On for its third year, the Feast of St.
Lawrence kicks off on Friday, August 10th with a huge outdoor dinner.
250 guests will dine together on Front Street (between Scott and Church Street)
rain or shine! Don’t worry, if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, guests are
protected under long beautiful tents to ensure the 5-course meal is comfortable
regardless of the climate.
With the number of notable restaurants in the
St. Lawrence area, diners will be well fed. A glimpse of the menu suggests:
- Hors d’oeurves to start including an oyster station from Pearl Diver, Biff Bistro’s chicken liver parfait, and falafels from the Sultan’s Tent;
- Cool appetizers of chilled melon soup from the House House and pickled watermelon salad from Farmr;
- Tagliata di Spada from ARDO, which is Nova Scotia swordfish with their signature sourdough bread;
- A main of seared petit tender beef with roasted summer vegetables (a vegetarian alternative of squash blossoms also available) made by The Omni King Edward Hotel; and
- Two desserts courtesy of George Brown College: a tonka pavlova with peaches and a s’mores tart with smoked chocolate.
This is all paired with every alcohol you can
imagine including whisky from CC Lounge, beer from Creemore Springs Brewery,
and wines from various Prince Edward County producers (Stanners Vineyard,
Broken Stone Winery, Rosehall Run, K. J. Watson, Karlo Estates, Keint-he). While
dining, guests are serenaded by the 18-piece JAZZ.FM91 Youth Big Band.
Yours truly was lucky enough to get a preview
of some of the items from this year’s menu. We started at Pearl Diver where Chef Malycha taught us how to shuck an oyster
– he makes it seem so easy with a wiggle, pry, and wiggle motion. For me, I’ll
leave it to the experts, especially if they’re going to make a refreshing onion
mignonette to go with it. The oysters will go perfectly with CC Lounge’s
Toronto cocktail, which mixes J.P Wiser’s Deluxe whisky, Triple
Sec, Lillet liquor and tons of fresh lemon. Bright and citrusy, it’s an
easy-going drink.
In fact, everything we
sampled was season appropriate. Farmr’s salad combines watermelon and tomatoes,
two things that normally aren’t served together but works. Chef Benny Chateau aims
to showcase produce at their peak in August, allowing the ingredients to shine.
The watermelon is pickled in its own juice with red wine vinegar, the tomatoes
getting a similar treatment with lime, and it’s all tossed together with micro basil
and cucumber ribbons. The watermelon’s sweetness is balanced by pickling and
the vinegar’s acidity neutralized by the cucumber and tomato.
Even Omni King Edward’s
beef is lightened by using a petit tender cut (from the shoulder of the
tenderloin) so it’s lean. In lieu of the traditional heavier red wine sauce and
potatoes, the steak is paired with a bright chimichurri crema and tons of
roasted summer vegetables sourced from Urban Fresh at the St. Lawrence Market. Ancient
grain and hazelnut clusters add a bit of carbs to the plate and some crunch as
well.
Tickets are available online or by calling
416-410-9242. A portion of the $200 ticket will go towards Second Harvest, the
largest food rescue organization in Canada. The charity prevents surplus food
from farmers and retailers from going to the landfill by picking it up and
distributing the items to over 250 social service agencies across Ontario. It’s
a great organization that not only provides 30,000 meals a day, but also makes
a positive impact on our environment.
Organizers note that Dinner Under the Stars
is a well-staffed event - even with 250 guests everyone is served in about 5
minutes. Moreover, speeches are kept to a minimum… they know people are there
to eat, drink, and mingle! If dining alfresco with a group of people to support
Second Harvest sounds amazing, get your tickets before they sell out and in no time,
you’ll be eating under the stars.
Disclaimer: The above tasting of select dishes from this year's event was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: Front Street (between Scott and Church Street)
Address: Front Street (between Scott and Church Street)
Website: www.feastofstlawrence.com
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