Truffle Mutt

A Carnaval of Calories

Once again my blog has been sadly undernourished, deprived of the nutrient rich words that are foundation of it's existence.  And once again like a desert oasis this post emerges to give my weary readers a sign of hope. 

Alrighty then, enough of that.

So what, you ask, caused me to emerge from the cool shelter of my rock after all this time?  Well, you could say the planets were in alignment, or at least Mars was.  A deep fried Mars bar presented to me on a stick, piping hot and covered in batter, drizzled with chocolate sauce and floating in a halo of whipped cream.  It was heavenly, well really.

A couple of weekends ago I was at the Fringe Festival in Edmonton and it was two days of Olympic style eating and theatre.   I wasn't sure I could sample that much food, or see that many plays but with the help of my coaching team (my Mom and Aunt) I made it though.  I'd say it was Gold Metal worthy, but I might be biased.  We watched 11 plays over a day and a half and likely ate as many calories as there are seconds in my life to date, but it was a blast. 

Next year won't be such a marathon now that I know who sells the best onion cakes and what sauce goes best.

That's the Ticket

It all started with the ticket I got last weekend for driving an unregistered vehicle.  In Alberta this translates into a $230 ticket and a tow, although I did manage to avoid the later.  No, it wasn't intentional, I honestly had no idea that my registration had expired and I seem to have missed getting that all important reminder notice in the mail.  I know, I know it's my own responsibility to look after these things.  I've already had that lecture from Mr. Policeman. 

When I went to pay my ticket and renew my registration the other day I had a difficult time parting with that much coin for a stupid ticket.  To ease my suffering I decided I needed to go out for dinner, so I could try convincing myself that I'd spent hundreds of dollars on good food instead.  And so that's how I ended up on the doorstep of Divino's Wine & Cheese Bistro on Stephen Avenue with Lisa, who had kindly agreed to help me consume my sorrows. 

When we walked in the door we were greeted by the smell of the wood burning grill.  The sweet smokiness wrapped itself warmly around us and playfully teased our appetites.  The decor in the restaurant was trendy without being uncomfortable or pretentious and the few added touches, like the sea salt and pepper grinders at the table were perfect.  We were seated across from the open kitchen, so we could see the goings on, the different foods and interesting presentations.  Maybe not everyone's ideal spot, but we enjoyed it. 

The service was exceptional.  Our waiter was admirably patient with my questions and was free with his opinions and recommendations, which was helpful.  When we eventually made it through the decision making process, we ordered the Celeriac and Black Truffle Reversed Ravioli with butter poached lobster and seared sea scallop as a starter.  For dinner I ordered the Lamb Confit Melt with fig jam, braised leeks, and Cambozola and Lisa ordered the Bacon Roasted Chicken Breast Sandwich with aged cheddar, frisee, and heirloom tomato relish.

The Reversed Ravioli was a seared sea scallop and poached lobster served over a ravioli pasta lined with a thin, tender round of celeriac and drizzled with truffle infused oil.  The various elements blended well in this dish.  The scallop was perfectly done and while the lobster was slightly tough it was fresh and sweet tasting.  The celeriac was a pronounced flavor, but it was lost in the presentation as it was too similar in both color and texture to the pasta.  Still the appetizer was impressive and I would order it again despite the $19 price tag.

My lamb melt was served with a mixed spring greens salad with mustard vinaigrette.  The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the bold taste was the perfect match for the aggressive Cambozola.  The sandwich was messy with the sauce dripping everywhere, but in fairness, I was warned of that.  My only complaint would be that the fig jam and the braised leeks were too muted.  Still I'd recommend the sandwich to anyone who like lamb. 

Overall the experience was a great one.  We enjoyed the atmosphere, the service, the buzz of the kitchen and quite importantly, the food.  There were a number of things that looked interesting on the menu, and since I couldn't have them all I'm sure I'll be heading back. 

