My First Risotto Attempt

Risotto... one of the great comfort foods courtesy of Italian cuisine.  I definitely enjoy eating risotto.  Done right, risotto is creamy and flavourful, with each grain of rice fluffy yet al dente.  I realized, however, that I have yet to try making risotto, so I resolved to attempt making one this weekend.

Combining Three of My Favourite Food Items into One Dish

Some of my favourite food items include smoked salmon, pasta and mushrooms.  With all of them in my fridge and freezer, I decided to combine them into a one-dish dinner, Smoked Salmon Pasta in a Creamy Tomato Sauce.  The smoked salmon I used was sockeye prepared in what I call the "East Coast" or lox style, whose texture is closer to that of raw fish rather than fully cooked fish, a trait seen in the "West Coast" style, though the "West Coast" version could just as easily be used.  Sockeye is a particularly flavourful variety of salmon, and its flavour shone in this dish.  Atlantic smoked salmon can also be used, especially if one prefers a milder taste.

Of Street Food and Gelato

Going for my first bite of a Kurobuta Terimayo Japadog.

After a delicious lunch at Motomachi Shokudo, my parents and I continued exploring downtown Vancouver as well as Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.  After some more exploring in the early afternoon we decided to do some culinary exploration as well.  Our first stop was in front of Waterfront Station where we disembarked a Seabus from North Vancouver.  Waterfront Station was one of several locations for the famous Japadog, one of many of the more unique street food vendors in Vancouver.  Vancouver has been a progressive city in opening up street food in Canada.  Street food in Canadian cities historically almost exclusive meant burgers, hot dogs and ice cream products.  However, Vancouver opted to open its doors in recent years for street food vendors selling food of different ethnic cuisines as well as healthier choices.  One sign that street food is successful is that this year Vancouver granted licenses for 19 new vendors, further expanding the diversity of street food in especially the downtown area.

Friends, Manitobans, Countrymen...

It's not often I go to Winnipeg more than once a month, but this was my second trip in March, the first one being just two weeks ago for a planning conference.  This time it was to see Emilie-Claire Barlow perform at the Park Theatre.  Though there was no dress code to see the show, I thought that wearing a suit was in order.  With my wearing a suit, I decided to take the opportunity to try a fine dining restaurant for dinner before going to the show.  I'd been meaning to try Amici (Italian for "friends") for a couple of years, and at last the opportunity arose.

Recalling NYE Dinner 2010

Another post from my sister, this time about the 2010 New Year's Eve dinner.  Though I helped a bit for the Christmas dinner by making the roasted Brussels sprouts, I was only in the kitchen to take pictures for my own collection, and even then just once in a while.  When she asks for space in the kitchen, you'd better give her some!

It was another delicious meal for sure!

Another Meal Manufactured to Satisfaction

I've concluded that holidays or vacations are times to relax is a myth.  They're actually times to do something, see something and/or catch up on something.  This Christmas break, that meant mainly memorizing my lines for "Much Ado About Nothing", seeing some of my friends, family and relatives in Ontario and catching up on some sleep.  Of course, when seeing some friends and relatives, sometimes that also means dining out, at times trying new places.  Already since returning this week to Toronto, I've tried The Stockyards and Fresh, and I'll be trying a couple more places before I fly back home.  For dinner with a friend this evening, we decided to try Fabbrica.

Italian in the Exchange

With the Easter long weekend meant another opportunity for me to do a Winnipeg daytrip, and that also meant an opportunity to try a restaurant I had yet to try. This time it was Tre Visi, a contemporary Italian restaurant in the Exchange District. Small, adorned with paintings inspired by Roman mosaics and having friendly staff, Tre Visi had a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Lured Back to Little Italy

The last time I ate in Winnipeg's Little Italy was the summer of 2008 when I tried a Vietnamese restaurant there. Before that, it was in the autumn of 2006 when my parents and I accidentally discovered the wonderful and aptly named Glutton's, which alas! became no more after Chef Makoto Ono left to set up a restaurant in Beijing in 2008. The building in which Glutton's stood is now home to Mise; Mise has apparently kept Glutton's grocery store which under the old name was small but featured some of the more unique, exotic and/or higher-end items that were typically harder to find in the rest of Winnipeg, such as Greaves Jams & Marmalades from Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. In spite of the name, Little Italy is culturally diverse with restaurants featuring other ethnic or cultural foods other than Italian dotted here and there along Corydon Ave. One of the noticeable additions to that street in the 2009 dining guide year was Italian, though.

Fazzo features contemporary Italian cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. Don't even bother thinking about pizzas when you enter this bistro, not even thin-crust ones; they're just not on the menu. Dinner main courses here are either pasta dishes or actual entree dishes with a featured meat and the customary veg and starch sides, while the lunch menu offers sandwiches, salads or, to my pleasant surprise, frittatas. Unlike other Italian dining joints where I've eaten to date, this place had a comparatively short menu, which was fine by me as I already had a tough time deciding between a few dishes, and I anticipated the chef would then be able to better focus on the quality of the dishes he/she created.









