Showing posts with label seafood risotto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seafood risotto. Show all posts

The Bicycle Thief (Halifax)

Almost every person I spoke to about visiting Halifax said I had to eat at The Bicycle Thief. When pressed further as to why I had to go, they unanimously said that it has great food and has a great vibe. My arm was twisted.

The restaurant serves a seafood forward Italian menu. And their seared local scallops ($17; 3 to an order we added a fourth) was a favourite dish for our table. Deceptively simple looking, the crustaceans are pressed into finely crushed almonds, so the golden seared crust also has a crispiness to it. The added richness and crunchiness pairs wonderfully with the yuzu beurre blanc, which made me wish I had saved bread for dipping into the buttery sauce.

I’d recommend swapping out the sesame cucumber “spaghetti” for diced cucumber instead. The long tendrils were too messy to get onto the bread and overpowers the fish in the yellowfin tuna tartare ($16). They should also substitute the too crunchy crostini for another base, perhaps large taro chips to go along with the other Asian theme ingredients. Nevertheless, the tartare was fresh and flavourful with the pickled ginger, wasabi cream, and creamy avocado.

There was the perfect amount of heat in the linguine fra diavolo ($28), the garlicky tomato sauce covering each piece of the thick and chewy spaghetti. While the five prawns were perhaps a touch overcooked, they were still meaty and delicious.

The rack of lamb ($54) was cooked to perfection, the meat juicy and tasty on its own having been covered with rosemary and Dijon mustard. On the other hand, the side was polarizing – my friends loved the sweety and salty combination of the Amarena cherries, potato, and pancetta. Cherries with meat? Not for me, thank you.

My second favourite dish also incorporated scallops, except in the risotto con Capesante ($32) they didn’t have an almond crust. Instead, they’re served with a hefty portion and creamy risotto studded with peas and crispy prosciutto. Both the seafood and rice were cooked beautifully.

We’re told the butterscotch caramel cake ($14) is the only dessert The Bicycle Thief has kept on the menu since its inception. And after seeing slices whizzing by us to other tables, I had to try this layered cake. It’s sweet, creamy, and nutty, reminding me of the caramel crunch cake from La Rocca, except the meringue is replaced with sponge cake and crusted toasted pecans. Normally, I’m not a fan of very sugary desserts but this one was delicious.

My verdict on The Bicycle Thief? Their food is flavourful and for the most part delicious. I love the restaurant’s buzzy atmosphere and if you don’t mind loud music, you can feel free to laugh-out-loud without being side eyed. It’s central location at Halifax’s downtown harbourfront doesn’t hurt either. They make a mean cocktail and you won’t be disappointed if you visit.

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: seared local scallop, risotto
  • Just skip: tuna tartare

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Halifax, Canada
 Address: 1475 Lower Water Street


Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

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Pink Sky (Toronto)


With a name like Pink Sky, I’m expecting a café, bubble tea shop, or maybe even a candy emporium. What I’m not expecting is a seafood restaurant. Hence, I’ve walked by the storefront on many occasions but never seriously planned a visit. I chalked it up to a place to be “seen” and party, but not for real meal.

Remnants of the former Weslodge are still apparent: the expansive bar and (on occasions) the unobtrusive DJ spinning beats on the second floor. Yet, Pink Sky has a coziness to it that feels different. The ease of making reservations, not being rushed with seating limits, and sit-a-while comfortable chairs – there’s even an element of hospitality that the former restaurant was missing that exists now.

If you’re in the mood for some light bites, their menu includes a selection of hot and cold appetizers that are great for sharing. For a simple crispy calamari ($24) the appetizer was tasty, the light breading incorporating salt, pepper, and sumac adding flavour so the spicy mayo wasn’t even required. And if you’re feeling adventurous, take a bite of the deep-fried lemon slices, my friends found this surprisingly tasty.

The beef tartare ($22) needs more than four pieces of too oily toasted sourdough to go through meat mixture. Yet, it had a lovely freshness from the bits of apple and tarragon incorporated into the recipe. Still, it’s not overly heavy in comparison to the predominantly seafood focused menu.

I preferred the beef to the tuna tartare ($26), which contained so much puffed rice that I half expected the dish to go snap, crackle, and pop. What little fish remained was completely drowned out by the watermelon and other ingredients.

Pink Sky offers a host of fish on their menu. The whole branzino ($85) was disappointingly small for the price and contained too many stray bones. And while I enjoyed the crispy skin, it might have sat under the broiler for too long as it was slightly overcooked.

Personally, I’d skip the branzino and go for the grilled salmon ($32), which also had a lovely crackling skin but was still flaky and moist. Served as a nice thick slice, the main was surprisingly filling despite it being sparsely served with sautéed spinach and grilled fennel. The dish was a little salty, especially with the lemon butter sauce. Be careful to dip and not pour.

Without any grains, you could augment the fish with a side of frites ($9) to share. They’re hot, thin, and crispy… my kind of fries.

