The Harbord Room

At the Bombay Sapphire Cocktail Hour event, we met Cory Vitielli of The Harbord Room. We won the cocktail creation with my take on the Gimlet, so Cory invited us to the restaurant, for his tasting menu. Wonderfully cozy inside, great setup in an old Victorian house, on Harbord/Spadina. There were many, many courses, each paired with a wine. Great wine and cocktail menu offered, lots of interesting things.

From the ceviche to the soup, to the fish taco and the fresh pasta, ending with roast and fried chicken - a symphony of texture and tastes. Fabulously seasoned, and in Cory's words "the last bite as good as the first", the dinner was certainly an adventure. Lots of surprises in every course, lots of passion and heart evident on the plate. A team cooking here who takes risks and makes it work. Highly recommended.

DF

Bombay Sapphire - Cocktail Hour

In June, #TeamLCF was invited to an event hosted by Bombay Sapphire at Toronto's Osteria dei Ganzi, to celebrate cocktail hour, 1920's style.

Risky move, going to Church Street in white pants.

Right off the bat, we were greeted with a tall glass of Tom Collins.

Raj Nagra, brand ambassador for Bombay Sapphire, and Cory Vitielli of The Harbord Room were presenting.

There were many, many bites to sample ...

... each with a paired cocktail (this, fresh raspberry and gin, shaken with egg white)

When the bar gear is Japanese, you know things are on another level.

And after another drink ...

... it was our turn to 'create' a cocktail to match a fennel and pastry dish.

We were given everything we would need - all the equipment and fresh ingredients.

And DF got to work ...

... we lined the bar with our creations ...

... and #TeamLCF won with 'The Bush', a take on the Gimlet. You play to your strengths, and to your audience, in this case, our judges, Raj and Cory. Classic guys all around, so of course, we stick with tradition and try not to mess up the balance. 2 ounces gin, 1 ounce lime juice, 3/4 ounce sugar syrup, and a few coriander seeds. Shaken hard, and garnished with a sprig of fennel, to bridge with the dish.

Back inside, Raj prepared a last drink for us, a true classic, the Martini.

Using lavender and apple bitters, as well as bianco vermouth.

Complex, powerful, and elegant as the man himself. A wonderful end to the evening. All photos courtesy of ROKChoi Photography.

DF

LCF introduces #TheRMBTeam

It's been a busy few weeks for La Cave de Fang lately. Been getting many events this summer, which is always very exciting. And I'm very grateful. So I think it's a good time to introduce #TeamLCF and #TheRMBTeam. Food and drink, we make it happen, in whatever media format's your pleasure.

Photo courtesy of ROKChoi Photography.

In June, we started the season with a brand event for Bombay Sapphire, hosted at Toronto's Osteria dei Ganzi.

Photo courtesy of ROKChoi Photography.

At the event, we met Cory Vitielli of The Harbord Room, who invited us to dinner.

The following evening, we were on Bloor's La Société, for the media preview of Ben Sherman's Fall/Winter 2013 collection.

Our Friday ended at the Intercontinental Hotel's Azure Restaurant & Bar, with an invite to experience their Summerlicious menu.

And most likely the last event for me (in Toronto), a launch event for El Catrin Restaurant, Mexican cuisine in Toronto's Distillery District. #TeamLCF working hard this summer - detailed event info to follow.

DF

wandering, wandering

The feeling of 'I have nothing to do today' feels foreign and a bit naughty to me. Not that I'm super organized or otherwise overly productive, but I can't remember the last time I was able to just say 'Let's go out and wander around'. Toronto isn't really the greatest place to wander - simply not that interesting. But we did start at Bull Dog Coffee for a latte ...

... before heading to the Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens. A beautiful store, full of the most amazing produce, including these hams.

Walking south, we ended up at City Hall, where Ai Wei Wei's statues of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are currently being displayed. The tiger was the most expressive and fierce. I suppose our animals do tell us something about ourselves. ROARRR #CaoNiMa #MaLaGeBi #HeXie

I never knew there was a statue of Winston Churchill, with this plaque attached to the base.

We kept walking south, ending up on the Esplanade, at Bier Markt. In desperate need of refreshment, we started with a cassis geuze, beautifully pure in its fruit aroma, yet delightfully dry and hoppy on the finish.

Out of Saison Dupont, I had to settle for Saison 1900 - a bit dank, a bit cloudy, all character.

Pee pee ...

... stuck in rush hour traffic on the subway, but did manage to make it home in reasonable time. Kisses to great, lazy days, and wandering the city.

DF

a contrast in dry and sweet Mosel

Top: 2010 Maximin Grünhäuser Riesling Trocken | QbA Mosel
Bottom: 2009 Bollig-Lehnert Riesling Auslese | QmP Dhroner Hofberger | Mosel

What's your pleasure, what's your mood tonight? Dry? Or something sweet?

