the taste of delicious

So the healthy eating plan isn't going so well this week. I haven't been feeling well (fighting a cold) and the little dude is teething. My eating has been sporadic and not as well balanced as I would like. However, I have not gained any weight back so it's not too bad. I probably won't have lost any when this week is done. Rather than stress about it, I plan to get back on track tomorrow. So tonight, I enjoyed a fabulous dinner made by my awesome husband. I have likely mentioned before that Steve has the gift of being able to throw together a meal from whatever happens to be in the fridge. He attributes this to spending his youth watching cooking shows. Whatever the reason, I am very grateful for his cooking prowess.

So tonight, he made an incredible mushroom risotto. He claims that he really hasn't mastered the art of making risotto yet but I haven't sampled one that has sucked yet. But I do urge him to continue trying. :)


With the risotto, we enjoyed this excellent wine. I found the 2008 Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere in the Vintages section of the LCBO for only $13.95. This wine is produced from organically grown grapes and is fantastic. Deliciously fruity and smooth with a hint of vanilla.


Sometimes, there is just nothing better than a good meal with someone you love.

who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

I picked up this lovely bottle in the LCBO Vintages section last week.


The Wolftrap Syrah Mourvedre Viognier 2006 from South Africa is a bold, flavourful wine with an aroma of tobacco and a ripe plum and peppery taste with a long, smooth finish. And only $14.75 at the LCBO. I've had more expensive wines that taste like crap in comparison. Definitely one I will pick up again.

a little help from my friend...

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this wine yet!


The lovely Elizabeth first introduced me to the Montecillo Crianza Rioja 2003 from Spain. I am quickly learning that you can't go wrong with Spanish wine. This one is slightly spicy, quite dry, and tastes of ripe berries especially cherries and black currants. There are also slight hints of vanilla and cedar. At the LCBO, it's $14.75 a bottle. And from now until January 6, it's only $12.75. Needless to say, I'll be stocking up.

I love this bar...

Now this is my kind of restaurant!

In today's Globe and Mail Beppi Crosariol reported on a unique Vancouver restaurant. All they serve is wine, cheese and meat. No fancy kitchen or gourmet chef necessary. This is totally up my alley! One of my favourite dinners is what Steve and I call the snacky dinner. A couple of different cheeses, some nice cured meat, gourmet olives, a few crackers and a good bottle of red wine. Kind of a rustic European thing. In fact, the snacky dinner has kind of become our Christmas Eve tradition. We spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day with family so Christmas Eve is our time. We lay out a yummy spread and open the presents we bought for each other. Just the two of us. It's a nice tradition. But I digress.

I've included the article below even though I linked to it above. The Globe is one of those annoying newspapers that cuts off access to articles after a few days, unless you are an online subscriber.

Rise of the anti-restaurant
It's in a seedy alleyway, has no kitchen and never bothered to hire a chef. But Sean Heather's meat, cheese and wine bar is anything but a misstep - instead, it's turning the restaurant model on its ear

BEPPI CROSARIOL
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
September 26, 2007 at 10:22 AM EDT

VANCOUVER — Want to succeed in the restaurant business? Consider some tips from Sean Heather:

Find a rundown space in a seedy alleyway with no pedestrian traffic or other businesses; replace the existing wood flooring with bare concrete; set up a long, picnic-style, communal table and offer patrons paper napkins instead of linen. Oh, and don't bother with unnecessary details like hiring a chef or installing a stove; buy ready-made food and slice it up onto plates.

Welcome to Salt Tasting Room, a 14-month-old charcuterie restaurant and wine bar in Vancouver's Gastown that has not only played to positive reviews but also emerged as one of the most envied, and unlikely, successes in this city's hyperactive fine-dining scene.

From a culinary standpoint, Salt taps the growing appetite for raw-milk cheeses and locally cured meats with farmhouse provenance. There's ash-covered camembert from Moonstruck Organic Cheese Inc. on Salt Spring Island, for example, and wild-boar headcheese that Mr. Heather sourced from Oyama Sausage Co. on Granville Island.

There's also no denying the cheap-chic allure of the minimalist design, complete with a chalkboard that serves as the menu and a Ferrari-red, hand-cranked Italian meat slicer - the latter one of several ideas borrowed from New York superchef Mario Batali.

