Category Archives: Adventures around T.O.

One of my favourite TV shows right now is “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Canada”.  Frankly, I’ve got a bit of a crush on both Tom Colicchio (head chef judge on Top Chef) and Mark McEwan – head chef judge on Top Chef Canada.  So I recently had the chance to have dinner with a friend at his latest restaurant, Fabbrica.  Fabbrica, is an italian restaurant where its cuisine is made from the highest of quality italian ingredients.  It was a cold night and I felt like eating something comforting and the fettucini carbonara was just calling me.  Made with crab, guanciale (italian unsmoked bacon), cream and topped with a poached egg – something I haven’t seen yet done on a pasta dish.  The yolk, still soft and liquid, when you break it oozes out and tastes great when you swirl the pasta in it.  It did exactly what it was supposed to do, comfort me and keep me warm.  The best part of the dinner however was the desserts.  The budino was sticky, warm and sweet but the bombolone donuts were delicious!  Really light and airy and stuffed with a custard cream – fabulous! YUM!

My entree – rich and creamy fettucini carbonara.

Breaking open the yolk.

Pappardelle with short rib, tomato and basil.

Delicious Budino – warm sticky toffee pudding with espresso gelato.

Bombolone – warm donuts stuffed with orange cream and white chocolate yogurt dipping sauce.

Inside the yummy donuts!

Inside Fabbrica.

Fabbrica

Not flashy and a bit tucked away amongst the massive office towers on Bay Street is Gabardine.  I first heard about this place from my colleague J who had a great dinner experience here so I decided to check it out with a couple of friends.  It was a packed house the atmosphere was casual but full of young hip bay streeters.  We started with some fancy cocktails (or libations as the trend setters call it).  Next came an appetizer, beer cheese croquettes which were crunchy and gooey on the inside!  But the best dish was the special of the night that I ordered, double fried chicken wings!  I have never had chicken wings as crispy as these.  The taste….definitely asian inspired with some heat and hoisin flavour sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds and julienned nori!  I wish this dish was permanently on the menu because I would be going back.  I will warn you that the portions are pretty large and saving room for dessert is worth it – especially if its for the chocolate terrine!  A restaurant I would definitely recommend!

Gabardine

Appetizer – deep fried beer cheese croquettes with maple mustard.

What’s a dinner with some unique libations – French Martini and Spiked Lemonade.

Gabardine’s take on fried chicken on a cornmeal waffle with creamed collard greens and maple syrup.

Pan seared halibut with lentils and mushrooms.

The special for the night – double fried chicken wings with fries!

A close up of the double fried chicken wing coated in nori and black and white sesame seeds!

Dessert – Chocolate Terrine, absolutely rich and delicious!

Brunch is my favourite meal on the weekend!  So when we had a free Sunday morning from our usual dragonboat practice, my friend “I” suggested brunch.  The tough thing about brunch is that most places don’t take reservations, which is a shame because most of us tend to go for brunch in groups larger than 2.  We arrived at Caplansky’s and had to wait for about 30 minutes but well worth it.  We were seated in the centre area of the deli.  The menu, of course, is very Jewish influenced so you won’t find pork served in this place!  But there is definitely no shortage of meat here.  This was my first time here even though I did eat from his food truck, Thunderin’ Thelma, at the Niagara Food Truck Festival last summer.  Asking the server what she would recommend as my first dish at Caplansky’s, I chose the classic Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich!  The meat is cut pretty thick and served on Silverstein’s rye bread.  I squirted a bit of plain old yellow mustard (I’m not a big fan of dijon, unless its in a dressing) and took a big bite.  I’m no expert when it comes to Montreal smoked meat but this tasted pretty good!  It was moist and full of spice, exactly what you would expect from a Montreal smoked meat sandwich.   The best part of the meal was the dessert – yes, dessert at brunch!  We ordered the maple bacon (not from pork) donuts……devine!  Just like how I remembered them since last summer……crispy exterior, dense with cubes of bacon and drizzled with maple syrup!  A perfect ending to brunch!

