Birch & Barley (@BirchBarleyDC) was a must try on our weekend trip in Washington. With an attempt to make reservations way in advance, we ended up with a 9:30 pm reservation on a Saturday night. We arrived at the eatery in hope of an opening. But no luck, a huge crowd was waiting on their second floor in the bar.

We were finally seated at our original reservation time. The menu here changes almost daily.

Bread to start: one of the best breads I ever heard because they were fresh out of the oven I loved the soft pretzel- very fluffly on the inside especially when slathered with spicy mustard and butter.

Arctic Char Tartare ($13.00)

Yuzu Gelee, Candied Ginger, Soy-Mirin, Sesame Crisp, Micro Celery
This tartare was phenomenal. Its probably not good to share it with more than 2 people. The dish comes with 5 crackers – the flavour of the arctic char was superb
Simple ingredients used to bring out simple flavours.

Honey Glazed Duck Breast ($31.00)

Leg Confit, Wild Rice, Brandied Cherries, Radishes, Hazelnut
The duck was cooked and served medium to medium rare – very juicy.
thick layer of fat along the side had a crispy, sweet honey glaze baked into it
The combination of the savoury meat and sweet – crispy fat was amazing.

Hand-cut Pappardelle ($19.00)

Braised Goat, House Curry & Yogurt, Mustard Greens, Cauliflower
The flavours and balance of the braised goat were amazing however I thought the hand cut pappardelle was a tad overcooked – bit chewy for my personal liking.

Passion Creme Brulee ($10.00)

coconut-kaffir tapioca, rhubarb sorbet, basil, coconut dacquoise
The desserts at Birch & Barley are like a piece of art. But ultimately gave into the temptation of the perfectly prepared creme bruelee. Very refreshing way to end out meal

Peanut Butter Parfait ($10.00)

cocoa meringue, berry sorbet, buckeye, raspberry

Really friendly but not overly attentive service. In terms of the meal overall, I thought it was a tasty and carefully executed meal. Man, the dessert was magnificent. – Perfect refreshing way to finish our dinner. I overheard their pastry chef has won quite a few awards for the beautiful work of art. Also, Quite a few local food bloggers from DC had recommended the brunch @ Birch & Barley. Might give it a try if I visit in the near future!

Washington Travels: Hank’s Oyster Bar

June 17, 2013

Brunch, Seafood, Travel

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So after hopping off the plane, my friend and I quickly checked in & dropped off our bags at the hotel and rushed to make our lunch reservations at Hank’s Oyster Bar (@HanksOysterBar)! Recommended to me by quite a few local Washington food bloggers, I was tres excited to check out this hot lunch spot.

The weather was amazing – sun was shining down all weekend! Patios was opened at Hank’s Oyster Bar that day but we opted to eat inside only because we wanted explore decor of the eatery!

Lots of natural lighting pouring into the restaurant.

Goldfishes to temporary fill up our hungry stomachs!

2 Blue Point Oyster ($4.50)
2 Golden Chesapeak Oyster ($4.50)
2 Ayock Salt Oyster ($4.50)

Crab cake Eggs Benedict ($16.00)

The crab cake eggs Benedict here was not bad but was leaning towards the heavier side. The crab cake itself was a bit mushy with not much texture.
The potatoes garnishing the plate were a bit oily

Popcorn Shrimp & Calamari ($10.00)

an appetizer that is a cute shareable portion of super tender seafood – perfectly fried.
The batter was light and crisp and went easy enough on the natural taste of the seafood
Served in a cute little tin

Hanks’ Oyster Bar is a casual yet sophisticated eatery to grab some shareables. The popcorn shrimp and calamari were great. The oysters were light and refreshing, varied in taste and size but were all extremely fresh. My friend wasn’t too pleased with the crab cakes but loved the oysters – ALSO, please keep in mind they have Half Price Raw Bar from 10pm-12am every night =)

Catering Class @ Toben Foods by Design

June 13, 2013

Catering, Events / News

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This past Tuesday evening, I was luckily enough to attend a catering class!! - Toben Foods by Design (@TobenFoods) at the Andrew Richard Designs & Events.

