We Can Work It Out

I subscribe to the trite old adage that when a door closes a window opens.  In line with this theory, I can say that when a favourite, much frequented restaurants go pear-shaped, a new exciting eatery opens to tantalize you.

It is with much regret that I have to pan two of my all time favourite go-to restaurants - La Luna and The Capri.

I have been frequenting La Luna since the late 1980's.  My friend Terry took me there for the first time.  It was the first time that I had ever tried middle-eastern cuisine was hooked from the very first bite.  It was known as The Sheik back then and it was located on the corner of King & Victoria.  It eventually grew in popularity (I'm pretty sure thanks to Terry) and moved to a larger location on King between Caroline & Hess.  They eventually took over the building next door, expanding into an even larger restaurant, changed their name to La Luna and became one of the city's destination live music venues of the 1990's (I saw Carol Pope, Holly McNarland, Rufus Wainwright and not to mention countless local bands there).  La Luna continued to grow in the new millennium, moving to it's current location at King & Queen.  La Luna expanded the eating area once again and the live music branched off to the adjoining (but separately managed)  music venue The Casbah.   This past summer La Luna closed it's doors for a few weeks to renovate.  All the La-Luna-ites were a-buzz with wondering how it was going to reinvent itself for this decade.  It was a shock to all to hear that their philosophy was to no longer serve liquour--considering that La Luna has made a hefty profit from liquour sales for over 25 years.  I absolutely will still pop by for late work night take out, but no longer will this be a destination for our frequent girly dinners.  Sorry, but girl gotta have a little vino with her meal. 

Next on my reluctant hit list is The Capri.  A Hamilton institution since 1967 and another frequent girly dinner destination (1967 is when it opened, not when we began our girly dinners -- we are not THAT old), although the liquour license is intact, the shocking part is how badly the quality of their food has declined.  La Luna and The Capri are the only two restaurants in which I order the same thing all of the time.  At The Capri, my standard is the caprese salad and the spaghetti with tomato sauce.  Usually it so good I have to refrain myself from licking the plate (I don't know what stopped me because I tend to think that couth is over-rated).  The caprese, once drizzled with an amazing vinaigrette is now a plate of mushy tomatoes and boccaccini with a watered down white vinegar.  The sauce that now tops the pasta is best described as tomato water as opposed to tomato sauce as it so thin and runny.

OK - enough negativity and dwelling in the past.  Time to look forward.

Work is one of the latest additions to the gentrified James Street North is a hip eatery located beside This Ain't Hollywood.   It has a varied selection (no menus,  the changing items are written on a chalk board) with excellent craft beers on tap and an impressive local wine selection.  The Fella had the spaghetti and meatballs which put The Capri to shame.  I had the blackened sole (because you are what you eat) and we split an order of the avocado fries.  Everything was excellent.  There is nothing worse that going to a restaurant and being disappointed because you could have made a better meal at home.  This is not the case with Work.  I can't wait to go back and hoping that this will be the destination for our next girly dinner.  Walking down James North we also discovered a new rotisserie restaurant that had opened (Charred Rotisserie) and a "coming soon" new Italian restaurant and pizza bar.  Out with the old, in with the new...

 

Mambo Italiano

As we all know, we spend more time with our coworkers than we do with our friends and family.  A sign of the times in modern society, but I however, am truly lucky to have some pretty great coworkers at this point in my life (not always the case as for the majority of my working life I have worked with some effed-up characters).   I am even lucky enough to call some of these coworkers friends. 

So when you spend this much time with a group of people it is only natural that they have an influence on your life.  So, as per Audrey, Carlos and Peter, I am officially the "honorary scozzese italiano amico" - or honorary Scottish Italian friend. 

I prefer the term "Britalian" because our culture exchange works both ways.  Peter has introduced the phrases "mi piace" and "no mi piace" into my everyday vernacular.   I have introduced the phrase "blokey" into Carlos' vocabulary.  Audrey (after being horrified by the fact that I had never tried Nutella) promptly procured a jar for me to try (thanks for putting that delicious monkey on my back Audrey!).  I returned the favour by turning her on to the "proper" sour flavour of British pub-style pickled onions.

