Summerlicious '12: The Last Post

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The idea of 34 restaurants in 17 days did not arise out of punctuated equilibrium or necessity like more respectable endeavours. No doubt the escapade can be maimed as one of gluttony and self-indulgence, unencumbered by guilt (of the hungry) and monetary restraint (undeserving scholarships). The final bill was indeed steep at $1650. Yet this is not the case. The sad realization that probably prompted the entire charade was that it would be the last summer such an endeavour was possible. And for someone addicted to food, culture and Toronto, I must get my fix.

And I am happy to have shared the experience with 25 separate people, some more than once. I must give all the gratitude in the world to those who came and went effortlessly and allowed for a smooth execution of a rather intricate plan. More often than not, hectic rescheduling and re-slotting was required, yet for only two times did I have to sit alone depressingly with my trusty Economist in my hand.

I am also delighted at the response to my daily blog posts.www.david-kong.com and www.david-kong.squarespace.comreceived 1868 and 1123 unique views respectively. That is truly spectacular. And I was often commended for my amateur-ish writing, my favourite comments being: “you sound like Conrad Black” and “sarcastically hilarious”. Perfect…exactly what I was going for! It was a wonderful exercise trying to describe an experience that often made me speechless.

Summerlicious ‘12 began as it did three years ago. Biff’s was my Summerlicious experience in 2009. At the time, the prix-fixe lunch was $15 and a pilgrimage was made by almost every sub-urbanite looking for a cheap way into city culture (now it is $20). And for the first time, we saw mustard in its raw form (seeds)! How much we have grown since then. After a hiatus in 2011 (I was in New York, which itself, had a watered down Restaurant Week itself), we returned to Biff’s (★★★) seeing an inflated price and a less impressive offering. Salmon and pork were replaced with chicken and veal. And unfortunately, “The veal lay on a tasty vinaigrette as only the French can concoct yet the veal itself was a boring grey.” And “The dessert was slightly too sour for my liking, and certainly not worth the prolonged wait (our meal lasted for a jittery two hours).”

And the time constraint was an issue for the rest of the two weeks. Some restaurants handled it well and some didn’t. A place like Azure (★), in its haste, served dessert before the main. However, no amount of time could have fixed the culinary disaster there. Also unimpressive were the other two hotel-restaurants, EPIC (★★★) and Senses (★★★). From my review of Azure, “Funnily enough, the completely mediocre EPIC restaurant from yesterday employed the same style of drink-ware. I smell collusion. The captive market that is the hotel restaurant is showing itself to be a glorified room service operation with exorbitant prices.”

Some of the best financial district lunches were the standard icons of Bay Street: Canoe (★★★★) and Bymark (★★★★). Bymark’s mouth-watering cuts of meat (“Generously thick cuts of both the halibut and the striploin...jut out confidently in truly three dimensional dishes”) and Canoe’s tender short ribs show why these two landmark restaurants from prolific proprietors are always full. Some less expected standouts include Lucien (★★★★) and most notably Aria (★★★★★). Lucien came out with a revived simplicity that “reinvigorated the food to the restaurant’s glory days” and Aria had a dessert with a streak of “a beet curd coloured in Victoria Secret pink, a seductive melisma to round out the piece”. (I found it much easier to write passionately about food when inspired.)

And while Canoe and Bymark were good, their sister restaurants performed diametrically. North 44 (★★) served a raw hamburger patty and other unsightly courses. Fabbrica (★★★) was reminiscent of Terroni or Mercatto. Canoe’s sister’s fared better. Auberge du Pommier (★★★★★) claimed top ratings for a summery meal that reminded of a quiet cottage from a different time. Funny enough, these culinary cornerstones of Toronto always attract Asian fever. As such, “the multicultural spin of Summerlicious takes over, but waitresses are more than happy to indulge these aspirational patrons. And unfortunately some diners did stage a bit of revolt in front of mislabelled washroom doors - their confusion showing through otherwise austere faces, perturbed only by the urgency of their needs. ‘Mesdames’ and ‘messieurs’: what alien tongue is that?”

