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| - When a chef carries with him the heavy weight of fame and 3 Michelin stars, expectations run extremely high. A new restaurant carrying his good name faces the enormous challenge of living up to the brand. Partnering with a high end hotel like the Four Seasons can compound the challenges to deliver quality and service on a massive scale. On this front, Cafe Boulud does its very best to uphold the high standards we come to expect of Boulud's food and of the Four Seasons service.
The restaurant is situated on the second floor atop the trendy d-bar lounge and is decorated with a fun eclectic collection of pop art. The room is lively, casual and free of stiff pretension. Service was impeccable, from the welcome, to the waiter, the knowledgeable sommelier, even the bus boy and servers were knowledgeable enough to answer a mildly inquisitive question about one of the dishes (much to my delight and surprise). I was very late arriving for the reservation and my friend remarked that the staff were exemplary at dissipating his annoyance. Lucky for me, said friend and I go so far back as to allow me the latitude for him to dismiss my tardiness and chalk it up to stupidity on my part. :-)
On to the food, Boulud's menu is divided into 4 sections traditional French fare, seasonal, vegetable and world (where the chef experiments more with world flavours and spices). We over ordered many dishes and shared everything so we were able to sample a vast array from the enticing menu.
Black Truffle risotto
Roasted Beet Salad
monforte feta, mâche, pingue speck ham, blood orange
Crispy Duck Egg
fricassée of wild mushrooms
duck confit, salsify and celery root
Vadouvan Spiced Quail
avocado chutney, breakfast radish
confit turnip
Nine Herb Agnolotti
tomato marmalade, baby artichokes
parmesan cheese and niçoise olives
Ontario Venison
beer-braised cabbage, cassis poached cranberries
red fife späetzle, spiced jus
Dessert:
Grapefruit Givré
sesame halva, rose loukoum
grapefruit sorbet
Each dish was gorgeously presented and all were as tasty as it was beautiful. Out of this world good were the Crispy duck egg and the Nine herb Agnolotti. I salivate as I write this recalling how we sopped up all that yolky jus with the bits of bread leaving nothing but the gleam on the white plate.
The remarkable grapefruit dessert with the hairy tufts of Turkish delight served exactly as the palate cleanser I needed at the end of such a sumptuous meal.
Cafe Boulud is exactly the type of restaurant that will do well in our fair city. Fine dining as entertainment is done exactly right at this place. Give us interesting and superbly presented food, a casual and not too stuffy atmosphere, exemplary service and send us happy diners home with a electrified taste buds, warmly filled tummy and a big helluva smile on our face.
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