Chicago 2015: Day 4

Remember how it snowed and snowed on our previous day? Turns out Chicago was was hit by the fifth largest blizzard. My day at the convention center was slow as flights were cancelled and attendance dipped. It was difficult to travel anywhere in the city. Taxis were scarce and those that were available were charging exorbitant fees. By the luck of the blizzard, we were able to get reservations at Girl and the Goat for dinner. We had been trying all week to secure a table at this restaurant, Little Goat Diner, and other places in Chicago. This blizzard wasn't going to stop us, we went out as planned and I'm so glad we did!

There were so many items on the menu that sounded intriguing and it was difficult to narrow it down - which shared plates were we going to try? To start, we had the hamachi crudo with crisp pork belly, chili aioli, and caperberries (photo above). Beautiful and light, I only wished there were more. Next, the roasted cauliflower with pickled peppers, pine nuts, and mint. I love roasted cauliflower but Howard does not - until he tried this dish!

I ordered this because I was curious about the brown butter kimchi. These are celery root and cheddar pierogies with brown butter kimchi and cara cara orange. My two dinner mates weren't loving this dish, so I got to finish it. The pierogies didn't stand out, but I enjoyed the sauce and oranges that were garnished on top.

Another mix-reviewed dish was the grilled marinated pork belly with castelfranco, sauce green, and blood orange. This one went to Howard as my boss and I didn't care for it.

Now for the group favourites: the crispy beef short ribs with avocado, ruby red grapefruit, and chermoula. I could eat this every day. It was so delicious and the pairing was perfect. The short ribs were truly crispy and the sauce in this bowl was absolutely drinkable. I mean, I would drink it because it was that good.

We also couldn't eat here without trying a goat dish! We decided on the goat shoulder with goat​ xo,  root vegetable caponata, hazelnuts, and spaghetti squash. The table beside us had ham frites and after eyeing them all night, we ordered one. They're served with smoked tomato aioli and a cheddar beer sauce. Without the dipping sauces the frites were amazing because they were dusted with ham.

Now to the grand finale! Were we full? Yes! Should we try a dessert anyways? Yes! The citrus pavlova blood orange-vanilla semifreddo with yuzu curd and kumquats was a good choice to end the night. Chewy, crunchy, sour, and tart, this frozen treat had it all.

Time to find a taxi and brave the ride back. Tomorrow will be a better day . . .

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!