Beast - Brunch

I don't get around to @BeastRestaurant as much as a used to, but when I do, it's always #GoodEats!

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The Agrarian

New season, new kitchen, new menu. @NeilDowsonPEC has some #GoodEats @Agrarian_PEC!

Wish I had room to eat more! Will be back soon for sure.

Seed to Sausage Charcuterie

Hunter Salami, Calabrese, Grainy Mustard, Pickles, Crostini

Ed and Sandy's Asparagus

Grilled Bread, Fried Egg, Parmesan, Pea Shoots

Agrarian Burger

6oz Beef Chuck, Fried, Iceberg Lettuce, Tomato, Dill Pickle, Bacon, Cheddar, Caramelized Onions

Eton Mess

Meringue, Smashed Raspberries, Vanilla Cream

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Norman Hardie - Pizza

I've been waiting all winter for @NormHardie to fire up his pizza oven! #GoodEats #PEC #HardiePizzaParty2014

Not just known for making some world class wines, the winery features a wood fired pizza oven on the weekends. Pizzas are crafted by Daniel Usher, chef-owner of Orolan Restaurant in Toronto. He knows his pizzas, he's works at Terroni and Pizzeria Libretto, and he's spent time in Italy.

If you spend any time in Prince Edward County, you have to head over to Norman Hardie for some pizza. Served every weekend in the summer from 11am to 6pm. Be there early to beat the lunch ruch, and be sure to enjoy a glass or two of some incredible wine!

The menu features 6 pizzas and a seasonal salad, large enough to feed 2-3 ($9). Prices range from $12 to $17.

Marinara: Tomato, Basil Garlic, Oregano, Oilive Oil

Margherita: Tomato, Fior di latte, Basil

Tarte Flambée: White Cheddar, Créme Fraîche, Speck, Onion

Napoli: Fior di latte, Anchovy, Tomato, Hot Pepper

Seasonal: Tomato, Fior di latte, Angelo's Sausage, Hot Peppers, Onions

Funghi: Fior di latte, Oyster Mushrooms, Garlic, Teleggio

Tarte Flambée ($15)

Seasonal - Sausage ($15)

Two pizzas and two glasses of Chardonnay later, I'm a happy camper! Thanks for a great lunch Norm!

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Meetings by McEwan

Check out the latest offerings @Chef_MarkMcEwan's #ONE for @HazeltonTO's executive meeting space. (cc @TheMcEwanGroup)

The Hazelton Hotel has redefined its luxurious meeting offerings with a thoughtfully curated program, Meeting by McEwan. From intimate board meetings to productive sales conferences, a variety of extraordinary provice an intimate setting for executive meetings. Focusing on healthy choices Chef Mark McEwan and his team at ONE, the menu features the best of McEwans vast culinary spectrum. 

“Meetings by McEwan is designed to fuel inspiring and innovative ideas in an award-winning backdrop, while catering to the culinary savvy and expectations of today’s corporate meeting guest,” said Chef Mark McEwan.

The Yorkville Room (pictured below) is the largest of 3 meeting spaces, along with a private screening room.

Image courtesy of The Hazelton Hotel

Guests are presented with this standard table setting with fruit, chocolate from Laura Slack handmade luxury chocolate, menu, and note book.

The breakfast menu features an assortment of healthy choices, with vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free options; Low-Fat Banana Chia Seed Muffins, Seasonal Fruit Cocktail, Organic Yogurt with Housemade Granola and Berries, Sliced Aged Québec Cheddar with Heirloom Tomatoes, Avocado Toasts with Chopped Egg and Parmigiano-Reggiano, Housemade Granola Bars, Smoked Salmon Rosti with Poached Egg and Hollandaise, Vegetarian Breakfast Tortillas, and Assorted Miniature Donuts. Served with freshly brewed coffee, decaf, tea, and freshly squeezed orange and seasonal juices. 

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Canoe - Taste BC

A bright and beautiful menu showcasing the best British Columbia has to offer, @ChefHorne uses some very unique and interesting ingredients to dazzle all the senses on the second stop of Canoe's year long cross Canada tour. From the mountains to the ocean, this menu has something for everyone. When you think of BC, seafood is one of the first things to come to mind, so it's no surprise that the sea is featured in 3 of the 5 courses of this menu.  At the time of this tasting, Canoe was the only restaurant in Toronto to feature a full spring menu, the majority of the ingredients are specially harvested and flown in from BC for Canoe!

