Why Are People Missing Out On The Risotto? - A Review on One Table, One City

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.

Invading Napa Valley: A Wine and Food Tale

The Wineries

1) Artesa Vinyards And Winery

A very new winery that sits on the top of a hill. Rumor has it that on a clear sunny day you can see all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge at San Franciso. The view was 360 (or 270, because the building was in the way), and indeed gorgeous, but the rumor was a lie (maybe due to smog?). The tasting area was located inside and was bar-style. The building and interior itself was VERY modern, and the staff were helpful but not friendly. None of the wine stood out for us though.

2) Domaine Carneros

A very grand looking estate that sits close to the highway, so there is no way you can miss it. We went there because it looked amazing was convenient. The estate itself, with the fountain and the garden, was really impressive. The tasting area was located on the patio on the exterior of the building. The woman who was serving as was helpful and friendly, but everything took a long time (in all fairness, it was a weekend and very busy). We chose to try 3 wines between ourselves, and from then on it was a 25 minute wait until she came back with the wine, another 25 minutes until she came to ask us how everything was, and another 25 minutes to get our bill. Even then, it was a 30 minute wait at the counter to pay for our tasting. There was a wine we both liked (a Pinor Noir Estate Reserve) that was very dry and very complex, but it was $60 and because of the bad service, we left without anything.

3) Mumm Napa

Main focus on sparkling wine. Located in the outskirt of Napa (Rutherford), a very small building but very homey. Has a barn and bistro feel to it. Free tours around the facility and about champagne methods. Very friendly and knowledgable guide. Tasting room staff, again, helpful but not friendly. Very unique sparkling wines, each with its own character. Some celebrities are associated with Mumm Napa: Santana has his own brand here and Martha Stewart with her favorite champagne. We ended up buying a bottle and drinking it that night.

Note of warning: Go on a full stomach, as sparkling wine hits you harder than still wine. I learned a good lesson here.

4) Sterling

Located in Calistoga and on top of a hill, Sterling has its own gondola! The estate took a more European villa approach to decor, and the package includes the gondola ride, a self-guided tour and 5 tastings along the way at various points. Although not as informative as Mumm Napa, it was still facinating to learn about the barrels, and the view was fantastic. The tasting area is located on the patio looking out to the mountains. Staff were helpful but unfriendly (I'm noticing a trend here). We ended up trying some dessert wines and found 2 that we liked - a Muscat Canelli and a Malvasia Bianca.

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The Food

More to come!

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The Other Stuff We Did

1) The Olive Press

The actual facility, which was located in Sonoma Valley, was not was impressive as we'd like. Most areas were closed off to the public, and although the building archecture was nice, not very interactive. However, do not miss their large variety of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salad dressings, each very unique. The staff were quite knowledgable in each product. The also have a store in the Copia facility at Napa Valley. I never had so much fun shopping for olive oil. Makes great souvenir if your province limits you on wine through customs.

2) Redwood Forest

A long drive, but well worth the trip. After spoiling yourself in the air-conditioned wine estates and the restaurants, it's nice to go on a hike. There are three trails - easy, medium and hard - in which case we (or Darren) chose the medium. Although I ended up complaining for the majority of the walk, in the end it felt very rewarding. The initial three quarters of the hike was all about height and slopes, with mostly deciduous trees to stare at. The latter part included many redwoods that were VERY impressive. It was a unique scenery.



3) Petrified Wood Forest

While we were in Calistoga, one of the big tourist attraction was the Petrified Wood Forest. Being nerds ourselves, we decided to check it out. It was a short hike (compared to the Redwood Forest), and it was sort of interesting. Not extremely impressive, as they all look the same, but the science behind it is really cool (like I said, nerds). Not a bad place to go to if you want a quick place to go after a meal, if you want to pay $6 per person.



4) Old Faithful Geyser

The other attraction in Calistoga is the Old Faithful Geyser. Again, being nerds, we decided to go see. However, the admission fee turned out to be around $10 per person. We decided we didn't want to see that badly. After leaving the parking lot and getting lost, we ended up on this road facing the old faithful geyser area from the side. As we stopped to figure out where we are, in front of us and behind a tall wall of bushes, the geyser popped up. So even though we weren't planning to see the geyser, we saw it.

5) Pool at the Hotel

Not much to tell here. Went to hang out around the pool at the hotel at around 8:00pm. The weird thing was that while I was in the hot tub and looked around (half of the hotel rooms face the central quads), there was this room that was lit on the second floor, and I could clearly see the silhouette of this man looking at me. It was a little weird. When I turned around to look at the window again, it was another silhouette of a man with a cowboy hat. For 15 minutes they just kept exchanging places (sometimes both of them would look out), looking at Darren and I. It got so freaky that we just left and never went back to the pool.

6) Spa Trip

Darren decided to treat us to a couple's spa trip in Calistoga to end the holiday. There are many spas in Calistoga from the hot springs around the area. It was our first trip to the spa so it was very exciting for us. We opted for a couples mud bath, a european blanket wrap with a 30 minutes massage. The initial wait took some time, but once we were in, the attendant was very friendly. He was good to give us enough time and privacy for each of our activities. We were given a room to change into robes, where after he led us to the mud bath. He gave us instructions as to how to get in and out of the mud bath and was very good to keep us hydrated. The mud bath was interesting. We were actually able to float on the mud (I thought I'd sink), and it was VERY hot. We got a facial while we were in the mud bath, and after we got out and cleaned ourselves, we were able to get into a pool connected to the hot spring.

After the mud spring, we were taken to another room for a 20 minutes blanket wrap. He turned down the light and turned up the soothing music and left. I was half asleep when he came back because it was so relaxing. He took us to the waiting room and we waiting for our massage, which took a while. A young girl and a young man (whom dressed in shorts and tees) came and took us to the massage room on the 2nd floor (I got the guy, Darren got the girl). Again, very dim light and very soothing music. The massage was FANTASTIC. It loosened up my muscles so much that I had to keep my mouth closed. I don't know how people can last for a 1 hour massage. After that we were allowed to take a shower, get dress and the trip was done.

Going from Calistoga to Napa was a lot easier than coming to Calistoga. Initially it was a long ride filled with grumpiness. On the way back we kept touching our skin (not each other) and saying, "My skin is so smooth. I feels like butter." We were so mellow we kept grinning like idiots for the rest of the day.

ETHIOPIAN HOUSE Lives Up To The Rumors

Ethiopian House (Africa/Ethiopian)

4 Irwin Ave (Yonge and Wellesley)
416-923-5438
http://www.ethiopianhouse.com/

Located away from the glamour of Yonge Street, Ethiopian House still manages to attract a fair share of people to its humble establishment, mostly due to word-of-mouth. The kitchen serves up generous portions that one would not expect from the dated look of its decor. Gored-Gored includes chucks of tender beef that are just perfectly spiced. Aib (cottage cheese) and collard greens are blend in comparison but work well to balance and take away the spiciness. Moist and spongy injera (bread) add zest to many dishes. Coffee service is a must for first-timers. Menu has a large section devoted to vegetarians. Service is friendly but not intrusive.

Atmosphere: 2.5 / 5
Service: 3 / 5
Food: 4 / 5
Price: $13-$15 per dish

Overall: 3 / 5
Visit Again: Yes