Toben Foods By Design is a company dedicated to providing high quality catering to clientèle in the GTA. Their philosophy behind catering is to gather and use what’s available at the market- very fresh and very seasonal – locally produced. Behind the team of Toben Foods by Design that we met that evening includes Executive Chef & Owner Toben Kochman and the Director of Catering and Product Elana Kochman.

It was my first time attending any sort of class – especially catering so I walked in feeling pretty optimistic and hungry… of course :)

We were all given a bottle of Fresh mixed melon & fennel infused with lemonade to sample some summer drinks.

Below are a few fun finger foods we sampled:

A yuzu glazed shrimp with sausage

Braised short ribs on a crispy polenta

Chef Toben demonstrating a few of his techniques during the 2 hour class.

Jerk Seared Tuna and Island Chopped Salad

mango, watermelon, cucumbers and fresh avocado, fresh mint and basil
seared ahi tuna was marinated for about 20 to 25 minutes dressed with chilli oil and herbs

A single serving of the tuna salad

Summer Nova Scotia Lobster Salad

Potatoes, Roasted asparagus, chorizo sausage, sweet corn with roasted onions finished with a romesco (Spanish) sauce

Closer shot of the lobster and potato salad

Seared “AAA” Angus Beef Ribeye Steak and Heirloom Tomato Panzanella Salad

Ribeye marinated with olive oil and rosemary. The Ribeye is cooked to a perfect medium rare with lots of oyster & shittake mushrooms, onions and tomatoes & Parmesan cheese along with some croutons

A beautiful single portion of the ribeye panzanella salad

Ontario Strawberry-Lemon Shortcakes

Fresh Lemon Scented Country Biscuits with Tahitian Vanilla Whipped Cream and Fresh Ontario Strawberries

Chocolate Shortcake

Banana icing, bruleed banana and a maple bacon with peanut butter sauce drizzled.

The ones behind Toben Foods: Elana Kochman & Toben Kochman

Toben Popcorn to take home!

Never in a million years would I have thought that salads could be so fun and filling to eat. Chef Toben had made some really refined yet simple and classic salads with great presentation. My favourite was the ribeye salad. Everything was executed really well – the finger foods were uber good and tasty. I could have finished so many of the yuzu glazed shrimp!

This meal was complimentary but Foodinthecitytoronto.com remains unbiased in our content.

Washington Memories 4.67

June 10, 2013

Snacks, Travel

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Finally I’m getting around to sharing with you guys some pictures of my trip. I was in Washington for a quick weekend earlier last month for the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. With lunch & dinner reservations already made in advance, my friend and I ventured aimlessly around the city in between those times. Please bear with me the galore of random tourists shots below:

My friend and I made so many snack stops in between our lunch and dinner reservations (more posts to come later). I don’t think we were actually hungry during any of our meals. After hopping off the metro, we found a Paul’s Bakery that my friend had been wanting to try and came out super happy when we found a humongous macaroon there that was the size of my friend’s palm! Later we couldn’t help ourselves and shared a gelato. Man, the lemon citrus flavour was amazing <3

Loved the feeling of not having a single worry in the world. Wish I could just drop everything & travel the world with my camera. Hopefully many of my coming weekends will be as relaxing as the one you’ve just seen – Cheers!

MEATBALL tasting @ Paese Ristorante

June 7, 2013

Events / News, Fine Dining / Bistro / Bar, Italian

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This past Monday I was invited to good ol’ MESSY MEATBALL party at Paese Ristorante (@PaesesRistorante) located on King St. West right across from TIFF Bell Lightbox. That evening consisted of the launch of a new late night meatball menu created by Chef Palik (@ChefPalik) and also a new personal record for myself for indulging in a galore of meatballs!!!

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we were each given a bib and a little menu for the evening.

Their meatballs are uniquely sophisticated. See the below pictures if you don’t believe me =P

Drinks to start off the meatball feast!

Meatball Caesar – The Duce

Mixologist Moses McIntee also sampled “The Duce” – their new spring cocktail menu
Caesar made with San Marzano tomato sauce and meatballs

Falalfel Balls

Chick pea and fava bean falalel’s, pickled cucumber, cured tomatoes, and green goddess crema

Chef Palik was very friendly and made his around the table to introduce his creations!

