The bar is a prominent feature at Furlough: it’s the first
thing you see at the entrance, whomever’s at the bar will likely be the first
to greet you warmly, and the array of bottles (including house made bitters and
syrups) on display will peak interest. Cocktail aficionados know of the
restaurant as a place to get tasty liberations - don’t be surprised to see
guests coming in after 9pm on weeknights for a night cap.
After all, when a drink menu is bound and wrapped in leather
(compared to printed note cards used for food), you get a sense of what the
restaurant specializes in – although to be fair the food was fantastic. In
light of this, having a cocktail to start and end the meal, at least, is ideal.
Although Furlough concocts a lot of the classics (Sazerac, Moscow Mules),
there’s some interesting contemporary offerings that you won’t find elsewhere.
Just imagine what they could be by the names: Tibetan Peach Pie, Monet, and Ask
Me Tomorrow… getting interested yet?
To start we had a cocktail flight, which provides half
portions of each drink. Offered on Wednesdays for $18, the flight is inspired
by a theme that changes weekly - ours was an ode to gin:
- Having had numerous French 75s ($14), I finally learnt the
name doesn’t have any romantic wistful cogitations to the olden days of Paris;
rather is named after the French 75mm gun on account of the kick from the
absinthe incorporated in the original recipe! This compared to the cocktail we
know today as refreshing gin shaken with simple syrup and lemon juice, then
strained into a champagne flute and topped with sparkling wine. It’s hard to
imagine such an easy going drink once being deadly.
- A favourite of the table was the Last Word ($14), a
concoction that seems strong as it enters the mouth but transforms into an
utterly smooth finish; the herbal Chartreuse sneaks in first but everything’s
mellowed out by the Maraschino liqueur and lime juice.
- To end, an aptly named drink: the Happily Ever After, best
described by my friend as “birthday cake in a cup”. The gin is infused with
strawberries to give the liquor a vivid red colour and berry notes. Shaken
twice, first with the egg whites and then with the other ingredients (pineapple
syrup, vanilla syrup, Pinot and aperol), the resulting gin sour is silky smooth
with the foam adding a frosting quality to the sweet cocktail.
Furlough builds their cocktails by using a variety of
house-made bitters, syrups and infused spirits. In this end, it’s balancing the
bitters and the sweets you get a boozy drink without it tasting like one.
The Basil and Elderflower Fizz ($14) is the perfect hot
weather sipping drink. Refreshing muddled basil and vanilla is mixed with
cooling cucumber, gin, elderflower liqueur and lime. Since it’s topped with
sparkling water, it’s also a cocktail that helps quench your thirst.
If the cocktails on the menu doesn’t catch your eye, feel
free to sit at the bar and throw out ideas. Wanting something with their
delicious strawberry gin again, but also the bubbles of the sparkling wine, I
concocted the Strawbasil Fields Forever ($14) (thanks to my friend J for the
fitting name). Similar to the French 75, the strawberry gin is shaken with ice
along with rosemary syrup and muddled basil, then strained into a flute and
topped with sparkling wine. It’s exactly what I was craving and a little bird
told me that you can order it as an off menu item.
Throughout the process I was marveled by how much passion
Gabriel Quigley exuded: a history professor when recounting about the origins
of a cocktail or even bringing a scientific angle to the drinks while
explaining why some have to be shaken vs. stirred (turns out James Bond has it
all wrong). In the end, a mixologist is not unlike a sommelier: you need to
know about the drink’s origins and how its properties will work with whatever
it’ll be consumed alongside.
As much as I love a good drink, food is what wins my heart (the
French bistro inspired dishes made by Chef Thomas O’Neill certainly had me
swooning). Starting with the classic moules
and frites ($15), the mussels fresh and swimming in a fantastic leek and
confit garlic broth with pieces of chorizo on top for added flavours and spice.
The shoestring fries were deliciously hot and crispy; the perfect vessel for
dipping into the broth and sharing.
In fact, Furlough has a selection of starters that are great
for sharing. Arriving with a heavenly scent, the ham hock croquettes ($9) are
deep fried nuggets of hot mashed potato laced with pieces of pork. Sitting on
the plate are a selection of condiments including a beer mayo and ramp mustard,
but it’s the crunchy pieces of salted chicharron
(pork rind) that made the dish.
Thankfully, there were plenty of crostini (on the plate and
as a side) accompanying the Albacore tuna tartar ($15). The meaty diced pieces
of fish were tossed with sesame oil to give off a fragrant aroma and all the
crisp vegetables (radish, cucumber and pickled shallots) lightened the dish, a
great choice for the warmer months.
