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| - Splendido for me was always the holy grail of restaurants in Toronto. Its' former self was big, glitzy and classy. Tasting menus consisting of 7 courses. Valet service for Porsche's and Maserati's outside on Harbord Street. Friends spread word that they employed an armada of servers to cater to your every whim. So ever since I outgrew my Casey's/Milestone's suburban novice dining phase, Splendido was always on the list for places to try yet I could never find an occasion big enough to merit a visit.
That is until last week when my special yelper friend Christine C decided to mark my last hurrah fancy pants meal in Toronto at the Harbord Street institution. We had singled it out from our shortlist of Sushi Kaji and Scarmouche but eventually settled upon Splendido. Alliterations anyone? And I'm happy to report it didn't disappoint, my maiden visit only served to ignite the sparks of a love affair with this elegant establishment.
I got off to rough start waiting for Christine at the bar for there were two obnoxious frat boy types whooping it up for no particular reason. Note to them: loudness or name dropping does not equate with class or status, got that! Now where were we? Once seated however, we served notice to our waiter (a charming, knowledgeable fella) that Splendido was the winnah of our dining research and that we had come to be wooed and dined over!
And so the party got its footing finally. Our first courses consisted of the foie gras parfait and the ginormous charcuterie board. The charcuterie board was one for the ages, at least 6 selections of cured prepared goodness. You had liver pate, bold venison tartar, whipped lardo, guianciale, crispy pigs ear, mustards, stewed fruit all placed strategically on a round wooden slab-not unlike the colours of a painter's palette! The foie gras parfait was silky and light and it came with toasted brioche and cherry preserves. Very nice way to enjoy this delicacy.
Moving on, we took a breather from our heavy starters to bask in the warm glow of the spacious, airy room taking a view of the drop lighting and the jars of preserved fruits and vegetables at the back. Is it me or has every local food establishment in Toronto employed this "local house made" decorating tip? Jars of canned goods are ubiquitous! I'm just sayin'. We sipped our glasses of our Tawse wines (part of their special wine flight program) and were told by our waiter to hold back on our chardonnay for the next course. The suckling pig and the lobster...errr okay! Only the next course was a surprise gift from chef Victor Barry in honour of the occasion: fresh ribbons of pasta with cream and topped with generous shavings of fragrant black truffles!! Sweet mother of Harbord! They had me at the truffles. Chef Barry wandered over during one his tours of the dining room and we were able to share a "fist-bump" with him as a show of our appreciation.
Mains were expertly prepared and equally tasty as the preceding courses. Christine chose the poached butter lobster served with chanterelle risotto and snow pea shoots while I enjoyed the sucking pig served with boudin noir. The suckling piggy is tender and comforting replete with a few bits of cracklings for textural contrast. I'm not crazy about blood sausage but Splendido's version was soft, palatable with hints of spice. Christine's dish was absolutely heavenly: buttery sweet chunks of lobster matched with perfectly cooked risotto.
Our tummies heaving with happiness, we took another brief break after our mains to chat with Carlo Catallo the sommelier and co-owner of Splendido. We kibitzed over the recent relaunch of Splendido, regional wine differences and the New York/Toronto dining scene. Like the rest of the staff at Splendido, he's engaging, warm, professional and thoroughly passionate about ensuring a great dining experience. To send us off, he personally delivered two glasses of Ontario late harvest Riesling as a memento of Ontario food and wine. Sweet!
We finish with a deconstructed lemon meringue pie: a pool of tart lemon custard with swirls of sweet meringue on top and a pastry disc on the bottom. Sweet but not cloying.
Meals at places like Splendido can seem excessive given the current economic climate but if you have to something to celebrate or bookmark they're very well worth it. It's exciting to walk into an establishment like Splendido and be transported into a place where food matters. All the more so when it's presented and prepared with such joy and expertise.
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