Winterlicious 2016

This edition of Winterlicious brought us to Pulcinella Ristorante in South Etobicoke.  Pulcinella specializes in regional Italian dishes, serving seafood, game meats, risotto, pasta and pizza for lunch or dinner.

The menu was expansive!

CHEF’S SOUP OF THE DAY
or
MARIO SALAD
mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, red onion, olives & lemon vinaigrette
or
BEEF CARPACCIO
aaa strip-loin, shaved parmigiano, cracked black pepper

TROUT
boneless filet with farro, cherry tomatoes, capers & black olives
or
NEW YORK STRIP
aaa, truffled compound butter, chive mash potato, market veg
or
CINGHIALE
slow braised ragu of boar, basil, fresh rigatoni, shaved caciocavello cheese
or
CIOPPINO
fisherman’s stew of shrimp, bay scallop, calamari, fish filet, tomato broth & sarde fregola pastina

BANANA BREAD PUDDING

served warm with caramel sauce
or
TIRAMISU
whipped mascarpone, kahlua, espresso and lady fingers
or
CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE
deep, rich and decadent

First the wine, a delicious Pinot Noir

Appetizer – Beef Carpaccio.  Thinly shaved beef, lightly peppered and salted, with slivers of parmigiana and spicy arugula.

Main course – Cioppino

For dessert – Chocolate Ganache Cake

From the first sip of wine to the last bite of cake, this was a lovely meal.  The beef carpaccio was classically made pairing the thinly sliced raw beef with parm and arugula.  I was in love with the cioppino.  An endless bowl of seafood – mussels, calamari, shrimp, scallops and fish in a fragrant and tasty tomato broth.  Little bits of pastina with every bite.  So good, it had to be shared.  A sweet ending with the chocolate ganache cake.  Now, I expected something a little different.  I was expecting a chocolate cake with a ganache icing.  Instead, the cake was more of a mousse cake.  Very rich and decadent.

The restaurant itself was lively and full.  When we arrived, they had live music for the first little while and then the sounds of laughing and conversation took over.   People feasted on pizza and salumi boards.  It all looked so good.  The servers were friendly and attentive, ours full of jokes.

If you ever find yourself in South Etobicoke, checkout this fine Italian establishment.  You won’t be let down.

=)

Taste Of Toronto

If you’re a reader of my blog, you know I’m all about food festivals and I love it when there are events happening in my city, Toronto.  Back in July, I was able to attend the Taste of Toronto Food Festival held at historic Fort York.  This event brings some the hottest restaurants in the city to one spot to serve up delicious food and drink to foodies from all over.

Honestly, sometimes it pays to go VIP.  No big line up to deal with, complimentary drinks and use of the air-conditioned Delta lounge.  How can one say no to that?

For a few “crowns” – the festival currency, one could sample a ton of different food and drink items.  Sometimes it was hard to choose.

What did we eat this day?

Ceviche Tradicional – cod, pico de gallo, serrano, lime from Los Colibris.  (fresh and light)

Uni Carbonara // quail egg, smoked bacon, parmesan & Toro Tartare // caviar, sour cream, wasabi, dashi soy from Morimoto (super rich)

Guu Toronto “TAKOYAKI” deep fried octopus balls with tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayo from Guu (this was the winner, I think we had 3 orders of this dish)

Biff’s Bistro’s Merguez Lamb Burger with Red Pepper Chutney, Harissa Mayo on O&B Artisan Brioche from Biff’s (teeny tiny)

The weather this day was perfect and the company awesome and I had a great time eating all this delicious food.  I will certainly make an effort to go back next year. =)

Joh vs. Food – CNE Chronicles 2015

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….

I hope you sang that line…you know… like that Xmas song and the Staples jingle?  No? Yes? Ok. Moving on…I’m not talking Xmas or back to school.  I’m talking about my favourite time of the year…CNE time!!

The news broke about the new food items at the CNE a few days before opening.  I was quite impressed with this year’s offerings and of course was very excited to try as many of them as my stomach could handle.

The day began early, just after the opening.  Always best to get there early and avoid the food line ups. The first meal of the day was from Far East Taco.  I selected the kalbi and bulgogi bao, both items I have eaten in previous years.  I’ve always enjoyed them, but this year I definitely noticed a difference.  The bao was much bigger, fluffier, but I found that it overwhelmed the filling.  Still made a good breakfast however. 

Now it was time to start trying the new food offerings.  First up was Bub’s Bad @SS Burgers and the beef patty cheeseburger.  Yes, you heard me, a cheeseburger with a split beef patty as the bun.  Quite a tasty burger.  Seasoned well.  A nice change to the typical cheeseburger.

Next up, Jake’s Lobster for some garlic snow crab fries.  My FAVE of the day.  The fries were perfectly crispy and never got soggy.  The garlic aioli was delish, though there could have been a bit more of it.  The feathery shredded crab generously covered the fries like snow.  I’m craving this right now.

Always time for some drinks.  Some vodka lemonade at the beach bar and then a nice glass of cab merlot at the wine bar near the shopping area.

After all the savoury, it was time for some sweet.  Out to the midway to find some deep-fried cheesecake.  Creamy vanilla cheesecake, dipped in batter and fried perfectly.  Then back to the food building for some deep-fried red velvet Oreos.  I expected them to have a redder hue, but no matter, they still tasted great.  I am a sucker for Oreos.

Time for deep-fried gnocchi.  Pillowy potato nuggets with a slight crisp dipped in some tangy marinara sauce.  A good snack.

Chicken waffle on a stick was something new this year too.  Isn’t everything better on a stick?  Enjoyable.  Some fruity sherbet as a palate cleanser.

Eating at the CNE may have ended, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t continue to eat at home.  Had to get some Jamaican oxtail with rice and peas.  I was disappointed last year (they sold out), so I was determined to get some this year (tears would have been shed if I didn’t).  Craving satisfied.

Lastly, I needed some Filipino snacks.  Banana Turon – plantain banana, rolled in brown sugar, wrapped in a spring roll wrapper and fried to a golden colour.  When I see this anywhere (including my parents house), it always comes home with me and I can eat a ton of it.  FAVE!  And then there was ukoy – a shrimp fritter made with thinly sliced potatoes, some bean sprouts, dipped in batter then fried and eaten dipped in garlic vinegar.  I rarely eat this outside of the CNE, so it is definitely a nice treat for me.

Yet another successful CNE eating event.  Was able to eat all the new food items I wanted to try.  Threw in some shopping and laughs on top.  It was a fantastic time. =)