Showing posts with label ratatouille. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ratatouille. Show all posts

Grail Springs Retreat Centre for Well Being (Bancroft)

I’ll let you in on a little secret … I turned the fabulous forty this year. For some people, it would be the beginning of having a midlife crisis, but for me it’s been really calming. It’s nice to be comfortable in your own skin and know what you want in life. Hence, to celebrate the milestone birthday, I wanted to do away with bottle service or lavish dinners and focus on wellness instead. I know, how grown up.

Grail Springs Retreat Centre for Well Being fit the bill for a tranquil weekend getaway. It’s a small property that had about 18 guests over the Victoria Day long weekend - hurrah to no lines at check-in or having to hustle to find a chair. Of course, their outdoor “spa” facilities are no where near the calibre of sites Scandinave or Vetta. The miniscule jet less soaker tubs that make up the “water circuit” and warm-up-yourself infrared sauna could resemble ones you’d find at someone’s cottage.

Yet, that’s not why you come to Grail Springs. After experiencing it for the weekend, it’s the fact that there aren’t too many things to do that makes the stay attractive. I didn’t feel like I had to go from place-to-place or task-to-task (apart from the morning breakfast, spa treatment, then yoga timetable). It’s why when speaking to other guests, they choose to go back solo for progressively longer stays. It’s not about the amenities but finding time to relax and unwind. It’s a place where if you go by yourself there are tons of other guests doing the same, so it doesn’t feel weird.

Consequently, if you’re not there for the immersion pool and sauna, what is there to do? I highly recommend the spa treatments. They’re pricey but was one of the better treatments I’ve had at an out-of-town destination. When the weather is nice and the black flies are at bay, the outdoor lake-side property and trails are also a draw. Yet, when all else fails, it’s nice to just sit in their Great Room and read or talk to people. It’s also a great place to BYOB (bring your own board) if you’re into games.

But, onto the food – my focus here at Gastro World. It’s all inclusive and there’s no choice so everyone eats the same meal (with consideration for allergies). Everything is vegan, but delicious thanks to a new chef that has recently joined the team.

Just be mindful that Grail Springs tends to serve a substantial breakfast and lunch, a small snack in the afternoon, and ends with a light dinner. We didn’t realize the progression upon checking in on Friday and proceeding to dinner, it was really scant after hours of driving. It started with a not overly exciting green salad that was nevertheless refreshing and incorporated a tasty maple balsamic dressing that was balanced and not too acidic.

Their dishes are flavourful, the main of soft tempeh crumbles tossed in a lovely spicy mix. It’s simply paired with crunchy grilled garlic broccolini and seems hardly enough when the other sides are a bit of creamy corn “pudding” and a sweet and sour red pepper purée. This could really benefit from some wild rice or even a slice of bread to make the meal more substantial and to soak up the sauces.

A cup of fluffy raspberry dark chocolate mousse finished. It was a tad sour for my taste but did have a nice rich chocolate finish. I scraped every bit of the mousse since I was still so hungry – and they do not give seconds despite what their Google replies indicate. Do yourself a favour and have a hearty lunch or make a pit stop for a pre-dinner snack before checking in.

Grail is also known for their infused water and non-caffeinated teas. Their teas were delicious with the minty cold tea being my favourite, especially when paired with chunks of frozen pineapples that gradually thawed and were a great nibble.

I’m happy to say that they do serve caffeinated beverages during breakfast a wonderful cream of Earl Grey one morning followed by a well steep Classic Breakfast blend the next. There’s also a coffee station each morning for those who need a cup of java.

The breakfasts are hearty as everything comes with a slice of well toasted buttered multi-grain bread. Day one it was paired with creamy overnight oats that had a great fluid consistency and a fresh strawberry and date yoghurt that was more sweet than tangy. Day two the breakfast was less extravagant, a simple plain coconut yoghurt topped with various fruits and nuts.

We had an equally filling lunch on Saturday starting off with a bowl of piping hot silky cauliflower volute, which was spiked with curry oil to add an unexpected element that works well with the rich cauliflower soup. It’s a dish that our entire table loved, chef please do more soups!

After the hearty volute, we were surprised to see the baseball-sized stuffed onigiri that followed. I could have done without the orange added into the chopped kimchi and tofu filling as it was too overpowering. Once mixed with the crunchy sesame oil laced coleslaw and creamy whipped avocado the orange essence mellowed and was better. I love the inventive idea and certainly did not leave lunch hungry.


In fact, I was so stuffed that I didn’t even need the afternoon snack – an “elixir” that tasted like watered down passionfruit juice and a dark chocolate chunk cookie. I had a bite of the cookie anyways and it was surprisingly soft and fluffy for being gluten-free.

Thankfully, I left room for dinner as the broccoli salad was a delicious start, the florets cut into slices so that each was well covered with a creamy chili dressing that seeped into the broccoli’s cervices. I would forego the coconut bacon and spiced sunflower seeds as the dressing was already so savoury and flavourful that adding the other two elements made it too salty. Personally, I found the salad had a Caesar-like taste and would have paired the broccoli with vegan parm and lightly toasted still soft croutons instead.

