Sidedoor

Asian-fusion-tapas is the main focus at Sidedoor. A recommendation from a colleague, it's tucked in the alley (or courtyard) off of York street in Byward market, just in beside the restaurant Eighteen. This makes for a very cute little spot surrounded by old stone buildings. The patio has a mix of wooden tables, trees and lounge tables with couches.

• Relish: The menu here is all about sharing plates, tapas-style. The highlights: the crispy fish tacos with trout, coriander, avocado and jalapenos, the steamed shrimp dumplings packed full of shrimp, and the 'melt in your mouth' braised beef with curry and roasted peanuts over rice. Other honourable mentions: the papaya salad, stacked with mango, papaya, mint, thai basil, and the broiled black cod with butter lettuce wraps and home-pickled pickles. Not worth a mention was the tuna sashimi - too much seasoning drowned the tuna.
• Quaff: A great wine by the glass list, with 3 oz and 5oz options. Some very unusual grape types available by the glass - a white auxerrois, cortese, ribolla gialla, chardonnay musque, and a red agiorgitiko from greece. I kind of want to go back and try all of these interesting grape-types! Decent beer choices, although the focus is definitely on wines and cocktails. The agiorgitiko was more complex than I expected, a bit of a 'cherry bomb' off the nose, but serious undertones of leather and cedar helped mellow the mouthfeel. Low tannis and average alcohol - I would definitely pick up a bottle and pair with spicy foods - it was great with the braised beef. (Agiorgitiko, 2009, Gaia, Nemea, Greece).
• Feel: Relaxed and enjoyable. The patio was cute, surrounded by old stone walls, but maintaining a modern feel due to the different table styles and leafy trees, while the inside of the restaurant felt a bit imposing, but multiple levels and exposed stone made it classy yet relaxed. Lots of groups of 6+ sitting at larger boot-like tables, while on the patio most of the tables were dates or smaller groups of friends. Made me feel comfy - and I would happily have stuck around for a second glass of wine and relaxed after dinner. 

I'll absolutely be back - both the wine and the food were delicious!

w: sidedoorrestaurant.com

Lady Marmalade

photos: www.ladymarmalade.ca

Sunday. 12:00pm. Brunch time. Lady Marmalade is clearly in the running for the best brunch in the city. A small, bustling, bright spot on queen east in leslieville, it seems that there is a constant lineup of hungry leslievillians waiting for their dose of the delicious brunch and lunch options.

• Relish: Sweet or savoury? Such a tough choice here...about 6 eggs benny combinations, savoury waffles, banana nut french toast (changes daily!), mexican style eggs, crepes, paninis....so many delicious and creative options! I had the avocado, bacon and brie eggs benedict - served with crisped potatoes and a small salad...heavenly. It's pretty self explanatory, although the combination of the perfectly poached egg, crispy bacon, generous slices of ripe avocado and brie, all piled on top of the toasted and warmed english muffin made it the best eggs benedict I have ever had, hands down. I don't love hollandaise, and so had it on the side, but I did taste it and it was lemony goodness.  The buckwheat crepe filled with fresh seasonal fruit, granola and honey was devoured to the absolute last morsel - a testament to its yummy factor.
• Quaff: A latte made with beans from a local coffee roaster down the street completed a delicious brunch. They also had some gorgeous looking lemonades and juices.
• Feel: bright, sunny, bustling spot filled with all shapes and sizes - young families, friends of all ages catching up, mostly groups of 2-4. A happy spot that made it hard to not grin and get enthused by the contented and cheerful buzz in the place!

Don't get discouraged by the lineup - it's worth the twenty minutes for the brunch heaven that follows. 

w: www.ladymarmalade.ca

Gazela Vinho Verde

On Friday I received a text from a friend asking for the name of the wine we had shared at a restaurant in Ottawa about a month ago. It was a delightful Vinho Verde - and the first time he had tried one. I thought 'hmmm. maybe it's time I start putting up a few wine reviews as well..after all, the blog is called 'Relish and Quaff' and I've been primarily focusing on relishing at this point'!




A year ago I started to take some of the wine courses at George Brown College. I would highly recommend them for anyone even remotely interesting in drinking wine - they opened my eyes to the wonderful differences between all types of wine, and gave me a much better appreciation for what I like. So I'll try my best at putting some of my learnings about seeing, smelling and tasting delicious wines into practice!


The first wine I'll review is a Vinho Verde - as immediately after I replied to the text I thought 'that would be the perfect wine for a sweltering Friday night in Toronto'. I stopped at an LCBO en route to a friends place, and picked up the Gazela Vinho Verde. I tend to have a love affair with Portuguese Vinho Verde in the summer, as it is perfectly light and almost spritzy to the taste - what I would call a 'thirst quenching' wine, which during the summer months in Toronto becomes a staple on my patio.

