Café Boulud (Toronto, ON)

This Summerlicious I had the pleasure to check a few places that I wanted to try for some time.  I have to admit that I usually have low expectations for summer/winter-licious meals but somehow this year, I had very good surprises. The number one was Café Boulud.

 

I wanted to start by stating that I had a fantastic experience at Café Boulud. The service was impeccable. The food was perfectly done. The decor is classy.

We were a party of four and we were seated right away. We had about 5 different servers working with our table. They were extremely attentive, cordial, and knowledgeable. I only have great things to say about the staff at Café Boulud. One of the waiters dropped some red wine on my friend’s jacket and I discretely mentioned that club soda would do miracles, and quickly we had club soda and a clean napkin plus a lot of apologies.

 

I had the scallops for appetizer. It was perfectly executed! The fish with bouillabaisse and crouton was marvelous. The wine pairing was a great choice and the tonka chocolate mousse was very good but I was happier with my friend’s option, the mango, passion fruit with meringue dessert. So good!

 

I liked so much that I already went back since my first visit and I still love it! I would recommend Café Boulud for a very special date night when you want everything to be perfect.

 

 

Vive Languedoc! Biff's Bistro (Toronto, ON)

Last tuesday I went to Biff's Bistro with a few foodie friends to try their Vive Languedoc! menu.

We were greeted with oysters and some refreshing libations inspired in the south of France (bien sur). Pastis with rosemary, sparkling water, and orange slices. Not bad huh?....Besides the fact that I hate Pastis and I am not very fond of rosemary, it was a hit!

I usually do not eat oysters in Toronto but Biff's is usually a reliable source and I have never got sick after eating there. They were delicious!

We had a four course meal paired with wines from the Languedoc region. Just for the record, Languedoc is a former province of France (and I have to admit that I have never set foot in there). The old region is now comprised by the regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France.

If you have never tried wines from the Languedoc region, I would recommend you to try. My favourite was the Crémant de Limoux, but yes, I am bias as I am a huge fan of Champagne and Cava. The sommelier did do a very good job!

Our meal was.... ok. I would love to give you the full menu (with the proper terminology) but I forgot to take a menu with me. The appetizer was a light salad with a beautiful cod and potato gratin with cheese on the top. We had a delicious escargot dish that was my favourite, and pork and fois gras wrapped in pork fat for our main course. The dessert was a creme brulee (too runny to my taste but nice in flavour).

The restaurant was nice as usual, the company was great, the wines were good and so were our food. It did not wow me at all but we had a good time. Would I come back to Biff's? Of course! I love their oysters and their nice atmosphere but I don't think I would go to another event.

Elle m'a dit (Toronto, ON)

Elle m'a dit is closing its doors at the end of the month so I went to the restaurant with the group to have one of their last meals.

Elle m'a dit is located at the heart of the Baldwin Village and it serves Alsatian cuisine. It is simple to identify in the menu the French and German dishes and the great variety of Alsatian wines.

We sat at the second floor of the restaurant on a somewhat quiet Wednesday. Wooden floors and tables, candles and tiny flowers were placed inside of tiny jam jars. That was the decor of the restaurant.

I shared a traditional tart flambé made of bacon and gruyere. Very light and delicious.

For the main, I had the Coq au Vin with spaetzle. The meat was very tender and tasty. The spaetzle did not feel heavy but I was just able to eat half of the dish.

For dessert, I had a perfect sized lemon meringue tart. So good!

I'm glad we made there before they closed. The Baldwin village will definitely lose a good resto.

Leméac Restaurant (Montréal, QC)

I know that Montreal and I have history and it is not the last time I will come to the city but this is my last stop before heading back to Toronto and I have this "last brunch" feeling inside of me. We headed to Lémeac in the heart of Outremont (the Juif area of Montreal). I had high expectations and that by itself is a recipe for disaster but here we where ready to eat.

The soup de poissons was not bad but because I had too many in France (including in the south of France) it just did not do it for me. It was very thick and I could feel some root vegetable as the base of the soup. Fish and shrimp were there but just a little. La rouille and the crostini were good I have to admit. I ate half of the soup. So not worth to overeat it.

The tartare du beouf was good, not exceptional. Again, I'm picky, very picky when it comes to tartares. I did not get sick and that by itself was a good sign, but not good enough for me to rave about it, right?

The beignets (donuts) were very good. Similar to the ones I had in Toronto at The Harbord Room.

The wines were ok not exceptional.

I was not very impressed with the food. Oh well, Montreal is a great place to eat but not every restaurant in the city is.

Première Moisson (Montréal, QC)

Before you start judging me, I will defend myself. I know that Première Moisson is a chain. It is the Quebecois equivalent for Paul in Europe but much much better. To be fully honest, I would challenge any French pastry chef in Toronto to serve pastries that are as good as of the ones we find in this local chain.

I wasn't hungry at all but my friend persuaded me in getting some breads before we headed to her house. It was a great idea! At least for my belly, not so much for my waistline. BTW, this trip to Montreal was a complete screw up on my diet. Oh well, s*** happens. I guess I will have to enter a super strict diet after returning to Toronto. I need to look good when arriving in Rome.

Anyway, we got raisin bread, pâté au champagne, croissants, chocolatine aux amandes...everything sooo good! Worth every calorie.