| rev:text
| - Summerlicious is always in and around my birthday and so naturally I end up at a lot of them for birthday dinners.
I don't know about everyone else but I had a lot of difficulty trying to secure reservations this year without eating like a senior (e.g. 5PM) or having to eat two dinners (because I don't think I would've been able to hold out until 9:30PM).
I almost couldn't get a reservation to Bloke & 4th, but through the power of Twitter managed to nab a reservation for our table of 10.
I don't usually go to restaurant-lounges (the kind that turns into a bar/club after 10PM) because the food is usually mediocre and you're usually paying for the ambiance and convenience of not having to go elsewhere to party afterwards. But after having learned that The Food Dudes were part owner at this trendy King West joint, all my doubts subsided.
The $35 dinner menu consisted of an amuse-bouche + 3 courses. While the amuse (a Strawberry gazpacho) was a refreshing way to start off our meal, it was their Focaccia bread that had us all cooing. It had a nice crust, but was pillow-soft on the inside and I suspect there was some cheese involved. While I almost always pass on the bread, there wasn't one slice left in this basket!
To start I opted for the Steak Tartare with paper-thin, house-cut chips, mustard aioli and fried capers for added crunch. The tartare was not too wet, not too pickled, and not too sweet - as Goldilocks would say - it was just right.
For my main, in true Flinstone size, a Braised Short Rib served over a bed of smoky cauliflower purée, grilled asparagus, King mushrooms and topped with carrot chips. This colossal rib had me howling Ya-Ba-Da-Ba-Doo as tender and juicy shreds of meat came off the fork. The King mushrooms were full of flavour and I loved the creamy cauliflower purée (bonus that it's way less calories than your usual mashed potato).
I had high hopes for the Key Lime Pie - essentially a white chocolate and Key Lime crème brûlée with ginger crumble on top. But it resembled a Key Lime Pie as much as I resemble Angelina Jolie - not even a hint of lime flavour.
Luckily, the real dessert came when my best friend Andie surprised me with my very own birthday cake. A Chocolate-Kahlua cake with Frangelico cream and a cherry minion on top! I loved it. Bloke & 4th was kind enough to divide up the cake for us; service throughout the night was attentive and our server was a lot of fun!
We ordered pitchers of Sangria ($36) to drink. As one of my friends put it "Enjoy your Sunny D!" But we did later discover that all the alcohol content went straight into the booze-soaked fruit.
All in all, I had a fabulous time at Bloke & 4th. Even my pickiest friends gave their stamp of approval for this Summerlicious pick! The ambiance is chic and there is plenty of street parking nearby (we parked right out front). But beware the parking enforcement Nazis who left me a huge birthday present (a parking ticket) for being 10 minutes late to renew my parking.
Summerlicious runs until this Friday, July 19th. Take advantage of special prix fixe menus and choose wisely - not all restaurants are created equal ;)
*Please note that this review is intended solely to gauge the restaurant during the Summerlicious period and may not reflect the restaurant's normal state of operations. This blog post is meant to document my dining experience and should not be viewed as a restaurant review*
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