Soft Shell Crab at Nota Bene, Toronto

Seasonal soft shelled crab is such a joy to eat and only available for a few short weeks. I like chef David Lee's crispy fried version with a spicy "slaw" redolent with coriander.

Rhubarb ice cream with rhubarb, a great way to finish.

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!

An Extraordinary Game Dinner, With Truffle Accents and Extraordinary Wines at Nota Bene Restaurant, Toronto

Chef David Lee created an exceptionally rendered game dinner, hosted by a good friend. David is a Canadian gem and although Nota Bene is a favourite resto of mine, David's remarkably creative, high level skills that are so sensitive to the ingredients he works with, were particularly visible at former his haute cuisine resto, Splendido. Nota Bene has wonderful comfort food, but, one must ask David to create a special occasion meal to truly experience David's highest levels of culinary attainment. For this dinner, for the most part, Chef Lee worked with Alba white truffles and Alba, Molise and Burgundy (which have much less flavour and aroma) blacks.


Our first wine, gewurtztraminer "Hugel", Homage a Jean Hugel, !998, accompanied the next 3 dishes.


Church Hill Farms blue shelled, creamy and perfectly "loose" scrambled eggs with highly perfumed shaved white Alba truffles.

The chilled reduction gelee of poached wild Alaskan salmon with shaved white Alba truffles. What an extraordinary taste sensation. A subtle and sublime marriage of flavours made in heaven!!

Poached wild Alaskan salmon with a matsutake mushroom broth, roasted cilantro root on the side. Another wow of subtle flavours.

Domaine Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux, 1988, accompanied the next 2 dishes.


Wild game terrine, foie gras, tendon and black Alba truffles were accompanied by toasted brioche and game gelee. For the game in the terrine, teal and mallard duck, pheasant and King City buck were used. Another remarkable experience in complex flavours and textures.

Mallard duck breast and pine mushroom salad with shaved Burgundy black truffles. 

Leroy Grands Echezeaux, 1959, accompanied the next 2 dishes.


Tagliolini pasta dressed with a touch of butter and parmesan cheese with shaved white Alba truffles. This pasta dish was as good as the best anywhere in Italy!

Butter poached wild turkey breast, brought to the table before slicing and prep.

The sliced butter poached wild turkey with shaved Molise white truffles (good, but not anywhere as intense in flavour or fragrance as the Alba whites). This combination of the beautifully tender turkey, the sauce and truffles was another heavenly match.

Marcel Guigal Cote Roti La Turque, !990, accompanied the next dish.


Game tortiere made with ground venison, moose and duck was accompanied by a pressure cooked, molasses lacquered duck leg and beans. A wonderful savoury experience.

Chateau de Beaucastel, 1989, accompanied the next dish.


Game consomme with stuffed game, salt pork and cabbage roll.

The sliced black Alba truffles are added to the above dish. Amazing flavours highlighted by  truffles!!

Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1986 went with the next dish.


Roasted elk and goose breast (the slice on the right) with potato pancake ("latke"), apple puree and clove dust. This part of the goose breast was remarkably tender. The clove dust was the counter punch in flavour.

Chateau Petrus, 1988, accompanied the following dish.

Roasted King City buck loin accompanied by Vickie's turnips, a roasted pearl onion and creamy mashed potatoes.

Chateau Coutet Barsac 1986, arrived with the next dish.


Apple galette with wild blueberries and vanilla ice cream.

Gold Medal Plates 2011

Gold medal plates is the big fundraiser held across Canada to raise funds for the olympic athletes. This year, Langdon Hall chef Jonathan Gushue was the winner.

Jason Bangerter, Luma

Confit of chicken liver terrine with liver parfait, shallots and port wine.

 Rob Gentile, Buca

Tortelli d'oca: goose offal and delicate porcini filled pasta with cured goose breast, hazelnut, crisp rosemary leaves and 13th Street merlot vincotto. A liquid butter/egg yolk and merlot reduction surrounded the pasta on which were scattered chopped nuts.

