Revisiting Nota Bene, Toronto

I go to Nota Bene fairly regularly. It is not only very conveniently located to attend the ballet and opera at the Four Seasons Centre, but  also, the food and service are reliably very good. But, occasionaly, like this one, the food was just so-o-o-o satisfying!


I began with roasted marrow bone...I know I shouldn't, but sometimes, one is just in the mood to taste something well made that makes one feel so good and is so completely satisfying. I know, it is not for everyone. It came dressed with a parsley salad, radish peel, candied lemon peel and toasts made of the great house made bread (that I could just make a meal of, simply dipping it into the lovely, fragrant house olive oil).

My main was the hanger steak cooked rare, which I also adore, both for the taste and texture. I had to cut back somewhere, so this time, I did not indulge in one of my favourite sides here, the fried onions. The steak came with breaded and fried gerkins (the gerkins were tasty but the fried breading a bit too doughy and thick). It also came with baked beans. I preferred the version that they formerly served with chimichurri sauce, although the beans were good. NO dessert today!

Carisma Restaurant, Toronto

Carisma is the restaurant that Mike and Margie Pagliaro opened downtown after they sold their highly successful restaurant on Eglinton Avenue. They have fortunately kept some of their very good service staff and chefs. Here, you will experience a very traditional approach to Italian regional cuisine that employs the best ingredients prepared in a refined way. The pasta itself (without the sauce) is exceptionally good. I particularly liked the tagliolini which they will prepare for you in any way you choose, if the way you like is not on the menu.


Carpaccio, paper thin slices of marinated beef tenderloin accompanied by arugula, shaved parmesan, olive oil and lemon. A traditional and wonderful combination of flavours. I know it is typical to present the beef very thinly sliced. My textural preference is for the beef to be about 3 times thicker.

Tagliolini with duck confit (on the right), wild mushroom and white truffle oil. A very good dish made magic by the strong duck flavour and the pasta, which at Carisma, is perfectly cooked and has a delicate and wonderfully "springy" texture.

Papardelli with wild boar ragu (on the left). I loved the sauce so much I requested a bit of extra sauce, as you can see. Italians traditionally have much less sauce on their pasta. For them, it's not about the sauce, it's really about the pasta.

Warm apple crumble with spiced applejack sauce accompanied by honey and sour cream gelato. I couldn't get the photo before my dinner guest jumped in to taste. It smelled so good! The pastry was perfect, with a nice flakey texture, caramelized at the edges and a lovely rich flavour that was a perfect complement for the slightly tart apple.

Atlantic Restaurant, Toronto, One of the Best Meals I Have Enjoyed in the GTA

Atlantic is located on Dundas west, just west of Dufferin, a part of the city that is slowly gaining significant restaurant traction, with many of the chefs presenting some of the most interesting, unpretentious cuisine in the entire GTA. Some of the chefs are returning to their cultural roots, using local products when available, "foreign" product if it suits, in the most honest way possible, the flavour presentation of the main ingredient the driving vision. Other chefs are incorporating a wealth of experience with travel and reading. So much exhaustive information is readily available on line; so much real food science is now quite accessible.

Chef Nathan Isberg is in the vanguard of this evolution of creative thinking that fuses the science of cuisine with the ethnic cultural flavours available through experience all married with his refined personal taste. This is not haute cuisine, nor is it comfort food. But, his food is more than comfortable. It satisfies and also entertains your mind and palate. I have enjoyed this chefs cuisine before, but, never like this. He has clearly evolved. I like the way he thinks and visualizes his creations.

Sakura (cherry blossom), onsen (Japanese style slow cooked) egg and clams, all in a dashi broth made with fresh shaved bonito, blue-green algae and galbanum, a Persian sourced aromatic gum resin.

Squab sashimi, red fife wheat berries, sea greens, salt cod and ume-su (red plum vinegar).

“The rest of the squab”, crispy skinned, with hedgehog mushrooms combined with mushroom infused pasta filled with a bit of gruyere cheese all in a very reduced onion broth flavoured with fresh ginger and cedarwood.