I am hooked on all things Italian.  Therefore a trip to Toronto's Little Italy was in order.  Little Italy is officially the area that borders around College Street between Bathurst and Ossington up to Harbord Street.  Although it cannot compare to Little Italy in Manhattan (there are now various Thai and shawarma restaurants scattered in the area), there are still some great gems to be found.

Bar Italia is one of these gems.  The staff are informative and friendly and the food is authentic.  Without exaggeration, it is probably the best Italian meal that I have had this year (and trust me - thanks to my work mates I have eaten at a LOT of Italian restaurants this year).

We started off with the Crostini Al Gorgonzola, served with roasted red peppers and marinated mushrooms.  Don't let the small portion fool you - it is super rich and it is just enough for two people.  I highly recommend pairing this with one of their fine red wine selections.

When in Rome (or a reasonable facsimile)...I had the Chianti...The Fella had the Moretti Forni beer.

I had the Bucatini Con Broccolini - fresh pasta with broccolini, roasted cipolini, roasted garlic, chili peppers, basil, olive oil and parmesan cheese.  It was out of this world delicious!

The Fella had the Spaghetti Bar Italia - fresh pasta with a home made tomato and basil sauce topped with locally made hot Italian sausage.  I could not help but to steal some of his meal.

"Britalian" at it's finest - the Italian Scooter a la British Mod chic!

 

 

 

A stop in little Italy is not complete without stopping at the legendary Sicilian café for a scoop of gelato.   Mi piace my friends - mi piace!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Eat to the Beat

My friend Liz and I have shared many (many) birthdays together; all of which have always involved good food and drinks. 

For my birthday this year, I had the pleasure of being treated by Liz to a chef table event called "Go Cooking"- an evening of food prepared by a local chef, a sample plate of each course along with a wine tasting and education by a professional sommelier.  You had me at an evening of food....

Go Cooking is held at our local newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator building at 44 Frid Street in Hamilton.  They have a fully functioning kitchen and the chefs prepare their deliciousness in an interactive and entertaining style.

This evening's chefs were from West Plains Bistro in Burlington (www.westplainsbistro.com) - a venue that I have wanted to try for some time.  Based on the yummy creations that were prepared, I am sure to plan a visit soon.

 

Appetizer - Wine Steamed Clams with lemon, dill & caper butter

Wine - UMA Coleccion Torrontes from Argentina (LCBO $9.95)

 

 

 

Main - Seared Sea Scallops with lemon and lavender glaze, Risotto with chives, green beans and golden beets

Wine - Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio from Italy (LCBO $11.20)

 

 

 

 Desert - Lemon Mouse with summer berries in phyllo pastry

Wine - Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut (LCBO $13.95)

 

 

 

The sommelier services were provided by Peter Bacchus from Bacchus Sommelier Services (www.bacchussommelier.com).  They are available for private parties and educational seminars - how great would it be to have a gathering of friends and have Bacchus provide an education session and sampling of wines!

 

 

 

 

For more information on the GO Cooking series, visit www.gocooking.ca

 

 

 



 

 

 

Visit my friend Liz's blog - www.experiencehamilton.blogspot.ca



Pisces Palooza

Is it OK to say “Happy March” when we are almost halfway through the month?  Can’t believe how long it has been since my last blog post.  I have been so preoccupied with turning the new abode into a home.  Luckily all the lovely Pisces in my life have provided a much needed distraction.

I am drawn to Pisces peeps.  Pisces have been described as “fish going in two different directions”.  I am a typical Gemini twin, so our dualities bode well together.  No big surprise that my bestie, Vivieen and The Fella are both Pisces with birthdays only four days apart.

In keeping with the dual theme, this past weekend there were dual celebrations – Friday, the girls and I got together to celebrate Vivieen’s birthday and Saturday was reserved for The Fella’s celebration with his family.

Friday’s festivities began with dinner at Capri Ristorante http://www.capriristorante.ca.  Capri has been in business since 1963 and the décor has not changed much since then; it looks like the restaurant is a set design from the Mad Men series.  The food is fantastic, which is a testament to their longevity. 

Afterwards, we took advantage of the mild temperatures and participated in Art Crawl on James Street North.  We then ended up at James Street’s newest addition, The Stowaway (no website yet) – which literally opened its doors for the first time hours before our visit.  It definitely had some hiccups on their first night, but I would be willing to try it again.

Birthday girl Vivieen pointing towards where the cocktails are!

Fellow Art Crawlers on James Street North

Sarah, Robin & Diane at The Stowaway

Saturday’s celebrations took us to The Powerhouse Restaurant http://www.thepowerhouse.ca in Stoney Creek – also a historic landmark.  The Powerhouse is located in an historic building that provided power to the electric rail lines in the 1890’s.  Here is another duality theme comes into play – The Powerhouse is gorgeous inside, however their food is mediocre – not bad, just same old, same old pub fare.   

The gorgeous interior of The Powerhouse

The Fella and the complimentary cotton candy

I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend – food, drinks and laughs with two of the most important people in my life.  Love you both loads.

Robin's Birthday

Not only do I love a celebratory night out with my fav galpals, but I also love an opportunity to check out a new restaurant. 

When we got together for my lovely friend Robin’s birthday earlier this month, we made the trek out to Burlington to have dinner at Eatalia http://www.eatalia.ca. 

I have to be honest.  I was sceptical about the choice of venue.  I have driven by Eatalia a few times and always thought that it was a chain restaurant on par with the likes of Eastside Mario’s (blech!). However, this could not have been further from the truth.  Eatalia is an independent, stylish restaurant with a warm and welcoming staff and inventive menu. 

We could not decide on an appetizer so our server put together a meat and cheese antipasti plate for the four of us to share (more like devour!).  

I ordered the Bucatini Alla Matriciana which was tossed in a sauce made of tomatoes, basil, smoked bacon, pancetta and chilli peppers (you had me at bacon!!).  I literally wanted to lick my plate it was so good – sometimes couth is an overrated virtue.

Diane and birthday girl Robin had the quail with roasted mushroom and fig sauce served on a bed of pancetta polenta.  I have to be honest – I can’t for the life of me remember what Vivieen had.  Let’s just say A LOT of wine was consumed that night.

We refrained from having desert at the restaurant as we were heading back to Robin’s house for more wine and cake.  (Note - cake is not shown -- see too much wine note above).

I love going to Robin's house...not only because there is wine, but because her home is absolutely gorgeous!  Robin is such a creative talent.  I mentally made decor notes to use in my new abode. 

Like all of us, she is also a huge rock n roll fan, which reflected in our choice of birthday prezzies.  I'm hoping to borrow the Marc Bolan biography from her when she is finished!



Poutine-Off

Back in December my work mates and I went to Smoke's Poutinerie for lunch (http://thefreespiritz.blogspot.ca/2012/12/end-of-world-poutine.html).  During this outing, Peter started talking smack about how he could be a champion poutine eater.  Sarah and Audrey rose to the challenge and a date was set for February 15^th for what would be forever know as the Poutine-Off. 

There was daily trash talk from this initial lunch date through to the actual date of the Poutine-Off about who would reign supreme as the ultimate poutine eating title-holder.  The challenge was taken very seriously by my work mates.  Rules were drafted – the full portion must be consumed in the least amount of time, no performance enhancing drugs (i.e. laxatives), etc.   The winner would receive a Poutine-Off trophy and the glory of being undefeated – the loser would have to buy a round of coffee for the contestants and the judges.

I offered to participate as a judge – partly because I was curious as to how the challenge would go done and partly because I knew this blog would just write itself.    I also volunteered to make the trophy for the victor. 

The trophy - Monsieur Poutine tête...

...with his cheese curd afro

The big day arrived.   The excitement in the office was palpable.  Choruses of ‘ “Fry” of the Tiger’ could be heard being sung throughout the cubicles.  There was also arguments as to who as “going down” in this battle of gastronomic proportions.

At 11:30 a.m. sharp, we gathered at Smoke’s Poutinerie on Adelaide (www.smokespoutinerie.com).  The orders were placed and all bets were off. 

The champion was Carlos, who took the contest by eating the chicken fajita poutine in six minutes and sixteen seconds.   Fast on his tail was Sarah, with the pulled pork and bacon poutine, in just less than seven minutes.  Carlos, a gracious winner, said that was sharing the trophy with Sarah who he considered to be a worthy competitor.  It is now shared between both their desks.

And Peter the wise guy who started it all with his smack talk?  It was pretty much a tie between him and Audrey for third place.  To add to his crushing defeat was the fact that his subway ride did not bode well after the Poutine-Off.  I am not sure if his wooziness was caused by so much food in such a short span, or if was the chants about how he was beaten by a girl.

In last place was (Won’t be done until) May, who was disqualified for not finishing all of her portion.   She is treating us to coffee tomorrow.



I Can Azure You

Winterlicious, the Toronto food festival which features restaurants across the city offer discounted “prix fixe” three course lunch and dinner menus, kicked off it's tenth year this past Sunday (January 27, 2013).

The idea of a great meal at a reduced price makes my heart flutter.  Throw in a shoe sale and it’s the trifecta that would make make my heart pound similar to a bona fide cardio workout. 

The ‘licious festivals, (Winterlicious in Jan/Feb and Summerlicious in July), offer a great opportunity to try out new restaurants.  Some restaurants that I now frequent are a result of discovering them during a ‘licious festival.

Yesterday,  work mates Audrey and Sarah and I had reservations at Azure, the sleek, open concept restaurant located inside the Toronto Intercontinental Hotel.   We were greeted with a hostile reception by the hostess who apparently was doing us a massive favour by confirming our reservation and seating us at our table.  When I informed her that we were there for Winterlicious, you would have thought that we had just pulled up in the Jed Clampett mobile, fired our guns in the air yelling “YEE HAW” and asked for three glasses of their finest moonshine.  It was clear from the hostess’, and subsequently the waiter’s, attitude that Winterlicious customers were second class citizens to them. 

Here’s the thing – the lull between the December holiday season and Valentine's Day in mid February is not a great time of year for restaurants. Winterlicious is a great vehicle for restaurateurs to make money during a very slow period.  The City of Toronto chooses which restaurants get participate in the event.   Those who are not chosen feel the economic impact of not being included.  I’m sure that being located in a large hotel keeps business steady for Azure and if Winterlicious is so beneath them, why do they take a spot away from another restaurant that could use the cash flow?

 

 

The three of us chose the Organic Leaves salad with olives and fried goat cheese as our starters, which was the best dish of the three courses.  Based on the simplicity of the salad, this isn't saying much. 

Audrey chose the braised lamb pappardella as her main and said that it was tasty.  Sarah and I had the grilled flat iron steak sandwich with truffled fries.  Well colour me red neck, but the steak tasted like it was cooked by a hair stylists flat iron and the fries tasted like A & W's.  They were definitely frozen fries and they were not dressed with truffle oil as stated on the menu.   The waiter snidely asked us if we wanted ketchup for them.  I refrained from asking why he didn’t offer up any possum juice for the likes of us hillbillies. 

"That there is s'pose to be some fancy city food Jethro."

For dessert, we all finished with the upside down apple cake with sour cream ice cream, which was apparently like us – it had no taste.

Please do not let this put you off Winterlicious.  This is probably the first bad experience that I have had in the six years that I have been going to ‘licious.  It has grown from 35 restaurants participating restaurants in 2003 and now features 191 restaurants on the bill along with a host of other cool culinary events.  Winterlicious runs from now until February 7, 2013.

http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/winterlicious/2013/index.htm