Summerlicious: Bent

Bent

777 Dundas Street West

Toronto, ON M6J 1V2

(647) 352-0092

We risked rainstorms warnings and floods to have dinner at Bent. In fact, the moment we stepped out of the car and walked towards Dundas, lightning struck. Right across the street. Boy was it loud. I don't know if you've ever seen and heard lightning that was just a crosswalk in front of you, but it is scary. Your heart flutters and yours ears require adjustment. You might shriek and jump a little. Smile nervously at your friends. Then you're left with the pounding of your heart as you realize that you were darn lucky escaping that.

But we lived to tell you about our Summerlicious experience at Bent!

Our group of six was seated near the front and our server took our drink order. Note to self, ask what the price is for drinks that have none listed! They had a great mojito line up in which most of us took part in, but it was expensive and took us by surprise when the bill arrived. On one hand, I felt it was expected as they needed to make up their costs elsewhere, but for that price, I would have expected a pitcher, or the world's best mojito!

While we kept perusing the menu, we actually took to ordering some appetizers off of the Summerlicious offerings because they sounded so delicious!

Here's one of them, a spicy tuna and watermelon ceviche with shaved red onion, cilantro, crispy shallots, fresh citrus juice, Rocoto chili, and Chinese doughnut fritter. I really liked the addition of the yau ja gwai, this was unique and we've never seen it done before. The tuna and watermelon was a good combination and we liked how juicy and large the chunks were.

The second one we tried were the duck confit spring rolls with braised onion sweet tamarind sauce. Quite filling as the spring roll was stuffed to the brim! Admirably, the duck wasn't dried inside and had a good sauce to it.

This was the popular Summerlicious appetizer choice as we saw servers carry these olive trays out of the kitchen again and again. Shrimp tacos with charred onion tomato salsa, chipotle, and avocado in a taro shell. Mini bites consisting of a great flavour combination.

I had thought the shells were fried wonton wrappers since the taro didn't stand out, but the filling more than made up for it.

Howard's Summerlicious appetizer was a crispy chicken dumpling served with roasted chorizo, a maple syrup and smoked chili lime glaze, and Parmesan emulsion with salad of watercress and frisée. This surprised me the most as it had quite the kick. Not the pick for those who can't handle their hot and fiery, but for those who can, this was delicious!

Time for our mains! I had the crispy Assam-styled salmon with tamarind, ginger flower, four citrus, mustard and fruit. That's right, fruit! Little bits of green grapes and grapefruit, accompanied the perfectly cooked salmon.

Howard had the largest ravioli I've ever seen. Pulled beef ravioli with Malay black pepper emulsion, garlic mushroom, and confit tomato. This dish won raves all around the table, from those who had ordered it and from those of us who were lucky enough to try a bite or two. It was so good that our friends joked about ordering another one.

Finally, they also switched it up by not having you pick one of the three dessert items on the Summerlicious menu. You get all three! From left to right: strawberry, rhubarb, and lemongrass compote with a Grand Marnier crème fraiche and a butterfly pastry; passion fruit and mango panna cotta topped with coconut tapioca, pineapple, and passion fruit granitée; and profiterole with vanilla custard served with hot chocolate sauce and sesame brittle.

The all-round favourites of the trio was the mango panna cotta and the profiterole! Please Sur (see what I did there?), can I have some more?

The next time you're walking down Dundas Street West and you see that arrow? Go in.

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!

Two Sides and a Dessert

Howard and I tried some more recipes from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes, which we're happy to see is a cookbook finalist under the recently announced IACP Awards in Chefs and Restaurants.

In the photo above is the buttered asparagus with lemon and Parmesan. So simple and tasty!

Buttered Asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan
Recipe from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes
(Serves 4)

Kosher salt
16 spears of asparagus, trimmed and peeled
1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
2. Add the asparagus and cook until bright green, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Drain will and transfer to a serving plate.
4. Rub butter all over the asparagus until melted.
5. Using a Microplane, grate cheese to cover the asparagus.
6. Using the same grater, zest a quarter of the lemon over the cheese.
7. Grind black pepper over the zest and serve immediately.

Honestly, butter and asparagus would taste great together, but the layer of cheese and lemon zest helped clear this dish a lot faster.

Herbed Baby Potatoes
Recipe from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes
(Serves 4)

1 pound of baby potatoes (about 16)
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 large garlic clove
Kosher salt

1. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add water to cover.
2. Add the thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook until a knife easily slices the potatoes. About 15 minutes.
4. Drain the water and discard the herbs and garlic.
5. Cut the potatoes in half to serve.

The aromas of the herbs were really infused into the potatoes, these make another great side. And your kitchen will smell great too!

For dessert, we'll have to give you full disclosure. We partnered with Liberté to try their line of Greek yogurts. So we picked up a vanilla flavoured one to make panna cotta - for the first time! Luckily, we found a recipe online from a fellow Torontonian blogger!

Yogurt Panna Cotta
Recipe from Cooking Closet
(Serves 4-6)

1 envelope of unflavoured gelatin (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons of water
1 cup of heavy cream
1/3 cup of sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 (500 gram) container of Greek yogurt

1. In a bowl, let the gelatin and water sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. 
3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, let the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla seeds, and the split vanilla bean simmer.
4. When the sugar has melted, remove it from the heat and take out the vanilla bean. Mix in the gelatin.
5. Whisk in the Greek yogurt until smooth and then pour it into glass cups or ramekins.
6. Let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.