CLOSED: A La Carte Bistro (Toronto)

Posted on Monday, July 13, 2015 by


Gardiner Museum Doors at 6PM

You may have heard about Friday Nights at the ROM and Thursday Nights at the AGO; popular evening events in Toronto that allow us to have drinks and absorb culture. Over July 2015, add the Gardiner Museum to the list as they have launched ‘Doors at 6PM’: a series of Friday events … that is FREE with half-priced admission. 

 Events differ by week, so check their website for details. However, each evening features special craft beer and wine on their patio and a clay station so guests can get their creative juices rolling. And if you’re feeling hungry, it’s a great opportunity to visit A La Carte Bistro upstairs. 

 Recently, the restaurant invited me to try their new summer menu and I got a peak of what Doors at 6PM had to offer. It’s a low-key evening compared to the ROM, with a crowd of varied ages. That Friday, the Writers’ Trust of Canada presented recipients who did a reading from award winning short stories and there was a live jazz band that serenaded us during dinner. 

 Given the size of the tuna nicoise ($18), my friend and I split the salad. At first I was a bit apprehensive when the flaked tuna came into view; the essence of the smelly canned variety came to mind. Luckily, the fish used at A La Carte was fresh and light that it quickly dispelled my fears. The tuna, along with the spring mix, baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes, green beans, egg and olives were all well flavoured – the salad was easily hearty enough to be a main. 
A La Carte Bistro tuna nicoise

Pan-seared chicken breast ($24) is generally not something I get excited over, but something about the sweet corn risotto was beckoning me. I’m glad I gave it chance as the chicken was delicious – moist and topped with salty crispy skin. The risotto had a decadent cheesy element to it with the addition of whipped goat cheese and Grana Padano parmesan, while a sweet corn puree pooled around it. 
A La Carte Bistro chicken breast

The petit pain ciabatta ($20) contained three fair sized sandwiches (each about the size of 1.5 sliders) that were filled with different meats: a braised brisket with Belgian ale, roasted pork with caramelized onion and roasted lamb with fig and walnut pesto. They all had sufficient flavour from all the sauces, which were tailored to the individual protein. My friend and I both agreed these were tasty, but if they were hot, would have been even better. 
A La Carte Bistro petit pain ciabatta

 Despite being stuffed, we tucked into the beautiful mignardises plate for two ($10). It contained a selection of rich chocolate truffles, pistachio biscotti, chocolate dipped cookies, vanilla powder sugar dusted madeleine and berries with cream. The cookies were the highlight - soft and satisfying without being too sweet or oily. 
A La Carte Bistro dessert

The transition of the menu into lighter salads and fare is ideal for the warmer weather. Gone are the chicken pot pie, paella and baked lobster mac ‘n’ cheese of the winter menu, you can certainly see the transformation and taste the lightness. It shows the Chef puts thought into what’s best for the summer. 

 As my friend and I exited the building after an evening of great food, interesting entertainment and a bottle of bubbly, we couldn’t help but laugh at the ROM’s line snaking down University. So, if you’re in the neighbourhood and don’t fancy waiting, just remember there is another delicious option. And it’s just across the street.

 Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
* Disclaimer: the above meal was complimentary. But, rest assured as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.



How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 111 Queens Park


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - 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!

Is That It? I Want More!

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Simply Snacking: Prana's Machu Pichu Mix

Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2015 by

Prana Machu Pichu exotic fruit and nut mix

Fruit and nut mixes are ideal for satisfying salty and sweet cravings while providing protein and vitamins. Prana’s Machu Pichu mix, part of the June Yummy Goody Box, introduced me to a whole new fruit - the white mulberry.  

White mulberries, according to Wikipedia, is generally found in traditional Chinese medicine and believed to treat constipation, diabetes and prematurely greying hair. Luckily, I’m not suffering from any of these ailments and instead enjoyed the mulberry for its chewy light sweetness. Its shrunken yellow brain appearance doesn’t look appealing but tastes delicious.

Aside from mulberry, the Machu Pichu mix also contained almonds, pumpkin seed, Brazil nuts, plump raisins, goji berries and goldenberries. All in all, a diverse blend of sweet, tangy, crunchy and chewy elements. I like that they don’t add sugar and salt to the mix, rather retaining the ingredient’s natural flavours. My qualm with dried fruit is they often have a weird sugary crust on it.