Inside Caplansky’s

Knish – puff pastry stuffed with smoked meat, potato and spices served with gravy, YUM!

Smoked Meat Poutine…..enough said

The famous Smoked Meat Sandwich!

Maple Bacon Donuts – tasty!  Seriously one of the best donuts I’ve eaten!

Caplansky’s

In the spur of the moment, after meeting friends for a drink after a long work day, a few of us decided to go for dinner.  It was later in the evening and walking past Tutti Matti we noticed free tables.  By word of mouth, I’ve heard some good things about Tutti Matti so I was secretly hoping that we would end up there!  According to our server, the restaurant just received a shipment of truffles that late afternoon and so they created a last minute pasta special with the truffles.  Of course, anything with truffles is music to my ears so I immediately knew that was going to be my dinner.  I know truffles are pretty pricey but I didn’t imagine that the pasta truffle special was going to cost me $36!  Not worth it in my opinion (a pretty ordinary dish) so I was a bit disappointed.  However, the budino I had for dessert was delicious!!!  The best part of the budino was the salted caramel gelato – so creamy and smooth with that salty/sweet flavour!  I could eat an entire pint of this stuff

Spinach, fig, bufala mozzarella and pear salad with prosciutto.

Special of the day – Fettucine with truffle.

Fish dish of the day!

Dessert – Budino.

My last restaurant on my winterlicious tour is Parts & Labour.  This resto has been on my list for the past year and when I saw on the winterlicious list, well I jumped at the chance!  What I love about this place is that it has a story behind it.  The location was an old neighborhood Pro Hardware store and the sign is still hanging in its original spot. Inside, touches of some of the items that would have been sold in the hardware store are used in unique ways – in the lighting and cement flooring.  Along with four friends (F, I, S, and A) we went for a three course dinner completely surpassing my expectations!  Its not often I like only a specific part of a dish but the pickled cucumber atop of my mackerel was devine!  A touch of crunch from the skin with tartness from the vinegar and a bit of spice from the chile.  However, the best course was my dessert – the Parts & Labour doughnut!  Deep-fried, crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside with strawberry compote drizzled over top, it was delectable!  I would definitely go back!

Parts & Labour

My dessert – the Parts & Labour doughnut with strawberry compote! YUM!!!

Another appetizer – pork belly with really crispy skin on a bed of oats.

Main course – classic hanger steak and frites…..boring, I know, but I really felt like having beef!

Appetizer – seared mackerel with yuzu, pickled cucumber, chili and hoisin.

Cocktails – the Alfonso….love the giant ice cube!

My third restaurant on my winterlicious tour was Colborne Lane.  I went with two of my good friends G and H.  This restaurant has also been on my wish list for awhile because of its association with Origin – so my expectations for the food were really high.  We began the night with cocktails of course and I started with the Tom Yum soup.  Although pretty tasty, what I loved was the presentation – a bowl with the prawn, crispy chicken wing and shiitake mushroom is brought to the table and the broth in a separate cast iron tea pot and poured table side.  My main dish was braised pork belly and well what can I say – you can’t really go wrong with pork belly.  By far, the best part of the meal was the desserts.  Mine, the chocolate bar with caramel peanut dust, freeze dried blueberries and the most devine banana sorbet!  Not only was it pleasing to look at but I practically licked the plate!  The other dessert, a plate of alternating dulce de leche cheesecake, coffee cake and a blood orange sorbet – delish!  As you can tell the food was great but I will warn you, if you’re used to eating a lot more you may leave feeling hungry

Cocktails at Colborne Lane

My appetizer – Tom yum soup with chestnut, prawn, shiitake and crispy chicken wing.

The tom yum broth is brought to you table side in a cast iron teapot and poured into the bowl.

My main – braised pork belly with black bean and maitake mushrooms.

Dessert – dulce de leche cheesecake with coffee cake and blood orange sorbet.

My dessert – chocolate bar with caramalized peanuts, blueberries, hazelnut and banana sorbet.

Colborne Lane