And we must not forget the Yorkville giants. It had such stars as L’unità (★★★★) on Avenue/Davenport, Pangaea (★★★★) on Bay and Sassafraz (★★★★) on Cumberland/Bellair. But most specular must be Il Posto (★★★★★), an unassuming courtyard restaurant that resembled a hobbit hole, with “a perfectly cooked salmon and halibut that sit on a perky lemony sauce and are topped with a succulent shrimp of gigantic proportion”. A romantic restaurant was Corner House (★★★★), “On the steps of...Casa Loma estate, a home-turned-restaurant as quaint as any. It is reminiscent of rustic farmyard cuisine and countryside wineries.”

But Yorkville was not without its faults. La Société (★) earns the worst restaurant of the festival award. It essentially broke every single rule in the book. It charged $35 for what is regularly $36 (it has to be at least $42), it didn’t offer Summerlicious for the majority of the night (from 6:30 to 9:00) and “On three separate occasions pushy waiters proposed more lavish options...Interesting such authentic French waiters have no idea what the term “prix-fixe” means”.

Finally, Summerlicious ended with a weekend of all-stars. For lunch, we had Chiado (★★★★★), an upscale Portugese restaurant with a long-standing history and extremely loyal guests. My critics have smirked quite publically at a colourful description of a monochromatic dish: “Rosemary swim in a globule of honey beside a streak of balsamic reduction to decorate an austere slice of fermented cow milk cheese undulating in its wetness”. And for dinner, Colborne Lane (★★★★★), a restaurant my skills in English cannot do justice. I settled with this description of the appetizer: “The cured salmon was a play on sashimi, with a mouth-popping soy sauce snow so unexpectedly chilly as to bring the fish back to its natural habitat”. It deserved so much more.

And so, Summerlicious ends with a nice distribution of stars. Only five restaurants have been deemed to be essentially perfect. But many more (10) are worthy of great praise. And I was satisfied with all but 8 of the 34 restaurants. Therefore, the Toronto food scene really put up on a great show.

I am grateful for the ability to spend so much time (and money) to enjoy the cuisine of what I think to be the best city in the world. I know such a combination is difficult to come by and I am unsure when the next such opportunity will arise. I feel like I’m on the cusp of much volatility to come. The few months will not be easy; it might be fun nonetheless.

Summerlicious July 22: Fabbrica

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Fabbrica, as the name might imply, runs the risk of feeling like a factory that pumps out food to institutionalized specifications (terroni, mercato). The centrepiece of the room is a wood-burning oven that looks so well-kept that you might mistake it for a decorative piece. The Caesar was done properly. The dressing had copious amounts of garlic and lemon with a hint of anchovy to scare of the vegetarians. The croutons were varied and pancetta took the place of bacon. The salmon was surprisingly better than Bymark’s fish and bean salad attempt. The bean salad tasted of the olive oil and balsamic mix so indicative of Italy while the cucumbers in their watery crunchiness offset the pasty beans. The gelato looks three brown eggs and tastes just as uninspired. And having dined with my Richmond Hill financiers, I had the luxury of trying everything on the Summerlicious menu. The risotto and the pistachio gelato were particularly interesting. Everything else was average. And with that Summerlicous ends on a strong note from the affluent shops of Don Mills. I am very impressed.

Summerlicious July 22: Celestin

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It is less stuffy than suggested by the greyscale furnishings, French doors and accented waiters. A one-ply tissue sat in the place of a napkin and no fresh juices could be found. The menu required a bit of translation and googling. Exclusively Summerlicious patrons might be surprised to find the duck confit resembles a grilled cheese sandwich. Generally, the food was well presented. The smooth and chewy calamari had an uncanny Asian quality, hidden underneath some baby arugula and adorned with cuts of summery orange at the forefront. Generous slices of charred raw tuna, however, lie on an unimpressive gluttony of downtrodden vegetables (potatos, eggs, green bean) with the only lightness coming from sour-ish tomatoes. No dressing could be found. And finally, colossal Timbits, a bit soggy, take a rich chocolate syrup to round out the meal in a most unspectacular way.