113 - 8th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
Reservations Phone: 403.410.5555
 
The picture is courtesy of the Divino website
  

Downtown Dining Week

Downtown Dining Week is running in Calgary from March 3-12 and it features numerous restaurants located in and around the downtown area.  All those participating have set menus for lunch and dinner for $15 and $25.  And to make it extra easy for all us epicures to shop around, the website lists the restaurants and their menus. What a fantastic idea to promote the downtown dining scene.  Let us eat!

Eager to get started, I hauled my faithful companion Lisa for dinner at Simone's Café on Thursday night.  The menu looked appealing, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was the sticky toffee pudding that sold me on the venue. 

The restaurant is located in a rather industrialized area just off the train tracks on 10th Avenue, between two empty parking lots.  This was a rather unexpected location, but once inside, its surroundings were completely forgotten.  The décor was upscale and trendy with various works on display from local artists. 

The Dining Week menu was comprised of an appetizer, a choice of three entrees, and of course the dessert.  We ordered drinks (which were Coke, not wine, sorry) and placed our orders for dinner.  We checked out some of the art and watched a couple of trains as they went by.  Let me tell you those trains are close, and there's no doubt that in the case of a derailment the entire building would be completely leveled.  Well, there's nothing like living on the edge.

The appetizer was a tomato, red onion and basil bruschetta served on a toasted bun. It was slightly heavy on garlic, but still fresh tasting.  The dish was well plated and overall it was enjoyable. 

For the main course I ordered the pork tenderloin in a port fig demi-glace and Lisa ordered the chicken and prawn in the creamy lime sauce.  Our orders arrived in a timely fashion and were well presented.  The pork was served cut into 4 portions, specifically 3 medallions and a 4th much larger cut with roasted potatoes and steamed vegetables.  The vegetables and potatoes were good but the pork was very poorly prepared.  The larger portion was very rare, while the medallions which were about ¼ the size, were completely dried out and tough.  The fig and port demi-glaze was a disappointment as well, and could better have been described as simple chopped figs. 

The dessert (to their credit) was a huge improvement.  The sticky toffee pudding was a gooey brown-sugar cake that resembled a cross between pound cake and fudge.  It was amazing.  Oh no, wait.  After a few bites, Lisa discovered that hers had pieces of parchment paper stuck to it in several places.  Come on guys!   

I'd have to say that my experience at Simone's Bistro was not a superb one.  The decor was commendable and one of the waiters (who unfortunately wasn't ours) was positively charming, but after checking out their regular menu there's no way the food is worthy of the price.  As well, our waiter was not overly friendly or organized.  He visited our table twice to refill coffee, but left our empty dessert plates at the table both times.  In the end it was the other waiter that ended up clearing our dishes. 

In my personal, and certainly unprofessional opinion if a restaurant is going to participate in this type of event they should be striving to entice their guests, and should be prepared to go the extra mile to sell themselves.  So given that expectation, I was especially unimpressed by their efforts. 

If only there wasn't that sublime sticky toffee pudding.

Pretty in Pink

I bought this colorful jar of banana goodness at the farmers market awhile back.  The funky pink color caught my eye while I was browsing through the shelves at Jams & Such.  I’d never heard of banana jam before and my adventurous side just couldn’t resist.  In truth, my experience with bananas might not be considered vast, but even so I would have to say that this is one of the world’s greatest banana concoctions.  The ingredients list pineapple and cherry, but these flavors are indistinguishable.  They probably just add to the jams sweetness.  It’s sweet, no it's really sweet.  I love it on a toasted and buttered bagel, but make sure to use salted butter to counter the sugar.  The banana flavor is deepened and doesn’t have the same fresh, bitter taste that the raw fruit does.  It’s almost like a caramelized onion to a raw onion, where the cooking draws the natural sweetness out.   

I haven’t tried the spread on anything but bagels because it’s so perfect.  When I’m confident enough to step outside the box I think I’ll add it to yogurt or mix it with cream and pour it over a hot waffle.  But before I do that I think I might need a new jar!