Frogs legs seasoned with advieh, a Persian originated blend of spices, with regional differences, the chef’s version using cardamom, orris, white pepper,  adjvar, coriander, saffron, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, rose petals, rosewater, fennel, orange blossom water, cloves and turmeric. On the plate, the frogs legs were mixed in with roasted cauliflower flavoured with mustard seed and flaxseed oil. Roasted almonds and bitter apricot kernels were mixed in, adding a perfect complementary taste that worked so well with the spices and flavour of the frog meat.

Black cod, cavalo nero and “roots”. The salty crispy potatoes added a nice texture to the dish. The root vegetables cooked in hay, the cod was covered in the hay ashes.

Sliced, very rare duck breast cooked at 55c sous vide, the duck skin the lightly seared, grain risotto, kobacha (Japanese pumkin) and shredded cabbage all dressed with Japanese mustard.

A refreshing salad of seedlings and nori with olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

Crispin apple, cinnamon gnudi and rhubarb with a honey, lemon and a pinch of sancho in the dressing. A perfect ending, bright, tart flavoured rhubarb, pillow soft gnudi and the balancing flavours of the apple with the honey.

I found this meal a remarkable experience. Oh, and the best, the chef suggested that the best match for most of the dishes was his tea, but we did enjoy some bubbly he offered before beginning and a glass of red with two dishes.

Acadia Restaurant, Toronto

The dishes at Acadia are quite complex in presentation, flavour and texture and the chef contrives his innovative details in such a meticulous way. I did not find the detail superfluous. So, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.


Nova Scotia cod cheeks with blue corn meal, pickled prawn, sugarcane chow chow mirlitons and whipped buttermilk. An interesting presentation and combination of flavours and textures. However, I felt that although this was an intellectually interesting dish, the rather bland flavours did not perk up my taste experience.

Gumbo 50C: Shellfish, andouille tasso ham, black rice grits, smoked chili gumbo file. The flavours worked well, but, the portion was rather large. After a while, my palate became satiated and the flavours muted. I believe that this dish would have worked well in a smaller portion.

Ecolait veal cheeks with satsuma "Hoppin John", parsley root, chicory pebbles  and bitter cocoa. The presentation interesting, the veal cheeks were tender but the flavours were rather 2 dimensional. 

Collard greens with crisp pancetta and liquorice infused cream. What a great approach to flavouring collard greens. Such complementary, innovative flavours.

Northern bay scallops with red brassica, wild mustard, celeriac, pickled broccoli stems and dandelion. The scallops were very fresh and sweet tasting and the flavours complementary. Everyone at the table liked this dish.

Charleston rice middlins': gold jumbalaya with bight sized pieces of smoked sausage (no photo). Loved the flavours and textures of this dish.


Anson Mills grits with gulf prawn sausage, hedgehog mushrooms, pimento cheese and smoked ham consomme. For me, what made this dish a standout, the element that jumped up all of the flavours and brought them together, was the smoked ham consomme. The consomme and the grits is a southern equivalent of mashed potatoes and gravy and you've got to love that kind of comfort food when done this well.

Carrot and coconut with pecan streusal, coconut maple sugar and buttermilk snow. A kind of deconstructed version of a carrot cake that was a refreshing and very satisfying end to this creative cuisine opus. This is exiting cuisine and also a restaurant I want to revisit.

Swish by Han Restaurant, Toronto

Creative interpretations of Korean cuisine, all thankfully lacking the more intense heat found in conventional Korean cuisine. I can taste all of the flavours now.

Spicy pork buns. This was my favourite dish of the night, sliced, slow roasted pork with a sweet and 
sour sauce, roasted red peppers and mozzarella 
cheese.

"Jap chae": mung bean noodles with stir fried 
vegetables in a sesame oil/soy dressing.

Wild mushroom salad, a wonderful combination of 
flavours and textures.

"Bi bim bap" rolls. The taste was good but the 
texture wanting. I would have preferred the soft 
shells to be crispy.

Spicy pork neck tacos another terrific combination 
of flavours and textures with a nip.

Tempura prawns with tobiko, chives kelps salad. 
The coating was mushy and not crispy.

Sweet chili and garlic prawns. Good flavour but a 

tad overcooked.

Soo yook 48 hour braised beef shank. Another 
favourite dish.

Tempura onion rings. Good but not quite crispy 
enough.

All the dishes below are accompanied by a 
"saam set", rice, lettuce leaves and house made 
fermented kimchi for the wraps .

