Frank's Kitchen, Toronto

Chef Frank Parhizgar is very proud that all of his food is from select regional farmers and that everything served is absolutely prepared from scratch, each day. Justifiably so, from my perspective.

After being seated, we were presented with a variety of very tasty, warm, house made breads, a wonderful experience if you love bread, all accompanied by an olive tapenade and an intensely flavoured tomato puree all in a bit of olive oil.

A plate of amuses followed, spicy tuna belly taco, warm creamy cauliflower veloute and crisp fried goat cheese croquette with chopped tomato and cucumber salsa.

Another amuse followed of silky textured raw lamb charcuterie, presented with sliced pickled beets, pickled lotus root, extra large green olives as well as small Nicoise black olives. 

Next, a picture perfect, classically done oyster's Rockefeller with a nicely lemony hollandaise sauce and wilted spinach.

We then ordered fois gras torchon over a diced green bean salad all topped with a frisee endive “salad” accompanied by seared quail leg and seared fois gras on Jerusalem artichoke puree. The textures and flavours of the frisee endive and the crunchy chopped bean salad went very well with the richly flavoured and smoothly textured torchon.

A brightly intense calamanci lime sorbet topped with a piece of basil arrived and worked so well to refresh our palates.

Lamb rack, loin and shoulder arrived with a ratatouiile of julienned veg and also some micro veg all surrounded with a cabernet flavoured jus. The lamb was perfectly done rare as ordered and a very nice contrast with the texture and taste of the lovely slow cooked shoulder.

Apple strudel with a very good mincemeat like tasting filling was accompanied by a cinnamon flavoured scoop of creamy ice cream.  

Plum tart tatin arrived fabulously caramelized with a richly flavoured, very creamy vanilla ice cream scoop.

The only disappointment of the evening, a chocolate volcano cake flavoured with cherries, tasted of powdered chocolate.

When the bill came we were presented with small cubes of intensely rich dark chocolate truffles. And by the way, Frank’s Kitchen has a brief but well selected, very reasonably priced wine list, such a rarity in the city.

FRANK'S KITCHEN
588 College St., (at Clinton)
Toronto
416-516-5861