New York Bar ニューヨーク バ ー(Tokyo)

Posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 by
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Address: 3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku (Park Hyatt Tokyo, 52nd floor)
Website: http://tokyo.park.hyatt.com/en/hotel/dining/NewYorkBar.html

We decided to visit New York Bar on a Saturday night to check out the iconic venue featured in Lost in Translation, where Bill Murray’s character Bob goes to at nights to reflect and enjoy a drink.

Located in the bustling Shinjuku area, at the top of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, it’s a calming jazz club environment with a great live band playing that night. In fact, the singer was an American that flew in for the performance.


We each paid a cover charge of ¥2,200 and were led to a table right beside the band and in front of large windows offering an amazing view of Tokyo city. Unfortunately, iPhones aren’t known for their great night time pictures but the ones below give you an idea of what we saw.


Since we had already eaten dinner, we only had drinks; although we couldn’t help finishing off the bowl of Japanese rice cracker and nuts they gave us to snack on. While my husband was boring and just stuck with scotch (14-year Clynelish for ¥1,800), I tried a few of their cocktails. To begin, the classic French 75 (¥1,800) an easy going champagne cocktail made with Tanqueray No.10 (gin) and lemon and lime juices. Arriving in a martini glass without the champagne, at first I was shocked with the small drink size. A moment later, the waiter returns with a bottle of champagne to top it up. As always, a sparkly refreshing drink to start the night.


Afterwards, I had to try their L.I.T. martini (¥1,900) named after the movie. A very easy going fruity drink made with sake, sakura (cherry blossom) liqueur, peach schnapps and cranberry juice. In looking around, most tourists appeared to be drinking the same popular drink.


Lastly, my favourite drink of the night, the Monkey 52 (¥1,900), an interesting mix of Monkey 47 (gin), elder flower syrup, cucumber juice and lime. Personally, I love when cocktails use cool cucumber juice and floral elder flower syrup so this was the drink for me.

All in all, we stayed there for about two hours that night and thoroughly enjoyed the music, view and found this to be a great opportunity to reflect on the highlights of our trip. If you don’t mind paying a little more for drinks, New York Bar is a great night time venue; especially if clubbing is not your cup of tea. 
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Aria (Toronto)

Posted on Friday, February 14, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 25 York Street
Website: http://ariaristorante.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner


Aria is located in Maple Leaf Square a bustling area filled with people and lights connecting to Union Station and the Air Canada Centre.  Conversely, the restaurant is a tranquil environment with soaring ceilings, spectacular light fixtures, dim lighting and hushed conversations. For me, it’s not the venue you’d visit for a quick bite before a game or concert; but, if you’re not pressed for time and money also isn’t a concern than the restaurant certainly offers a better chance at scoring a table than the rowdy Real Sports.

During Winterlicious, Aria was offering a 3-course menu for $45 - the perfect opportunity to try this relatively expensive restaurant. Unfortunately, the dishes offered are not part of their regular menu, so if something sounds delicious you will not find it during a regular visit. However, the meal did provide an indication that their chef puts together hearty dishes which although are simple, ties together flavours quite nicely. 

The seared scallops had a beautiful crust as you’d expect. Done a touch on the rarer side it was barely cooked throughout and quite tender. Sitting on a bed of cauliflower puree, which was smooth and creamy (anything but healthy), it worked as a nice sauce to spread onto the scallops.


At first, I was a bit hesitant to order this appetizer on account of the raisins, pine nuts and capers described on the menu. Fruit and nuts with seafood seem like a bad combination and capers only really go well when done in moderation. I was pleasantly surprised with the finished dish; each of the elements weren’t overpowering and actually worked pretty well with the scallops. The raisins had been soaked and not overly sweet, the pine nuts also just a slight bite to it, while the capers must have been mixed into one of the purees as there wasn’t one in sight.

While the braised veal cheek didn’t have the most impressive plating, the meat itself was absolutely delicious. Having been braised for hours it fell apart with a simple poke of the fork and simply melted in your mouth. Soft stewed chestnuts added a nice earthiness to the beef with some sweetness from the pumpkin and potato mash. For my taste, the mash was a tad too sweet as I tend to like more savoury dishes but it wasn’t a deal breaker.


