Balzac Coffee Roastery - Daniel et Daniel

Balzac Coffee Roastery, as by its name, is well known for its beautiful coffee, but did you know they also served food at this restaurant? Well they don't however for our event we asked Daniel et Daniel to bring in some wonderful food to keep out stomachs happy for the evening. Balzac is located in the eastern part of downtown Toronto in the heart of the Distillery. This restaurant and coffee shop has been down there for quite some time and was also featured on the Canadian hit show, Dragon’s Den about 4 years ago.  Their coffee is very good and lineups have been known to go right outside the door.  Daniel et Daniel is located on Carlton Street which is a private catering company that caters food for all of your special events. We recently had a corporate event at this establishment in which a three-course menu was designed for our special event.  On this wonderful evening, I had the opportunity to choose their Mixed Summer Garden Salad and the Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho for starters, Striploin of Beef Cooked Sous Vide for their entree and Lemon Mascarpone Raspberry Tart for dessert. 

Mixed Summer Garden Salad and the Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho

The chilled watermelon and the garden salad both arrived at the same time.  The bowl of watermelon soup was actually placed on the plate of the salad.  In addition to some of the more common salad vegetables, there were also these long stems of “edible flowers” that were also added into the salad.  With a touch of champagne vinaigrette and some goat cheese mixed in with the salad, the salad actually tasted remarkably good.  The leaves were very fresh as the entire salad itself was quite refreshing.  The champagne vinaigrette gave it that enriching flavor which made the salad really stand out compared to any other ordinary salad. With respect to the the watermelon soup, that too was quite tasty.  It was spiked with some vodka that I thought was a daring choice.  It made the soup a tad bit bitter and overwhelmed some of the sweetness in it.  I’ve had “virgin” watermelon soups before which I personally thought were better than this kind.  As well, the soup was not as chilled as much as one would like which I think aided in the deflating of the true value of a good chilled watermelon soup. 

Striploin of Beef Cooked Sous Vide

The entrees arrived soon afterwards and I could tell that the beef was nicely done.  It was flawlessly seared on the exterior and the interior was nice and pink.  It was medium rare and made to perfection. There were some fresh vegetables on the side and with the addition of a sweet Truffle Madeira Jus poured on top of the meat, it made this piece a beef a thing of beauty.  The meat sliced easily and the beef was quite tender from start to finish.  I was very satisfied with the overall quality of the entire entrée. 

Lemon Mascarpone Raspberry Tart

Last to arrive was the raspberry tart dessert.  Presentation alone looked like it was worth 5 stars once again.  Each tart had some raspberry jam on the bottom and there were nine pieces of raspberries located on top of the tart.  The raspberries were fresh however I would personally suggest maybe having strawberries or blueberries as a choice of berries instead of the raspberries as there would be less seeds stuck in one's teeth after eating this dessert and less chance of sourness in the berries.  There were a couple of raspberries that were a little bit on the sour side which might not have happened if it was a different type of berries.  

In the end still, it was still a very delightful night to have.  There were some parking spaces within the Distillery compounds and if you are not able to get a spot, there is another parking lot just around the corner.  I didn't drink any of Balzac's coffee however their decor and restaurant was tidy and neat.  The food I must say from Daniel et Daniel was exceptionally good.  There were waiters swarming all around us that evening and they made sure all our plates were cleared and our drinks full at all times.  We sat upstairs in the loft where it was a little roomier than our downstairs counterparts.  All in all it was pretty decent food all night and a great night out.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Balzac Coffee Roastery

1 Trinity Street

Toronto Ontario
416-207-1709

Daniel et Daniel 
www.danieletdaniel.ca
248 Carlton Street
Toronto Ontario
416-968-9275

Marigolds and Onions

Normally I don’t like to write about food that was prepared by a catering service company on my blog as one does not get the true overall experience as compared to that of a restaurant, however I decided to go against that notion this time around as the food that was served that day was truly very good and definitely deserved a good mention. 

Marigolds and Onions has been a reputable catering service company since 1991 and on this day, we had invited them to provide lunch for about 10 of us.  As we entered our room, the table was set and there was a set menu place on our plate which a 3-course meal.  On this day, they decided to serve us some Organic Baby Greens Salad as an appetizer, Chard Stuff Chicken as an entrée and Reve for dessert. 