Reruns

Friday night was foggy and cold in Calgary.  I planned to go shopping at the Asian market on International Avenue, to collect some goodies for sweet and sour soup.  So a friend and I set off to seek out tiger lily buds and black fungus.  I found both and some bbq pork and sweet taro buns, which under no circumstances should ever be passed up.  Once we were done wandering the store, it was time to find a place to eat.  I had been on a food tour of International Avenue several months prior and had the opportunity to visit Mimo Portuguese Restaurant.  On the tour we sampled goodies from the Restaurant, but I had never been back for dinner.

To start with we ordered the grilled squid. Squid is commonly sold fried in restaurants here, so it was a different preparation then I’ve had before.  The squid was incredibly tender and was served in a spicy tomato sauce.  I loved the sauce and the bread that mopped it up, but I found the squid slightly fishy tasting. For dinner we ordered the Paella and pork and clam casserole to share. The Paella was enormous and came heaped with clams, mussels, crab, shrimp, squid, lobster and chicken.  Up to this point I'd never been a huge fan of Paella, but this version certainly changed my opinion.  The rice in a spicy, light tomato sauce was jammed with meat and seafood.  The pork and clam casserole was my absolute favorite though.  The pork was cooked in a rich, almost smoky, tomato sauce that had really distinct flavor.  Our waitress let us in on the method.  The clams or mussels are added to the pork and tomato sauce right at the end.  Once cooked the sauce is poured over a bed of fried potatoes. The potatoes swim around in the tomato sauce and soak up all the yumminess.  So good.

Say Cheese!

Every morning on my way to work the bus takes me past Janice Beaton’s Fine Cheese, a charming little shop located along 17th Avenue.  I’ve seen it a million times and I am constantly reminding myself that I need to go in sometime.  Well, sometime turned out to be the other weekend.  It was cold and blowing outside and my friend and I were trying to decide what to do with our Saturday.  It was the perfect time to put an end to my bus-window shopping.

What a great little shop! There was a huge selection of cheese, although after several apologies, we were informed that the supply was actually low!  At first we wandered through the store looking curiously at the various cheese related thingamajigs.  Then, when it was our turn to be helped, we were cheerfully invited to sample our way through the display case.  We tried soft cheeses from France right through to the other side where the British cheddar resided.  It was quite the workout for my taste buds and my brain learned some stuff too. I love cheese and I thought I’d sampled some good ones in the past, but these tinctures where a taste experience unlike any I’d had before.  And if the cheeses were amazing, the staff at the store was that much more.  Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, pointing out subtle differences in texture and flavor to our inexperienced palates.  It was much more than just buying cheese, it was like an all-enclusive cheese adventure. 

And if you're really a cheese buff, they have classes too!  For anyone that is a little uncomfortable about cheese and wine pairings, they offer services to help you find the perfect match for that bottle of wine that you have sitting at home. 

When we left I had a little bag bulging with cheese.  A slice of Amsterdam Reserve Gouda, with a rich, creamy texture and a delightful caramel aftertaste, accompanied by a sliver of Cave aged Gruyere with a sharp flavor with the odd crystal for a unique feel.  I know it's nice to share, but I think I'm going to keep these little treasures to myself.

Love at First Sight

I’d like to introduce you to The Professional Chef, 7th Edition, by the Culinary Institute of America.  Yes, the actual textbook used by CIA students.  Need I say more?  This little (actually rather large) gem is the most recent addition to my ever expanding cookbook collection.  I’ve been eyeing it for some time now, but just recently gave into temptation and bought it.       

I’m sure it’s probably mildly strange to get this excited over a textbook, but knowing that hasn’t dampened my spirits any.  This book is truly amazing and I would say a must have for all food enthusiasts.  It covers everything!  As it should I suppose, it is a textbook.  The techniques are demonstrated clearly with step-by-step instructions and it’s loaded with pictures.  I would recommend it to anyone.  At least to anyone that I think might care about the detailed effects of heat on starches, or that broccoli is part of the cabbage family.

The only potential downside to the book would be the size of the recipes.  They can be quite large.  So, you do need to be quite comfortable with downsizing measurements.  If not, the worst case scenario is you end up with 6.5 lbs of Italian buttercream.  Seriously, worse things could happen.