With the green chard leaves topping the veal cheek, I managed to find a piece that hadn’t wilted in the sauce and realized the chard was roasted beforehand.  This roasted piece added such a nice contrast to the meat that I wish more of them had lasted… perhaps scattering some of them around the plate rather than directly on the meat could accomplish this?

Lastly, I ended with the bonet chocolate dessert from Piemonte (a region in Italy), following our waiter’s recommendation. The dome is a mix between a chocolate mousse and panna cotta texture and sits on a disc of chocolate cake. Sitting in a pool of butterscotch caramel with a scope of amaretto gelato beside it, the dessert was rich and decadent. Thankfully, not overly sweet dark chocolate was used for the bonet, which paired nicely with the sweet caramel sauce.


The passion fruit panna cotta also interested me as it had pop rocks in it – who doesn’t like these little candies? Luckily for me, my friend ordered it and generously offered me a taste. Boy it was good! A nice smooth base and then ever so slightly the pop rocks activate, causing a pause while you just hold the dessert in your mouth and let the tingling feeling erupt. The coconut macaroon cookie on top was soft, chewy and not too sugary; for a person who doesn’t like dried coconut I found the macaroon quite tasty.  Alas, this dessert was the better one in my opinion – inventive, fresh and surprising. What a great way to end the meal.


Service was professional and attentive, with wine and water glasses filled discretely without interrupting conversations.  The only inconvenience happened when I had to visit the toilet and found they were located outside in the office building which required pass card access. With no hostess at the podium, I had to interrupt a waiter who accompanied me to the door to swipe me in. For such an upscale restaurant, they should have seriously considered making their own toilets to avoid such a hassle for their guests.

Overall, I was satisfied with my meal at Aria and surprised with the poor rating they’ve been receiving on Urbanspoon. Most visitors complain about the portion sizes (yes a bit on the smaller side), cost (indeed during non-Winterlicious periods is expensive) and overuse of salt (didn’t bother me a bit). So, I heed the warning once again – if you’re looking for a meal before a game or concert this isn’t the optimal venue. But, if you’re seeking a quiet serene environment to really focus on your guests and conversations, Aria is perfect for that. Of course, if their pricing is what’s stopping you from visiting, then there’s always Summerlicious in July!

 Is Winterlicious worth it?

 As a special feature to the Winterlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Winterlicious - $45

 Regular menu - $61 - scallops* ($14), veal cheek* ($35) and bonet* ($12)

Savings - $16 or 26%

 * All the items aren't on their regular menu; prices based on the calamari fritti, braised bison and other desserts

 Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!



CLOSED: Origin North (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, February 09, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 2901 Bayview Avenue (at Bayview Village in the parking lot)

 Colborne Lane used to be my favourite Toronto restaurant so I know Chef Aprile’s creations are delicious. However, after a mediocre experience at Origin King during its opening, that belief wavered – where were the different textures, array of sauces and attention to detail with each plate? So, when Origin North opened last summer there was no urgency to visit; after all, it seemed like it’d be more of the same thing albeit on a much larger scale – 12,000 square feet to be exact.

 Nonetheless, when Origin North offered a Winterlicious menu for $25, it seemed like too good of a deal to pass on. Here was my opportunity to try it again and see if the first visit was just a fluke. Plus, with over 300 seats up for grabs, snagging a reservation was also a breeze.

 To start, I selected the pastrami spring rolls, arriving two to an order all crispy and hot. The filling consisting of slivers of pastrami and pickled vegetables was interesting, a balanced spice taste with the tender meat. However, the rolls needed to be drained longer as by the time I got around to the second roll the middle of its wrapper stuck to the napkin and had become soggy. Additionally, the chili lime dressing was an odd combination with the pastrami and actually detracted from the dish. In my view, a wasabi hoisin glaze may work better, with the wasabi adding a nice heat and playing on the traditional pastrami & mustard pairing.