Jonathan Gushue, Langdon Hall (Winner)

Garden brussel sprouts, white salsify, black salsify chips, preserved oysters, duck's egg and smoked trout caviar. This was a remarkably satisfying dish: the brussel sprout leaves still had texture and a slight firmness to the bight; the salsify added and earthy taste; the oyster had a soft texture that matched the firmer texture of the other elements and the briny flavour enhanced the flavours of the sprouts and salsify.

Tom Brodi, Toca

Palacsinta wrapped veal cheek, braised cabbage and pickled Cinnamon Cape mushrooms.

Tony De Luca, De Luca's Wine Country Restaurant

Ice wine roasted Ontario venison tenderloin with chestnut tuile, blue cheese mousseline and celery root puree with vanilla.

 Ted Corrado, C5 Restaurant

Beef short rib, parsley root puree, toasted barley and roasted grape jus. This was a hearty satisfying dish.

Lorenzo Losetto, George

Veal blade, harvest vegetables, chestnut potato.

David Lee, Nota Bene

Roasted squab, David's tortiere ( pastry was filled with a mixture of ground moose, duck and black pig), black pudding sauce. The squab was perfectly cooked and the tortiere gamey and delicious.

Patrick McMurray, Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill and Ceili Cottage Restaurants

Organic chicken liver pate served with a fabulous organic cherry compote that had a bright tangy taste that went so well with the rich tasting chicken liver.

Weathervane scallops which had a wonderful sweetness which combined well with the rich taste of the roe.

Patrick McMurray presents his wonderfully fresh tasting sea urchins.

Peet smoked steel head trout and peet smoked salmon.

Cured steel head trout.

Jason Carter, Centro 

Bison cooked sous vide with fried moss and salsify. The cooking rendered this bison incredibly tender and juicy.

Michael Steh, Red's Bistro and Wine Bar

A play on "bacon and eggs"...... there was no bacon: scallop mousse in a piece of brioche topped with a duck's egg yolk and coffee cured, smoked (with Henry of Pellham oak), chewy duck breast; sided with sweet onion and cheddar soup topped with a thin slice of smoked crispy apple; accompanied by an egg shell filled with lavender and soy custard, diced northern kiwi, crunchy coconut "bacon" and riesling gelee. This was a complex and interesting dish, but the standout was the fabulous brioche "sandwich".

The brigade of the chefs enters the main hall, holding the bottle of wine that was served to match their dish.

New at Nota Bene Restaurant

Highly capable and creative, chef David Lee loves to work with new ideas for Nota Bene restaurant. This night, he surprised me with a "tongue and tail" terrine en gelee mounted on arugula leaves and on a fried potato "latke" (pancake). OMG I was in food heaven with this dish. The terrine was accompanied by cornichons, a single radish, and pickled beet and onion. The texture and flavours were wonderful. 

Cross section of the terrine.

Then, Chef Lee presented the dish in a new way, wrapping the terrine with lardo and shredded potato, dusting the patty with flour and frying the result. The patty was presented with sauteed pine mushrooms. Another major flavour WOW!! I cut a piece and popped it into my mouth....the terrine elements had melted, creating a wonderful juicy interior with the tongue and tail elements for texture and flavour. And with the earthy flavours of the mushrooms, another heavenly experience!

Porchetta Tuesdays at Nota Bene

Sometimes, I can't wait for Porchetta Tuesdays at Nota Bene.

I began with a very good steak tartar, certainly one of the best in the city. This version was a refreshingly good novelty, with burrata cheese in the middle, especially with a squirt of fresh lemon. As many know, my palate is not a lover of cheese with meat (exception, aged parmesan with carpaccio). This combination was a very good surprise and it was topped with some good shaved parmigiano.

And now for the piece de resistance, chef David Lee's wonderful version of porchetta topped with morels, "popped" crackling and sided with rapini.

And, of course, this is one of my favourite restaurants to enjoy deep fried onions. They are fabulous while hot. Eat them within 5 to 10 minutes and have the cooled remainder removed from the table. 