But it's the novel - at least for Canada - kitchenless fine-dining concept that has been turning professional heads and pulling in a steady stream of hungry and curious chefs in their off hours.

"It's genius, it really is," said Jeff Van Geest, chef-owner of 4-1/2-year-old Aurora Bistro. "I think every restaurateur in the city is saying the same thing: 'Why didn't I think of that?' "

Mr. Van Geest says he resists even categorizing Salt as a restaurant because Mr. Heather and his business partner, Scott Hawthorn, have brilliantly turned the traditional business model on its ear, avoiding the crippling costs that can ultimately capsize even the best cooking.

Call it the anti-restaurant.

"The staffing issues, the equipment, all the overhead things that make our [profit] margins so tight in restaurants and make us struggle for every cent - he's eliminated all of that, and he's full most of the time," Mr. Van Geest said.

Salt is also the model around which Mr. Heather, who owns several other local establishments including the Irish Heather gastropub and Salty Tongue deli, is building his expansion plans. Get ready for a bigger original Salt in Blood Alley, two more Salts in Vancouver, a "seasonal" Salt for summer wine tourists in the Okanagan Valley and, if Mr. Heather can find the right eastern partners, a Toronto Salt.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Heather, 41, who grew up and trained as a chef in Ireland before moving to Canada and eventually launching the Irish Heather 11 years ago, spoke candidly about Salt's economics.

"We didn't have a lot of business today, but I still made a hundred bucks," he said, sitting at a 6-metre-long communal table that runs along one side of the dimly lit, main dining area. "I don't need to do a lot of business to make money. My rent is not high. I'm in an alleyway. I have no chef - that would cost me 50 or 60 grand a year. There's no waste. There's no gas. There's no grease trap, there's no [ventilation] hood."

Another key to Salt's profitability is the autocratic menu. The minimum food order must consist of at least three items, whether meat or cheese, at a cost of $15. You can't just taste one for $5, an option that has scuttled many a wine-bar concept in the past. Add a glass of good wine and the typical order doesn't take long to exceed $30.

"We have an average spend of 35 bucks a head here, and that rivals most restaurants, but we're not cooking anything," Mr. Heather boasted in a cheerful tone that suggested gratitude for what he calls his "Irish luck" rather than any sort of arrogance.

Because of Salt's success, Mr. Heather has dropped long-standing plans to open a more expensive, hot-food restaurant that was to be called Pepper. Instead, he says, he is now expanding into an unused basement area with Salt Cellar, virtually doubling the 800-square-foot dining space and storage area he now has. Then, next year, he will expand the concept to a location on Main Street and one in Kitsilano.

Not that salami-slinging wine bars are new. Italy has countless. But as Mr. Heather and other restaurateurs note, the bare-bones concept is virtually unknown in Canada.

In fact, Mr. Heather had to lay some blarney on provincial liquor inspectors to get his alcohol licence. Aware that "liquor-primary" licences for bars are rarely issued any longer, he decided to ask for a "food-primary" licence for his wine bar concept. But his kitchenless blueprint perplexed the booze patrol.

"So, about two weeks into discussions with these guys, we stopped calling it a tasting bar and we started calling it a sushi bar," Mr. Heather recalled, referring to the Japanese raw fish delicacy.

"Once they heard 'sushi,' they said, 'Oh, yeah.' They had a reference point. It was only until about two weeks before we opened that, when the guys came to do actual inspections, they were like, 'Where's the sushi?' I said, 'It's kind of like sushi, but it's meat and cheese.' ... We were a sushi bar on the books for a long time."

The other virtue of not needing a chef is that Vancouver is currently facing a shortage of culinary talent following a flurry of fine-dining openings during the past 18 months. "We could open up 20 of these and not have to worry about that problem."

With Salt, Mr. Heather has also shrewdly sidestepped another of the big nuisances of running a restaurant: customer complaints. "You go to a restaurant and you want your steak done medium-rare and it comes back medium, 'Nah, nah, nah.' You come here, if you've got a problem, we can say, 'Talk to the cheese maker. We just cut the cheese.' "

As for the competition, Mr. Heather believes he's eluded that, as well. "As more and more restaurants open up, we become a place that you could come to before or after. We're not competing. We're complementing all these new restaurants."