Indeed, the best bang for your buck would be the fish and chips ($32) that arrives as a ginormous piece of beer battered haddock. While the breading was too thick for my tastes, you certainly won’t leave hungry since it also arrives with a generous portion of thick cut chips.

In fact, pair the fish and chips with a wedge salad ($21) and you’ll have enough food for two. The starter uses almost an entire head of iceberg lettuce slathered in a rich and tangy buttermilk ranch dressing, topped with cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, fried onion, and huge chunks of bacon that should be called pork belly pieces. The salad normally also contains blue cheese, but we had it removed and the salad was still hearty and flavourful.

Another sharable dish is the truffle lobster mac and cheese ($46) that has a cheese pull that’d make any dairy lover swoon. Big tubes of rigatoni were tossed in a spicy pickled jalapeño cheese sauce and topped with bread crumb and chives. It’s an interesting decision to include the jalapeno, I found it balanced out the truffle oil, which can sometimes be overwhelming. If anything, it just needed more lobster as there wasn’t much to go around.

Pink Sky’s seafood risotto ($34) has a spicy tomato sauce base, so the dish ends up tasting like a cioppino risotto. It’s a twist that I don’t mind given I love the hearty seafood stew but could be disappointing if you’re expecting a more traditional saffron taste. All in all, it incorporated a passable portion of seafood (mussels, shrimp, and whitefish) although the mussels could have been fresher.

Located in the bustling area of King West, Pink Sky is an ideal pre-clubbing dinner destination. Their varied menu means you can choose a lighter dish to avoid sporting a food belly or go big with the fish and chips to soak up the liberations to come. One thing is for sure, it isn’t a frilly café, you’re coming for the food.  

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: grilled salmon, wedge salad
  • Just skip: branzino, tuna tartare

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 480 King Street West 


Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

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K.Dinner's Private Monday Evening Events


Nowadays, chefs have a number of options to become an entrepreneur, beyond the typical work-and-save or partner with an investor options to open a brick and mortar location. Food trucks keep some roaming and mobile, but my personal preference is the “pop-up” type meals where chefs take over another restaurant.

The newest entrant is Chef Ken Yau, who’s Monday night K Dinners take over Café Fiorentina, a day when the restaurant is normally closed. With seatings at 6:00pm and 8:30pm, a communal table about ten people will gather to break bread over 7-courses of seafood ($80).

Chef Yau touts England’s The Fat Duck as an inspiration for his menu. The famed Michelin star restaurant by Chef Heston Blumenthal is known for their molecular gastronomy using modern equipment and techniques to create one-of-a-kind dishes.

The influence was best showcased in the amuse bouche and first course. For the starter, a truffle-sized orb is perched on rocks and you’re advised to delicately place it inside your mouth, whole. Bit through the thin chocolate-like shell and a flood of sweet pear juice augmented with citrusy yuzu floods the mouth, further contrasted with a salty relish on top.


This is followed by fried fish skin dusted with salt and vinegar sushi rice, which puts any extreme flavour chip to shame, and green tea powder that’s supposed to bring bitterness to the fold (although you really couldn’t taste the matcha since it was drowned out by the vinegar).


As a plate of mussels are brought to the table, Yau explains he works with a company that can cultivate them in small batches with customized flavoured growing environments. This batch of PEI oysters were grown with yuzu so no condiments are needed.


Sure enough, as one’s brought to the table, the typical sea-like aroma is replaced with the light scent of lemon. As it hits the tongue, the oyster’s juices are all at once citrusy, briny, and sweet.

Refreshing elements continue with a squid salad. Pickling the squid makes it a bit chewy but the firmer texture and sour flavour is rather interesting. Sitting in a bed of saffron clam sauce, the savoury creamy condiment helps add a touch of richness to the otherwise summery course. Meanwhile, the salad was everything but lettuce: juicy tomato slices, tomato water mixed with Riesling and juniper jelly, crunchy fava beans, and crisp radishes.


The following seared scallop was one of my favourite bites of the evening, the meaty seafood wonderfully cooked so that it remained delicate and sweet. Crumbled segments of finger limes (citrus caviar) transformed the cauliflower purée into a smooth and crunchy concoction that made me yearn for another spoon.


At the centre of the table, on a salvaged piece of wood, sat a lemon, morels, bunch of herbs, and a dark liquid. It wasn’t until the middle of dinner these were combined into a carafe filled with rocks and caramelized onion consommé (prepared over four days) and steeped to create an intensely flavoured French onion soup with a tom yum flair thanks to the white soy sauce, Madeira wine, and sherry vinegar.


With the rich broth came warm crusty bread and a generous portion of whipped brown butter flavoured with capers, anchovies, and sherry vinegar for spreading onto the bread. We all agreed that we should have stuck with one slice (boy were we full at the end), if only the butter wasn’t so enticing.


The following seafood risotto was another one of my favourite dishes of the night. In Chef Yau’s version, in lieu of rice the risotto is made entirely from finely diced seafood (halibut, clams, prawns, etc.). Starch is added through pieces of fried potatoes, which also help add a bit of crunch to the creamy dish and everything is further enhanced with a thickened lobster sauce. It was wonderful, but a tad salty so would be even better if the seasoning was toned down.