Loving Lunch At Nota Bene Resto, Toronto

I look forward to hearty lunches at Nota Bene. Wednesday has wonderful smoked meat (I skip the cheese!!). This time, a Thursday, I enjoyed lunch with a friend. So, we got to split the the fabulous, full of flavour, wagyu beef burger (beef from Cumbrae's), cooked medium rare, accompanied by terrific french fries, and the pulled pork sandwich. Both were knock your socks off good!

Below, the juicy pulled pork sandwich accompanied by tangy house made cole slaw and french fries. This perfect bun does not fall apart.

Below, the Cumbrae Farms Wagyu beef Burger (with "yellow mustard"...natch....not dijon!) topped with sauteed onions on a toasted bun.

Photos From Noma, the #1 Restaurant In The World, Copenhagen, Denmark

I wrote the highlights of the dinner I enjoyed at Noma Restaurant, that appeared very recently in the National post. Please click on this link to read the article: http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/05/01/no-place-like-noma/

For a food lover, you have reached the top of the mountain when the chef of the number one restaurant in the world walks out the front door of his establishment, at prime dinner time, to personally greet you with a generous hug and hello. Chef Rene Redzepi and I recently bonded in Toronto during a speaking engagement and dinner organized by his publishers and The Cookbook Store.

Left to right, Lynda and Steven Latner, Noma Chef/owner Rene Redzepi, Dr. Josh Josephson, Chef David Lee


The experience of eating at Noma was quite profound. It was one of the best meal experiences of my life. It took me in a new direction of thinking about food elements and how one might experience cuisine.


Below, you will see the photos of all of the dishes that we enjoyed at Noma Restaurant. The name of each dish and a description is provided. Unfortunately, the photos can't really reproduce the experience that made me feel like the chef and his apprentice and sous chefs were leading me on a nature trip, introducing me to foods and flavours found in the environment.

Malt flat bread.  Flat bread flavoured with pine and juniper was presented as budding twigs mixed amongst living wild herbs, budding wild flowers and blooming branches all beautifully arranged in an alabaster coloured vase.

Moss and cep. Fried, crispy silver moss from Finland presented with cep mushrooms, on a living, green moss base on which there was also a twig, covered in bits of green moss. A small, contained ecosystem.

Mussels on the half shell, presented on a half “shell”, a thin, cookie crisp that was coloured and flavoured with squid ink. Each piece was mixed in with real mussel shells.

Seabuckthorn berry leather and pickled rose hips

Cookie with lardo and currant. Savoury cookies made with smoked speck, lardo and freeze dried black currents, topped with a spruce shoot.

Leek and Garlic. Only the fried bottoms are eaten.

Rye bread, chicken skin, lumpfish roe and smoked cheese. Danish dark rye bread , topped with fried chicken skin, lumpfish roe, smoked cheese and a bit of dill. The sandwich was presented with the rye bread facing up and the chicken skin on the bottom   

 

Pickled and smoked quail egg. A ceramic egg was presented. We were instructed to remove the top half, releasing a small amount of smoke from the still smouldering straw, on which rested an apple vinegar pickled and smoked quail egg. The rich yolk was still soft and warm.

 

               

Radish, soil and herbs. Newly arrived seasonal radish, with stems and leaves sprouted over the top, arrived buried in a flower pot. We were asked to use our fingers to push the radish through the “soil” in which each was buried, and to scoop up the “soil”, below which was a tarragon, chive and parsley flavoured sheep’s milk yogurt. The “soil” was a mix of ground hazelnuts, malt and beer that had been heated and dried for about six hours

Toast, herbs, smoked cod roe and vinegar. Toasted bread topped with a salad of fresh herbs flavoured with an emulsion of smoked cod roe and vinegar and topped with a piece of fried duck stock.

AEbleskiver and muiiko. Lightly fried dough ( Aebleskiver) filled with fried muiiko, a small fish from Finland, which we ate, head and tail.

Goat cheese cream with fried bread, pork skin and onions. White goat cheese cream with a bit of butter made into very dense foam that was topped with bread crumbs fried in pork fat, finely diced onions and fine bits of pork skin.

Leek and seaweed. Sliced leek with seaweed and horseradish gel.
 

