naokoEats

Cheese Boutique’s Festival of Chefs!

naokoeats — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:45 +0000

Its a good thing I have friends who look out for me otherwise I would completely miss awesome events like Cheese Boutique’s 10th Annual Festival of Chefs! What a unique series of events – every weekend in May, the Cheese Boutique hosts a local chef from some of Toronto’s top restaurants who makes a dish inspired by the theme of the day. In addition, a local vineyard is also invited to pair the dish with one of its wines – and this past Saturday it was Hidden Bench from Beamsville and the Chef was Chef Sam Gelman from the infamous Momofuku! And all for $5 that goes towards the Famous PEOPLE Players. Ever since I heard rumours of Momofuku coming to Toronto, I knew I had to add it to my restaurant bucket list – although I did go to Momofuku Milk Bar when I visited New York City last December I haven’t had a chance to dine at Momofuku TO yet so this was my first taste of what I can expect. The steamed bun stuffed with pulled pork shoulder, griller guernsey girl cheese and topped with slices of cucumber – it was absolutely delicious! Steaming the bun gave it a soft and delicate texture and the grilled guernsey girl cheese completely reminded me of the texture and saltiness of saganaki. I did walk around the store afterwards and well, $40 later, I came out with three different cheeses, some pastries and an iced coffee to sip on my way home!

Theme of the day: Guernsey Cow and the milk used to make cheeses.

The chef today was Momofuku’s Sam Gelman and his steamed bun.

The filling for the steamed bun: pulled pork (i.e. pork shoulder).

Momofuku’s steamed bun filled with pulled pork, grilled guernsey girl cheese and cucumbers. YUM!

Enjoying my steamed bun with a glass of rose from Hidden Bench Wineries.

Taking a bite out of the steamed bun – it was moist and delicious!

Inside the Cheese Boutique – heaven! Look at all that cheese!

Cheese Boutique

Mildred’s Temple Kitchen

naokoeats — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:14 +0000

It was Mother’s Day yesterday and although we celebrated with a sushi dinner – my sister in law hasn’t eaten sushi for almost 10 months during her pregnancy and now that the baby is born, she’s craving for raw fish – traditionally its a day celebrated over brunch! And one of my favourite brunch places (there are many!) is Mildred’s Temple Kitchen. Its a spin-off restaurant from a previous place that was known as “Mildred Pierce”, which is no longer there. The space is light and airy with large windows for the sun to shine through, perfect atmosphere for brunch! You know how much I love afternoon tea so you know my friends and I had to have the platter of currant scones and buttermilk biscuits! To die for! Then the dishes started to come: breakfast sandwich on a croissant, savoury tart and fried eggs and bacon. What I like about these is that they aren’t your typical brunch items with lots of home fries, sausage, toast etc. All served with light salads, it was a great brunch meal!

Baked inhouse – fresh basket of scones and bicsuits!

Veda’s Choice – a fancy and delicious breakfast sandwich.

Green Eggs and Ham.

Savoury tart and greens.

Entrance to Temple Kitchen.

Fabbrica

naokoeats — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:00:06 +0000

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

Minneapolis: The Butcher and The Boar

naokoeats — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:00:13 +0000

Now I know what you’re thinking, of all places why am I in Minneapolis? My colleagues and I had to travel to Minneapolis for work for a couple of days and since we had to eat, we thought we would ask some of our local colleagues their suggestions for some good grub. A fellow foodie as well, my Minneapolis colleague R suggested a fairly new restaurant called the Butcher and the Boar. He mentioned the chef was recently named a James Beard award nominee and that he had a great dining experience when he recently went. The only reservation we could get was for 8:45pm and this was a Monday night, so we took it. It was only 7 or so blocks away from our hotel so we walked and its a good thing we did since the portions served at this place were huge! Just like the name suggests, this place is known for its meat and chacuterie (I love homemade meats)! Their beer selection was also astounding with so many beers available on tap – its the most I’ve seen anywhere (and most of them were micro-breweries). Only one comment about the beer – they need a better Canadian beer to represent Canada, they had Molson Canadian on tap! Other than that, the food just blew my mind away! We ordered two sampling platters; a chacuterie board with five different meats or terrines, and a sausage platter with different beef/pork sausages with one being a pork and shrimp sausage! We then ordered a beef rib that looked like it came right from an episode of Fred Flintstone’s – that’s how big it was, falling right off the bone and covered in sticky dark molasses barbeque sauce. To top it all off, the most unique item on the menu has to be their sides. The twice fried sweet potato fries, baked in a skillet corn bread and best of all – the stuffed jalapenos! These just weren’t any stuffed jalapenos – they were stuffed with a combination of peanut butter and cream cheese. Gross, we thought so too but once you take a bite, they are to die for – think thai peanut sauce! It was delicious! If you’re ever in the area, this place is a must try!