My friend’s lentil soup was surprisingly flavourful with a fragrant curry and tart yoghurt mixed into it. Bits of pulled pork topped it, although I didn’t manage to taste how good this was. All in all, it was decent but not one I’d like a whole bowl of.  For me, it wasn’t hot enough on account of the yoghurt; generally soup is best when it’s piping hot.


When the main of crispy beef arrived on a hot sizzling plate those who ordered it thought we made the best decision. Regrettably, upon tasting it the beef’s coating was too floury as granules sort of came off into your mouth as eating. The sauce, having a vinegar base resembling the Shanghainese version you find paired with spare ribs, threw me off as I was expecting a sweet and savoury combination. At the bottom were vermicelli noodles with bean sprouts and small pieces of bok choy, soaking up much of the sauce. Normally, I really enjoy vermicelli but personally felt this needed a thicker hearty noodle that would allow the sauce to merely coat it rather than being saturated. Perhaps it’s me, but a mouthful of vinaigrette noodles isn’t really tasty.


My friend who ordered the chicken supreme actually ended up making the better choice. Sure the dish wasn’t exciting, but the chicken and accompanying brussel sprouts were cooked well and overall it appeared to be a better constructed as a main.

The description “frozen hazelnut chocolate rocks” sounded intriguing and tempted me to order the soft serve cone for dessert. In the end, the “rocks” were really just bits of crunchy cookies and when eaten with the ice cream was reminiscent of a fancy McFlurry. Still it was enjoyable and with the crispy waffle cone was a whimsical dessert. The ice cream itself was fairly neutral and not overly sweet, but was flavoured with something that didn’t seem to be vanilla… perhaps almond?


 Although I didn’t taste it, my friend’s pavlova with citrus salad was quite impressive arriving with wisps of smoke coming from the dried ice. It’s certainly the dessert to get if you want a wow factor.


 Origin also offered a wine pairing for $15 with the meal consisting of a pinot grigio, Chianti and Riesling with the starter, main and dessert, respectively. For the price point, it was a good pairing and just large enough to be satisfying with each course.

In a nutshell, Origin North’s food really isn’t an improvement from the flagship store and a far cry from the impressive Colborne Lane creations. Nevertheless, I love the large open concept design where there is a comfortable amount of space between tables. The overall atmosphere was great - the lights just dim enough and the music at a volume where conversations can still be heard. Our waiter, if I recall correctly named Josh, was amazing and really everyone we encountered was friendly, attentive and professional. In the end, I wouldn’t particularly want to return for dinner but it’s a great location for drinks and light eats and will likely return in the summer to check out their patio.   
 

Is Winterlicious worth it?

 As a special feature to the Winterlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Winterlicious - $25

 Regular menu - $35 - spring rolls* ($9), shanghai beef* ($15) and soft serve cone* ($10)

Savings - $10 or 29%

 * All the items weren't on their regular menu; prices based on the BBQ chicken spring rolls, Bangkok beef salad and other desserts.

 Overall mark - 7 out of 10
Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
 




CLOSED: Parts & Labour (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, February 08, 2014 by

Location: Toronto, Canada

Address: 1566 Queen Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner

I’ve always had the intention to visit Parts & Labour, but the commute to their ultra-Queen West location is so long that excuses to delay the visit were easily made. Still, a glance at their Winterlicious menu (and its delicious sounding options) bolstered my decision to visit; a reservation was made and a trek through the February chill commenced.


Upon entering, the cozy wood fireplace at the entrance was an immediate warm welcome. But, after glancing at the dining room my heart sank – oh no it’s communal seating!  The dining room is a series of rectangular tables seating eight with the only other options being sitting at the bar or some four tops in the kitchen (alas these were filled). Sure, call me old fashioned or even a snob, but is it too much to want some personal space? Really, when did eating in a restaurant become a food court affair and patrons are expected to get cozy with complete strangers?