Summerlicious July 21: Colborne Lane

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Colborne lane is the poster child for molecular gastronomy and a fixture in the Toronto food scene. In its fifth year, it is Summerlicious’s most anticipated addition. The logo looks like it comes out of a Halo game; it is prominently etched on windows which define the entirety of the shop-front. Venturing in, the room gets progressively darker as natural light is displaced by softer tube-light lanterns that set a freakishly serene mood. Raw wood and Victoria-style mirrors are an anachronism to the contemporary dinner to come.  The cured salmon was a play on sashimi, with a mouth-popping soy sauce snow so unexpectedly chilly as to bring the fish back to its natural habitat. Crunchy tapioca balls offset the gooey salmon and the wasabi paste completed the dish with an ending note of spicy. The striploin looked like it slide down the plate amidst a garden of bitter watercress in contrast to the sweet parsnip and garlic. And while the bitterness was hard to counteract at times, the beef adored the smooth and sweet purée. And finally, a dessert to rival the polenta cake at Aria. Three caramelized banana pillars played host to a perfect mix of sweet and nutty flavours and a range of textures and temperatures. Colborne lane brought exactly what it is known for to summerlicious.

Summerlicious July 21: Chiado

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Chiado serves haute-Portuguese cuisine on the distant corner of little Italy, far enough from the thuggish street that has such icons asDolce Gelato. An antiquated room is dressed with period paintings, and staffed by kind, overly-gracious but forgetting waiters who serve wrong mains but are quick to correct their mistake. A work of art arrives as an amuse bouche, the first of its kind in summerlicious. Rosemary swim in a globule of honey beside a streak of balsamic reduction to decorate an austere slice of fermented cow milk cheese undulating in its wetness. Flaky phyllo pastry envelops a sweetly peeling duck confit as tasty as pulled pork and presents like a pretentious Asian dumpling sitting in a sunny wine sauce. The skate fish could have used more citrusy fruits to cut through the fish and risotto but where they are present, they pair well with the wavy risotto and substantial skate. And finally, a custardy Flan, thickly sliced and brightly yellow stands centre stage to berry pieces so haphazardly scattered and all the same, artistic, as the meal started.

Summerlicious: the final weekend!

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Summerlicious July 20: MoRoCo

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I suspect there is not much to the name MoRoCo beyond that it mirrors the location’s postal code (M5R 1C1). Childhood princesses dine on the white patio resembling a photo studio for Alice in Wonderland. And down the rabbit hole we go to enter a darkly fantastical dining room with fairy-tale adornments. The bright, black washroom has a gold mirror-mirror on the wall. Unfortunately, the restaurant never grows up as the courses insist on being childish. The oriental salad had unimaginative flavours of sweet and sour; none of the components were the least bit unexpected. The salmon, which came with thinly bitter chips instead of some meaningful veggies, was poorly glazed and required a ranch-like dip to be palatable. Of course, the dressing covered any of the maple syrup, making the whole baking process seem like a waste. The dessert was prime time for MoRoCo to show off, and as salaciously crimson as the red velvet was, it was dreadfully cold and al-dente for a crepe. The sweet toothes will no doubt be pleased; the rest of us will leave with a sugar rush, bound to crash.

Summerlicious July 20: Starfish Oyster

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This British pub-like oyster bar brings old-world charm into an oddly serene part of Toronto between the rich financial district and the miserable Regent Park. The transition is noticeable as drunkard McDonald munchers litter in a rather beautiful St James Park, where stands a venerable church of the same name. The atmosphere befits the oyster, the cheap lunchtime grub of the 19th century working class only to gain favour with rich inlanders who found it a slippery and tasty aphrodisiac. Unfortunately, that the seafood “tower” only held one oyster made the whole course a little stingy. And to characterize a martini glass as a “tower” is quite the exaggeration. It might have paid to have served two oysters on a plate (or perhaps four and charged $25 instead). The salmon fails the age-old imperative that requires an acid to cut through the fishy unctuousness that was forwarded by the all'onda (wavy) barley risotto. The chief complaint for the risotto, though, is again the missing flavour. The dark chocolate pâté was delectable with rich hazelnuts and subdued cherries to round out the flavour profile. Starfish merits a closer inspection after summerlicious, with a couple more oysters on the menu.