If Salt does eventually expand to Toronto, it could face competition there, however. Terroni, the popular downtown chain of southern Italian-style trattorias, is expanding to a big new location in the historic courthouse building on Adelaide Street East, with plans for an adjacent, but separate, wine bar that will offer a bare-bones cured-meat-and-cheese menu and have a strict policy of not serving hot food from the Terroni kitchen.

"They can have a nice cutting board with specialized meats, prosciuttos and salami," said Cosimo Mammoliti, Terroni's owner. "But they cannot have food in the bar."

Mr. Mammoliti says he believes Toronto is ripe for an "authentic" Italian wine bar. "People need a place like that to go to - even if they're going to dinner somewhere else," he said. "It's hard to find that any place in the city."

i saw the sign...

This sign at my local LCBO made my chuckle.


A rather redundant statement, don't you think?

Once upon a time, I drank a little wine, was as happy as could be...

I celebrated my 35th birthday last week. My awesome assistant Eddy brought an excellent bottle of wine to work to celebrate. We did not consume it on my birthday, but a few days later, after a particularly crazy day at work.


Spanish wine rocks and the Castillo de Almansa Reserva 2001 is no exception. Dark cherry in colour with a nose of black pepper and ripe berries. This is a big, intense wine, heavy on the black pepper and oak flavours with a sweet, cherry finish. At $20.10 (at the LCBO) this is not your every day chugger but a damn fine wine. Thanks Eddy!

the taste of delicious

It's been quite a while since I've done one of my incredibly amateur wine reviews. For the last little while I've been sticking to the wines I know. A few days ago, I was killing time at Yorkdale Mall waiting for my husband to pick me up after work and I decided to visit the tiny LCBO store. The selection is very limited due to the size of the store, but they always have some interesting bottles. Case in point:




Nothing I've ever heard of, but I was lured by either the $1 off the regular price or the Bonus Air Miles. Can't remember which, not that it matters at this point. It turns out that the Deen De Bortoli Vat 8 2004 Shiraz was quite a fine little wine. Not nearly as bold as the typical Australian Shiraz, but very tasty with lots of ripe berry and woody flavours and strong tannis. I would definitely buy this one again. At the LCBO, $13.70 until June 24. $15.20 after that. Totally worth it!

clap for the wolfman

Our friends Julie and Greg gave us a bottle of Wolf Blass Gray Label Shiraz (2003) a while back. Since they are getting married tomorrow, we figured tonight would be an excellent time to crack that sucker open! And we did.

We decided to go the wine snob route and decant it. We bought a funky little funnel on a recent trip to Niagara on the Lake. It has a cool corkscrew look.


Decanting it really showed off its gorgeous, deep cherry colour.


After letting it breath for about half an hour, it was time to taste. If I was only allowed one word to describe this wine it would be, pepper. From the aroma to the taste this wine is all pepper all the time. There are some other spicy notes and the slightest hint of bitter chocolate too but pepper is the dominant flavour. It mellowed out as it sat in the decanter but the bold spicy flavour and long finish remained. It made an excellent accompaniment to our gourmet pizza dinner.

$33.25 at the LCBO.

just give me something, something I can use...

enough said

in the drink

I picked up a bottle of 2005 Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks Zinfandel from California this week. I was first introduced to this wine by the lovely couple that bought our Toronto condo before we made the moved to Burlington almost 5 years ago. Until that point, I only knew of White Zinfandel, also known in my circles as "pink party wine." I had never had a red Zinfandel before and instantly fell in love with this one.


Ruby red in colour, this wine has a nose of spice and pepper. The flavour is slightly lighter than the aroma suggests, but full of fresh, dark berries, vanilla and licorice, with a long, dry finish. At the LCBO, $14.15.

By the way, if you enjoy wine and especially love a non wine snob review, check out the Wineass podcast. Unfortunately, I can't get many of the wines he reviews in my area, but he is highly entertaining.

who could ask for anything more...

Busy weekend! So much to blog about.

