Winterlicious: Parts & Labour

Parts and Labour

1566 Queen Street West

Toronto, ON M6R 1A6

Tel: (416) 588-7750

It's 'licious time again in Toronto, a time when restaurants offer prix fixe menus at low prices to entice us to try their restaurant. We tried a few during the summer and we've lined up some more this winter. One of my favourite part is learning about which restaurants will be participating and what the menus will be. I spend a couple of happy hours going through the listing and then choosing my top picks. Next, I e-mail a bunch of friends to see if any are interested in joining us for a meal (or more). Then, I sit back and wait for the responses. It's quite easy because after that, Howard does the difficult part. Booking. It's the quick morning calls to the restaurants once reservations are open - fingers crossed that there are availabilities.

Our first Winterlicious restaurant was Parts and Labour. A really neat restaurant that we've been meaning to try and had heard great things about. We had two friends joining us for our 6:30 pm dinner. We walked in and hovered near the entrance. There was a hostess there, but she had her back to us and was on the phone. So we walked in to wait by the fireplace (which is a very neat idea - especially during a chilly night in Toronto). She later came in to greet us, asked for us to confirm our reservation, and took us to our table.

We walked by the long bar with the spring-looking seats, we walked by the rows and rows of large tables in the main dining room ... and that's when I saw them.

They have three tables beside the kitchen! I did a very discreet skip/hop as I didn't even know about this. What a treat! I love sitting by the kitchen and watching the chefs and staff go about their work.

We were given the menus and our glasses were topped with water. We also learned that they were only serving the Winterlicious menu at this time, but we asked to see the regular menu, too. We were already deciding on a return trip!

First up, Howard and our friend tried the seared mackerel with yuzu, cured cucumber, chili, and hoisin mayo. Thumbs up all around. The guys aren't ones to express many words, but I did hear, "wow," "delicious," "like the little bit of spice," and "love the citrus flavours."

I tried the pork belly with pickled shallot, tarragon cream, and oats. The pork belly was soft and tender. They give you a good portion and it worked well with the accompaniments. Might have been a little bit too sweet, but overall, very satisfying.

Most of us ordered the hanger steak and frites, served with a demi glace. The meat was cooked to the rarer side, but that was fine for us. The demi glace was quite good, I started mopping it up with the fries, but then it got a bit too salty. Stick to the ketchup my friends!

Howard, being the adventurous one, ordered the seared scallops with roasted squash, and corn polenta, served with salsa verde. I can't even remember if he gave me a bite, I think he did, but it wasn't a very big bite! From what I remembered, this was also very delicious.

Where we were seated, we got to see the deep-fryer in action and the dessert plating! See the shelf above? Those are beignet doughs in the plastic containers. All poofed and ready to be fried. And in the ramekins? Chocolate mousse!

Here we are, watching our desserts being prepared.

A swipe of caramel sauce. A dollop of fresh whipped cream. A spot of strawberry jam!

Hello! Here was my chocolate mousse with peanut butter and marshmallow "snow." The mousse was very smooth. Mixing in the peanuts and marshmallow gave it a nice crunch and texture. I would eat it again!

Our friend tried the panna cotta with roasted grapes and graham cracker. We didn't quite taste a difference in the grapes - roasted or not - but the panna cotta was a nice light way to end the meal.

The guys got the cinnamon-sugar beignet with strawberries, cream, and caramel. This was by far the best dessert of the night! We enjoyed it so much that we asked for another ... two more please. And then watched the beignets get fried and plated again. We ended up getting charged $8 for each additional doughnut if you're wondering how they add that on.

So far, this was our favourite 'licious meal to date! We had a great time, aside from the frosty hostess (she ignored us on the way out), the kitchen and wait staff were all friendly and attentive. And the food was well worth it!

Cinnabon Sprinkle Beignets

Highlighting the new Cinnabon Sprinkle Topping, we took the Cinnabon Creations Challenge today. This new topping is meant to taste and smell like Cinnabon cinnamon and frosting. You know that aroma when you walk by a Cinnabon in the mall or subway station? You can now add it to some of your favourite foods. I recommend trying it with French toast, pancakes, and beignets!

Cinnabon Sprinkle Beignets
(Makes about 16)

2 cups of cake flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of buttermilk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Cinnabon Sprinkle Topping

1. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
2. Using your stand mixer, whisk the buttermilk, egg, egg yolk, and vegetable oil until combined.
3. Carefully add in the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Remove the whisk attachment and take out a rubber spatula.
4. With the remaining cup of cake flour, add it into the mixture and combine with the spatula. The dough will get very sticky (which is why the whisk isn't a good option anymore).
5. Scrape the dough out and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze for at least an hour.
6. Remove the dough and dust your hands with all-purpose flour. Roll the dough into the size of a ping-pong ball. Set aside and repeat until all the dough has been transformed into small ball shapes.
7. Fill a saucepan with about 2-3 inches of peanut oil over medium-high heat. Fry the beignets and gently turn then over. They should be golden and ready in about 3 minutes.
8. Transfer the beignets to a paper towel to let the oil get soaked up. 
9. Toss in or sprinkle with Cinnabon Sprinkle Topping.

Ekks! This was my first time frying anything in my kitchen! I even asked to borrow a deep fryer, but found that it would use up too much oil. Luckily, this little saucepan did the trick.

Beignets on a stick!

Disclaimer: A press representative from ACH Food Companies, Inc. and Cinnabon, Inc. contacted us about their Cinnabon Sprinkle Topping and Cinnabon Syrup. They are holding a new product challenge, Cinnabon Creations Challenge, and offered to send us samples of their products. We agreed to receive the samples and participate in the challenge. However, we are not eligible to enter the Cinnabon Creations Blogger Sweepstakes. No incentives were used to produce a positive review of these food products. No monetary exchange took place. All opinions are our own.

Café du Monde

Café du Monde

French Market

800 Decatur Street

New Orleans, LA 70116

(504) 525-4544

Riverwalk Marketplace

500 Port of New Orleans, Suite 27

New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 587-0841

If you go to New Orleans, there's one place that everyone tells you to visit. Café du Monde, famous for their coffee and beignets. There are many Café du Monde locations in the city. The one pictured above is the original one in the French Market district and is packed with other tourists. The line-up here on the weekends were pretty long.

There's also one in the Riverwalk Marketplace, not far from the French Market. After seeing the line-ups, Howard and I decided to visit this location. It also has plenty of seating and the same menu. The only differences are, it's less crowded, indoors with air condition, and you get a view of the Mississippi River.

We're going to try these famous beignets of course!

Beign-Yay! Hehehe, we saw that on a T-shirt there.

If you were wondering, a beignet is a deep-fried dough, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Almost like a square-shaped doughnut or pastry.

And they're not kidding about the powdered sugar. It fell on my shirt and skirt and stuck to my face with each bite. All that white powder made it feel almost illegal. ;)

You can barely see the beignet under all that sugar!

Our view of the mighty Mississippi River.