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| - Although I did not live through Prohibition, which referred to the ban on alcohol and a period where bootlegging thrived, there's something naughty in the name that drew me to make reservations at Prohibition Gastrohouse.
Once inside, you will be greeted by overall dim lighting, booth seats that remind you of the rooms that men used to retire to to have a cigar and brandy, and accents of neon signs. The most interesting piece of decor for me was the rotating liquor rack. Talk about irony. Another interesting fixture was the beer fridge which quoted George Jean Nathan (a drama critic and editor) which read "I drink to make other people interesting." The restaurant was definitely visually appealing and had a lot of character.
For appetizers we tried the Pâté Brûlée and Mini Haute Poutine. It was interesting both from a textural and taste perspective. Offals are usually an acquired taste for most, but the otherwise "gamey" taste was offset by the caramelized sugar which had a slightly "burnt" taste to it. I usually indulge in liver of the duck variety, and was surprised that the chicken liver actually had a more pronounced taste to it. Texturally you had the creaminess of the liver coupled with the crunchy crostinis and sweet berry jam. My only regret was that there wasn't more crostini for the excess liver left over.
If there's one thing you should know about the food prepared at Prohibition - there is a lot of duck fat swimming around in the kitchen. I am all for using natural fats to flavour your food. While on paper this sounded wonderful, the presentation was not. The colour of the gravy was this light brown-ish colour that looked utterly unappetizing. The duck confit was soft but lacking in any real flavour and the fries were pretty soggy. Again, I applaud the specialty ingredients that Prohibition used, but it just didn't look or taste great.
Our water glasses were topped up whenever they were nearing empty. Our server checked up on us from time to time to make sure everything was fine. I was impressed with our server. The kitchen staff however - not so much. I say this because from the time our appetizers were taken away to the time our mains showed up at our table, about 30 minutes had elapsed. Our server was kind enough to let us known about 20 minutes in that the food wouldn't be much longer. They were over capacity with 2 large b-day crowds, the Winterlish crowd, and the local crowd.
By the time our mains (Lamb Shank and Mac et Fromage) came out, we were hungry. To add insult to injury, the Lamb Shank was cold. While it was quite tender, the absence of a reduction or jus made an otherwise promising dish from reaching its potential. The scalloped potatoes were bland and not crispy. Nothing compared to Julia Child's Potato Dauphinois! It also came with a side of green beans. The portion size was quite sufficient.
My Mac et Fromage came in a modest portion. I've heard people claim Prohibition serves the best mac and cheese. I beg to differ. And I nominate Trevor Kitchen & Bar for having a better mac and cheese. The promise of Vesuvio pasta was substituted by a common penne. The sharpness from the 2 kinds of aged cheese (Cheddar and Gruyère) all but drowned out our dearest Elizabeth (Bleu). If there was any truffle oil it turned out as just oily sans the truffle and the brioche crust that was supposed to provide the crunchy top was also MIA. If this spells the best mac and cheese in Toronto - kudos to you! I will add however that their mac was buttery and creamy, and I quite enjoyed the grainy texture of the cheese sauce.
For dessert we opted for the Eton Mess and the Triple Layer Brownie Cake. The Eton Mess was something I had never experienced before; hailing all the way from England; it is made with meringue and strawberries and topped with whipped cream. Great textures from the crunchy meringue which contrasted the smooth whipping cream. Ixnay on the un-fresh strawberries (which also made an appearance as an accompaniment to my Triple Layer Brownie Cake).
The Triple Layer Brownie caked looked like a store-bought cake. The Balkan Yogurt & Whipped Cream Frosting was definitely a "sour" note in the dessert and was most wrongfully matched with the brownie cake. I just don't understand why one would decide to put a dollop of tart frosting that does nothing to enhance the taste of the cake. This is one of the many times I actually didn't finish my dessert.
At the end of the night, our server came with a bill that already included gratuity. I looked around me to see if I had any invisible friends from my childhood sitting next to me to form a party of 6 which would warrant a tacked on gratuity. Alas, it was just me and my dining companion who were taxed with an 18% gratuity. I guess we should be counting our blessings that Prohibition didn't catch on to the article from the Toronto Star boasting that 20 is the new 15.
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