We were brought to a table with only one other couple, so at first it didn’t seem too bad since an empty chair divided us. Unfortunately, this only lasted for 20 minutes and soon another couple was seated right in between us (in pretty tight quarters). My fellow guests noticed there were empty seats at tables further in the dining room (which never got occupied).  So, the arriving guests could have easily been seated elsewhere making the dining experience more comfortable for everyone. I can go on about this some more, but will sum it up with a warning – if you don’t like sitting beside strangers requiring you to talk over them to hear your guests, don’t visit Parts & Labour; it’s not the place for you.


Onto the food! After all, its delicious sounding nature is what drew me to the restaurant to begin with. To start I had to try the pork belly, a dish that is absolutely delicious when done right. Luckily, Chef Matheson knows his pigs as the pork belly was great. The cut was perfect with alternating layers of fat and meat and cooked slowly so the tough skin mellowed to a nice chew. Moreover, it was rendered well so what’s left of the fat wasn’t oily but just added a nice thick richness to the meat. The sweet glaze caramelized well and went quite nicely with the tart pickled shallots. For me, I found the smooth parsnip puree too sweet to eat on its own but went well when swiped onto the pork.

Originally, the maple-glazed cod was going to be my main. But, when the helpful waitress informed my husband that he could get the P&L burger instead I had to change my order.  And I’m so glad I did as this “best burger in Toronto” was delicious albeit an absolute mess to eat. Its brisket based patty was every ounce as juicy and full of flavour as I’d expect. But, if this weren’t enough there’s also lush caramalized onion with bacon, melted Monterey Jack cheese and mayonnaise topping it.  Really the soft milk bun could not hold it together and disintegrated in my hands; I switched over to a knife and fork to finish it off. 

The fresh shoestring fries were also good – hot and just the right amount of seasoning so it wasn’t overly salted. Mine just kept sticking together so it’s a bit hard to eat with a burger in your hand, but certainly not a deal breaker.  

The P&L Burger was a much better choice than the maple-glazed cod, in my opinion.  My friend offered me a taste and the overly sweet stock was not for me. Of course, it’s “maple-glazed” but I would have liked the dish to use a more savoury stock to contrast the sweetness of the glaze. If I had to eat a whole order of the cod I would have been very disappointed. Even my friend agreed that it was good for the first bite but after a while the sugariness was a bit off putting. But, if you’re a fan of sweet fish, this would be the perfect dish for you!

If you didn’t want a burger and sugary fish also doesn’t sound appealing, perhaps the flat iron steak would be a better bet. From what I could see from the two orders that came to the table they were cooked to a perfect medium and the individuals eating it were thoroughly satisfied.

The desserts all arrive in Mason jars, with a choice of lemon meringue pie, salted chocolate mousse or blueberry cheesecake. I opted for the later and was satisfied. The smooth cheese layer had enough flavour and went well with the graham cracker crust, while the blueberry sauce topping it had a pleasant freshness. All in all, not an outstanding dessert, but still a good ending to the meal.


Is Winterlicious worth it?

As a special feature to the Winterlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Winterlicious - $35

Regular menu - $37 - pork belly ($14), P&L Burger* ($15) and cheesecake* ($8)

Savings** - $2 or 5%

* The burger isn't on the official Winterlicious menu but otherwise I would have gotten the halibut (which based on the cod's price would also be $15).  The cheesecake isn't on their regular menu so price based on guess by me.
** Attempts were made to contact P&L to determine if my calculation was missing something as the savings appear dismal. No response was received so I'm assuming it's correct.  I welcome P&L to post a reply in the "comments" section should they disagree with the analysis.

Overall mark - 6.5*** out of 10

 *** Based on the food, I would have given it a 7 but the seating situation such a turnoff that it's hard for me to say I'd return.
Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

  

Ten-ichi 天一 (Kyoto)

Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2014 by
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Address: Kyoto Station (11 floor in "Eat Paradise")
Website: www.tenichi.co.jp
Type of Meal: Lunch
We stumbled upon Ten-Ichi by chance, as by the time we arrived in Kyoto, I was famished and needed to refuel quickly.  Luckily, the JR Kyoto train station does not disappoint with the entire 11th floor dedicated to restaurants.  There are likely elevators somewhere, but after looking around for five minutes we couldn’t find it.  My suggestion is to go up to the pedestrian walkway on the 2nd floor and take all the endless escalators up to save some frustration.