After such an amazing risotto the poached halibut was a mediocre ending. While I enjoyed the beurre blanc sauce dotted with plump mussel and crispy duck and chicken skin, the flavours were too close to the previous risotto. Moreover, the fish was left resting too long and the temperature lukewarm at best.


Chef Yau should consider re-ordering the dishes (serving the halibut earlier on) or changing the fish’s accompaniments to something fresher and brighter. Regardless, in either case, the halibut needs to be hotter and the seafood risotto should definitely be the last dish.

There was a sense of weariness when the dessert was presented, already Chef Yau prefaced the dish by stating desserts aren’t his thing. One taste and I agreed – there was too much going on in one dish: braised cherries, granite, creamy mascarpone, and thyme. Also, while sherry vinegar was already used throughout the menu, this favourite ingredient even made an appearance in the dessert and completely overpowered everything.


I understand, chefs cannot be good at all things – after all, pastry chefs often dedicate their whole careers to perfecting desserts. If this isn’t your forte, just keep it simple (one friend commented how grilled peaches with ice cream would have been a great ending) or outsource the course to someone else (Japanese cheesecake anyone)?

Renegotiating the seating arrangements with Chef Fiorentina are also required. Despite the restaurant being closed, the table was set in the basement on a table with bar stools. After three hours, the room became stuffy and warm and stools are best suited for a quick sandwich or ramen, not a long multi-course dinner.

Despite the somewhat rocky ending, I was pleased with the overall experience at K Dinner. Having eaten at his premiere meal, I’m sure the kinks will be worked out as the operation matures. In speaking to Chef Yau, his word-of-mouth advertising is a success with his Monday dinners are already booked into mid-October. Small private dinners are coming to Toronto and eaters are devouring it.

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

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CLOSED: Spacco (Toronto)



Midtown has a group of restaurants that has operated for years, yet their appeal have diminished with all the new competition, despite having decent food and a pleasant atmosphere. Spacco is one of these restaurants, a place I recall visiting for work functions numerous years ago, dining on appetizer platters and finger foods. 

They began offering a Groupon deal for a three course meal for four for only $80 - a steal considering most of their mains are $15-$20 (prices included in the post are from the regular menu). We did have to order from condensed offerings, but still had plenty of choices and was a well curated selection off their complete menu.

Both of the calamari ($13) were fair sized portions and well executed. The battered version, the typical thin rings, were hot and fresh from the deep fryer. Meanwhile, the grilled version could be charred a bit more but had nice flavours from the lemon garlic olive oil, the vegetables on the side a great addition.


The oven baked shrimp ($13) were thankfully not overcooked and the chunky spicy roasted tomato sauce they sat in great for slathering on the soft complimentary ciabatta buns.  


Although the arancini ($12) were delicious and in my opinion the tastiest of all the appetizers, the two ping pong sized balls made the starter much smaller compared to other offerings. Typically, at other restaurants, there would be three to an order – Spacco you need to consider increasing the number of arancini or the size of each one for this appetizer. Nonetheless, the deep fried risotto stuffed with peas and mozzarella were hot and satisfying, a soft molten middle with the requisite crunchy exterior.  


For the mains, the seafood risotto ($20) was terrible – the rice extremely mushy and is questionable if it was even made with the Arborio variety. There was a fair amount of seafood (shrimp, scallop, calamari and mussels) but despite the menu describing the mussels as “fresh”, they were gritty and tasted off to me.


The penne trecolore ($18) was better, the pasta in between the al dante and cooked through state but tossed in a tasty tomato cream sauce. Mixed into the pasta was plenty of chicken, spinach and roasted red peppers to provide the “three colours” from the dish’s name.


With the wood-burning oven prominently situated in the open kitchen, it seemed like a safe bet that the pizzas would be good. We ordered two to share, the culo rosso ($16) and campagnia ($17), both delicious and prettily presented.


Indeed, the culo rosso had a very spicy kick from the hot banana peppers, so much so that it momentarily renders your tongue numb making the sausage and caramelized shallots non-existent. But, if you like the heat, it’s a great pie. On the other hand, the campagnia is much tamer topped with chicken, roasted red peppers, spinach, sundried tomatoes and a fair amount of creamy goat cheese.

The only easy decision is dessert – there are two choices, a sweet and moist tuxedo truffle mousse cake or dense and sugary iced chocolate brownie with ice cream ($7). Neither are fantastic, yet tasted fresh and since they’re both so decadent, leaves you satisfied with a few tastes.   



Overall, we were all pleasantly surprised with the quality of their food for the price we paid ($20 per person). Although there wasn’t anything outstanding, the dishes were executed better than chain restaurants and the atmosphere cheerful and conducive to sharing bottles of wine without fear of becoming too loud. Best yet, after the meal, you can always venture to their lounge area and continue the night with more drinks and a game at one of their seven pool tables.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 2415 Yonge Street (behind Alleycatz)


Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this: