Due to work, when I arrived at the Distillery District many booths have already left, including some which I've really looked forward to (Jamie Kennedy Kitchen, Trevor, Via Allegro). The street was still filled with people, however. I did the once-around before homing in one some of the things I wanted to try. At the end of the day, the event set me back around $40 (I didn't have lunch, specifically for this occasion), but it was well worth it. Here are the items that I tried:
1) Thirty Five Elm - Lobster and Dungeness Crab Corn Dog
By the time I arrived, they had ran out of the decorative crab legs. Despite the ghetto presentation (wooden toothpick with a fried ball on top of green sauce in plastic bowl), Andrea Nicholson kept the dish true to its name. Flaky pieces of salmon-like meat leaks out essences of lobster and crab (Yes, you can taste both distinctively). The green tatar sauce, with less zing then most, compliments well with the seafood as not to mask the delicate tastes of the lobster and crab.
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2) Jean-Pierre & Co. - Goat Cheese Tart with Carmelized Shallots and Shitake Mushrooms
$5 gets you three small tarts, and it was worth every last crumb. Sweet caramelized shallots infused in goat cheese are encrusted in a soft and savory pastry. Shitake mushroom adds an interesting twist to a creative european dish. Each bite brings out a different combination of flavors.
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3) Amuse Bouche - Lamb Merquez Sausage on Morrocan Ciabatta with Medjool Date Mustard
Each plate comes with two small lab sausages with sauce in the ciabatta. The sausages are lean but juicy. The mustard creates a spicy kick that adds an instant heat, but subsides shortly and tempts for another bite. The one downside to this dish is the dry ciabatta, as it was hard to chew and did not manage to soak up any sauce or juices.
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4) Rice Bar - Steamed Sticky Rice with Kaffir Lime Leaf and Filled with Roasted Organic Cauliflower Seasoned with Bengali 5 Spices and Topped with Coconut Cream Infused with Homemade Curry and Roasted Rice
Although not as flavorful as the other dishes, its simplicity and natural taste is not unwelcoming. $5 gave a decent portion. Overwhelming amount of rice sometimes overwhelmed the balance between the light creamy sauce on the exterior and the spiciness from within, but otherwise Aa creative dish for the always-neglected vegetarians.
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5) One Up - Yellow Fin Tuna with Yuzu Flying Fish Roe on Prociutto Stage
If there is a dish that makes you taste the ocean, this is it. The freshness of the tuna and the saltiness of the roe explodes in your mouth and lingers well after ingesting. I almost went back for seconds.
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6) Agora (AGO Restaurant) - Thick Frittata with Potatoes, Topped with Giant Grilled Prawn and Chili and Tomato Sauce
A relatively bland dish for me. However, a sample well worth the money as you are treated to a huge prawn on top of a large and thick slice of frittata. The prawn was grilled to perfection and worked in unison with the sauce. The frittata was otherwise dry and tasteless.
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7) Boiler House - Braised Ox Tail Risotto with Truffle Essence
A HUGE applause for Jason Rosso. By far, the most memorable dish I had at the event. Rosso treated a simple sample dish like an artwork by adding decorative flowers onto the rice. The stickiness of the risotto was just right. Small tender strips of beef were infused within the sticky rice that brought great flavor and texture. The truffle oil really brought the pairing to a new level. Other than the risotto almost melting in your mouth, every bite had the taste of truffle that ravished your tastebuds. Surprised me why everyone avoided this great booth. Before I left I returned to the booth, wanting to compliment Rosso, but alas he had closed his booth early.
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8) Goed Eten - Belgian Sugar Waffle with White Chocolate and Pink Pepper Ice Cream
How can one not have dessert? I chose this place over the crepe stand due to its uniqueness. It offered 4 different choices of ice cream with your waffle, and obviously I chose the most interesting one. The guy wink at me and give me a large portion of ice cream :) The waffle was fresh and puffy, and the ice cream was having a sweet and spicy battle inside my mouth. Very unique flavor that might not settle with everyone at first, but you get to love it in the end.
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Dishes I didn't get to try:
EDO - 100% Pure Kobe Beef Hot Dog
Sassafraz - Lobster Tacos
On The Move - Strawberry Mango Lamb Skewer
Dish - BBQ Pulled Pork, Avocado Puree, Slow Roasted Tomatoes on Cheddar-Chive Biscuit
Dos Amigo - Chicken Corn Tamali
Rodney's Oyster House - 4 Oysters for $5
Seventh Heaven -
1) Plantain Lasso Wrapped Cosmo Salad Topped with Skewered Jumbo Shrimp and Ginger Perfumed Emulsion
2) Pulled Berkshire Pork with Cactus Koppa Slaw, Cornmeal Tortilla with Ricco de Gallo and Avocado, Creme Fraiche
3) Cryogemic Ice Cream Eclairs - crisp sugared eclairs with dulce de leche, strawberry maple sauce, white chocolate almond brittle
Bright Pearl Restaurant - Peking Duck Wrap
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I had a great time at the event and this is a great advertising opportunity for the food industry (there were many catering companies there), as well as enjoy a variety of tastes that Toronto has to offer. However, I noticed that most of the booths that had long lines were mainly ones selling original items, like corn (yes, there was a lineup for corn), crepes, smoothies, shanghai noodles and kabobs (in raspberry sauce). It was very disappointing to see some of the small catering companies with creative dishes (like Jean-Pierre & Co.) or small (not well known) places (like Rice Bar) look around bored.
Sassafraz (which was probably the most wellknown when I got there) got a huge lineup for lobster tacos. Although interesting, I opted for something I couldn't try on a regular basis. Sadly, not very people were doing that. I overheard a conversation between a woman and Chef Anne Yarymowich (AGO). According to Anne, the event turned out to be very unorganized. Booths were showing out late (there was one that was just setting up when I got there), and many of the big-name restaurants had such a bad turnout that they left early (i.e. some of the ones I wanted to try). In fact, Anne said that she probably wouldn't do this again next year.
All in all, I was very glad I went to this event despite having no one to go with, and sadly it seemed like this was the first and the last year for this event.
P.S.: I had photos, but my phone was stolen before I could post them up. Alas.
Monday, June 16, 2008
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