Pepperoni Arancini Balls

House smoked mozzarella, salsa verde and chili mayo

Closer shot:

Veal Meatballs

house ground veal, pork and ricotta, with sweet peas, cipollini onions braised in milk

PAESE Meatballs

House ground beef short rib, sirloin brisket and pecorino, braised in tomato sugo

Polenta Fries

Chicken Wing Meatballs

Spicy pepperoncini chicken meatballs with gorgonzola dipping sauce

Balls on Buns

Smashed balls, tomato sugo, dill pickles, potato chips and provolone on brioche mini bus

Last but not least:

Meatball Margherita

Mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce, and of course meatballs!

Our table with what felt like an unlimited supply of meatballs from Chef Palik.

A complimentary bottle of First Cold Pressed Olive Oil courtesy of Paese Ristorante :)

I have never been so full from a tasting. This meatball launch was definitely a memorable one. My favourite meatball was the Falalfel Balls – I loved the sauce they had going around the dish and also the Meatball Pizza. I wish I only had enough room to finish my slice. Each meatball was a little surprise after biting into it. For all you meatball lovers out there, this is the place to be!

This meal was complimentary but Foodinthecitytoronto.com remains unbiased in our content.

Elle M’a Dit

June 5, 2013

Alsatian

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Way back when, a bunch of foodies including myself met up for dinner at Elle M’a Dit. Although, the restaurant has officially closed its doors last month, it was quite a delightful dinner that I never got around to blogging. Yet, here I am editing photos and writing up a post about a restaurant that I wish I visited more often. Nonetheless, I still wish to share with you guys my first time indulging in a modern Alsatian (French & German) cuisine.

Traditional tarte flambée ($10.00)

bacon, onion, fromage blanc, gruyère cheese

Duck tarte flambée ($11.00)

duck confit, potato, onion, fromage blanc, gruyère cheese

Foie gras terrine ($18.00)

Riesling gelée, sour cherry compote, white bread toast

Duo of duck ($17.00)

house smoked duck, duck rillette, romaine heart, roasted garlic dressing

Baeckeoffe & salad ($19.00)

Alsatian meat casserole, beef lamb and pork with potato

Coq au Vin & spätzle ($18.00)

Alsatian egg dumpling

Seared scallop & braised pork belly ($20.00)

smoked potato purée, pickled ramps, ramp pesto

Sweet potato gnocchi ($16.00)

seasonal vegetable & pesto

I’m a huge fan of anything that’s been placed in a hot oven so essentially things that are baked. So obviously the Alsatian meat casserole& the tarte flambées were my favourites of the night! I’m a sucker of anything that’s embedded on a crusty layer of thin dough. My second favourite was the Seared scallop & braised pork belly… doesn’t that alone sound really good?! I definitely need find a new Alsatian cuisine in Toronto.

Bellwoods Brewery

June 3, 2013

Fine Dining / Bistro / Bar, Snacks

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Bellwoods Brewery (@bellwoodsbeer) is a microbrewery that opened mid last year. Located, on the Ossington Strip, Bellwoods is a venue that pretty much focuses on experimenting flavourful beers along with some tapas style dishes to compliment the drinks.
A bunch of us girls met up for dinner to check out the brewery!

The restaurant is literally situated in a garage type building. The “garage door” closes towards evening when it gets a bit chilly.

We waited upstairs for the rest of the party to arrive and got a fabulous view of the brewery from above.

{Left} Witchshark IIPA (9% APV, 8.5) – which is their strongest beer
{Right} Farmhouse Saison (6% APV, 7.5) – which is considered to be “sweeter” beer

We literally ordered one of everything on the menu, below are the snacks that were shared amongst all of us:

Pig Heart ($4.00)

Serrano hot sauce

Wheat Kernels ($9.00)

hen of the woods, chickweed

Potato ($3.00)

warm anchovy mayo

Lamb Tongue ($4.00)

walnut, raisin

Raw Beef & Sour Vegetables ($10.00)

Crispy Pork ($9.00)

pea shoots, rehydrated peanuts, mustard sauce

Cucumber ($3.00)

paprika, garlic

Duck ($15.00)

– hop shoots, beet

The girls including myself thought the extensive drink list were excellent, food was alright but left the restaurant a bit unsatisfied. We visited Bellwoods Brewery with an expectation of a full meal but then soon realized this relaxing eatery was a place to simply grab a few snacks with drinks after work. I will keep this place in mind when I’m in a tapas mood!