Organic Baby Greens Salad

The presentation and the content on the salad were quite magnificent to say the least.  There were many interesting pieces that made this salad so dynamic.   The vegetable leaves were carefully wrapped with a piece of cucumber.  A mixture of smoked paprika and red wine vinaigrette sauce was then used to pour on top of the wrap.  As well, there was a fresh piece of tomato, a small phyllo purse with creamy stilton, buttered leeks and black mission figs that surround the wrap.  This truly was an organic dish salad that had all the wonderful ingredients in it. The salad was fresh and with each bite, the brain cells in your head were screaming at you wanting for more. 

Chard Stuff Chicken

The Chard Stuff Chicken was quite delightful as well.  Normally I don’t like stuffed chicken as it makes the meat quite dry however these chefs knew how to put it together to make it a wonderful entrée to have.  Inside this piece of chicken was a combination of Swiss chard, artichokes and roasted tomatoes.  The combination of these ingredients placed inside of this chicken made the meat exceptionally juicy and made the allowed the meat to maintain its moisture.  There was also pepper cream sauce placed on top of the chicken.  The chicken was surrounded with baby red potatoes, smoked paprika and asparagus.  A touch of olive oil was also used to enhance the overall flavour of the dish.  At first glance, I thought I would be having dry chicken meat for lunch however I was sadly mistaken as this dish turned out to be an excellent meal to have. 

Reve Dessert

The reve dessert was really amazing as well.  A combination of sweet chocolate crust, almond nougat, milk chocolate ganache with banana bavarois peaks filled whatever space was left in one’s stomach.  Although all of the ingredients pointed towards a super sweet dessert, it was actually not too sweet, but it was however sweet enough to satisfy all the sweettooths in the room. Again it was presented in a very chic manner where full marks had to be given for its artistic work in presenting the food to us. 

Overall, Marigolds and Onions showed they really knew how to put smiles on people’s face with the food that they had served us.  I was very impressed with their food, their professionalism and their service.  I will certainly give them another shot as their food certainly warrants a second visit.  Overall, I give them a 4.5 out of 5.

Marigolds and Onions

416-256-4882

Via Cibo

A brand new Italian restaurant that hasn’t even had its grand opening yet opened up on the east side of North York recently.  Via Cibo opened up no more than 3 weeks ago and has already had an article featured in the Toronto Star as to whether their signature sandwich, the Osso Bucco sandwich is worth $3 million dollars. I decided to visit the restaurant myself last night to see what the main attraction was all about. 

Dark Orange and Passion Fruit Juices

When you walk in, you are not given a seat right away.  You are led to the side where you are to place your order with the cashier.  They have a huge menu right behind the cashier where you can choose anything ranging from pastas to sandwiches to wraps.  Since it was new to me and I had no idea what was good, I asked the cashier and a chef standing next to her as to what was good for my friend and I.  They pointed out that for starters the Prosciutto Wrapped for Di Latte was an excellent side especially at $4. For the Entrees, they suggested their signature sandwich however since the Toronto Star had already done an article on it, I decided to go with their signature pasta dish which was the Pasta Al Osso Bucco Ragu.  My friend decided to go with their Portobello and Goat Cheese Wrap.  Since both of us were driving we decided to forgo the alcoholic drinks and went with a couple of fruity Italians juices instead.  My friend ordered a Dark Orange fruit juice while I went with the Passion Fruit fruit juice.

Prosciutto Wrapped for Di Latte

Once you had paid for your order, you were to find your own seating.  They would give you a number and the waitresses were to bring you your food.  The Prosciutto arrived first and there were like four of them in a row.  It was immersed in a pomodoro tomato sauce which really didn’t add too much flavor to it.  The prosciutto was very salty tasting and each wrap had been grilled slightly.  With mozzarella cheese in the middle and a sprinkle of chopped basil on top, this was a very good starter to have.  The pieces were small and easy to digest so that one did not have their appetite ruined.  The only bad part was that when the dish was placed on our table, the waitress realized that the basil was missing and actually had to take it back to have it added.  Otherwise, it was great appetizer to have.

Pasta Al Osso Bucco Ragu

The entrees soon arrived afterwards.  I ordered the Pasta Al Osso Bucco Ragu and when it arrived, it actually came in a pretty big bowl.  There were chopped up pieces of veal, some broccoli, roasted tomatoes and padano cheese all mixed together.  At first glance and at first bite, the pasta looked slightly blanch and was a tiny bit dry to eat.  The taste however was magnificent.   The only recommendation if there was one, was that it would have tasted better had they added just a bit more tomato sauce to it.  It would have added moisture to the pasta and given the pasta just a little bit more flavor to it. My feeling is that the recipe was made for the sandwich and if the ingredients were too wet, it would have made their sandwich quite soggy and moist to eat.  The meat however was very juicy and “loose” and therefore easy to eat.  It was a good dish nonetheless. 

