Dinner at the Foxley

Went on Tuesday night. The place was still kind of empty when we got there at about 7:00, but there was a big rush of people showing up just after we got there. The place is kind of small, it sits about 30 or 35 and maybe 40 if you count the seats at the bar. They don't take reservations. You're probably OK if you show early, but expect a bit of a wait if you get there later.

The place is on the small side, its pretty narrow. The ceilings are really high -- 12 -14 feet, which is nice. The brick on the left wall is exposed and i guess its got some sort of varnish or maybe a sealer on it because it has a bit of sheen. Most of the tables are are on the left wall. They have a few "elevated tables" along the wall as well. The right wall has a small banquette, that has seating for 6, maybe 8 if everyone knows each other. The place has got a decent hardwood floor. It's a medium stain, looks like oak. Similar to what they have at Jamie Kennedy Gardiner. The furniture isn't much to speak of. I don't think the chef/owner had any big time financial backers, so I think he's making do with what he could get. Still the place looks a lot better than most of the stuff you see on Restaurant Make Over.

The crowd is definitely on the younger side. There was a table of five girls beside us, 2 of which were definitely in the higher reaches of the hotness scale and two were quite acceptable (pleasant to look at and adequately breasted). There were some couples and a few parties of three. There was only one old couple in the place. I don't think that this place gets much of the older crowd because it is a little on the loud side. Might be because its on the small side, so the sound just gets amplified. They play alternative/indie rock, but its kind of in the background because the chatter is louder. The place has a lot of energy to it and an inviting vibe to it.

The service is decent and casual. We were kind of uncertain about how much food to order, so we asked our waitress for a little help in terms of guiding the number of dishes. She told us, that she would let us know if we ordered too much. We also had a few questions on the dishes and she effectively answered the questions we had for her. The plates come pretty quick and in twos. The chef brought out our last dish, he even gave us new little plates -- so we could savour the full flavours of the last meat dish we had, without contaminating it with some of the earlier orders.

They have fairly big selection of wines, with quite a few whites on the list. There also have a bunch of premium/imported beer around (cans and bottles). I'm sure quite a few people will go for the wine. My advice would be to skip the wine and drink beer, which is what I did. The dishes on the menu use a lot of spices on it, e.g., hot chillies as well as the more fragrant and flavourful kind. Once you get the spices in your mouth after you start eating its really going to change the taste of the wine. So while the wine will start out OK, its going to be a different story once you start eating. On the other hand, beer is always going to taste the same. Beer also has the added benefit of cleansing your palate, particularly if you have something with a lot of heat.

It's a tapas style place, but the servings are a little on the larger size. The fish and vegetarian dishes are a little smaller and lighter, while the meat dishes are larger and more filling. The menu is ordered with the vegetarian and fish dishes at the top, while the meat dishes are at the bottom. There are quite a few selections to pick from. I would probably guess that there are something like 20-30 dishes to pick from.

I've heard this place described as Asian inspired Portuguese food. I don't see that at all. To me there are strong overtones of Thai cooking on the menu. They give you chop sticks, no forks in the place settings. While there is a lot of seafood, I didn't see any Portuguese style seafood food here (grilled sardines or salted cod). I haven't really explored the menu that deeply, so I can't offer a better description than to say that the menu is really eclectic. I'm not sure how much of the menu is seasonal, so whether it would change it in the winter (always a good sign). My educated guess, given what i've seen, is that it will because the chef is really into what he's doing.

We ordered 5 dishes:

• a shrimp and mango salad
• a new zealand tarakihi ceviche
• a vegetarian spring roll
• a lamb and duck (prosciutto) dumpling
• a beef cheek curry, with coconut scented steamed rice

I like all of the dishes we had. One of things you notice right away with the lighter things is how fresh the food is and also how fragrant it is. The new zealand tarakihi ceviche was especially noteworthy, it had a nice salsa/fruit accompaniment. There were 4 portions of the spring roll and it came with a really hot dipping sauce. I didn't mind the heat so much, but others might. Note that the spring rolls are not like the ones you get at the $6 Thai lunch place. The spring rolls are not deep fried nor are they doughy. I'm not sure what the wrapping was, but it was like raw vegetables or something. The lamb and duck dumplings were also another highlight. I really like the blend of the lamb and duck -- two rich meats. They brought five dumplings, plus a dipping sauce. I wouldn't have minded getting another dish. The beef cheek curry was also really good (this to me is more french than Portuguese, but i guess they're a lot of uneducated reviewers out there). There were something like 5 big chunks of cheek. I emptied the curry juice onto my steamed rice after I got through my share of the dish. Really tasty. I think 5 dishes is a decent meal in terms of quantity for two people.

They don't have a big selection of deserts and it looks like they vary from night to night. They had a rice pudding when on the night I went. I didn't try it, although I was kind of tempted.

The price point is relatively reasonable. The 5 dishes, a beer and a glass of sparkling rose when for about $90 and change with the tip.

Overall, I really liked the place. With so many shitty resto lounges opening up in the city its nice to go to place with a bit of a soul to it that serves really good food. The bill refers to the place as the "Foxley Bistro and Bar". If this is the future of the bistro in this city, then they should bring the future to the present. The chef really cares about the food, which you can tell by the quality of the ingredients he uses and the fact that he works the room too. I'd say the place is comparable to Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar in terms of the quality of the food and the energy in the room. This place is a solid 2 bunny restaurant.


Rating: 2 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

Changing the Rating at Colborne Lane

I was chatting with one of my loyal readers the other day about my review of Colborne Lane. He raised some concerns that maybe I cut them a bit of break. After having dinner at Pastis I think he was right.

Basically the issue with Colborne Lane is the wine list. I think the markups are on the wine are pretty steep and you really don't get much in return. For example, on the high end of the list to pay something like $200-$300 for a Barolo that is only about 5 years old and will probably not get to its peak for another 10-15 years is pretty stiff. If you really want to spend a lot on wine, you're better off going somewhere else (like Splendido or Le Select Bistro) because here there doesn't seem to be a really deep set of selections on the list. Worse, spending $90 for wine that is just OK and is not noticeable better than Pastis's house wine ($20 per half-litre) is not OK. There should be more options that deliver more value for the dollar and better quality.

By comparison, Splendido (2 Bunnies) has many options that can give you an OK wine for the $45-$60 range. Jamie Kennedy restaurant (3 Bunnies) and wine bar (2 Bunnies) also has a great selection and they a much lower markup than either place and have some really good wines available at the $90 or less range.

I'm re-rating them as a 2 Bunny spot, which is still really good. It just doesn't meet the bar for 3 Bunnies. Here are the edited links to the previous two posts on the place:

http://big-bunny-bigbunny.blogspot.com/2007/05/second-visit-to-colborne-lane.html

http://big-bunny-bigbunny.blogspot.com/2007/05/drinks-at-colbourn-lane.html

Rating: 2 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

The Jamie Kennedy Experience: Lunch @ Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner, Dinner @ Jamie Kennedy Restaurant

I did both them in a single day.

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