Prana, a Quebec based company, was co-founded by Marie-Josee Richer. After travelling across Asia and living three years in Goa, India she became a practicing vegan. When returning to Quebec, she and two other travelers wanted to bring the healthy eating lifestyle they developed to North America. Hence, they started Prana, a company dedicated to vegan and organic snacks.

The word Prana means “breath” and in yoga refers to the life force connecting the universe’s elements. Thank you Prana and Yummy Goody Box for connecting me to the white mulberry.

Nutritional information is available on Prana's website.


How To Find Them 
 Website: http://pranana.com/en/
 Approx. Price:  $4.99
                             

Market Street Catch (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2015 by


Market Street Catch

When scouting a quick and cheap seafood spot in downtown Toronto, Buster’s Sea Cove (in the St. Lawrence Market) often comes to mind. However, it tends to have long queues and closes fairly early for dinner. Their sister restaurant, Market Street Catch, fills this void with a retail location beside the Market.

Prices are slightly higher but the 26-seat sitting area (40 including the patio) and order-than-sit service is worth the extra dollar. Prices are still reasonable, with three large tacos costing $15 and no extra charges for mixing choices. With four options, I settled on the octopus, shrimp and seared tuna.

The chopped octopus was tender and packed with heat from the spicy salsa. More of the cooling sour cream would be nice to counteract the spiciness.


Plump pieces of shrimp adorned the second taco and had a nice rub on it in conjunction with the salsa and pico de gallo. In all the tacos, the pico de gallo contained too much onion; luckily, it wasn’t hard to pick out.


The tuna was beautifully seared leaving a vibrant red centre. It went nicely with the neutral coleslaw and unlike the octopus and shrimp, wasn’t as spicy so the fish’s flavour held up.


Most of their seafood is available fried or grilled and accompanied with fries or salad. The grilled swordfish with salad ($14.95) was bland, although the side of thousand island tarter sauce (?) helped. Indeed, the dull flavour could be due to me trying the swordfish after the sauce filled tacos.


Overall, the seafood at Market Street is fresh and there are plenty of menu options. If you’re looking for a relatively quick and inexpensive restaurant, they may just have the catch for you.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 14 Market Street

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - 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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Facil (Berlin)

Posted on Saturday, July 11, 2015 by

Facil Berlin

Sitting in the airy floor-to-ceiling windowed dining room, it’s difficult not to relax. On the fifth floor of the Mandala Hotel, Facil is encapsulated in the center courtyard, so the hustle of Berlin is momentarily forgotten. The walls and roof opens to allow diners to experience the beautiful outdoor garden. What a wonderful way to dine on Chef Michael Kempf’s fresh cuisine: comfortable and without pre-cautions, just like you’re seated in an outdoor oasis.

After working in numerous fine-dining establishments in Germany, Kempf took over Facil’s kitchen in 2003. In his first year, Facil was awarded a coveted Michelin star, solidifying Kempf’s status as Berlin’s youngest Michelin-starred chef at 26. His second star would arrive a decade later, and he already is striving for the third, as he recently told Tebla Magazine.

Facil’s menu changes monthly as new ingredients proliferate, but it always includes his favourite ingredient – octopus. When experiencing the dish, you can taste his commitment to the ingredient: the octopus is so tender it eats like scallop. The seafood’s natural delicate sweetness is enhanced by a tangy bean ragout studded with ham. Roasted artichokes, a long-time friend of seafood, balance the dish.


To start, a marinated mackerel with pickled vegetable amuse-bouche done with a Danish flare. The cube of rich fish was lightened with crème fraiche, citrus oil and dill.


Conversely, the yellow fin mackerel ceviche is so delicate fish is reminiscent of Japanese hamachi. Luckily, my husband and I each got our own as sharing would test to our marriage. The fillets, left relatively neutral compared to the traditional acidic ceviche, are flavoured with fresh coriander broth, crunchy vinegary radish shavings and dollops of savoury cream. Crunchy macadamia nuts add an oily crunch that contrasts against the soft mackerel.


True to its German roots, Facil knows how to prepare pork. The Farmer Beuthe’s woolly pig dish features the braised shoulder of the animal. The Mangalica pig gets its “woolly” distinction from its hairy coat. As a lard breed, it has a high fat content; the shoulder is so marbled it puts another pig’s belly to shame.

Dessert ended on a savoury note with a selection of raw milk cheeses. Facil asks for taste preferences first and I immediately announce my penchant for lighter varietals and avoiding blue cheese. Three generous slices of European cheeses were presented with a selection of textures: a hard neutral slightly crumbly one, a dense creamy type with an aged cheddar quality to it and an oozing velvety brie.