Steve and I went out for a fantastic meal on Friday night. We had a gift certificate for a free dinner for two (appetizer, entree & dessert) at Tundra Restaurant at the Hilton Toronto. Although the chef that made the restaurant famous was no longer there, we were treated to an exquisite meal. On top of that, our waiter was perhaps the best waiter I have ever encountered in Canada. I wish I remembered his name because I would totally call the restaurant manager to sing his praises! Most servers, if handed a coupon for a free meal wouldn't work so hard but this guy was incredibly attentive. He described the menu in great detail, making excellent recommendations and knew exactly when to check on us to make sure we had what we needed. Knowing that we were on a time line, he made sure that our meal arrived in good time, had us order our dessert before we finished our entrees and offered us coffee to go so that we would get to our concert on time. He definitely earned the tip we left.

So what did we eat? I started with the Caesar salad. The lettuce was crisp, the dressing not too heavy and the Parmesan shaved in large, thin pieces. Delicious! Steve had the crab cakes and they were fantastic! The just melted in your mouth with a delicate sweetness. We ordered the same entree, since we are both suckers for a good steak. The fillet Mignon was like butta! This may have been the best restaurant steak I have ever had. And the roasted root vegetables and fritters that accompanied it were fantastic. For desert, Steve had an incredible molten chocolate cake and I dove into a trio of creme brulee, cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla. Heavenly! I can't forget to mention the wine! The Fielding Estate Cabernet Franc was excellent! (unfortunately, I can't remember the year) If I remember correctly, Steve's first reaction was "well smack my mouth!" Yes it's a bold wine, with hints of leather, ripe berries and chocolate. We are definitely planning a trip to Fielding Estate to sample some more.

After dinner, we headed over to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music to hear a concert. Any concert at the Faculty is special for me because I work there. As difficult and as stressful as my job gets, seeing the students on stage performing is such a rush. This concert combined our three choirs, the MacMillan Singers, University Women's Chorus and Master Chorale with the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra in a wonderful performance of Bruckner's Te Deum. I must admit, I got emotional even before the concert started. I know how hard these kids work. I know how stressful this point in the school year is for them. I know what it takes for them to get to the moment of performance. No matter what else is going on, they always rise to the occasion. They sang and played there hearts out and the audience gave them the love they deserved.

After the intermission, the orchestra tore into Mahler's Symphony No. 1. Once again, they did not disappoint! They played their best and the audience loved it. I grinned and applauded like a proud parent. That's always how I feel when I see them perform. It doesn't have to be perfect. They're students, they are still learning. But to see all of their handwork pay off is so incredibly rewarding. And it reminds me why I still work there.

a very good year...

We recently enjoyed a bottle of 2005 El Burro Kickass Garnacha from Spain. I'll admit that I didn't expect much from this bottle. I bought it for two reasons. One, there was a picture of a donkey on it and two, it actually had the word "kickass" on the label. Yeah, I know, not too mature but what can I say. I'm a sucker for a good gimmick.

We were pleasantly surprised by this one. It didn't smell like much at first. The aroma was quite mild and flowery. But the flavour? Wow! Strong, spicy & woodsy right off the mark, lingering into a gentler ripe berry finish. Not bad for $12.15 at the LCBO. Even Frank approved! He doesn't allow photographs of himself with just any ass!

bottle of red...

It's time for another wine review!


I've been meaning to pick up the Finca Flinchman Expressions Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, after my favourite wine writer, Beppi Crosariol recommended it in his January 27, 2007 Wine and Spirits column in the Globe and Mail. Once again, Beppi did not disappoint! It tastes like it smells, deeply fruity, spicy and full of oak. This one has a long, intense finish. $15.95 with limited availability at the LCBO. Grab it if you find it!

a few of my favourite things

oh, yeah!


We picked up a bottle of Long Flat 2004 Shiraz from Australia. Words cannot express how much this wine has rocked my world! I'm a sucker for a good Australian Shiraz and this one kicks ass! The first sniff was full of spice and ripe berries. The first taste was caramel, blackberry and pepper. Later on, there were hints of black licorice. So many of my favourite flavours in one affordable bottle. (only $12.15 at the LCBO)

Ain't life grand!?!

a case of you

Steve and I recently discover some excellent, less expensive wines. Here's a quick overview.