Grilled pork belly saam set. The pork was a bit too dry, only enlivened by the fat.

Bulgogi (rib eye) saam set, my favourite of the 3 
saam sets.

Galbi saam set (short rib), frankly the beef was 

over cooked and rather uninteresting. I would skip 
this dish.

"Milk+cake", carrot cake, graham cracker frosting, 

milk crumbs, liquid cheesecake. A very novel 
approach to a very interesting, good dessert.

F'Amelia Restaurant, Toronto.

This Cabbage Town resto, in a part of old Toronto, has a comfortable interior filled with young families and boomers enjoying the casual environment. I came for the pizza made in their wood burning oven.


I began with celeriac ravioli accompanied by pulled duck and root vegetable sofrito, seasoned with nutmeg butter sauce and accompanied by watercress. The fabulous flavours of this dish were accompanied by reasonably delicate pasta.

I ordered 2 pizzas, first to arrive, the "Norcina", topped with fior di latte cheese, mixed mushrooms, house made pork sausage, prociutto cotto, cream and nutmeg.  They make good pizza here and I liked the flavours, but this one was a bit on the bland side and could have used more sausage for both texture and flavour. I liked the crispy dough. It had a pleasant taste accented by the faint, smoky flavours of the oven.

The second pizza was topped with crushed San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte cheese, sliced eggplant, sliced zucchini, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, basil leaves and olive oil. Another good pizza with much bolder flavours than the Norcina.

I always enjoy tasting any "olive oil cake" offered at a restaurant. This dessert is a challenge for a kitchen in getting the texture and fruity olive flavours to come out just right. F'amelia offered a fig and olive oil cake with a caramel sauce. The concept sounded good. However, the raisin filled cake was unexpectedly rather dry. The cake had a very pleasant fruity aspect from the olive oil but that did not compensate for the unpleasant texture.

Stock Restaurant at The Trump International Hotel, Toronto

Stock is a very open restaurant, decorated in a very clean lined, contemporary theme. The staff are very accommodating and attentive. The extremely simple menu is very straight forward. Wines are offered by the glass, but, the per glass price is quite expensive as all of the available wines were $20.00 per glass! Nice breads were presented to begin, a sliced red fife baguette and sliced sourdough baguette. I preferred the red fife. The accompanying butter was nothing special.


Steak tartar was hand chopped "prime" beef (although the steaks offered, as advised by my waiter were only "USDA choice" (and there would be no real taste difference anyhow, between the 2 grades of beef, when chopped raw). The tartar, with accompanying toasts, was assembled with capers, finely diced shallots, chopped chives and mustard. A raw quail egg was mounted on the top. The beef had a very pleasant texture, very good flavour, with just a bit of a bight. This is good beef tartar.

Grilled NY style sirloin (I have mentioned that the menu was quite simple and straight forward) was "hand selected" USDA choice accompanied by a mild chimichurri sauce. I had requested my steak rare. It arrived medium rare. My rating for this steak, using my much referred to "beef boys" ranking was 7/5/7 (all out of 10: taste/texture/juiciness). Not a great steak experience.

I ordered a side of brussel sprouts. The veg was accompanied by chopped pork belly which lent a hint of smokiness to the flavours and roasted cippolini onions. I enjoyed the texture of the firm, properly cooked brussel sprouts and the sweet caramelized flavour of the onions with the pork belly.

Kitchen service was inconsistent. My first course arrived in a reasonable period of time; my second course took about half an hour (with the waiter intermittently promising that the course would arrive shortly, but, did not).


There is a very good cheese menu with a wide selection of choices. There is also an enticing dessert selection, with an emphasis on dark chocolate (my way to end a meal!!). But, I had allotted a limited time for dinner as I had an evening meeting, so I skipped dessert. 

Kenzo Ramen, Toronto

Kenzo Ramen is one of a several noodle restos in the greater Toronto area. I will be on a mission over the next little while, to see whose ramen experience is best. In North America, my "gold standard" is Ippudo, in New York.

Takoyaki, baked octopus balls. Ok, but not a home run. Soft, light, deep fried dough with a chunk of octopus in the middle, with an overly acidic sauce.