Summerlicious July 19: L'unita

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L’unità is the older and more experienced sister restaurant to Maléna; and where it lacks in furnishings it makes up in sophistication. Saggy armchairs make for a sub-optimal position to attack the impending feast. And while the portions weren’t particularly fearsome, the food is fit for royalty.  I was a bit annoyed that the two sisters both began with crudo and followed with branzino, but the same ingredients were treated in surprisingly novel ways. The crudo was a differentiated take on smoked salmon – the smoked fish replaced with a fresh raw trout, the cream cheese with an uplifting yogurt and capers with peculiarly well-paired celery. The branzino rested on a smoky, bitter yet sweet eggplant purée, garnished by soft-flavoured vegetables for an cheery main. And finally, the yogurt returns in squeaky chunks to brighten the densely colourful blackberry and cake though the three parts sour overpowered the one part sweet from the nuts. Overall, L’unità is an exciting take on the traditional Italian trattoria with some never-before-tasted flavours to boot.

Summerlicious July 19: Tutti Matti

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The story is well known by any Queen’s Commerce student. The IVEY School of Business case we were all forced to read is centred around the birth-child of a Tuscan-trained chef, Alida Solomon, struggling to survive in SARS-struck Toronto. In the case, an option is given to join Summerlicious, which had its inaugural year in 2003 as a response to the SARS epidemic. Ten years later, we see Tutti Matti as the second most popular participant of summerlicious according to Toronto Life. Unfortunately, the restaurant stands lonely as a castaway box in an alleyway waiting to be torn down. And the inside feels a little bare-boned and worn for Tuscany. The Carpaccio was too wet to hold much flavor. The fettuccini sat in a puddle of uninspiring tomato sauce, as boring as pasta usually is. The cake had no defining qualities and the dry sweetness made it hard to finish. It is a shame the Tutti Matti saga ends so unspectacularly.

Summerlicious July 18: Mistura

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The winding road of Davenport that travels through Yorkville and the Annex and then heads east to oblivion is a journey backwards through time. Antiquated and oft-forgotten restaurants (including a personal favorite, Le Paradis and summerlicious candidate, Corner House) temper the street to a relic of old Toronto. Mistura with its white table cloths and terse waiters share in that old-age luxury. Yet as the frivolous logo might suggest, this old cat has some new tricks. First off, a watermelon salad, where thick pink-red slices of sweet dance with crumbly feta and viscous balsamic. It is so unexpectedly refreshing and flavourful, making a perfect summertime appetizer. Unfortunately, it is downhill from there. The fatty lamb pined to find its equal in the hidden caramelized glaze but was cut off by awkward shaves of undercooked carrot and potatoes. The brownie took the charming shape of salami but lacked the bitter aftertaste required to make it go full circle. Mistura is not without its flaws but such inventiveness in a conservative setting justifies the $45 price point. 

Summerlicious July 18: Bymark

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In style, Bymark is the dark and plush antithesis of the bright and playful Canoe. The dim-lit dungeon laced in stone and wood create a subtly romantic escape from Bay Street. Shy and contentious waiters were too polite to abide by our order to overlap courses, in the interest of time. The dessert was almost delivered within twenty minutes of seating but well-trained busboys turned around hastily as not to disturb my enjoyment of my halibut. Despite this, Bymark still wins the quickest lunch contest at just over thirty minutes. And while the servers are shy, there is nothing timid about the food. Generously thick cuts of both the halibut and the striploin (which resembled tenderloin) jut out confidently in truly three dimensional dishes. And while the flavours are not too complicated, they are incredibly pleasing from the fruity sourness of the Ceviche with crunchy taro contrasting the chewy whitefish to the salty pancetta supporting a flaky halibut. The steak unfortunately reminded of the Keg exclusively because of the blue cheese dressing. A tangy berry jam cut through the combination of dark and white chocolate for a well balanced dessert. This restaurant is for patrons who have big appetites and who want big flavours. For a bit more complexity, go upstairs to Canoe.