Butcher and the Boar

The most beers I have seen on tap anywhere!

My libation of choice that night – Old Fashioned. Too strong for me!

Sampling of house cured meats and pates!

Sampling of house made sausages – including beef, pork and shrimp!

Side dish: Double fried sweet potato fries.

Smoked beef long rib! – Fall off the bone delicious!

Stuffed Jalapenos! – stuffed with a combination of peanut butter and cream cheese.

Minneapolis – I thought this was kind of neat, on our walk there we saw this building with a digital aquarium on the penthouse!

Gabardine

naokoeats — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:20 +0000

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!

Caplansky’s

naokoeats — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:28 +0000

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

Saltine Toffee Brittle

naokoeats — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:00:28 +0000

I have a friend, H, who I have baking sessions with every couple of months. She scours Pinterest for recipes that she wants to try and we get together and try them out. So a couple of Sundays ago she came over with a recipe that had five simple ingredients: saltines, butter, brown sugar, chocolate chips and almonds (optional). It was called Saltine Toffee Brittle (or crackle). It was so simple to make. The most time consuming was the caramel which is just melting butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and boiling it until it thickened. You then pour it over the sheet of saltines, pop it in the oven for five minutes. Once you take it out, while its still hot you sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips and wait a few minutes for them to melt and then take a spatula and spread it over the caramel and saltines. As an option, you can add nuts for added flavour and texture – I chose sliced almonds since I had them in my pantry! I wasn’t sure how these were going to turn out since I couldn’t picture using saltines in a sweet recipe but when I took a bite into the brittle it completely reminded of biting into a Skor bar! It was that good! Try it out!

Laying out the saltines on a baking sheet.

Making caramel with butter and brown sugar.

Pouring the toffee over the saltines.

Spreading the caramel.

After baking the saltines and caramel in the oven for 5 minutes, I sprinkle the chocolate chips/wafers and let it sit until they begin to melt.

Spreading the chocolate.

Adding the almonds while the chocolate is still warm so it sticks.

Once cooled, you can the break them into pieces.

Saltine Toffee Brittle

Tutti Matti

naokoeats — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:00:14 +0000

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.

St. Petersburg, Florida: Ceviche

naokoeats — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:00:12 +0000

After an entire day of outlet shopping in Orlando we spent our final night of the trip in St. Petersburg, about 30 minutes south-west of Tampa. We arrived in time to have dinner and asked our hotel concierge for a local recommendation. They suggested a restaurant located around the corner called “Ceviche“. For a Monday night, the restaurant was so busy that we were only able to sit at the bar – a telltale sign of how good a restaurant is! What I love about tapas restaurants is that you can try a bunch of different dishes and although so basic, the dipping oil that came with the bread was absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! It was made from cilantro and lots of it! It was so delicious To be honest, every dish was good here – the tuna ceviche, deep fried eggplant and the baked goat cheese. However, the “kicker” – if you watch triple D (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) you know what I’m talking about, was the Tres Leches cake we ordered to end the meal. You can’t tell in the photo but the size of the slice was enormous! The cake was really moist, soaked in juices and topped with a thick layer of whip cream, YUM! A perfect way to end a great week of paddling and hanging out with friends! I can’t wait to next year!

Bread and dipping oil made with cilantro.

Deep fried eggplant slices.

Roasted peppers

Tuna Ceviche

Grilled shrimp tapas.

Baked goat cheese tapas.

Tres Leches Cake – meringue cake with fresh cream.

Ceviche Restaurant

Tarpon Springs, Florida: Hellas Bakery

naokoeats — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:00:25 +0000

You can’t have the highest concentration of Greek Americans in the U.S. and not have a greek bakery! One of the busiest places on the Sponge Docks is a greek bakery called “Hellas Bakery“. It was packed as we entered with the order line practically out the door. Every now and then, I have an absolute craving for baklava and well, let’s just say I think I’m good for awhile. This place had baklava in everything! Of course, it had the traditional pastries like traditional baklava, kataifi and flogeres but you take a closer look and you discover items like baklava cheesecake, baklava tiramisu, greek canolis and chocolate baklava! So, you know we have to try some! We ordered four pastries and three greek coffees. Everything tasted delish, especially the chocolate covered baklava! Watch out for the coffee, it is strong – espresso like and grainy because its not filtered so we learned that you need to wait for a few minutes for the coffee grounds to settle before sipping. Enjoy the photos, I’m going to miss this place!

Hellas Bakery

A large stack of diples – YUM!

Baklava cheesecake – cheesecake sandwiched between layers of phyllo.

Baklava Tiramisu.

Italian and Greek Canolis.

Flogeres and Kataifi.

Inside Hellas Bakery.

Our smorgasbord of greek sweets.

A close up look at the diples.

Chocolate baklava – what a great combination, both great on their own but yummy as a combination!