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| - As an avid top chef fan, I'm on a quest to try out all the restaurants owned by the contestant. First on my list is Grace Restaurant, because the executive chef here is one of my favourite contestants (go Dustin!)
First of all, I love the simple and rustically charming décor. The use of pale, muted tones help to create a very relaxing dining atmosphere.
The menu here is described as "contemporary farmhouse cuisine". After a lengthy debate, I decided on the pork chop with braised dandelion, creamed corn, corn bread and homemade BBQ sauce, mainly because all the sides sounded so comforting and delicious. And delicious they were! I also greatly enjoyed the bacon wrapped carrots that sat atop the pork chop. However, what didn't impress me was the protein itself. Although the BBQ sauce was quite nice, I couldn't get past the tough and dry meat.
My companion ordered the veal tourtière with rhubard raisin relish. It reminded me of a shepherd's pie, which can never be a bad thing. The rhubard raisin relish was very tasty when paired with the pie. I wished that we were given more relish! On a side note, I loved the rustic presentation on the wooden chopping board.
As usual, I couldn't resist ordering dessert. It was a difficult decision, but in the end, I opted for the chocolate hazelnut tart with salted caramel ice cream. The tart reminded me of a mashed up Ferrero Rocher. It was very rich, but luckily I was sharing the dessert so it wasn't too overwhelming.
All in all, I enjoyed my meal at Grace, but regretted my entrée choice.
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