Summerlicious July 17: Sorrel

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Sorrel is a small and cosy restaurant on subterranean Yorkville St. off the corner of Bellair. The menu is all too familiar: caprese or arugula salad; salmon or steak. The buffalo mozzarella was fresh and the herbs were a thoughtful addition but the thickly sliced and watery tomatoes diluted the delicate cheese. The steak was a blushing pink but it was a bit bland with a tangy bitterness.  I have had much better (but also much worse).  The apple strudel was flaky with a perfectly balance of sweet and sour but still resembled the average strudel.

Summerlicious July 17: Aria

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This aria is grandiose with 35 foot floor-to-ceiling windows and exquisitely ornamentedwith orb chandeliers in meandering dark-wood strips. A small carafe of olive oil adorns the white tables with a speck of sunny yellow. The ternary form begins with a vivace salad, anchored by a velvety anchovy mayonnaise and sprinkled with sweet, crispy potatoes that look almost like croutons but opens up a sweet, warm and chewy core. This motifcarries over to the grave second course, where real croutons appear as gargantuan playthings that crunch raucously between the steak and the salad. What a shame the chef in haste forgot to season the ribeye (we asked begrudging waitresses to get out by 1:00m but only left at 1:20pm). Or perhaps the chef was prescient as for the first time (in my dining experience), pungent olives served a purpose, salting the rib-eye on their own! And finally we return to a lively finish with the best dessert of Summerlicious, a dark chocolate “polenta” cake, slightly chilled, never sweet, rich and soft plays counterparty to a buttery-sweet hazelnut ice cream with melt-in-mouth toffee sprinkled atop. But most memorable is the coda, a beet curd coloured in Victoria Secret pink, a seductive melisma to round out the piece.

Summerlicious July 16: Pangaea

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On the corner of a dilapidated building across a Bay Subway station sits what might at first glance appear to be a small café or pastry shop. Instead, it opens up to a lofty and colourful dining hall. The wavy sky-high ceilings have a nautical and whimsical feel. The shrimp salad looked like a skimpy mess but revealed itself to be a wonderful pastiche of subtle, refreshing flavours, especially the sweet roasted peppers and cashew nuts. The suckling pig was also an unsightly mishmash of weird shapes but the sampling of random pig parts worked well amidst a sweet and sour sauce. The crispy skin held well when combined with the flimsy cabbage while the lentils provided some much needed grounding. Finally, I had the best cheese dish of the festival. Again, the presentation requires work but the honey and dates are a decliciously sweet value-add.

Summerlicious July 16: Reds

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Reds is a run-down, neighborhood ‘joint’ with trippy carpets and obtuse chairs. It tries to be independent yet the completely reproducible furnishings and finishings give away its status as a concept restaurant. The nostalgic resemblance to the Canyon Creeks and the Jack Astor’s (all of these restaurants are owned by “SIR Corp”) is depressing. An unsightly soft-shell crab is a deformed deep-fried ball kicked around by an underdressed salad and food-truck tartar sauce. The steak salad reminded of the drudgery of late night binges at Petit Four (also of “SIR Corp”). To be fair, for cold flank steak layered with store-bought croutons and corn cobs, it was surprisingly refreshing and sweet. And no one likes corn on a salad as much as Ben G (Cobb salad anyone?). The barbeque sauce was drizzled so proudly upon the dish, an oddity given its commercial (HP?) roots. The shortcake dessert was rather interesting with its fluffy custard cream and strong but not overpowering berry preserve. The humor in all of this is the menu (see below). The dressing up of such mundane dishes with flashy words though, creates some expectations this place simply cannot meet. Although, I do agree that the steak could have come out of the backyard (in Reds’s case, the adjacent First Canadian Place food court).