The cheese was accompanied by bread slices, which by this time I’ve had my fair share of. Facil’s bread is fantastic - fresh from the oven so its nutty yeasty aroma arrives even before the basket reaches the table. Its airy centre and crunchy exterior rendered us momentarily speechless as it was difficult to utter more than the occasional “this is amazing” before scarfing down another bite.


For an art lover, the Charles Green Shaw may be a more suitable dessert, its mousse cake and wafer design paying homage to the late painter’s abstract art. The smooth base, a cross between panna cotta, light cheese cake and coconut cream pie, mix sweet and savoury elements.


The final petit fours consisted of a forgettable dense vanilla raspberry cupcake paired with lovely salted caramel chocolates, which incorporated crunchy orbs of cookies with the cream inside.


Facil offers a choice of several courses (lunch incrementally priced at 19€, 34€ or 45€ for one to three-courses, with additional dishes for 15€). Kempf wants to give everyone the ability to experience the food, even if one course is all you can afford. Approachability is what Facil is about, from the spacious easy-going surroundings to the no dress-policy attitude (customers are warmly welcomed to dine in jeans).

Kempf is challenging the bias that German fare consists of meats doused in rich sauces and overcooked vegetables. Instead, he takes the locally sourced ingredients and showcases them with a modern European flair. The fact that you’re dining in a bamboo forest in the middle of Berlin? That’s just icing on the Black Forest cake.

Overall mark - 9 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Berlin, Germany
 Address: Potsdamer Str. 3 (5th floor of the Mandala Hotel)
 Website: www.facil.de

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - 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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Simply Snacking: Three Farmers' Roasted Chickpeas

Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2015 by


Generally, I reserve chickpeas for two purposes: throwing in a salad or making hummus. So, when a bag of Three Farmer’s Roasted BBQ Chickpeas arrived in my Yummybox (a monthly food subscription service), it was intriguing to imagine them as a snack.

At first, I found them dry as it seemed like it’d resemble a nut. But, after a few I got use to the texture and found they are similar to wasabi peas.

The Three Farmers is named after Colin, Dan and Ron, three Saskatchewan farmers who produce camelina oil. One of the farmer’s two daughters went onto Dragon’s Den to promote the oil.

As a second product, The Three Farmers branched into chickpeas given their prominence as an agricultural product in Saskatchewan. Being high in protein and fibre, the roasted chickpeas were surprisingly filling, so I only needed a small handful to curb cravings.


A cool feature is the product number printed on the packaging, when entered on the website it provides a description of that batch. For example, the BBQ roasted chickpeas I had were planted on May 12, 2013 and harvested October 18, 2013. It even specified the growing conditions (above average rainfall) and the farmer it was produced by (Colin). A host of other information is given so if you’re into “knowing where your food comes from” this is an ideal product.

 I’ll admit, these will never replace my love for chips. But, their crunchiness does help satisfy my longing for their potato friend. Congratulations Three Farmers for expanding my perception on chickpeas, Saskatchewan has you to thank.



How To Find Them 
 Website: http://threefarmers.ca/
 Approx. Price:  $15 for three packages
   

Mealshare: Giving Never Tasted This Good

Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2015 by


Mealshare logo

“Finish your food, there are starving kids,” my parents would scold. As a child I insensitively retorted, “Well, then send them this.”  As I’ve grown, the notion of people starving continues to haunt me. So, when Mealshare was announced, their concept of eat-a-meal to share-a-meal seemed ingenious. The model is simple: order a specially marked dish at a participating restaurant, and they’ll donate $1 to fund a meal for the needy.

Andrew Hall, co-founder of Mealshare, recounts that his parents also instilled in him the value of appreciating food. After graduating from university with business degrees and working in the corporate world, he and his cousin, Jeremy Bryant, realized their lives had to be more than the day-to-day grind. How could they use their entrepreneurial spirit and do something impactful? Inspired by Tom’s Shoes’ concept of buy-a-pair, give-a-pair, they decided to help through food.

Mealshare was started in February 2013. Andrew says that finding the first partners was the hardest. It took various methods and attempts before they could reach someone. Being new to the industry, they also contacted chefs at inconvenient times further exasperating the situation.    
Eventually, four like-minded restaurants in Calgary and Edmonton signed up, and Mealshare launched in July 2013. Their reach quickly expanded, and there are now programs in Cowichan Valley, Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax, Lethbridge and Toronto.

