Trout

66 Wellington Street West | Toronto, ON
http://www.oliverbonacini.com/canoe

Canoe is one of my favourite restaurant in Toronto but sadly my wallet doesn’t always agree with my dining habits. Licious a great way to try higher end restaurants in the city without breaking the bank. Canoe is located on the 54th floor of the TD bank tower and offers amazing views, prefect for when you’re trying to impress someone with great city views and amazing food. The windows wrap around the whole restaurant and the open kitchen makes the whole restaurant larger in size.

We started off with a Sundried Tomato Chickpea Spread with warm bread.

For appetizers Desi and I got the Cured Rainbow Trout with pickled turnips, marinated radish & crème fraîche.

Manal got Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup with Peekytoe crab, tarragon yoghurt & rye croutons.

Everyone else got the Pressed Maple Braised Willowgrove Pork with heirloom beans, wild mustard & puffed wild rice.

For our entrees Zoe and I got the Torched Heritage Salmon with dinosaur kale, pickled peppers & ancient Algonquin grits.

Jo and Desi both got the Ontario Strip Loin Short Rib with gherkin sour cream & cheesy alliston spuds.

I decided on the Wild Rice Pudding with poached apricot, rose vanilla sauce & pistachio for dessert.

Everyone else got the Three Milk Cake with vanilla mousseline, caramel cream & kernal peanuts.

Overall the meal was fantastic, everything was well cooked and seasoned. My favourite appetizer was the Pressed Maple Pork, it was flavourful and hearty. My cured trout was beautifully presented but lacking in some seasoning. My salmon entree was one of the best Licious entrees I’ve never had, the salmon sweet and savoury but I wish I got more of the “grits”. The Strip loin, in my opinion, was the best entree of the night, tender and the short rib was super rich. I loved my rice pudding dessert.
Canoe is one of my favourite restaurants and I had another fantastic OB meal experience.

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350 King St W | Toronto, ON
http://www.oliverbonacini.com

This was my first time at LUMA and I was surprised by how nice and elegant the space was. I’m not sure what I was expecting but the interior cozy, warm, and classy. LUMA is located at the TIFF lightbox right above their sister restaurant, the Canteen.

We got to nibble on some warm bread with white bean and hummus dip while looking through the menu. The hummus was addictive, I finished all of it.

For my appetizer I got the 100km Celery Root Soup with maytag blue cheese, apple and bacon compote. The soup was creamy and velvety, it had a nice flavour without having too much of a off-putting celery flavour. I love the sweetness of the apple compote with the savouriness of the soup.

Philip got the Fregola & Mixed Bean Salad with a 62.5° celsius hen’s egg, charred treviso, onion, chilies and anchovy lemon dressing. He really enjoyed the dish, no complaints from him.

I got the Roasted Trout with glazed roots, puffed wild rice and brown butter bay scallops for entree. This was hands down my favourite dish of the night, everything was perfect. My trout was perfectly cooked with an incredibly crispy skin. The puffed rice gave the dish a nice crunchy texture with every bite and the beets were light and refreshing contrast to the butter scallops.

Philip got the Braised Willowgrave Pork Shoulder with shiitake mushroom pilaf, green mango pickle, rice paper crunch and honey truffle sauce. The pork was tender and delicious.

I got the Steamed Banana Pudding with burnt marshmallow ice cream for dessert. I was somewhat disappointed with the dessert, I wasn’t expecting a banana muffin let alone a dry banana muffin. The ice-cream made up for the dryness of the cake but wasn’t anything special.

Philip got the Chocolate Espresso Budino with an almond biscotti. Incredibly rich and intense with chocolate flavour, a coffee is a must with this dessert to cut the richness.

Overall I had a great experience at LUMA, great food and good service. I loved the atmosphere and a perfect location for date night without breaking the bank. I would definitely try to come back for their regular menu.

Tag: Trout

CANOE RESTAURANT & BAR

LUMA