Two down, two more to go! To complete my two-part review "series" on Winterlicious 2013 - Toronto Edition, I'm going to provide my comments and thoughts on the last two restaurants I attended during this culinary experience.
#3 -
Fred's Not Here with the 'Plex ladies
To start, I had their famous baked crab and lobster soup. I get this every time I come to this restaurant - even when it's like 30 degrees Celsius outside! It comes out with a baked mushroom like pastry dome over it - possibly to keep the soup hot? Combined with the flavourful soup, its adds some texture to the dish. Caution, the soup does have a kick to it so if you're one that doesn't like an added kick, this may not be for you. I, however, love it!
For my main, I had the wood grilled New York strip steak with vegetables and duck fat frites. The steak was cooked to my perfection - medium rare. It was very tender and juicy - as a steak should be. It was very flavourful but as bad/rude it is I love my steaks with a bit of ketchup. (Don't judge me!) The "vegetables" consisted of some green beans and I believe that was shredded turnip or red beet. The steak was very filling so I barely touched the veggies. (Veggies are good for you!) The duck fat frites were very crispy on the outside and definitely beats out McDonald's fries any day!
For dessert I had a baked banana bread complete with a rum caramel. The banana bread was a little burnt on the top but the sides was baked to a crisp. The inside was very moist and was quite delicious paired with the caramel. I love banana bread so I may be biased but aside from it being a little burnt on the top, I thought it was a very interesting spin on the banana loaf. Would recommend assuming it isn't burnt =)
Overall, I've never been disappointed at Fred's Not Here. I always try to include it in my list of go-to restaurants during the Winterlicious/Summerlicious festivities. This was probably my fifth or sixth time there. They specialize in steaks and seafood - which is my krytonite - so you can see why they are ranked as one of my faves! The thing that I love most about their Winterlicious/Summerlicious offerings is their variety. Most restaurants will only offer three to four choices per course but Fred's Not Here offers a wide selection aside from the compulsory meat, chicken and vegetarian dishes that most other restaurants offer. Their portion sizes are also mentionable as I've eaten here during non-Winterlicious/Summerlicious festivities and their portion sizes are pretty much the same. I find most other restaurants cut back their portion sizes during these prix fixe menu events to make up for the lowered costs. In short, I would highly recommend Fred's Not Here and I'm looking forward to going back sometime soon!
#4 -
Bier Markt with the loves
Just wanted to start by saying I love Bier Markt. They carry over 150 brands of beer so every time is a new experience. The environment is super fun but sophisticated - always a good time for a simple night out. The poison of choice for the night was recommended by the server - La Trappe Quadrupel. It's a "malty sweet, slightly burnt and pleasantly bitter with a sweet aftertaste" amber beer (my faves). If you like ambers as much as I do, I would definitely recommend.
To start, we shared the "Charcuterie" which composed of cured beef tenderloin, smoked pork loin, Oka Raclette, double brie cheese, pear compote served with grilled Bistro bread and the "Brewer's onion soup" which was made up of Vidalia, Cipollini, Spanish red caramelized onions, Gruyère cheese gratin, Grimbergen Ale veal broth, cheese and balsamic croûte. Both apps were very good - the cured beef and smoked pork loin was salty enough and the soup was very hearty and just right especially with the colder temperatures as of late.
For the mains, he had the 10 oz. char-grilled Kobe T-bone beef burger accompanied with charred red onions, smoked bacon, vine ripe tomato, Iceberg lettuce, ‘Bier 58” sauce on a toasted classic bun with a side of Markt frites. The burger, I'm told, was really good. He wasn't too fond of the fries though... I had the pan-seared Arctic Char with wild and tame mushrooms, haricots verts, smoked bacon, savoy cabbage with seared fingerling potatoes drizzled with Rekorderlig Cider beurre blanc. The fish was a little dry for my liking but the sauce was really good so it help on that front. The green beans, to me, were a little undercooked. It felt like that rolled it in warm oil and *tada!* The mushrooms, cabbage and smoked bacon added a nice touch to the dish. It mixed up the taste buds and offered different textures and flavours aside from the fish. The dish overall would have been better if the fish wasn't over cooked and dry.
For the best part - dessert! He had the lemon tart made with lemon crème on a shortbread crust served with French vanilla ice cream, coconut tuile, strawberry and calamansi coulis. I'm not a huge fan of lemon based dessert but he loved it so if you're a fan of lemon treats, this is a dish you may want to consider. I had the double chocolate fudge cake. It was quite moist and very rich. I'm usually not a huge fan of chocolate (gasps!) but I thoroughly enjoyed this. It had an espresso ganache so that may be the reason why. If you're a chocolate fan, your taste buds will go crazy for this!
Overall, I would still continue to go to Bier Markt to enjoy their wide selection of beer and ales. With regards to food, I will probably still stick to the apps and desserts. I find their mains mediocre and nothing our of the ordinary - just a personal preference. Well, that ends my mini Winterlicious Toronto 2013 blog series. I hope you all had a chance to take advantage of this culinary experience! Until next time - or at least Summerlicious - happy eating!
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Karennn
xoxo