• Perfect for: A sweltering summer evening aperitif on a patio
• Notes: Very pale straw colour with a hint of green, green apple on the nose, followed by an almost spritzy mouthfeel of summer melon (honeydew). A bit sweeter, but the spritz cuts this. Light on alcohol (less than 9%), but a nice balanced acidity as well.
• Pairings: on its own, or with lightly grilled (and minimally seasoned) fish or shellfish
• Price: $8.95!!!! Great value! General list at the LCBO

Other Vinho Verde reviews are likely to come (and if you're looking for some others, a slightly more elegant one is the Quinta de Aveleda, also general list at the LCBO). 

link to Gazela producer specs

Blowfish on Bay

I discovered a new 'working-lunch' spot, the bay-street outpost of the hyped Blowfish (on King west). I read a while ago that this place had opened, and literally have walked by it about 40 times in the past few weeks to get to work, and had no idea that it was there, or open. No major signage outside, it's tucked on the ground floor of the new Bay-Adelaide Center.

• Relish: Creative Sushi! We tasted a variety of rolls - spicy tuna, spicy salmon, a golden crab (with curry...interesting), a roll with salmon and mango, fish 'tacos', a black cod and some rock shrimp. The spicy tuna won the best roll competition. None of it blew me away, but it was tasty.
• Quaff: A cool selection of Sake's, and the fun saketini's and creative drinks could make this a good spot to grab an after work drink. A fun, unusual selection of wines by the glass. 
• Feel: A great spot for a business lunch - hip, but not too pretentious. One of the best parts is that it's actually quite quiet compared to many of the other lunch spots around, so helpful if you need to have a good conversation.

e11even

The new condo's around the ACC are providing some very interesting new options for the condo-land-condo-dwellers in the area.  E11even is a new-ish addition to the area, right by the ACC...and they've just added in a new patio...one of few in the area.

• Relish: Overall a pretty varied menu, steaks, fish, oysters, and some interesting looking salads. You could easily bring a group here and find something on the menu that would make everyone happy. A special summer '11 by 11' menu provided 11 sharing appetizer options each for $11 - the kobe meatballs were ok, but missing something...a bit bland. Mini grilled cheese with bacon were standard, although did not disappoint, and a chop salad was packed with yummy veggies and a deviled egg...just a bit too much dressing that masked the veggie flavours. I was excited to try the grilled artichokes, but they fully missed the mark (tasted a bit like soap). Overall, the food was good - not perfect - but good, and I would completely feel comfortable recommending this place to a group who was looking for something 'nice' like a keg, but offering more variety.
• Quaff: about 15 wines by the glass for both reds and whites, and some interesting and unusual options (a gruner veltliner, two reisling options, some unusual reds) . I especially LOVED that they served wine in the appropriate glasses, and the Carmel Road Pinot Noir was absolutely lovely. They also have the coolest wine list...ON AN IPAD! Make sure you ask to see it...they don't seem to bring it out to the patio unless requested. It was so much fun to play around with, and some great wine selection at decent prices. You should also check out the wine cellar en route to the washrooms - beautifully displayed.
• Feel: Big business bar is how I would describe the feel in this place. Big tables, high ceiling - it's a good pre-game or pre-concert venue, and a good option for a night out with a big group of friends. The patio is nice, but would suggest it for a weekend or well after rush hour, as it gets loud -  unfortunately not loud from great conversations - but from the construction cranes and cars driving by en route to the gardiner. That being said, it's a great new patio for the condo/acc area, and has a nice unpretentious but upscale feel inside.

I did really enjoy the beautiful lighting fixture right above the patio - reminded me of sparkling embers in a campfire...slightly mesmerizing. 

w: e11even

The Queen and Beaver

A sweltering summer evening deserves a great patio. This week I discovered The Queen and Beaver, a little gastro-pub nestled away on Elm street for late evening drinks with a few good friends. We sat on the upstairs patio, which has a lovely secluded feel as you’re just about at the leafy part of the trees from the street below. It’s a super cute, very ‘old english’ pub. Although it was a great patio, I’m putting this place on my list to try in the winter, when the cosy-comfy pub style would make for some nice evenings away from the cold.     

• Relish: The food looked fantastic, very gastro-pub-esque – something I’ve missed since London! Staples like mussels and frites, fish and chips, pot pie, and a smattering of salads and lighter options as well – I’m absolutely coming back here for dinner or lunch.
• Quaff: I had a lovely glass of Pinot Grigio, and they have about 5 whites and 5 reds by the glass. A nice mix of old and new world options, some of the usual with the whites (the Cave Springs seems to be the only Reisling option at restaurants in this city), but the reds were a bit more out of the ordinary. The cider or multiple draught options also looked delicious. 
• Feel: Even just walking through the pub to get to the patio, this place made you want to pull up a chair and sit down and have a pint. They had a big screen playing what else – soccer (oops – football), but it was positioned so tastefully over the fireplace, that it didn’t seem to detract from the warm and friendly feel. As I left, for a split second was able to pretend that I was coming out of a gastro pub in South Kensington...then jumped into the diamond cab and realized, nope – I’m still in Toronto.

