Café Boulud and Daniel Signing

Last Saturday, we found out that Daniel Boulud would be having a book launch at the Four Seasons Hotel for his new cookbook, Daniel: My French Cuisine. It's a big tome of a book and well, I knew that I would eventually want a copy for my collection, so why not have it personalized?

Since the book signing was scheduled for 2pm, Howard and I went to have lunch at Café Boulud first. We find that the service there is always impeccable. We were running late due to traffic and construction and called to let them know, they were very gracious in moving our reservation back. It was nice to not worry about rushing knowing that they were still keeping our table.

Went we arrived at Café Boulud, Daniel himself was at the front overseeing some of the preparation for the book launch. We were escorted to our table by the lovely hostess who field our phone call earlier and were promptly served with water as we browsed the menu.

Howard and I decided to get charcuterie to start. The Saucisson Lyonnais had pistachio embedded in it and was served with a potato salad and cornichon vinaigrette.

I chose a lighter fare, the Chop Chop Salad with romaine, cucumber, avocado, grapefruit, cilantro, and a sesame-ginger dressing.

Howard decided to try the Lamb Burger with eggplant, tzatziki, and sweet potato chips. There was an option for feta cheese, but Howard forgot to include it in his order. I tried a bite of it and have to say it's a very good lamb burger! I personally wouldn't add the feta if I were to order this again.

And the side of sweet potato chips? So crispy, salty, and delicious!

I really wanted dessert because I think they're stellar here, but the signing was about to begin, so we made our way down to the gift shop to purchase our copy of the book.

The cookbook was out on display for anyone to browse. As instructed, we started to form a line beside this table. I liked how organized this event was!

Daniel Boulud signing my copy of Daniel!

He was so nice and beckoned me over for a picture. :)

Not only did we get our book personalized, they also handed out little cans of madeleines with dark chocolate crispearls. This made me so happy! You don't understand, we were going to go back to Café Boulud for dessert but dessert came to me! If you've never tried the fresh madeleines from Café Boulud, I highly suggest that you do. They arrive warm in a cloth basket, you start with one and before you know it, you'll be thinking about them long after you finish eating them.

We're going to be back, because included with that gift was a card for a complimentary dessert when you order any main course. That's really difficult for me to resist, so we'll be making another visit during the holidays.

Café Boulud

Café Boulud

Four Seasons Hotel

60 Yorkville Avenue

Toronto, ON M4W 0A4

Tel: (416) 963-6000

It really is a new year for me as I celebrated my birthday last weekend. Level completed and all, I'm moving on to another number (that's all age is ... right?)! To celebrate, my dearest Howard took me to Daniel Boulud's Café Boulud for dinner. At the Four Seasons Hotel, the main lobby also includes D|Bar if one desires to go in for drinks and food in a more casual atmosphere. But since we dressed up and had reservations, we went up to the second level and were greeted by the hostess.

It wasn't a busy night and I was quite pleased with our seats. It was the first seat after the large communal table at the front - look at that gorgeous table in the photo above! Our table was one of the few tables in between the columns - it offered a nice view of the entrance (for people-watching) and some privacy from the sides and back. Best of all, I had a small loveseat all to myself!

The artwork was ... interesting. We were sitting between two pieces, one depicting Michael Jackson, the other was a can of Campbell soup. It was noted on the menu that the art could be bought.

About those menus, our waiter was very hospitable and explained how the menu was laid out. Picture a 4-column, 3-row grid. The four columns are divided into la tradition, classic French cuisine, Daniel Boulud style; la saison, using seasonal ingredients; le potager, mainly vegetarian dishes; and le voyage, a section our waiter described as a place for the chefs to be creative and have a bit of fun. The first row lists the appetizers, the second row is meant for the entrées, and the third are some extra side dishes. We were highly encouraged to mix and match as you don't have to stay within a column of food.

My first pick from the menu was the Seared Albacore Tuna from the saison section. The tuna was paired with winter radish, edamame, a yuzu vinaigrette, and katsuo mirin spice. All great flavours that worked well together, this was a personal favourite of mine.

Howard and I were admiring the light green sauce that was painted onto the plate. At first glance, I thought it was part of the plate's design! But it wasn't, so we started mopping it up with our food.

Howard picked the Nova Scotia Lobster Salad from le voyage for a second appetizer to share. The lettuce was garnished with strips of coconut, crispy fried shallots, chili, a Jalapeño and Lime Gremolata, and underneath, we found a samosa!

I've never tasted lobster like this before. I'm not a huge fan of lobster or crab in general, probably because I've never ate a well-cooked one. This lobster didn't have an overly strong fishy smell or taste, it was - the best way I can describe it - clean. It tasted clean and fresh and it shone on it's own.

The way our waiter was describing this next dish, it was hard to pass up. It was the special of the night which I think they should just put on the menu! The juicy chicken was prepared two ways. You can see the black truffle in the photo where there's a dark patch under the skin of the chicken.

The second, foie gras stuffed in chicken, as seen above in the middle and the chicken on the right. Rich and creamy, this dish was quite the treat. It was a very nice surprise!

This Steak au Poivre is from la tradition and featured a dry-aged Cumbrae strip loin with bone marrow, confit shallot, and pommes Pont Neuf with parsley salad. The flavours of the steak were good, although it wasn't the most tender steak we've had. Personally, the highlight for me were the pommes Pont Neuf! The parsley salad was a little over powering.

And finally, to the best part of any meal - dessert! I tried the Grapefruit Givré, with sesame halva, rose loukoum, grapefruit sorbet, and cotton candy. A givré, I recently learned, is a dessert that consists of sorbet in a frozen fruit shell.

I was instructed to hold the sides of the grapefruit and use my spoon to push everything down in the center. This way I could thoroughly mix and incorporate all of the ingredients.

Howard ordered the Coconut-Roasted Pineapple served with a lime gelée, coconut foam, and banana-passion fruit sorbet.

I didn't even get to try the lime gelée there, it was so good that Howard ate it all! He also raved about the banana-passion fruit sorbet. Luckily, I got to try one of the cake stacks before he consumed them all!

The best treat of the night? These heavenly birthday madeleines, courtesy of the restaurant. They were so addictive to eat, wrapped in a napkin, they were warm, soft, chewy, and not too sweet. After all the food we ate, I thought we would have to pack these, but nope, I polished them off with finesse.