rob gentile of BUCA, no. l in 2009
The Wrap on the Noughties…
The devil’s decade is ending with a fine dining meltdown. It seems quaint to recall that fine dining restaurants were once regarded as temples of food – eaters made pilgrimages to Joel Rebuchon in Paris, Thomas Keller in Yountville, to Ferran Adria in Bilbao to Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Susur Lee in Toronto. Now the chefs are cashing in their brand. There are eleven Atelier Rebuchons round the world, from Las Vegas to Tokyo. Susur has opened/is opening restaurants in New York, Washington, Singapore. In Toronto, Mark McEwan (North 44, Bymark, One) is offering meal replacements at his eponymous grocery store in Don Mills.
Restaurant critics sometimes ignored informal bistros and ethnic spots. No longer. The neighbourhood restaurant, Loire, Local, Black Hoof, Curry Twist (Ayurveda cooking) is the success story of the noughties.
Sure there are still white tablecloths, the three course protocol, the suit culture, the pillars of fine dining (The Fifth, Auberge du Pommiers) - but increasingly restaurants are driven by demographics. The jetsetting Boomers, the biggest, richest gen were open to food from everywhere, delivered informally.
Now the Millenial cohort (the eldest are now in their thirties) have taken over. They snack, drink cocktails, grab a burger, have fun – thus the Resto Lounge, exemplified by Cinq 0 1, Nyood. And what’s a sellout at the Fifth? Jazz night with lobster poutine!
Media critics are being trumped by bloggers. The Food Network has not only educated people about cooking but it’s spawned the instant restaurant reviewer.
Pity the poor restaurateur. Simon Bower of Lucien, one of Toronto’s blue chips in the churning city, sighs “Now it’s a new jungle.”
But the restaurants are immeasurably better, chefs are far more creative – Claudio Aprile’s nitrogen icecream couldn’t have flown in 1999 nor could Earth’s custom-sized steaks. Menus offer oodles more variety. Salmon used to be a sole star. Today, One, in the five star Hazelton Hotel, offers black cod, albacore tuna, striped bass, fluke, pickerel, once ignored, and day boat scallops, the freshest kind, a distinction that underlines the new importance of sourcing ingredients.
Credit goes to pioneer Jamie Kennedy for his determined promotion of fresh, local, organic food. His influence has inspired chefs to focus on quality .Boutique meats are the norm. Stephen Alexander at Cumbrae Meats raises the beef he butchers. An Elora roasted chicken is a revelation. The fat pig is back – pork belly has been one of the decade’s signatures along with house-made charcuterie and the smoker. Another signature: local artisan cheeses, Glengarry’s Figaro, Thunder Oak Gouda – and the cheese plate itself. Reds Bistro offers twenty two cheeses which can be paired with Ontario wines.
But there’s one persistent issue: consistency. Too many restaurants, even good ones, are inconsistent. You go one night, it’s great, another, it isn’t. I am reminded of Marcella Hazan’s experience in Venice. She sent friends to her favourite restaurant only to be told it was atrocious. She asked the chef what happened? He was off that night due to a family emergency. Who was doing the cooking ? “The dishwasher.”
To sum up the trends:
Snackerfusion, cosmo bites on shared plates
Rustic Italian
Neighbourhood restaurants
Lobster poutine, truffle mac and cheese
Overcooked burgers (by law)
Anything artisan
Daily menus
Now for the places I enjoyed the most in 2009.
1 Buca King E. 604 King St W 416-865-1600 Deep in the bowels of an old boiler room Buca is Rob Gentile’s stylish take on rustic Italian, deep fried brains, Venetian style eel.
2 Union 72 Ossington Ave 416 850 0093 Teo Paul’s beautifully executed casual food. Fresh roasted chicken waiting for you, croissants and pastis at 9 am at the horseshoe bar.
3. Blacktree 3029 New St., Burlington, Ont., 905-681-2882 Matteo Paonessa has fun with Ferran Adria’s bag of tricks – worth the drive. The rare ostrich comes with a knockout spring roll full of hot birds’ stock
4.Splendido. 88 Harbord 929 7788 Carlo Catalli and Victor Barry have remade Splendido into a cheerful spin of bourgeois eats with a splendid cheese plate .
5. Ame. 19 Mercer St 416-599 7246 Guy Rubino’s personal take on Japanese food – great sea bream on Robata grill in a Resto lounge setting.
6 Osteria Ciceri E Tria 106 Victoria St. 416 955 0258 Puglia in the city. $15 courses, menu changes daily, catch the grilled horse.
7. Cinq O 1. 501 College St., Toronto 416-964-1555 Fun food, foiegras hot dog, in a sexy joint.
An excellent restaurant to hang out!!
Ok…I know I am a foodie and have travelled quite a bit and been to lot many places but the one city which is always an extension of mine is undoubtedly New York. I am proud to wear my Nike NY cap and cheer my Basketball team without fail. I have been to almost all the food joints, restaurants, pubs and bars located in Manhattan and I must say they all are pretty good considering this age of twittering and Face book wherein if you fail once your name pops up on all the social networking websites with negative comments. This is a welcome change becoz ultimately we the customers become the king as shoddy service or bad quality food can easily land the owners into trouble.
But the one place which has succeeded in amazing me is the newly refurbished Restaurant named Point Break. Formerly named as Nation Restaurant & Bar, Point Break is a new Surf Bar located in the heart of mid-town Manhattan. Now I remember sometime back I had been to this place when it had the old look and feel and I thought ok..seems to be an average place..what’s the big deal? But even during my last visit when it was still in its old shape it served me excellent food and the service was razor sharp. So last Saturday when one of my friend threw a party and told me the venue to be a swanky new outlet which he was speaking so highly about I thought ok..let’s try this one too. When he told me about the address I wasn’t sure it was the same place but when I reached there the whole look and feel from Outside was changed and once I entered in, the earlier known Nation was truly looking like a break from the past and hats off this guy, I don’t remember the name of the owner, but he has rightly renamed it as Point Break!! It appeals to the newer generation guys like me. We had a great time there. The menu featured old classics and new additions. I loved the wheel o’ shots which made me crazy!! I had the fish tacos which was delicious..yummeee and it has got plenty of room for parties, the DJ that they had was great, excellent sound system as well and the drinks were strong and I had a look at the menu and thought the prices were pretty good.
Guys on top of it the next day when I searched this place on the internet, this restaurant has a Face book page too wherein they post photos and updates of recent happenings/parties and upcoming events/parties/offers too. They tweet also which is really nice thinking by the owner.
Anyways not wanting to sound like a paid blogger I would say as a foodie this restaurant is a nice one and I would not hesitate to give my recommendation for it to my guests coming in from out of town. Go and try once and do not hesitate to leave a comment once you are there. I know I am only going to get thumbs up from you all!!!
Ciao…
John Smith, NYC