Showing posts with label steak frites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steak frites. Show all posts

Bier Markt Revisited (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 58 The Esplanade
Website: http://www.thebiermarkt.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner


The Bier Markt has long been a popular destination, especially for larger groups in the downtown core. With over 150 types of beer available, there’s bound to be something to satisfy all tastes. Even for the beer challenged (like me) there are plenty of easy drinking brews – I personally like the Stiegl Grapefruit Radler, which is refreshing (tastes like grapefruit juice), affordable (only $5) and low in calories (88 for a 12oz portion).

While visiting during Oktoberfest, I felt a celebration was in order opting for a pint of a German brew and pork schnitzel ($24). The schnitzel is huge and easily shareable with the addition of a salad or appetizer. The meat was thin and crispy, but could have been cooked a touch less to allow it to be juicer. The lingonberry jam helped a bit and the fruity sweetness went nicely with the pork. There was also a Leffe Brune Abbey Ale demi-glace on the side as well but I couldn’t acquire the taste for it.


The highlight for me (and what Bier Markt should consider offering as a side) was the spatzle on the bottom. Covered with melted gruyere (?), it was comforting and delicious, akin to a German mac n’ cheese. I thoroughly enjoyed the toasted crust encapsulating the soft spatzle mixed with a good portion of cheese.


My friend ordered my go-to dish - the Bangkok mussels ($21). It arrived looking and smelling as it always has - a generous portion of mussels cooked in a flavourful broth made of lemongrass, chilies, coriander, ginger and shrimp. Moreover, the soup is perfect for dipping fries into.


Another friend tried Bier Markt’s steak frites ($32), which contained a decent sized striploin topped with butter. In the end, she noted it tasted okay but a little lean. 


For dessert, the four of us shared the chocolate, pecan and bacon waffle ($9). I know, it sounds like a lot of for one dessert! The hot fluffy waffle was covered with a warm milk chocolate ganache, candied pecans, sweet caramel coulis, whipped cream and crumbled bacon. Although I wasn’t a fan of the bacon (crispy pieces instead of soft blobs would work better), I still enjoyed the rest of the dessert. With it’s big portion, this is great for sharing (pictured below is only a quarter of the waffle).


All in all, this dinner experience was in line with all my previous meals. There’s a consistency to their food quality and presentation that you can come to expect. During the day, Bier Markt offers a lunch menu. You can refer to my post on my lunch experience from earlier in the year here.

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!







CLOSED: Le Sélect Bistro (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, May 11, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 432 Wellington Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Located on a quiet street between a night club and an office building, you wouldn’t think there’d be a charming French restaurant nearby.  Le Seléct Bistro is a delightful surprise, with its quaint patio and accented staff.  Also a great spot to bring wine aficionados as the restaurant boasts an 80-page wine list which changes seasonally.  Patrons can get a glimpse of their 10,000+ bottle cellar while visiting the restrooms in the basement.

My first choice for a main, the bison steak frites, was disappointingly sold out on my visit.  In the end, I opted for the 3-course price fixe meal ($35) instead which offers a choice of soup or salad, selection from three mains and two desserts. 

Le Seléct’s house salad (salade maison) isn’t just your regular spring mix based salad; theirs packs an assortment of greens, kale and beat slices.  The oil vinaigrette coating everything is tart but enjoyable, not sweet at all for being honey mustard as noted on their menu.

My friend ordered the French onion soup (soupe à l’oignon gratinée) ($10.95), which arrived covered with a gooey layer of cheese and is would be perfect for cheese lovers as its the ratio to soup was extraordinary.  The two slices of crostini packed in the soup stayed surprisingly crispy despite being soaked in the broth.  The broth itself was good but lacked the rich onion flavour I expected.

The steak frites (bavette d’aloyau aux echalotes) arrives haphazard looking on the plate.  Despite the poor presentation, the steak itself was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and tender.  However, I found the beef under seasoned; there was some caramelized onions topping it but they were a bit too sweet for my taste.  The frites were thin and crispy, which I happily gobbled up.   


The duck confit (confit de canard) ($27.95), is the better choice and is also offered with the price fixe menu.  The skin was rendered to a wonderful crispiness.  Although the duck itself was a bit underseasoned, the dish at least had a demi-glace with it to dip at your leisure.  A side of thin crispy green beans and triangle of potatoes au gratin presented with the fowl were equally adequate.

To end I opted for the crème brûlée.  The custard was smooth and not overly sweet, which I prefer. But, the torched  layer of sugar topping it was way too thick; to the point that it was difficult to break through.  An almond glazed chocolate biscotti accompanies the dish, which is equally hard but would have been good with a cup of coffee.