From The Pier/Amuse Bouche: House-made Sauerkraut, Smoked Stugeon, Brisket, Grilled Pickled Onion, & Mustard.

Sturgeon has, in recent months, become one of my favourite proteins. It doesn't have your typical soft, velvety, fish texture, sturgeon is very dense and meaty with incredible flavour. Smoke it and it adds a beautiful complexity to the protein.

Paired with Tree Fruit Punch.

Course 1: Coastal Cannelloni. Shellfish Mousse (Crab, Muscles, Prawns), Sea Asparagus, Nori Froth, with Namprock Prawns and Roe.

A very rich dish that comes off as wonderfully light, where the flavours of the prawn and crab come through and are the star of the show. The acidity excellently cuts the richness and provides a beautiful balance to the dish making you crave more.

Paired with Quails' Gate Chenin Blanc, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2012.

Course 2: Still Smoking Coho Salmon with Maple Blossom Capers (Pickled, Salted, and Fried), Caviar, Coniferous Cream, Cedar Jelly.

Presented under a smoke filled cloche, you get a lovely arousal of smoke that enhances the entire dish. Served cold, the salmon is lightly confit to barely cook it which gives a nice firm texture to the almost raw salmon. The salted maple capers, ikura, and mustard seeds provide a textural contrast along with salt and acidity. These maple capers (pickled for garnish on the edge of the plate, and fried/salted on the salmon) were one of the more interesting ingredients I've eaten. These aren't from your typical Sugar Maple trees we're all used to, these are from Big Leaf Maple trees, they have blossoms you can eat! Peaking in April and May, these blossoms are everywhere in the Pacific North West, as the season progresses  you have to go further and further up the mountain to pick these blossoms. Just something really unique I never had before.

Paired with Clos du Soleil Fumé Blanc, Similkameen Valley, BC, 2011

Forages/Intermezzo: Wild Wood Sorrel.

Course 3: Organic Ocean Sablefish with Salted Cheery Blossom, Fiddleheads, Wild Ginger Infused Sushi Rice, and Avocado Purée.

Always excited to see fiddleheads! The avocado purée works really nicely with this dish, surprisingly well actually. Might be my favourite dish of the menu.

Paired with Sperling Vineyards Old Vines Riesling, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2011.

Course 4: Mountain Alder Rubbed Elk Sirloin with Burn Morels, Lardo, Huckleberries, Stinging Nettle Purée, and Wild Green Onions.

Elk is a very lean protein that can overcook and dryout in a heartbeat, but wrapped in caul fat it keeps in the moisture and keeps the meat nice a juicy. 

Paird with Mission Hill Family Estate Quatrain, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2009.

Course 5: Japanese Rice Cake with Okanagan Hazelnuts, Green Tea Custard, Red Bean Sherbet, Apricots, Crème Fraîche, Kumquat, and Puffed Rice. 

Not being a dessert person, I'm always surprised when a dessert delights me. Lots of great textures and tempteratures and not very sweet at all.

Paired with an Off the Cliff.

Petite Fours: Nanimo Bar

A classic dessert that can be found in many homes in BC, it's layered with a wafer crumb, custard, and chocolate.

Cheese course: Saint Honoré Cheese with "Poor Man's Honey", Honeydew, and Grandma's Biscuits.

I reminded Chef Horne how much I enjoyed the cheese course from my last visit during the Taste Quebec menu, and he was kind enough to treat my guest and I to more cheese! This time he included a second time of "honey" it's produced from a mutual relationship between ants and aphids. In short, it's a flowerless "honey". If you're interested in the production of this "honey" read more about it here.

Next up, Taste Maritimes!

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Canoe - Taste Québec

@ChefHorne's first tasting menu as we travel across Canada over the next year. #GoodEats

Aside from poutine and maple syrup, it's hard to define what Canadian cuisine is. Being the second largest country in the world, spanning coast-to-coast, and with almost every type of biome, Canada is able to produce and showcase so many different ingredients throughout the year. This is what excites me about this series of tasting menus, rather than focusing on one particular ingredient (berries, corn etc), Chef Horne has decided to focus on Canada and showcase it's regions at it's best. Starting with Quebec, to British Columbia, to the East Coast, to Ontario, the Prairies, and North of 70.