 

Razor clam and dill, buttermilk and horseradish snow. A single, cold, raw razor clam, removed from its shell, presented in a white bowl, was tenderized by fast freezing for 24 hours, then rolled in a cool gel made with blended, finely sieved parsley and spinach. The clam was abutted by a line of "snow", frozen horseradish and buttermilk lightly sprinkled with flakes of sea salt. A small quantity of cold, clear mussel stock flavoured with white wine, shallot, thyme was combined with dill flavoured oil, was added to the bowl. The texture of the clam was like eating very soft somewhat overcooked asparagus. The intense sea flavours that were well complemented by the horseradish buttermilk “snow”.

Scallop "leathers" with beech nut, watercress and grains. Dehydrated scallops were presented as “leathers” and were plated with beechnut, grains and watercress leaves and accompanied by a sauce of mussel juice and squid ink.

 

Chestnut, lojram cress and walnut with bleek roe sauce. Sliced raw chestnuts with bits of chopped walnuts, topped with local lojrom cress topped with a butter sauce of seasonal bleak roe that had been combined with  birch wine and mustard seed.

 

Oyster and the ocean. A large perfect oyster, resting on oyster shells, topped with little jewels of different colours consisting of elderberries, three different kinds of seaweed and cream.

Vintage potato and milk skin. Potatoes that were in the ground for two seasons and then harvested, were covered with milk skin and accompanied by potato chips, wild chervil, wild ramps, lovage and watercress. The sauce was a combination of yogurt and whey.

 

Purple carrot and truffle. One year old (in the ground) purple carrot, slow cooked for about an hour in goat butter and served with sliced black truffle (from Gotland ,Sweden), truffle butter and fresh sorrel. The carrot had a beet-like texture

 

Pickled vegetables and bone marrow. Thin peels and sliced sections of pickled carrot, parsnip, beet and turnip, were accompanied with bits of poached bone marrow and paired with a sauce made from roasted pork ribs and brown butter. All of this was topped with foraged herbs and leaves.

 

Reindeer tongue and apple malt with browned butter. A personal knife with a bone handle, made in Lapland, was presented on a plate to be used for the course that followed. A one cm thick slice of reindeer tongue, cooked sous vide for 16 hours, was accompanied by thin peels of apple and a scoop of raw apple, referred to as an apple “boat”. All of the apple pieces were dressed with apple juice. Fried malt dough “apple seeds” were scattered around the plate along with wild coriander and cress leaves. Powdered dried apple skin was dusted over the whole dish. A sauce made from reduced reindeer juices and brown butter bound all of the flavours. 

 

Pear tree. Fresh pear, grilled and covered with fresh herbs and chive flowers surrounded by pear sauce flavoured with schnapps was accompanied by a sponge “parfait” seasoned with pine needle extract. The dish cast off an aroma of fresh pine needles.

Snowman. Two balls of “snow”, the lower ball larger than the top ball, all rested on a mound of “snow”. The very thin filament end of a carrot was placed in the top ball to simulate the nose. Elderberry flowers were used for the arms. One snowball was a meringue made from seabuckthorn berry mousse, caramelized sugar and egg whites. The other snowball was a combination of frozen buttermilk and yogurt. The yogurt and meringue snow was placed over a base of sweetened carrot puree and carrot brunoise, followed by the yogurt meringue ball and finally the sea buckthorn mousse meringue ball on top.

 

Old bread crumble with milk foam and sour milk sorbet.  Old rye bread crumbs, baked in malt beer served with milk foam made from sour Icelandic milk and accompanied by a scoop of sour milk sorbet.

Milk chocolate covered balls of yogurt cream. Slightly salty milk chocolate covered balls of yogurt, egg white and sugar “cream”.

Dark chocolate covered potato chips. Crunchy potato chips bathed in dark chocolate, flavoured with fennel and topped with a few fennel seeds. 

Smoked bone marrow caramels. One cm thick marrow bones filled with a solid combination of smoked marrow, caramel and butter. 

At the conclusion of our meal we were given an extensive tour of the kitchen.

Chef Rene Redzepi at work