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| - Categorically disappointed.
For a restaurant whose owner's name - Claudio Aprile - is supposedly synonymous with high quality, Origin North really let me down like the Toronto Maple Leafs.
High credit goes to the decor and ambience of the restaurant, but that's where credit due stops. For good reason too - allow me to explain.
I came to Origin North on one windy, cold Valentine's Day evening. My partner and I are big fans of the show MasterChef Canada, where the owner and creator of Origin North is a celebrated judge.
Well, between dishing out harsh criticism and as well as encouraging home cooks, Claudio perhaps should revisit this restaurant and be judged for what was a disappointing meal for myself and my date.
For the evening, we settled on the risotto with mushrooms,reggiano and truffle, and their combo number 1, also known as the Origin burger, with a side of their Spanish fries (chorizo and manchego, which is like a spicy mayo) and a float drink that I substituted for an iced tea instead. I was given the option to order the burger medium rare, an option which I gladly took.
My order of draft beer and my partner's iced tea took far too long to arrive, given the restaurant was not at full capacity as well it being a past 9pm dinner, ordered drinks should have arrived far faster than 10 minutes I feel.
We were also told that their 12oz steaks for the night was sold out. It being a long weekend (Family Day), and a marquee evening (Valentine's Day), I found this most surprising. Surely there must have been a mix up by the supplier because how can you be out of steaks on a weekend, much less on a Saturday like today?
During our interim chatter while waiting for our food, the exposed kitchen and its Expediter had what could be called a slight meltdown. One of the cooks had made a mistake in not properly seasoning a salad or something rather, and the Expediter who was very vocal, called him out on it. Perhaps far too vocal because I witnessed half the restaurant stopped mid conversation to glance over at what was unfolding before their eyes. Their faces said it all, they were exasperated and felt terrible for the cook that was being chewed out.
Minutes later after the spectacle in the kitchen, our food arrived.
While elegantly prepared, the taste of the food did not match the level of presentation.
My burger was very dry, and far from medium rare border lining on hard like cardboard. Furthermore, it was under seasoned, where's the salt, or flavor? Buns were overly toasted, there were burnt marks all along the edges, obvious grill marks that the toaster was set far too high. The Spanish fries were under cooked. Fries were not crispy at all and had a very starchy taste the more you ate it.
The risotto did not fare any better. The rice was chewy and also under cooked, mushrooms were perfect though however. It too could have used additional seasoning, as it was on the edge of being very bland. Overall, a dry dish that could have used more sauce, as well as being cooked a little longer. Risotto should not taste like sticky rice, chewy and hard. We did not finish both meals.
During the whole time, not once did our waitress check up on us to see if we were doing OK. A rule of thumb at most restaurants I've been to is that you want to check in with your diners about 5 minutes after they have received their food.
I wanted to bring to their attention the dry tasteless risotto and overcooked burger, but alas, she did not come by at all except to refill the water near the end, but by then it was far too late. Overall service was satisfactory.
For the price point and the celebrity name attached, we expected far better. For about roughly the same price point, one can venture into a Moxies', Joeys or Earls' for a better culinary experience.
The misses at Origin North far outweighed the hits. Claudio Aprile perhaps needs to focus less on MasterChef and give more attention to Origin North. If the cook that made our entrees tonight was on the show, they would no doubt be sent home.
Too bad. I wanted to like Origin North.
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