Ultimately, the food at Le Seléct isn’t outstanding but is respectable.  I enjoy the selection and hope to try to bison steak in the future, likely a better option given it being sold out.  Overall, I enjoyed their atmosphere with the comfortable curved booths and the unhurried service.  Le Seléct is a good venue to take things slow and pretend you’re in France somewhere where life is meant to be enjoyed one glass of red wine at a time.
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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html



CLOSED: Far Niente (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 187 Bay Street
Type of Meal: Lunch

 After having not visited the restaurant for two years, the surroundings still felt the same when walking in - comfortable banquette style tables and open layout of the dining room. This Winterlicious, I had a chance to eat here with my coworkers. Going on a Monday, they weren't overly busy and were able to keep a good serving pace. However, it still took over an hour and a half to get through the meal.

I was skeptical about getting the roasted cauliflower soup as was afraid it would be bland, but, ordered it anyways as felt like something hot on the cold winter's day.  But, the soup was surprisingly rich with a dollop of cream mixed throughout and drizzles of hazelnut oil. Topping the soup were some salty briny bits that tasted like fried capers, which was an interesting contrast to the smooth soup base. 



For the main I had the steak frites.  When ordering, I was surprised that the waitress didn't ask how I'd prefer the steak to be done in terms of wellness, but trusted that the chef knew best. Mine ended up being medium, a little more cooked than I normally prefer, but it was still tender and pink throughout.  The flat iron steak was a nice thick cut, which was great as sometimes restaurants slice it too thinly.

The steak had a Spanish twist of being rubbed in a chimichurri coating.  I appreciate Far Niente trying to mix up different flavours, but would have loved to have a sauce topping the steak instead to dip the generous portion of fries into. The frites itself weren't the normal shoe string thinness of most frites, but to be fair Far Niente did warn it was "home style".  The frites, although thicker, were still crispy and hot.  The garlic ketchup accompanying the frites was light tasting and not overly garlic tasting.  Finished with some vinegary coleslaw, it was nice to have to help cut the heaviness of the meat and potatoes.




I opted for the banana & Nutella s’more for dessert, thinking it would be a real s'more like their regular dinner menu.  But, this one was made "deconstructed" style. As always, the homemade marshmallow was great; although quite dense, it is still smooth in texture and not overly sweet. This dish included some caramelized bananas, drizzles of Nutella and caramel sauces and a sprinkling of graham crackers. All the ingredients went well together and wasn't too heavy.




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 - $20

 Regular menu - $46 - soup ($9), steak frites* ($28) and banana s'more* ($9)

Savings - $26 or 57%

 * The steak frites and banana s'more isn't on their regular menu; prices based on the "bacon steak" and chocolate s'more

 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: Fare Bistro (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, October 20, 2012 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1097 Queen St East
Type of Meal: Dinner

The dark, jewel-toned candlelit restaurant certainly resembles a classic bistro and makes a great date location. However, with limited seating, you should make a reservation to avoid disappointment.  On the night of my visit with girlfriends, we found a similar crowd - groups of friends catching up over glasses of wine and traditional French cuisine.

We decided to start with their appetizer of the day, pork belly with tempura shrimp ($14). The shrimp was the better of the two proteins but I wouldn't consider it to be tempura - more like lightly battered. The pork belly, although crispy, was too lean for my taste; a thin layer of fat would have given it more flavour and contrast to the crisp skin.

I ordered the duck confit with a black current glaze ($26). It was refreshing to have a confit that wasn't overly salty so that the taste of duck could still be enjoyed. The meat was very tender and went well with the black current glaze. The skin could be rendered more as most parts of it were slightly soggy. Surprisingly, the crisp green beans accompanying the dish were one of the most enjoyable parts - perfectly cooked and flavoured.

You can't be at a bistro without trying the steak frites ($27) which is what one friend had. The frites were exactly what I like - fresh potatoes fried until they are crisp on the outside but still dense and flavourful in the middle, only lightly salted. The strip loin (?) was a generous portion and tender but lacked the stronger "black Angus" flavour I prefer.
My other companion had and the daily risotto ($25), on this day was with lamb and goat cheese. Keep in mind I'm basing this review on only one bite - I must say it's not what I like. The tangy goat cheese didn't merry well with lamb and risotto in my opinion. Its slightly grainy texture ruined the creaminess of what I enjoy about risottos.
Given I don't have a sweet tooth, I rarely order desserts. But, my friends are very different from me, so we ordered two things to share. If anything, I thought their desserts were the highlight in the meal.
  • The chocolate terrine was a cross between a ganache and mousse and was a melt-in-your-mouth creamy texture. It also went wonderfully well with the raspberry and vanilla custard sauces that decorated the dish.
  • The blackberry upside down cake was my favourite. Cooked in a skillet, the dish was served warm and topped with generous amounts of sweet black berries which baked right into the cake. I thoroughly enjoyed the plump blackberries popping in your mouth and combining with the sweet warm vanilla cake.

Dinner for three with a bottle of wine and three cafe au laits came to $199.
 
Overall mark - 7 out of 10

____________________________
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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