We love finding a good "ten-buck chuck." This is our most recent find. The LCBO is currently promoting Latin American wines and the 2005 Vina TaraPaca Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile is on for $8.70, down from it's usual, inexpensive $9.50. This one has great berry & oak flavours and nice tannins. I think it would be fabulous with a big bowl of beef chili.


We subscribe to the Saturday Globe and Mail. One of the first things I do, is read Beppi Crosariol's wine column in the Style section. I have never been disappointed with his recommendations. The man knows his stuff. So when he recommended the 2005 Negroamaro MezzoMondo that sells for only $8.45 at the LCBO, I had to try it. This little gem from Italy is full of rich cherry flavours and is incredibly smooth for its price. Perfect with a gourmet take-out pizza!


We had an open house during the Christmas holidays. A lot of friends came with a bottle of wine in hand. Although I don't want or expect people to bring a gift, I secretly love this for the sole purpose of discovering new wines. Our dear friend Sarah turned us on to the 2005 Bin 15a Shiraz from France. This stuff rocks! For only $11.30 at the LCBO, this rich, peppery, fruity Shiraz is freakin' awesome! I would drink this with absolutely anything. And you gotta love the artsy label!


We recently had a couple of friends over for a yummy steak frites dinner. Geoff brought this fantastic French wine. The 2004 Chateau Timberlay Bordeaux was absolutely delightful and a perfect complement to our medium rare strip loin steaks. If you like the taste of bell peppers and smoke in your wine, you have to give this a try. At $15.20 a bottle, it's a bit more than I would spend for a mid-week chugger, but a nice treat for the end of a tough work week.


So there's my amateur wine round up for this time. If you get a chance to try any of these wines, let me know what you think.

i howl and i whine...

Get a load of this.

Battling the bottles

Basically, this article includes a bunch of restaurateurs whining about the burden of the LCBO's new Bag it Back recycling program. The process of separating wine bottles from their regular recycling and then driving them to their nearest return depot will cause extra work. I have two things to say.

#1 The restaurant business is one of the toughest out there. I have tremendous respect for people in this industry. On the other hand, anyone who owns their own business has to understand that things constantly change. If you can't adapt and deal with it, you're in the wrong business. Go work for someone who will take care of the tough stuff for you.

#2 If business and industry refuse to do their part to reduce waste, we might as well just blow up our planet now. I firmly believe that as individual citizens we have the power to make a positive impact on the environment. But business and industry have the power to impact change on a huge scale in a shorter amount of time. By developing programs such as the LCBO's Bag it Back program, industry is making positive strides to reverse the damage we've done to our planet. If restaurants don't participate, this program ceases to be beneficial to our environment.

As far as I'm concerned, it's up to every single one of us to do our part for the environment. From recycling to composting, from waste reduction to using energy efficient appliances, these small changes, no matter how much extra work they create, can positively impact the world in which we live. So to those restaurateurs who think this is too much work, get over it! Our planet needs your cooperation. As human beings, it's part of your job.

everything old is new again

Finally!

Starting February 5, 2007, Ontario residents will be able to return their empty wine and liquor containers (that's glass bottles, plastic bottles (PET), Tetra Pak containers, bag-in-box, aluminum and steel containers) to their local Beer Store in exchange for their deposit. The idea is twofold. The first is to keep these bottles out of the landfill (yes, some still need the monetary incentive to recycle). The second is, by pulling these bottles out of our blue boxes, to allow the municipalities to expand the variety of items they can recycle.

So all we have to do is save up our bottles and take them to the Beer Store, just like we've been doing with our beer bottles for decades. Yes, we'll be paying an extra 20 cents for a bottle of wine, but we'll get the full deposit back. When they make it this easy, how can you not participate?

bagitback.ca

mighty fine wine

I'm a huge red wine fan. Not an expert by any stretch, but I love trying new wines, especially Canadian ones. I'm also a sucker for great marketing and must admit that I bought this bottle based on the pretty label. Well, the painted turtle did not disappoint. This shiraz, "cellared in Canada from imported & domestic wine" is described on the lable as having "vibrant cassis, black cherry and plum flavours." All I know, is that it is yummy! So if you are into a spicy shiraz, check out the turtle. (For my fellow Ontarians, only $11.95 at the LCBO.)

Here's Frank hanging with the turtle.