For my appetizer I was torn between the pan-seared scallops and arancini. In the end I went for the scallops partly since the server suggested it was good and partly because, though I was tempted to try those fried delights, I didn't want to feel stuffed before the main course arrived as the server noted there would've been three fairly large arancini to tackle (my sister will likely remember my experience with polenta at Bertoldi's in London, ON). I was slightly caught off guard by the saltiness of the seared sides of the scallops; it wasn't overpowering, but it was instantly noticeable. However, the subtle sweet and sour flavours of the tomato jam and the cool smoothness of the creamed leeks countered it nicely. Though only the white parts were used in the creamed leeks, the dark green parts still got to perform in this dish as a flavourful garnish in fried thin strands. The fried leek strands provided a hint of crispiness to contrast the soft and smooth textures of the scallops, creamed leeks and tomato jam.









I also had some difficulty picking a main course dish, but in the end, with my being in the mood for something relatively light and to go with the scallops I had for starters, I went for the sablefish (aka black cod or butterfish), which came served as a fillet with the skin made crispy. The meat of the fish was flaky yet moist, melted in my mouth and had a strong flavour thanks to its high oil content. Though I couldn't resist the crispy skin I found it to be just as salty as the seared sides of the scallops from the previous dish; at least the meat itself helped temper that saltiness. Fried bits of what I suspect was parma ham were sparkingly sprinkled amongst the cipollini onions and crushed new potatoes, and until that evening I'd never had, let alone seen, white beets.

Dessert selection here was limited and none of the items called upon me, so I skipped dessert this time around. I wouldn't suggest skipping this place, though. It's a cosy little place that exposes one to the joys of contemporary Italian cuisine. I was, however, a little bit surprised that I encountered two dishes where I felt there were some elements that were saltier than I anticipated and expected to be, though in fairness to the chef, I've grilled and eaten enough scallops to know they can taste saltier when seared compared to, say, simply stir-fried. Considering this was my first and as of yet my only visit to this place, I can't say for certain now if it was just a fluke or if this place is a bit more liberal with the use of salt on some of its food items.

Name: Fazzo
Address: 905 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, MB
Cuisine: Contemporary Italian
Price Range: Lunch $10-$30; Dinner $20-$55
Accessible: Yes

A Mercurial Ending to a Good Day

My Tuesday in Toronto was a good one, starting off with lunch with a university buddy at diner called Fran's Restaurant, going to a live taping of CBC's The Hour with my sister, and ending the night with a dinner with her at Bar Mercurio, an Italian restaurant previously discovered by my sister, as explained in her review in her food blog (you'll notice we both have the same pictures, as my camera was used). Located on Bloor Street West just west of the St. George subway station it's in the midst of the University of Toronto (according to my sister, it's actually in UofT's English building) and in close proximity to the ROM and Queen's Park. I'll admit we really wanted to try Nota Bene first that evening, but we couldn't get a table for the time we wanted there; considering En Route ranked it the best new restaurant in Canada this year, I'm looking forward to my next return to Toronto to try this joint.

Two things I noticed right away when I entered Bar Mercurio were the following: first, it was a small, packed house, and second, there was an open kitchen further up the bar counter, allowing the aromas of the dishes being prepared to permeate and mingle in the air with the babble of various conversations amongst diners. One thing I began to feel a bit disappointed about after we sat at our table was the wait for service at times. Perhaps since we were in a small corner of the restaurant away from where most of the tables are we weren't attended as quick as I expected, especially when it came to the serving of our dishes. That gave us some more time though at least to enjoy the bread basket offered to us. The focaccia was chewier than what I expected (and especially chewier than my sister's version), but the tuscan bean dip was a nice touch, a departure from butter or even the more stereotyipcally Italian oilve oil/balsamic vinegar dip. As I chewed I also noticed how this place covers the linen tablecloths with large sheets of paper; if the paper can actually keep the tablecloths clean, I don't know which has the more detrimental environmental effect, the constant use and replace of the paper or the daily washing of tablecloths.








For starters I had the salad of the day, a baby spinach salad with seared chicken breast, red grape tomatoes, mushrooms and a warm gorgonzola dressing. Historically I have not been a fan of blue cheese, but I actually enjoyed and appreciated how the flavouring was not too strong for me. The raw grape tomatoes added a sweet dimension to the salad countering the saltiness of the dressing, but the chicken breast itself could have perhaps been cut into smaller, more bite-size pieces.








For my main course, at the suggestion of my server I had the pappardelle with duck ragu. Bonita suggested I try one of the pizzas at this place, but since they were apparently big pizzas (large enough to be easily shared between two people), that would have meant leftovers for sure, a bit of a problem if I'm leaving in a few days; she would not like me to leave stuff in her fridge, I'm sure! To be honest with you, this was the first time I've had pappardelle as well as a ragu on pasta. I had an amusing time trying to "twirl" the pasta around my fork (easier said than done compared to fettucine and spaghetti), and I noticed that ragus are heartier and have considerably less liquid than pasta sauces. The duck ragu was nicely flavoured, the meat all shredded up to better coat the pasta, and the sprinkle of grape tomatoes were actually cooked, allowing bursts of tangier sweetness to come forth between bites of pasta.

Aside from the unexpectedly slow service (my sister assured me that it wasn't like that the last time she was here), I enjoyed this place. Being small means tighter spaces (not to mention reservations being highly recommended), but it also means a warmer and more intimate atmosphere. Food can be seen prepared right before your eyes, and the wait staff were friendly and helpful. I can see why my sister was eager for me to try this place as well.


Name: Bar Mercurio
Address: 270 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON
Cuisine: Italian
Price Range: Dinner Entrées $15-$26
Accessible: Yes