department and overall a little wiped. But good. All’s well that ends well.

Can’t wait for the next five years.

Vacation = us

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Storm clouds acomin
Storm clouds a'comin

It was easy not to become part of yesterday’s mass hysteria, as “Snowmageddon” didn’t really affect me at all. It started snowing pretty much after I got to work, and ended before I left so I didn’t get snowed on. My commute home on the subway was the same as it always is, if a little more crowded. We spent our night indoors, eating filet mignon from Cumbrae’s, drinking a bottle of of 2003 Paolo Conterno Barolo and having chocolate from three different shops (Teuscher, Eitelbach andMoRoCo) for dessert.

Today we got up late and ran a couple of errands outside. It’s really quite nice out…bright, and pretty with all the snow, but a little windy. It was -23 with the windchill earlier but didn’t really feel it.

The only question now is how bad tonight’s snowstorm will be, and whether it’ll cancel our flight. We can see it coming up across the lake right now (see picture above) and it looks ugly. We’re not too fussed either way…if we have to wait until Monday to fly home it’s no big deal, we have lots of time and nothin’ to do.