Ten-Ichi is a tempura chain with locations across the country and their flagship store in Ginza. Although they do have tables, the best seat in the house is at the bar seats where you can see the chefs in action. Of course, you do end up smelling heavily of fried food; personally, I was thankful that they had little carts behind the chairs where you can stash jackets and bags to cover them from as much of the fumes as possible.

A good time to visit is during lunch as they offer specials, which is what we ordered (¥1,995), quite a good deal compared to their dinner combos that can be upwards of ¥5,000.

When the platter of dishes arrived, one contained a piece of cold squid with tofu skin and chives. Although it was very simply seasoned (a miso dressing?), the squid was tender and went well with the blanch chives. A great amuse I wasn’t expecting and helped tied me over until the tempura started arriving.

Unlike my experiences in Canada, Ten-ichi’s tempura is freshly battered and cooked, with the chef presenting one ingredient at a time so that each one can be enjoyed piping hot. The first to be done were two shrimp. They were not as heavily battered and “fluffy” as the North American versions, rather each shrimp was gently coated so that the crust was crispy but not overly oily. Surprisingly, the shrimp’s natural sweetness was still pretty pronounced and shone through the batter and soy sauce.

Next a shiitake stuffed with crab meat was served. The mushroom was fairly light tasting allowing the sweet flaked crab meat to permeate through. Personally, I found this went better with just a light dusting of salt. 

When I saw the eggplant I was a bit worried that it would be gross and oily – eggplant is notorious for soaking up whatever it’s cooked in. However, this certainly wasn’t the case and was in fact tender and delicious.

Following was another seafood offering, a delicate white fish fillet deboned and perfect for eating.  Juicy and just cooked through, the fish was fresh and such a good combination of flakiness and crunch. What I wouldn’t have given to have some house made tartare sauce with this!

When the chef first put down the next vegetable, I assumed it was a green bean. Upon biting into it I discovered it was actually a pepper. Interestingly, it had no heat nor was it sweet; just a pepper flavour with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

The last item brings the meal full circle – more shrimp.  This time in fritter form with tons of tiny shrimp nestled into a crispy and doughy batter.  It’s great for breaking into little pieces, dunking into the light soy, scooping up the ground daikon and eating with rice. If you were worried about not being full before, this certainly will fill you up and ensure you’re satisfied!

I absolutely love how each table gets a bowl of ground daikon (a light tasting turnip) to add to the soy sauce.  The juiciness of it cuts through the oiliness and helps the soy sauce stick better onto the tempura. Once scooped onto the rice and mixed with some crunchy pickled vegetables it complements the plain rice quite well.

Like most Japanese restaurants, Ten-Ichi includes a bowl of hot miso soup with the meal. Ten-Ichi jazzes it up a bit by adding mini clams into the soup, not the easiest thing to eat but gives it some extra depth of flavour.

Why isn’t tempura served like this all over the world? Instead of the overly battered pieces of frozen shrimp with tasteless root vegetables, in Japan chefs use fresh seasonal ingredients with each piece offering unique flavours. Of course, it also helps that you’re served piece-by-piece so that each one arrives deliciously hot.  Most pieces aren’t that large, so once you finish you can’t help but anticipate when the chef will lift their large chopsticks and place the next offering in front of you.

Overall mark - 8 out of 10

 Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


CLOSED: Bent revisited for Winterlicious (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, February 02, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 777 Dundas Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner


My first visit to Bent was back in late 2012, close to its opening.  I was pleased with my experience and their strongly flavoured dishes (read review here) with only complaints being on their service (not changing plates and offering serving utensils).


While revisiting Bent for their 2014 Winterlicious menu ($35 for three courses), they were as busy as ever.  Service continues to be friendly and helpful with our waitress providing point on descriptions of the dishes and stepping in quickly to address some spilt wine. The food was enjoyable still incorporating Susur’s bold Asian European fusion flavours and was somewhat sharable small plate formats.