Of course, Furlough also offers the sharing crowd favourites:
freshly shucked oysters, that evening a dozen Mallet St. Simon ($42 for a
dozen) served with a lovely mignonette, shaved
horseradish and cocktail sauce (these go particularly well with the French 75),
as well as a charcuterie board ($19) featuring a selection of delicious meats
made in-house (a meaty chorizo, flavourful and rich mortadella, and salty Genoa
salami) and cheeses (aged gruyere and stilton). Mixed throughout the board are
toasted bread, a thick fig jam, lovely pickled beets and gherkins.
The house-made bread even makes its way into their mains -
the brioche chitarra ($19) incorporates the bread crumbs into the buttery
topping. This pasta oozes the taste of spring with peas, sweet cipollini onions
and bright mint. Touches of cream ties everything together into a hearty main.
Of all the meat-based larger plates, the duck confit ($28) was
the only slip as the fowl was extremely salty. Nonetheless, the duck was cooked
perfectly with a crispy well-rendered skin and moist interior and the dish was
salvageable by mixing slivers of the duck into the citrusy spaetzle, which helped mellow out the saltiness.
The striploin in the steak frites ($29) was also well
prepared arriving spot on medium rare and having a lovely sear. Although the
meat was good, we were all just excited to see more of Furlough’s fantastic
fries … a bowl of these with cocktails could satisfy me any day.
What will have me returning for more is their fried chicken
($21) … it’s not French but oh so fantastic! Having been brined twice (soaked
in liquid for flavour and then buttermilk for further moisture) the chicken is juicy
and flavourful. The crust has enough coating for crunch but not too much to be
overwhelming. Even the baby cabbage coleslaw on the bottom is jazzed up with
pickled cauliflower and almond. There not a thing I’d change about the dish …
except maybe include some of the Furlough fries on the side.
For dessert we shared a combination dessert of their Curds
& Cookies with a Deconstructed Black Forest cake. The bowl of curds is
reminiscent of the British Eton Mess: plenty of whipped cream, a citrusy orange
curd topped with crunchy shortbread crumbs and hazelnut praline. Meanwhile, the
roasted chocolate flourless cake on the side is rich and slightly bitter with
moist chocolate cake on top.
The dessert went really well their signature cocktail, the Furlough
($14). Essentially a digestif, the mixture of bitters and syrup helps to settle
the stomach after the lovely meal. Unlike the earlier cocktails, this has a
stronger bourbon base infused with a tobacco essence (sounds strange but
actually works). It’s all lightened with patchouli syrup, cacao bitter and
sweet vermouth; the finishing touch lighting the drink on fire with a spritz of
atomized essence of cigar. In the end, the drink provides the smell of tobacco
but tastes of cacao and an almost vanilla essence.
You’ll have a difficult time deciding where to sit: the bar
(where all the action is) or the patio in the back (so tranquil and airy). Of
course, you can always follow our lead and start with cocktails and nibbles at
the bar and move into the patio for the main meal.
Additionally, if $14 cocktails aren’t in your budget,
consider visiting on Tuesday when the bartender on duty invents an innovative
special for the evening for only $10. Of course, there’s also the
aforementioned $18 cocktail tasting flights offered on Wednesday that gives you
three half-cocktails. Combine these drink specials with their $35 3-couse prix
fixe meal (that offers the fantastic fried chicken as one of the mains) and
you’ll have an affordable meal.
Going on a furlough is essentially taking a leave of absence
from work. At a time when the economy is a little shaky and work can be
somewhat stressful, we could all use a break from the “real life”. The attitude
at Furlough is relaxed and care free - expertly made cocktails and food without
the snobbery. Dinner at the restaurant was lovely: its easy tasting drinks and secluded
patio surely allowed me to leave my worries behind.
François Décarie, 29 Février’s President, was inspired to
support the cause after his mother was affected by the disease. He recognized the
toll it has on their loved ones, leaving him wanting to do something to give
back. My own grandmother has recently been touched by Alzheimer’s, although,
thankfully, it’s still in its infancy and she’s still able to live an
independent and fruitful life. Nonetheless, hearing the diagnosis was scary and
my mother and her siblings have definitely re-arranged their lives to ensure
their mother has additional support. I get it, I’ve experienced it, and I’m
glad Décarie’s doing something to help.
Before the event, I assumed that darker syrups were simply
boiled longer causing the sugars to caramelize further. Although the dark ones
are cooked a little longer, François explains that it’s really tied to when they
harvest the sap: the earliest batches create the golden syrup while the last
taps makes the very dark. Live and learn, who would have known that not only
the terroir of the tree matters, but the timing as well?