Why not both.

Mosel riesling is my love, my true love, a fire that will never be extinguished. And here, two examples of how diverse riesling can be, yet show that same familial character. First, the trocken, from Maximin Grünhäuser. As described by its U.S. importer Chambers & Chambers Wine Merchants: 

The estate’s entry-level dry wine shows fine, fresh fruit, with a spicy edge.

The estate Riesling Trocken (dry) is a blend of the barrels that remain after the singlevineyard dry wines have been selected out of the overall production. This is a topdown selection process done purely by taste. It starts with the finest selection for the “Superior” bottlings, then the Alte Reben (old vines) wines from Abtsberg and Herrenberg, the single-vineyard QbA Trocken wines, and finally the estate QbA Trocken. In most years, this wine is predominantly from the Herrenberg vineyard, but the proportions will change depending on the vintage. The result is an entry-level dry Riesling that shows the characteristic minerality of the area and the refined style of the Grünhaus estate.

Then at the other end of the spectrum, an auslesen from a producer we've been seeing a lot of in Ontario, Bollig-Lehnert. From their own website, this description of the vineyard:

Dhron-Hofberger: Londitude 6° 55″ 42″ E / Latitude: 49° 52″ 46″ N

Tucked away in the valley of Dhron lie the exceptional vineyards of the Dhron-Hofbeger – perfect weather and climate conditions make this small wine-growing area a Gem!..the rather less known Dhroner wines offer the drinker a full-bodied but elegant, rich Riesling wine with a touch of acidity.

Two very different wines. The trocken, showing impeccable balance and minerality, a lovely lifted palate, pure elegance and precision. The auslesen, a powerhouse, yet lithe on its feet. Lebron James doing a pirouette. Yet both wines show the focus and intensity of riesling, that beautiful mineral profile and harmony on the palate. Lovely, stunning wines.

DF

different shades, different perspectives

2010 Domaine Berthet-Bondet Chardonnay | AC Côtes du Jura

Do you know what you'd like this evening, sir?

Yes, I think I do. After reading a lot of overheated puffery about your new cook, you know what I'm craving? A little perspective. That's it. I'd like some fresh, clear, well seasoned perspective. Can you suggest a good wine to go with that?

- Anton Ego, Ratatouille (2007)

We want different perspectives in all things because without the capacity of considering all sides, we remain dull and ignorant. We think we know chardonnay - what seems to be the most ubiquitous of white wines - but the Jura has plenty of surprises. That wonderful oxidation, that freshness and energy. A wine that's alive. As in all things, a look from another point of view enriches, enlightens, and inspires us. 

DF

saying hello to the 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserves again

Top: 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay | VQA Niagara Peninsula

Bottom: 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir | VQA Niagara Peninsula

Delayed satisfaction.

If there's anything you need to know about true winos, it's that we find pleasure in delaying pleasure, in delaying satisfaction. We insist on putting wines away until they're ready, until they're mature - whatever that means. And while that whole practice reeks of snobbery and idiocy to the less invested drinker, there's deep meaning in it, if only you give it a chance and open your mind to something out of the ordinary. 

We know the statistics. The VAST majority of North American wine drinkers open a bottle within hours of buying it. They keep, what, no more than 5-6 bottles of wine in the cupboard at a time? Being typical is perfectly fine, but at least try to understand where us winos are coming from when we say that that bottle of Bordeaux will be more interesting, be more expressive in 5 years.

Time and place.

Everything has its time and place. Including wine. So when we put wines away, we are actually suggesting that the wine will dictate when its ready to drink. Sure, it's wonderfully democratic to insist that wine is at its best when you feel like drinking it, but that's the ego speaking. And when you put your ego in your pocket, when you listen - and I mean really listen - maybe you'll hear something inspired. So when we taste a young red wine that's tannic and coarse, we (winos) try not to rush to judgement. With experience, we come to understand that wines that are rough and crass in their youth mature to something entirely elegant and fine - if we are patient. In other words, we let the child grow to an appropriate age, before we decide its character.

I love Le Clos Jordanne. Drink enough of something, and you start learning to recognize the style. It's a transparency they search for, in aroma and texture. A wonderful, bright expression of fruit and earth, of minerality and acidity. The 2006's, while certainly not blockbusters, show the purity and innocence of young vines. Nothing transcendent, but the promise and potential of the fruit they are producing is obvious. Drunk with our surf and turf dinner, after being in the cellar for 5 years.

