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| - I went to this restaurant on the corner of Bay and Queen to check out the Winterlicious 2014 menu. First off, it has a great relaxed atmosphere with an inviting (if sometimes way too loud) feel and comfortable seating and decor.
My guest and I decided to order different dishes for each course eat half and switch (the best way to do things!) For the first course we had a kale Caesar salad with shrimp and croutons, and a black barley and piccalilli salad. The Caesar was good and pretty standard (if a little over seasoned) except for the addition of the shrimp. This was an interesting change. The barley salad also suffered a little from intense seasoning with a 'dukkah spice' covering a layer of broccoli and cauliflower being a little too overpowering. The barley itself was light and paired well with a layer of sugar beet hummus on the bottom.
For the second course we had both a gnocchi 'fauxlognese' and a pressed pork shoulder on a bed of simmered cabbage. The fauxlognese referred to a fake bolognese sauce that used mushrooms to replace the meat. It was inventive and tasty. The mushrooms gave this sauce a taste similar, but unlike a meat sauce and it was delicious when paired with whole mushrooms in the dish, soft delicious gnocchi (with Gouda!), and spinach. However, the pork shoulder was almost a complete letdown for me. The pork shoulder itself was fine and was nice and soft for such a tough cut, but the sour and unappetizing cabbage and tomato base left me pretty uninspired. I ate some pork and after a few bites gave up on the cabbage and sort of just pushed it around on the plate.
Finally, for dessert we tried a sticky bannoffee cake and the cheesy chocolate cannoli. Unlike the previous two courses there was no disappointment here. The sticky cake was a banana bread spiced muffin covered with caramel and crème fraîche. This combination was rich, warm and homey with the crème fraîche giving it a little bite. The cannolis were also great. The chocolate filling was a little heavier that I'm used to in a cannoli, but it was tasty and rich. It was covered in a layer of chocolate sauce and peanut brittle that put this thing over the top. Intense rich stuff.
There were some pretty strong flavours through the evening, not all of them pleasant or enjoyable, but some of them great. I think I might possibly be being a little hard on this restaurant because of my high expectations going in, but I'm going to be a little hard and go with a 3 rather than a 4. I'll definitely be giving this one a second chance during non-Winterlicious season however.
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