Summerlicious July 15: Byzantium

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This flamboyant ‘hot spot’ near Church & Wellesley is an institution in itself. As the Eastern Roman Empire before it, the restaurant felt separated from Toronto-west proper, developed a unique, ‘religious’ following and has thrived for years and years. And while the restaurant tries so hard to be different, its food had no differentiating factor. The poutine, pasta and cake were all reminiscences of Longo’s lunches. The poutine stuck so loyally to the holy trinity of fries, gravy and curds that it failed to add anything even a bit unconventional as Smoke Poutinerie might have. The pasta was a mashed up poached salmon thrown with past-al-dente pasta in an excessively heavy rosé. Creativity was limited to shaving some smoked salmon on top of real salmon and sprinkling enough dill to pickle several years’ worth of cucumber. Finally, the chocolate cake was standard birthday party fare. In general, the flavours were too forward and altogether pedestrian.

Summerlicious July 15: Auberge Du Pommier

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Auberge feels terribly misplaced in the in the parking lots of Yonge Corporate Centre. The restaurant resembles an idyllic cottage untainted by the commercial outgrowth that surrounds it. And it isolates itself tastefully using trees (whether they are of the genus “Pommier,” I cannot say). Stone walls and elegantly light décor contribute to the ‘wedding-room’ look. Again, the multicultural spin of Summerlicious takes over, but waitresses are more than happy to indulge these aspirational patrons. And unfortunately some diners did stage a bit of revolt in front of mislabelled washroom doors - their confusion showing through otherwise austere faces, perturbed only by the urgency of their needs. “Mesdames” and “messieurs”: what alien tongue is that? The lunchtime selection is a little dull; the clear favourites were the sea bass and the cheese. With that said, the table all ordered different appetizers and they were all very good. My salad was very lightly dressed and almost bitter until the sweet pine nuts were introduced. The Sea Bass was perfectly cooked, as were the zucchinis. The saffron sauce (however little there was) offered a distinctively acidic punch to the unctuous fish. My complaint would be the watery cherry tomatoes and the chewy PEI mussels added nothing to the dish. The cheese was beautifully presented and rested on a cheery fruit spread. The added effort beyond a simple cheese & cracker dish (see Sassafraz) was duly noted. Auberge reminds me of many of ST Coleridge’s poems of the peaceful countryside, in the distant past. “How exquisite the scents / Snatch'd from yon bean-field!”

Summerlicious: Midway Recommendations

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Summerlicious has been everything it is said to be. The majority of restaurants indeed put their best food  forward and the overall spirit should not be ruined by the few who spoil it. Of course, there are topical arguments against Summerlicious as sneakily snuck into my various reviews. They are quite well documented in this National Post article (http://www.notabenerestaurant.com/press/16/). Yet Summerlicious is a success. Many of the hold-outs of 2005, according to the NP article, have joined (Fifth, Didier). Now it is the halfway mark (18 of 34 restaurants have been reviewed) and I can give you my recommendations, should you wish to try some next week. (see link above)

Summerlicious July 14: North 44

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Today is the halfway mark of Summerlicious; in celebration the flagship restaurants of Toronto’s two most prolific culinary artists did battle and a winner was declared. The meal at North 44 was almost twice as expensive and almost half as good. Despite North 44’s attempts to seem Torontonian (Toronto is 44 degrees latitude) it misses all the charm of Canoe. The exterior is grey and the interior is dark and depressing. A large bust of an unknown Roman adds to the confusion. The food was poorly presented. The beef tartare appeared as a ball not unlike an uncooked beef burger, the tenderloin had asparagus jutting out and the meringue was off centered (my friend’s was not). Taste was generally better. The Dijon mustard cut through the tartare and made a splendid spread on the toast. The tenderloin was perfectly cooked and the sweetness of the jus, potatoes and onions (and my wine) paired quite well. Unfortunately, the asparagus were bitter and a little hard for my liking. The fairly generous cut of tenderloin was appreciated but at this level, an expensive slab of meat will not cut it. The dessert was simply a disaster. It was too sweet and too sour at the same time with no discernible texture. No one who ordered the meringue finished it. I would like to think this restaurant has seen better days (it has 4 stars for Toronto Life); perhaps it is not taking Summerlicious seriously.