The black pepper charred salmon arrives with a side of spicy salmon tartare, a nice contrast to the calmer seared pieces. Both were very different with the slices cooked with just a simple sear and a pepper/dill crust.  Topped with crème fraiche, a fennel relish, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds and a dill vinaigrette there was a certainly a host of different textures and flavours. All in all, it works but a bit too much dill for my taste as I found the piece on the right of the plate (away from the vinaigrette) a better combination.


Meanwhile, the salmon tartare is similar to their “tartare two ways” offering with a smooth salmon paste mixed with crunchy shallots, more dill and something briny.  A nice amount of heat is incorporated into the mixture and gave it a punch. I’ll admit, it tastes much better on top of a crispy sushi rice cake, the salty potato chips doesn’t work quite as well.

My friend and I split our mains as the shrimp ravioli and short rib cannelloni both sounded delicious. The shrimp ravioli was an impressively presented dish with a lot going on.  The ravioli is made exactly how I like it, a higher filling to dough ratio, with light wonton skins acting as the dough and a sweet peppered shrimp paste as the filling. Nicely seared scallops topped the ravioli and rice cake / creamed swiss chard combination while a seafood tofu (?) medallion rounds off everything. All in all, this is the dish to have if you’re not going to share as there’s enough going on within it to keep things interesting and really showcases what Susur does best – mixing different ingredients, textures and flavours.




I apologize for the disheveled looking short rib cannelloni … I forgot to snap the picture before it was split. If you’re planning to share mains with someone else, my suggestion is to have the other dish first and leave this until the end. The cannelloni is filled with robust flavours – tender pulled short rib, a rich red pepper and garlic gravy and some parsley (?) puree and gorgonzola cream. It’s a much heavier dish and reminded me of eating an enchilada. Overall, was good but, in my opinion, not as well constructed as the intricate shrimp ravioli dish… so definitely share to avoid disappointment.   


The dessert course was a nice surprise – you don’t have to choose as you get them all! But, unlike the three dishes listed on the Winterlicious menu, it’s actually two things with the panna cotta and chocolate mousse merged into one. The table’s unanimous favourite was the crispy hot apple purse.  A cinnamon apple mixture is wrapped into a crispy phyllo pastry and topped with a warm caramel and cool cream. This is a delicious take on apple pie! Personally, I love desserts that incorporate a hot and cold element so this did not disappoint.


On the other hand, the panna cotta and mousse was a bit too much.  With jarred desserts I usually dig right into the bottom to make sure each spoonful incorporates all the different layers of flavours, but this one just had way too much going on. At the top is a chocolate coriander mousse topped with puffed rice, which if by itself would have been quite nice with the combination of smooth mousse and crunch rice bits. The bottom half was a vanilla panna cotta topped with an apricot preserve and raspberry coulis; also had potential to be quite refreshing if served on its own.  Together though, the dessert is the chocolate and fruit blend I detest and the coriander chocolate actually added a bitter tinge to the dish. My suggestion … split this dessert into a trio; I think it would work much better.


Is Winterlicious worth it?

 As a special feature to the Winterlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Winterlicious - $35

 Regular menu - $52 - Charred salmon ($16), shrimp ravioli ($26) and dessert* ($10)

Savings - $17 or 33%

 * The dessert price based on similar items in the menu.

 Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Beast (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, February 01, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 96 Tecumseth St
Website: http://thebeastrestaurant.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Beast has been a restaurant I’ve always had intentions of visiting, especially after following the Group of Seven Chefs, a collaborative pop-up dinner team started by Chef Vivian.  People rave about the Beastwich, a towering buttermilk biscuit holding fried chicken, cheese, a fried egg, potatoes and then smothered with gravy.  Offered only during Sunday brunches, it sounds delicious but seems a bit heavy for the first meal of the day. 

On a cold winter night I finally had that chance to try their creations. Tucked away on a quiet residential street (Tecumseth) near King I first feared that Googlemaps had led me astray.  Luckily, it was correct and soon was seated in a warm and casual dining room.  My only caution is you may want to make Beast the only stop of the night as it’s a bit poorly ventilated so you will reek of food afterwards.
Beast’s menu consists of small plates that meant for sharing.  Jeff, our fantastic waiter for the night, gave us plenty of time to peruse it as so many things sounded delicious.  We finally settled on six dishes for our table of three.  Before they came out, we were presented with a platter of some interestingly shaped bread, where the horn shaped ones acted as a roll and bread stick in one (on account of its crunchy ends).


The steelhead trout ($12) arrived first.  Lightly smoked and flaked apart, the fish was served cold on top of slices of sweet beet root and flavoured with dollops of thick yogourt and chives.  I enjoyed the trout’s texture and strong but not overwhelming flavour.  The beetroot actually helped to mellow out the smokiness a bit and I wish there was more of the delicious creamy yogurt to go with it.  In my opinion, the sunflower seeds could have been left off as they added little to the dish and got in the way of the delicate flakiness of the fish.


 Meanwhile, the mixed greens were less impressive and priced at $10 needed a bit more than a handful of spring mix topped with a button mushrooms and radish slices.  Sure the sweet balconville dressing (a late harvest apple vinegar) was good and each leaf well coated. But, it wasn’t that outstanding to make it a worthwhile repeat order. Alas, it’s likely our own fault … when you go to a restaurant called Beast should you bother with vegetables?

The Asian inspired fried squid ($11) was much better.  I liked the addition of the Thai basil and pomelo (a sweeter and drier grapefruit) which lightened the dish. The battered squid was nice and fresh, albeit in very small pieces on account to the size of the squid used.  But, the tinier pieces did make it easier to combine forkfuls of all the ingredients so you could really taste everything holistically.

Our last seafood dish was the mackerel ($13) cooked beautifully with crispy skin and flakey meat.  A tomatoy chorizo and cucumber mixture added a nice saltiness to the fish and a Spanish flare.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how well Chef Vivian prepared fish considering Beast is known for its meatier fare.  Yes, hunks of soft meat and crispy nuggets are good, but dish after dish of it would be too much.  Sometimes you do need a lighter seafood added to the mix to really appreciate the differences.

A dish that certainly turns heads is their bone marrow ($12), a hunking beef bone cut in half with a deep char on top.  That nice crust comes from adding sugar to the top and then blow torching it to create a nice brulee topping; the slight smoky sweetness actually goes quite well with the soft marrow.  Personally, I preferred the marrow by itself as when eaten with the grilled bread the smokiness was overwhelming.  Perhaps the dish would be better suited with simple toasted bread rather than the grilled version.

Beast’s poutine ($10) replaces fries with fried pieces of soft gnocchi (on my!).  The crunchy crust holds up quite well but is softened somewhat with the liberal topping of gravy that thoroughly melts the cheese curds.  Tender braised pulled pork adds even more flavour to it.  Although this sounds like a heavy dish, their gravy is a lighter jus so isn’t as gluttonous feeling. This is certainly a dish I’d order again!

After six dishes we were satisfied.  Nonetheless, we couldn’t help but peek at the dessert menu.  With only three to choose from the choices weren’t much, but still sounded delicious enough that we had to pick between two.  In the end, we opted for the sticky toffee pudding ($10) and it was such a great choice! 

 When it arrived the sheer amount of toffee seemed ridiculous; the soft moist pudding was actually sitting in a pool of toffee. Even though it wasn’t overly sweet, you still had to eat it quick as near the end so much was soaked into it that it almost felt like toffee with pudding bits.  I recall reading somewhere that Chef Caldwell use to be a pastry chef so this could have been one of her delicious creations.  It was one of the best sticky toffee pudding’s I’ve ever had.

At Beast you won’t find obnoxiously loud music that overwhelms your ability to carry a conversation.  You will find dishes coming out at a good pace so you actually have time to savour each one and not feel rushed.  Prices aren’t cheap but with the flavourful dishes we found we felt satisfied with two each so the bill ends up feeling affordable.  Just don’t come with a vegetarian as I can assure you they will feel disappointed.

 Overall mark - 7 out of 10


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Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

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