The chardonnay, all bright citrus and minerality. Becoming richer on the palate - perfectly integrated oak. Lean, but showing the precision and focus that the Niagara Escarpment can produce. The pinot noir, actually drinking fairly young. Both wines, in fact, showing a lot of energy. Dried fruit, underbrush, that stemmy Niagara fruit - its pleasure is derived from its purity. 

Delaying satisfaction, until the appropriate time and place. Unless we're talking about cigars. Because it's always perfectly fine to light one up. H. Upmann's, hand-rolled Cuban cigars that are simply perfume and elegance. Fabulous draw, great flavour and length.

Dinner last night with some old friends, my last with them before I leave. At a great, stately Chinese restaurant - lobster, bass, and free range chicken, among other things. A 2006 Louis Roederer and a premier cru Chablis to drink. This is all becoming very real now, these goodbyes. And its becoming obvious to me that I have to make things right with someone before I leave. I can't have that as the last image she has of me.

DF

surf and turf

Did you know that every 4 years, February 29th marks National Surf and Turf Day? And that the first surf/turf meal served was in the Seattle Space Needle’s restaurant, Sky City, during the 1962 World’s Fair. The dish came to be known as a symbol of conspicuous consumption - the 'hedonistic extravagance' of the two most expensive food items on a single plate. How American is that. Go big or go home.

Surf and turf, traditionally, is lobster tail and filet mignon. But we can be creative with the shellfish (prawns, scallops, abalone, clams, all kinds of fish) and choice of protein. Whatever your pleasure. Having said that, lobster was on sale at the grocery store, and I had a dinosaur bone broken down, so screw creativity. Lobster and rib steak baby, on charcoal burning bright and red.

The lobster

You give the lobster a good, Christian death before cutting it up. There's a cross on the head, just behind the crown. Point your knife where the cross meets and in one swift motion, put the knife through the head. Cut the lobster lengthwise, and over very hot coals, lay the meat side down first for no more than 30 seconds to slightly char it. Then cook the rest on the shell, drizzling some olive oil on. It will bubble, it will hiss, and it will smell divine. Season with sea salt and dig the meat out of the tail for the most amazingly savoury, tender, smoky lobster.

The rib steak

For the rib steak, I wanted to try something different, owing to the high quality of the Canada Prime beef we had for the night. Season well beforehand - a few hours at least, to let the salt draw out the moisture from the beef and reintegrate back into the steak, seasoning it all the way through. That part is key. I also rubbed in a bit of olive oil, peperoncino, and thyme. On a low charcoal burn, place the meat off the heat first, flipping regularly. You don't want to colour the meat - just cook it until it's above rare.

Then, start fanning the charcoal until it burns red hot and sear the beef really hard until you develop a crust. Make sure you keep checking to make sure it doesn't over cook - it's so easy to do so when your grill is spewing hell flames. As soon as it hits past rare, take it off and rest it on a rack. Residual heat will cook it to a perfect pink.

As is always the case, the simple things give the greatest pleasure. Lobster and beef, as hideously self-indulgent as it is, is just so damn good. 

DF

the 5 pound rib roast

I love beef, I really do. A friend asked what I'd be willing to give up - meat or alcohol. Impossible question brah. What's the point of living then, if you have to choose between those two. I hate hypothetical questions. You need to have a serious lack of imagination to wonder (and ask other people).

A few weeks ago, I bought a rib roast. A five pounder, the cashier called it 'a dinosaur bone'. I had no intention of sharing, so instead of roasting it whole, I broke it down into steaks. Four portions and the bone. You slide your knife along the ribs to take them off first, leaving you with a chunk of meat you can simply slice into (thick) steaks. The butchers wrapped a layer of fat around the outside, which, if you're not roasting, is sadly not usable. A noble sacrifice. This particular butcher shop dry ages its beef for 28 days. If you can't finish it all in one go, you can wrap the steaks up in wax paper and freeze them - they will hold in the freezer.

This week turns out to be a busy one, lots to do. I really need to stop sleeping in because spending 12 hours a day in bed is no way to go. A definite sense of finality settling in - everything seems to be 'the last time' for me. Do I still try to talk to her? Am I really being sincere? Now that I'm older - as a friend said, we're just about pushing 30 - there's a sense that I've experienced things, that I know how things work, so to speak. Yet I'm so uncomfortable giving advice to others. I suppose it's in my nature. I just don't like doing it, and besides, I'm really in no position to be giving advice to anyone. I mean, look at me, does it look like I've got my shit together?!

Beef. And wine. The things I go back to when I need a some alone time, the things I can be sure about. And yes, despite the best advice my friends try to give, I supposed I'll keep trying to talk to her. I'm a slow learner, and apparently, not too bright. But there's a certain charm in that too. Tener una buena semana mis amigos!

DF