It might be worth mentioning that this place was one of the ‘best new restaurants 2010’ by Toronto Life.

w: The Queen and Beaver Public House

DEQ at the Ritz

DEQ is a little patio hidden away behind the new Ritz-Carleton hotel downtown - a great spot for an afterwork (or pre-Munk debates) glass of bubbly. Walk through the impressive main lobby, out to the back bar, and you'll discover a little semi-oasis in the city. Oh, and one of the best parts is that you get to say 'meet me at the Ritz' - so fabulous.

• Relish: Great smaller sharing bites to accompany the bubbly / wine / cocktails, pretty standard selections (bruschetta, flatbreads, sliders, charcuterie), but executed nicely. The crab dip was warm deliciousness of crab with super-thin crispy pita crackers. 
• Quaff: This is where DEQ makes me happy. A great selection of bubbly by the glass, and some pretty interesting ones that you don't find at the LCBO. The wines by the glass are also impressive, and they have a good selection of cocktails - enjoyed lounging in the couches by the open air fireplace just makes everything taste even better!
• Feel: It reminds me of the patios at bars in Cape Town -only surrounded by tall buildings. Great staff, different sizes and shapes of tables and lounge chairs and couches, open fireplaces and greenery...all filled with people enjoying being beautiful. It has a bit of an 'i'm seriously chic' attitude, but with the right company, that blends into the background and becomes a fun people watching spot.  

Totally recommend it, although I think it has it's right time and place. I'm not sure I would want to spend the whole night there, but a drink or two before moving on to a night out or a restaurant is ideal. Great after work spot. 

Chez L'Epicier

I'm most unfortunately going to be writing most of this from memory. It has been a while since I've been to Chez L'Epicier - but worthy of  a post at this point for a few reasons:

1. it was one of my first experiences with locally sourced and incredibly creative Canadian cuisine 
2. it has set my 'creme brule' bar (to this day un-met)
3. it's in an old stone building and has exposed stone and a few turquoise walls
4. a friend is heading to montreal next weekend and needed a spot for a special night - and this is it

I first discovered Chez L'Epicier when I was at school in Montreal - with a friend who's father came into the city and took us out on occasion to places we couldn't afford on our 'student' budgets. It blew me away, so any chance I could, I went back (although there weren't many chances, but I did take my parents, a family friend, and my grandparents whenever they came downtown).

• Relish: Creative, inventive, mixtures of awesome tastes and textures. One of the entrees is called "thermal experience of salmon and apple"...I can't wait to try it! My favourites, although it is a little silly that I can remember this, were the Creme Brule medley (three perfect little pots of creme brule, each flavoured slightly differently), the cheese plate (amazing quebec cheeses) and the poached salmon main. But honestly, I don't think you can go wrong. They also sell a bunch of seasonings, oils and jams at the counter for your home-cooking enjoyment.
• Quaff: From what I remember, they have a great wine list. I had a delicious, crisp white wine here a few times, but can't remember what it is! I might just have to go back.
• Feel: Perfectly Montreal. Old stones. High ceilings. Turquoise walls. Menu's printed on paper bags. White table cloths. Elegant stemware. House-made bread served in tins. A combination that creates an elegant, relaxed atmosphere.

I've recommended this spot to friends looking for a great, classy, interesting dinner out and colleagues looking for a good work-event or quiet but elegant work-related dinner, and have heard only rave-reviews in return. Enjoy!

please note: a few other Montreal recommendations are listed under the 'out of town' link at this time as well!

w: Chez L'Epicier

Windermere House

There is absolutely nothing more perfect than a patio overlooking a lake on a long summer weekend. The 'Wasabi' sushi spot at Windermere House in Muskoka is a random combination of sushi spot and chill veranda bar at a classy cottage style hotel. You have a sweeping view of the lake from every seat, framed by the stone pillars. The comfy couches and lounge chairs make an ideal spot for afternoon cocktail hour (and who am I kidding - I've been sitting here now for about 3 hours reading and enjoying a glass or two of Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc). I never would have guessed that sushi fits into this picture, but the light, small plates make for perfect snacking at just about any time of day/night. Apparently O&B took over the food options at Windemere House last year, and they've nailed the veranda.

• Relish: The food served on the veranda is standard sushi, with a small selection of additional pub-style appetizers. It's good sushi. The seaweed salad is delicious.  
• Quaff: This is absolutely the spot for a cocktail hour drink or a glass of wine at dusk. A good wine list with ~20 wines by the glass (typical O&B selections) is accompanied by a few signature cocktails - the servers are excellent and happy to make suggestions. 
• Feel: Very relaxed. People wander up from the lake (or the boats they drive up to the dock), enjoy a drink or two, then take off again. Guests at the hotel linger a bit longer (e.g., the multiple hours I've now spent here today), and diners heading to the Rosseau Grill for dinner have an aperitif on the patio. It creates a nice atmosphere of a busy, happening spot. The servers are excellent - very friendly and professional. 

I would absolutely recommend it - the only thing better might be if you have your own cottage-veranda overlooking lake Rosseau, and your own sushi chef...in which case...invite please?

Enjoy!
w: Windermere House