1. Lunch
Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner is on the 3rd floor of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. Its a really nice room, there's lots of light. The dining area is set up like a T. So there is the main room that you see when you walk in and then a dining area that crosses the T that cuts across. The furniture is nice, really modern and clean looking. None of it looks tired, and i guess it shouldn't because it's only recently opened. The servers are dressed in a minimalist kind of way, black shirts and parts. So no stupid looking uniforms or outfits. The floors are really nice too. They have a darker stain to them and a really nice grain to them. They could be oak, but perhaps someone more knowledgeable (like those experts at Commute Home) could you give you a more definitive diagnosis. They look like planks, but it could some sort of cork flooring. In any event it doesn't look like cheap laminate flooring.
The first time I scouted the room I saw a large number of good-looking women, the kind of the high heels with pointy toes, having lunch here. I kind of got my hopes up, so i was a little let down when i saw the old people. But at least they keep them in a back corner. I think it would hard to get rid of the old people, particularly since this is a museum. (By the way I will say the women working at this museum are a lot better looking than the ones at the AGO). There were still quite a few women there, and most of them are good-looking if not a bit on the older side 30-35 and older. A few suits, but mostly chicks who lunch.
I split the Yukon Gold frites to start. I've read that these are the signature thing here. They did not disappoint. They are addictively good. What makes them even better is the mayonnaise that that they serve them with. They might as well as put a crack pipe in your hand, because you'll be so hooked. I was almost tempted to ask for another order, but i had to go for dinner so i opted for the moderation approach. I had the John Dory as my main. It came in a sauce with a few stuffed peppers. This was really tasty.
I was with two people, one of them rated the soup they had as exceptional (I can't remember what the special was that day, something vegetarian, --- i should bring a notebook along). They both thought that the salads they ordered were pedestrian.
I had a cappuccino, it was well executed. I also split a chocolate pot de creme. It was a really rich chocolate pudding. It was good, but i didn't finish it. I was looking ahead to dinner.
Overall, this is a nice place. I've heard some reviews comment that its a touch on the noisy side, but i didn't feel that. Its a nice room where you can get good food.
This is a solid place and I really want to explore the menu here.
The bill for 3 was $97, i left $15 as a tip. So it won't break the bank.
Rating: 1 Bunny
Notes on the Bunny Rating System:
- 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
- 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
- 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
- 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool
2. Dinner
Jamie Kennedy restaurant is located at church and front. It has the same entrance as the wine bar. I think the restaurant is just the main dining room for wine bar, but i don't know the history of the place that well (except the wine bar was there first).
We were there on a monday night.
It's a kind dim in terms of the lighting, but in a good way. They take you to the dining room off the main entrance. The tables in the room are spaced out a good distance, so you're not packed in together. They have this light fixtures that are like clear glass spheres, but have this little globes inside. The floors are really nice too. Again, i'm no expert but it had a really nice grain to it with a fairly dark stain (it looked a lot like what they had at Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner, but maybe a little darker), so it could be oak. The dining room we were in was kind of half full. Mostly a younger crowd, although there was a table of old people. The wine bar is pretty much a young scene, lots of good looking chicks in that 27-30 years old sweet spot.
The sommelier/bar guy came by to ask for cocktails and bring the wine list. I ordered a campari and soda and he asked how much soda i wanted with it. This is what i call thoughtful service, he must have been a campari drinker. The wine list had a relatively deep selection and the mark-up was quite reasonable. We ordered a bottle of the Niagara Teaching College, Warren Classic Chardonnay (i believe this is the one that won the awards) to start. I had a glass of Domaine d'Andezon Grenache with my main. The chardonnay was really good, the grenache was fine when i was eating my main, but i was enjoying it as much after i finished eating. I would have prefer to get some sort of cabernet sauvignon (i had the venison osso bucco) but they didn't have a great selection of things by the glass.
The server we had was polite and she smiled. She explained everything on the menu because some of the names weren't transparent and she answered questions. She was also good looking, dark and exotic in a middle eastern or perhaps eastern Mediterranean sort of way.
I started with what they call the "streets of toronto", which consists of three dishes which is supposed to represent the diversity of the city. It had a cabbage roll, a putin (spelling??) and something else i forgot (i should take notes). The best of the was the putin, the other two were fine -- nothing incredible, but the putin just makes the combo. This was like the food equivalent of crack, you just needed to have more. I ended up dipping my bread in the gravy that was left over. I traded part of each of the three dishes for what they call the white and black, which was a terrine that had a layer of beef carpaccio, truffles and some cheese served in a bone marrow consomme. This was very good as well, i ended up tipping the plate to get all of the consomme. I would recommend either starter.
My main course was the venison osso buso. this was really good as well. I had to play with my knife and fork before i could get to the marrow, but i ended getting all of it. It served on these mash potatoes of some sort, with a sauce. It was a really nice complement to the venison. I also had a scallop or two from someone else at the table. The scallops were really good, they had a Japanese name (which i forgot because i didn't take notes). They tasted so fresh. These were really good. I would definitely consider having this if they are the menu on my next visit. I didn't try the vegetarian dish, it was a sampler with three or things on it. The person who had was really impressed (she was a vegetarian).
The desserts are first rate here. I had the fig and walnut tart. It comes warmed up with a scope of ice cream. This just had so much going for it. It was really full of flavours that complemented each other. The toughest thing about ordering it was trading it for another dessert. In the end, i swapped part of it for hazelnut millefeulie. This was also very good. It's a much lighter desert than the fig and walnut tart. In a way, it has a refreshing quality to it. If you're looking for a desert that's on the light side then this it. The third desert i sampled was the hot chocolate cake. Its like a white chocolate cake and a bowl of hot chocolate. I didn't have any of cake, but the bowl of hot chocolate was like some chocolate melted into some milk. It was really rich.
Overall, I have no complaints about this restaurant. The service was excellent, the food is great, its a nice looking room and there aren't many old people hanging around. This is a must eat place in Toront0.
Rating: 3 Bunnies
Notes on the Bunny Rating System:
- 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
- 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
- 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
- 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool
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