The lemon garlic roasted tofu was surprisingly tasty and went perfectly with the stewed ratatouille base. I didn’t even mind the olive tapenade, but only used a bit of it as with the ratatouille was well seasoned already. You will not find bland tofu here.

Another dark chocolate element for dessert – a disappointment for someone who does not like chocolate. This was worse, the “brownie” resembling a crumbly and dry truffle ganache that I could only have a couple bites before giving up on. Give me a large scoop of the popcorn ice cream with crumbles any day, the highlight of the dessert.

A few letdowns aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the calibre of the plant-based dishes served at Grail Springs. After reading their Google reviews, I had braced myself for flavourless starchy concoctions that would leave me starving and in need of the protein bars I brought for back-up. Their new chef has certainly elevated their offerings, creating flavourful meals that were vibrantly coloured and plated beautifully. It was a great experience and the weekend left me feeling nourished, both in my stomach and soul.  

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 2004 Bay Lake Road


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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!


Is That It? I Want More!

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CLOSED: La Creole (Toronto)

Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 810 St. Clair Avenue West
Type of Meal: Dinner




La Creole, a new restaurant to land in St. Clair West, brings the taste of Haitian Creole cuisine to Toronto. Given my friends and I are visiting New Orleans soon, La Creole sounded like the perfect way to introduce ourselves to the Louisiana food culture. After viewing the menu and doing some research, it appeared I was a bit misinformed – Haitian and Louisiana Creole are influenced by the same French and Latin flavours but not identical. Hence, you won’t find jambalaya, gumbo or shrimp & grits here.

The ceilings are draped with white linen while booth seats contained accent pillows, giving the restaurant a toned down Sultan’s Tent feel. Lively music was played throughout the restaurant, but alas no one started dancing in the stage area at the back. However, the relaxed jovial atmosphere certainly put me in a good mood for the food to come.

Almost everyone gets a plate of their le plate fritay (small for $12 and large for $18; large portion pictured below).  Essentially, it translates into a plate of assorted deep fried items. La Creole’s arrives with numerous pieces of malanga root fritters, codfish fritters, marinad (deep fried dough) and tostones (fried plantain patties).


Although they look similar, each offers its own unique flavours and textures. The malanga root fritters were the crunchiest given the little slivers that come through the batter and fry on its own. Although the starch look like taro, its texture is lighter and reminded me spaghetti squash. The taste of dried cod shown through in the codfish fritters but the consistency a tad mushy for my taste. Meanwhile, the marinad were surprisingly flavourful despite only being fried pieces of dough; not oily at all they were light and fluffy with a great savoury taste. Our table agreed the fried plantain were dry and bland, I had to put a fair amount of pikliz on it to make it edible.
Accompanying the fritay was a light refreshing watercress yoghurt dip and pikliz (a spicy vinegar based coleslaw). 

For the amount of food, there was way too little dip and upon asking for an extra portion were charged $4. Certainly, the price isn’t astronomical, but why the large fritay has the same helping of condiments as the small to begin with was baffling.

Every main came with a helping of black bean rice, tostone and a handful of spring mix. Ben, the owner of the restaurant, had suggested we order the fried snapper ($23). Indeed, the dish looks impressive with a whole snapper arriving upright and showed promise with a tomato and spicy heat coming from the creole sauce. But, the fish needed more sauce as it was a bit overdone and dry. I’d imagine the stewed version would likely taste better (at the very least more flavourful and tender), but perhaps not as exciting looking.  


The ratatouille ($12) was a complete miss, in my opinion. Perhaps it’s because the creole sauce on the snapper and chicken were so packed with spices, but the ratatouille seemed extremely bland in comparison. Despite the menu proclaiming it containing spinach, eggplant, zucchini, cabbage and carrots, all I could taste were carrots (for those who know me, these are one of my least favourite vegetables). In the end, the dish just tasted like unseasoned stewed carrots, which personally wasn’t appealing. What I liked most was the side of black bean rice, which was quite delicious (a sticky consistency, but each grain of rice still defined).


Lastly, was the creole roasted chicken ($14), the best of the mains. Packing the most flavour of all the dishes and the meat nice and tender, we should have just ordered the larger version which feeds two for $23.


Opened in mid-March, by mid-April more training is required for staff members. Despite having only 15 items on the menu, our waiter couldn’t point out what each item on the plate of fritay were. When asked what pepper was used to spice the pikliz, that question couldn’t be answered as well. Of course, not every staff member may know all the ingredients, but at the very least they should offer to ask the chef and find out. Don’t get me wrong, service was friendly and attentive, but as a curious minded patron the lack of knowledge wasn’t helpful and doesn’t give me much confidence.

Perhaps my taste buds have been westernized by the Louisiana styled dishes, but I was expecting bold flavours and tendered stewed meats. Aside from the pikliz and creole chicken none of them really reached that level. All in all, I found the food decent but not something I’d want to have again.

Overall mark - 6 out of 10


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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • - 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!