Toronto’s launch happened organically: Café Belong, Hawthorne, Khao San Road and Nana reached out directly to implement it at their restaurants. Seeing interest, Mealshare established a dedicated group, expanding its Toronto outlets to 18 establishments (Pizzeria Libretto, Richmond Station, Terroni, etc.) and officially launching on May 2015. Nicole Tupechka, Toronto’s Community Leader, is excited about the supporters. It was curated through suggestions and recruiting to ensure a well-rounded selection.

Mealshare donates locally and globally. International supports goes to Save the Children, which provides meals to schools in Mali, Africa, allowing students to attend school (forgoing their need to work) and ensures concentration by not being hungry.

Each city also supports a local not-for-profit based on need and their mandates. Andrew Hall notes that, if an organization is already well-funded, it’s not a candidate for Mealshare. And they need to do more than just donate food: there should be a support element such as offering education.
Toronto meals are donated to The Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre (PARC)’s drop-in centre. It’s a place they don’t require diners to provide a lot of information so as to note scare them off. Some diners start to help out in kitchen, gaining experience to help secure permanent jobs.
Representatives from Save the Children and PARC
Nicole Tupechka recalls her first visit to PARC with restaurant representatives as a great way to see firsthand what their donations meant. She volunteers there two days a week, cooking based on available ingredients.  The only stipulations are that meals must have minimum calories, ensuring individuals receive enough energy from the two daily meals, and there’s a vegetarian option.
She loves volunteering and thinks serving diners is a great idea. “It’s just a dignified experience for them rather than having to line up for meals.”

Andrew Hall recounts his proudest moment when he helped serve the first 1,000 meals Mealshare funded. Additionally, being able to use his business expertise to help others makes him happy. Project management and presentation skills translate from corporate boardrooms to kitchens.
It’s that wistful dream we all have: do something we love and help others. With more articles promoting corporate marketers turned ice cream scoopers, it almost makes me want to give notice. 

Hall doesn’t regret the time spent in consulting. “I definitely advocate starting a business while you’re young. But, taking a couple of years to work at a good company is important too.”

It’s more than restaurateurs advocating Mealshare, popular Toronto blogger Abbey Sharp became their Toronto ambassador. “I love getting involved with local food not-for-profits.” Sharp explains, “So, I jumped at the chance to share what I knew about Toronto restaurants and [provide] contacts.” Having eaten at a number of the participants, her favourites include Pizzeria Libretto, Richmond Station and Glory Hole Doughnuts.   

Mealshare's Toronto ambassador: Abbey Sharp
I’ve had Libretto’s Mealshare dish: duck confit pizza. The salty oiliness of the duck mixed with softened sweet pear on their signature chewy blistered crust is heavenly. How is helping so delicious?


Mealshare’s website transparently posts statistics on donated meals in total, by city, and by partner. With over 250,000 meals shared, Andrew wants to continue expanding the program. “We have big dreams!” he proudly proclaims and hopes to go global. A volunteer kit is also being developed to help individuals within smaller cities approach establishments and increase Mealshare’s presence past metropolitan areas.

“Anytime you buy something, you’re voting with your dollar.” Hall says. In this capitalistic world, diners can certainly influence the industry’s involvement with programs like Mealshare. “If we can turn capitalism into a more socially conscious vehicle,” he says, “we can create positive change.”
How To Find Them


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Simply Snacking: Purdys' Hedgehogs

Posted on Sunday, July 05, 2015 by

Purdy's hedgehogs

Purdys Chocolatier started in Vancouver, British Columbia and since the 1970s has expanded into other Canadian provinces. Having seen a number of their elegant purple retail spaces filled with chocolates and confectionery items, it wasn’t until Christmas that I had my first taste of a Hedgehog.

Developed in the early 1990s, the Hedgehog is for the truffle lovers with its creamy gianduja (chocolate spread containing hazelnut paste) filling. It’s comparable to a Nutella truffle but less sweet and has a more pronounced hazelnut taste. The filling is smooth and velvety without feeling oily and encapsulated in a crispy chocolate shell.

 Being an animal lover, the cute hedgehog (officially named Philbert) design attracts me as well. With ‘regular’ and ‘mini’ sizes, I find the mini is perfect for satisfying a something sweet craving without being overwhelming. The picture and nutritional information shown are for the mini. 




How To Find Them 
 Website: http://www.purdys.com/
 Approx. Price:  $12 for box of 10 minis
                             $16 for box of 10 regular


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