Portobello and Goat Cheese Wrap

My friend’s portobello wrap was equally good.  It was a huge wrap that had been folded twice.  Inside the wrap,one can see that it was packed with pieces of a portobello mushroom, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, goat cheese and roasted garlic.  It gave off a great aroma and the Portobello was very juicy and tasty.  The edition of the garlic and the onions I think was what set this dish apart and gave it that extra kick.  It was a fabulous dish to have especially for any vegetarians out there.

Overall it was a pretty good night over at this new restaurant.  I think once the new staff gets better oriented then things would run more smoothly.  The fruits drinks were pretty good as well.  It was like drinking carbonated fruit juices.  The price for everything here was just a shade under 40 bucks for the both of us, tax and tip included.  There was plenty of free parking up front and the staff was very courteous.  I would definitely go back for a second go around.  Don’t forget their Grand opening which is suppose to be sometime during the final week of July.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

Via Cibo

808 York Mills Road Unit 2

647- 352-7556

LeTrou Normand Restaurant

Every year Toronto hosts its annual Summer and Winterlicious festivals where people can take advantage of great food for a fraction of the price. Most restaurants will participate in the event where they would offer one a three course meal for about $35-$45 per meal.  Taking advantage of this deal, we decided to venture into Yorkville, which is the posh part of Toronto, and give LeTrou Normand Restaurant a shot. 

We made reservations for this restaurant and were given our seats right away.  It was about 8:00pm on a weeknight and truthfully, one really didn’t need any reservations at all as the place was only ¼ full.  Their wall of fame showcased many celebrities who had previously eaten at this place before so I highly doubt this place was hardly bad at all. 

Pate de Gibier

Scanning their Summerlicious menu, there were about 3 starters, 6 appetizers and 3 deserts to choose from.  This evening we all went with their Pate de Gibier for starters.  For the entrees we had the Veal Medallion with Calvodos Sauce, Baked Salmon in Lobster Cream Sauce and Medallion Beef Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce.  For Desert, we had the Dark Chocolate desert and the Apple Tart.  We also had a bottle of red wine to share amongst the four of us. 

Veal Medallion with Calvodos Sauce

Prior to the meals, we were each given a couple pieces of bread to eat.  The waiter came by roughly every ten minutes to make sure our water and wine glasses were always full.  The place however was quite dim (hence the bad photos) and the lights kept flickering throughout the evening. 

Medallion Beef Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce

Our pates arrived rather quickly, like within 5 minutes of ordering.  Since it’s summerlicious, I am sure this dish was made well in advanced.  The pate this evening was a combination of pheasant, duck and chicken meat.  I love pate however this pate was simply just average to below average.  It was a huge slab to begin with, and the pate was dry and flaky.  It broke apart when one tried to spread it and with only one piece of toast and a small portion of salad given, many of us ended up eating the pate as is and on its own. 

Baked Salmon in Lobster Cream Sauce

The entrees however fared a little better overall.  I had the Veal Medallion and the meat was very, very soft.  The sauce was good although it would have been better if they had just kicked it up a notch just a little bit more.  There were about three slices of meat and some vegetables on the side.  Presentation wise it looked pretty good.  Overall, I was actually happy with the veal.  The Beef Tenderloin was also pretty good.  The meat was cooked to medium rare and was very soft just liked the veal.  One could not have gone wrong this evening with either the veal or the beef.  The salmon was what impressed me the most.  The lobster cream sauce that they used was delicious and it really enhanced the overall taste of the salmon.  There were also two large pieces of tiger shrimp that came with the dish. All three entrees were pretty impressive this evening. 

Dark Chocolate

The desert dishes were rather disappointing.  The dark chocolate was quite sweet and two of the three dishes looked like a 5 year old had put it together.  It was crumbly, flaky and stacked one on top of another.  The apple tart was actually a mixture of an apple pie with an almond? base crust.  The problem with this dish was that it was overly sweet on top with the apples and surprisingly very bland on the bottom.  It was difficult to cut through the “tart” as the bottom of the crust was very hard.  As a result, one had to eat the sweet part and the bland part separately. 

Apple "Tart"Pie

In the end, the appetizers and the deserts were somewhat disappointing.  The entrees were magnificent, the meats were perfectly cooked and the fish was amazing.  Personally I think I was expecting near perfection especially with this restaurant located right in the heart of Toronto. Will I try it again?  It’s hard to say.  Overall I give it a 3 out of 5 with a 4.5 on the entrees and 1.5 on the deserts and appetizers. 

LeTrou Normand Restaurant

90 Yorkville Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

416 967 5956