Bonsoir/Amuse Bouche: Dungeness Crab with Cauliflower Foam, Taro Chips, and Chili.

Paired with a Sweet Apple "Caribou" Cocktail with Lillet Blanc and Fortified Wine.

Course 1: Split Pea Soup with Smoked Sturgeon, Housemade Crème Fraîche from Canton-de-l'Est Ricotta , & Montréal Bagel Crumbs.

Course 2: Wild Rabbit & Foie Gras Terrine with Wild Blum, Chokecherry Jelly & Pain d'Épices (spiced bread)

Intermezzo/Rafraîchir: Hot House Rhubarb - inspired by Chef Horne's childhood "as kids we didn't have money to buy candy, so we would take rhubard from our neighbors, sprinkle sugar on it, and that was our candy"

Course 3: Chantecler Chicken Poutine with Cider Braised Navet (Turnips), Cheese Curd Stuffed Leg, Pommes Maxim & Smoked Mustard.

Not your typical poutine with gravy, fries and cheese curds. This was made by layering gravy, mashed potatoes, pommes maxim (thinly sliced and fried potato), with cheese curds on top, the idea was to have one bite poutine!

Course 4: Gaspésie Monkfish with Montréal Smoked Meat, Sauerkraut, Bacon, and Spicy Carrot Ginger Purée

Course 5 (bonus course): Saint Honoré Cheese with "Poor Man's Honey" and Biscuits

Poor Man's Honey is creamed honey made with last seasons honey mixed with honey comb. The biscuits were just to die for, the recipe is passed down from Chef Horne's grandmother. The Saint Honoré cheese is the only triple cream cheese made in Canada, so f*cking good! I tried to buy some the next day over at Cheese Boutique, but Chef Horne has all of it reserved for Canoe :(

Course 6: Sugar Pie Filling with Crispy Rye Berries, Coffee Foam, & Chestnut Purée

Petie Fours/Salue: Tire sur la Neige

It's hard to believe that being born and riased in Canda I've had this before! Like every school kid, I've visited sugar bushes during maple season, eaten maple candy, made maple sugar and desserts, but never had this. So this was a new exerpience for me, so much fun, love it (altho my friend Carmen got most of the maple taffy haha).

If this is any indication of what Chef Horne has in-store for the rest of the year, I'm looking forward to see what he does!

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The Agrarian - Maple In The County

Celebrating Maple In The County with a maple inspried menu @Agrarian_PEC by @NeilChefPEC! #GoodEats

A couple of weeks ago, I came out for their Maple In The County event, a celebration of maple syrup season. Every time I visit Price Edward County (about 2hrs east of Toronto), I fall more in love with the region. There's fantastic food, wine, and great people! If you're ever headed out here for some wine tasting, be sure to give The Agrarian a visit, one of my favourite places to eat out there.

After a fun, but cold day, this 5 course menu celebrating the county and maple season was very much welcomed, and the capstone to our visit.

Course 1: Butternut Squash Soup & Grilled Cheese with 2 year old Cheddar, Maple Onions, Maply Syrup, Greek Yogurt, and Cilantro.

Course 2: Maple Roasted Carrots with Goat's Cheese, Toasted Sunflower Seeds, Crème Fraîche, and Quinoa

Course 3: Duck Salad with Pickled Beets, Pomegranate, and Maple Vinaigrette

Course 4: Maple Walnut Sausages with Smashed Sweet Potato, Lentils, Maple Vincotto

Course 5: Maple Sponge Toffee, Brownie, Maple Caramel Ice Cream, Maple Popcorn, and Banana

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Beast Restaurant - Whole Beast Dinner - Rabbit

Finally made my way to @BeastRestaurant, and it was an incredible meal! #GoodEats

I'm no stranger to the restaurant, I've been there every Friday for the past year and a half for their Beastwich lunches (now replaced with brunch), and I've had Scott Vivian's food at different events around the city, but I've never actually had a meal there before. I haven't been avoiding the restaurant, I just never got around to it, until now.