Tonkotsu ramen, hakata style pork bone soup with julienned green onion, baby bok choy, sliced beef, a hard par boiled egg. Finely diced garlic on the side. With the additional of bits of the freshly diced garlic that enliven the flavours, this is a good soup with very good broth and very good noodles.

Sapporo miso ramen with roasted veg, bean sprouts, baby bok choy, mushrooms, carrots and cabbage. A bland soup with good noodles.

Overall, a pleasant experience, but not enough to draw me back.

Friday Lunch from Queen Margherita Pizza and Bobbette & Belle

 It seems like it has been sandwiches, sandwiches, sandwiches lately.  Thus, Girl Courier is sent off to the far shores of the Don River in search of pizza.  Of course, we are not looking for just any old pizza.  It is a Queen Margherita pizza we want.

The Queen of all Margheritas

The bad news is that by the time said pizza travels from Queen Street East to Yonge and Yorkville via TTC in February, it is pretty much stone cold.  The good news is that this pizza is so good it doesn't really matter whether it is hot or cold.  Ours is one of the simplest of pizzas:  the margherita, topped with fior di latte, tomato sauce, and fresh basil leaves.  What is so remarkable here is that even in the dead of winter, the basil leaves and tomato sauce combine to give the sweet taste of summer.  While some people would complain that the crust is not thin enough or charred enough, we say phooey to you.The rim is wonderfully chewy with just a hint of crackly ash.  It serves up four generous slices.

Pistachio dreams and Salted Caramel Macarons

The best buttercream you will ever taste: Apple Walnut Cupcake

 With Valentine's Day very much on the mind, we also are thinking sweet thoughts.  It is the perfect excuse to make a pit stop at Bobbette & Belle.  GC returns with two macarons, a cupcake, and bread pudding.  Though attractively presented in a pretty paper wrapper, the muffin-sized portion of apple caramel croissant pudding is a disappointment except for the nicely cooked apple.  The body of the pudding is leaden where we want some custard.  On top, the caramel is slightly bitter, as though overcooked, rather than sweet. Despite a heavy hand with the cloves, the cupcake is much better.  Its major flavour is also apple, assisted by walnuts.  The cake itself is light but it really could be anything because the main attraction is the perfectly rich butter cream.  Whatever bowl this was mixed in, we want to lick  it.  Of the macarons, the salted caramel version is neither very salty or caramelly but we could certainly go for another two or three of the lovely green pistachio variation.

Bobbette and Belle desserts

Despite a slight dessert misstep, it was well worth a trip to Leslieville.

Price:  Margherita pizza  was $15.77 with tax
           Four desserts were $12.10 with tax

Location:  Queen Margherita Pizza  1402 Queen Street East
                   Bobbette & Belle             1121 Queen Street East

Phone:       Queen Margherita Pizza  (416)466-6555
                    Bobbette & Belle            (416)466-8800

Les Chevalier du Tastevin At Didier Restaurant, Toronto

Les Chevalier Du Tastevin, Toronto chapter chooses fine restaurants to enjoy the best cuisine with fine burgundy wines that come from the cellar of the group. This night, the event was at Didier.


Gateau de Sandre with zucchini. An exceptional pickerel gateau surrounded by a chive beurre blanc. This is a good as it gets, anywhere in France,  a French classic. The accompanying wines for this course: Meursault Charmes , 2000, Domaine Comtes Lafon. and Le Montrachet, Marquis de la Guiche, 2000, Maison Joseph Drouin.

Tartar de beouf fait main. A classic beef tartar, accompanied by pommes frites. The accompanying wines for this course: Vosne-Romanee Les Suchot, 1996, Domaine Prieure-roch and Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots, 1989, Maison Remoissonet.

Venison poelee, sauce poivrade, accompanied by compote de pommes fruit, pommes amandine, ginger crusted date and puree de celeriac, all sauced with an absolutely perfect sauce poivrade. Tender, juicy venison, perfectly cooked, with a remarkable paper thin, caramelized, crisp crust. The accompanying wine was Clos de la Roche, 1995, Domaine Faiveley.

Crottin de chavignol chaud au poire. The warm cheese melted in the mouth and was well matched to the slightly bitter frisee. The accompanying wine was Richbourg, 1990, Domaine Anne-Francoise Gros.

The perfect end to a classic French meal, a wonderful tarte tatin (no photo).