I was talking with Scott one afternoon after a beastwich, and the idea of coming in to do a whole beast dinner came up. Reservations need to be made at least one week in advance of the meal so Scott and source the ingredients and develop a menu. Each whole animal dinner gets it's own menu, even if the proteins repeat, there's ways a new and unique menu. As the guest, you decide which animal you want and answer one simple question: How adventurous of a eater are you?

My friend has never had rabbit before, so that was our protein, and I'm a faily adventurous eater so I told Scott to have fun with the menu. Here's what we ate!

Starting with some warm soft bread and butter.

Course 1: Rabbit Saddle Terrine on Devilled Egg Purée with Schichimi Togarashi, garnished with Fig & Bacon Jam and Elderberries.

Course 2: Offal on Toast - Kidneys and Liver with Shishito Peppers, au jus

Course 3: Gnocchi and Braised Rabbit Hind Legs Ragú

Course 4: Confit Rabbit Cage with a Scallop blackened with Squid Ink, Romesco, and Salsa Verde

This was a really fun dish to eat, not for the lazy eater though since you need to scrape out each bone for every morsel of meat. Totally worth it in my opinion!

Course 5: Fried Front Legs with Kimichi, Hoisin Sauce, Candied Peanuts

Course 6: Pete's Cotton Tails - Carrot Cake Donut with Cream Cheese Icing and Coconut

Thank you Scott for a fantastic meal!

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Canoe - Taste Fowl

@ChefHorne's 2013 fall tasting menu @Oliver_Bonacini's Canoe, full of big Fall flavours and beautiful birds.

Amuse Bouche: Rabbit & Foi Parfait with a Pork Rillet Tartlet.

Pairing: Domain Vincent Carême L'Ancestrale Vouvray, Loire Valley France, 2011.

Best decribed as a perfect bite.

Course 1: Potted Pigeon & Foi Gras and Liver Pâté with Pickled Beets, Qual Scotch Egg, & Okanogan Plum.

Pairing: Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Heimbourg Riesling, Alsace France, 2008.

The squab cooked Peking Duck style with a maple syrup glaze. Perfectly crispy skin with tender meat and warm beets, a very well balanced dish with lovely bright notes.

Course 2: Chantecler Chicken Soup with Dumplings, Heirloom Carrots, Savory Oil, Chicken Velouté.

Pairing: Domaine Tissot Empreinte Chardonnay, Arbois Jura France, 2011. 

One of my favourite dishes from the night, the depth of flavour from th broth come from it's 5 day process using carcasses from Chanteclair chicken, turkey, and other fowl. It was so good that I came back the next evening to have it again!

Course 3, a bonus course from Chef Horne: Beef Tenderloin with Confit Beef Heart, and Peppered Tongue.

This was the first time I had beef heart! Not surprisingly, I loved it. It might be my favorite cut of meat, second only to the flatiron. Full of earthy beefy flavours, it was  a fantastic treat from Chef Horne.

Intermezzo: Eggnog Bourbon Soup.

Course 4: Clover Roads "Duck, Duck, Goose" with Brussels Sprouts, Niagara pple, Dirty Rice, Mushroom Oat Haggis.

Pairing: Azienda Agricola COS Cerasuolo du Vittoria Classico, Sicily Italy, 2010.

Sadly I wasn't able to enjoy this dish. While the duck appeared to be cooked perfectly, it was salted very agressively. The rice on the otherhand was great, wouldn't mind having a bowl of that!

Course 5: Phesant Hill Farm "Turducken Style" - Guinea Hen, Pheasant & Partridge, Savory Cabbage, Bacon & Mulled Mountain Cranberries.

Pairing: Quails' Gate Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley British Columbia, 2009.

Turducken! My favorite dish of the evening, and the highlight of the menu. Just wow.

Course 6: Breakfast for Dessert - Cranola, Saffron Custard, Orange Maralade, French Toast Ice Cream.

Pairing: Creekside Shiraz Ice Wine, Niagara Peninsula Ontario, 2008.

Petit Fours: Brownies.

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Doughnuts

Finally got my hand on some delicious doughnuts from @doughtoronto! #GoodEats

Vietnamese Coffee Cake, Deluxe Maple Bacon, Homer, Blueberry, Mexican Brownie

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