A few beers that got rated and lost in the pile. A Maple Blonde Ale that was very much not to my liking, a nice American version of a classic German Kristallweizen, and a pair of beers from Beau's, a coffee infused amber and a Kotbusser (a pale ale flavored with honey and molasses).
Lake of Bays Spring Maple Belgian Blonde Ale
750 mL. Pours orangey gold with a thin white head. Aroma is maple, honey and oversweetened cereal. Thick on the palate with medium carbonation. Too sweet and one dimensional.
Flying Monkeys Stereo Vision
355 mL. Pours a hazy amber with a fluffy white head. Wheat, citrus and a hint of hops on the nose. Dry and quaffable with floral notes, honey, biscuit, and lemon. Clean and sparkling. A quencher.
Beau's WinterBrewed
600 mL bottle. Pours a dark mahogany with a white head. Nose is all coffee, so is the flavor. Medium to high carbonation and a chalky mouth feel. Unique, but I'm not a fan of flavored beers.
Beau's Zins Jo Kokot! Kotbusser
600 mL bottle. Pours a hazy golden color with a firm white head. Aroma is honey, chamomile and golden syrup, light molasses. Apricot and apple. High carbonation with a creamy mouth feel. Very interesting, would be a lively match for cheesecake or a cheese plate.
As promised, Bellwoods beers will be up soon, there are a total of 8 and I still have two left to review.
On another note, tomorrow is day one of brewing. Tyler and I ventured out to Canadian Homebrew Supplies in Brampton and put together a package for starting all grain brewing. Our first batch will be based off a recipe in Brewing for Dummies, and is an American Pale Ale. The brew is supplemented with a little bit of wheat for roundness and hopped with Perle, Galena, Cascade and Columbus hops, and gently dry hopped with Columbus as well. Pictures and procedures will be posted soon thereafter!
Canadian Homebrew Supplies
homebrewsupplies.ca
10 Wilkinson Rd.
Brampton
As always more here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Yours Truly
Maegan and I decided we would head over to Yours Truly for our anniversary dinner. The place has gotten rave reviews from locals and was recommended to us by a friend. We opted for the 'Yours Truly' (4 course) menu over the 'Carte Blanche' (15 - 20 course) menu as the chef is as of yet unable to accommodate dietary restrictions on the latter (which is totally understandable). The restaurant is dimly lit and dressed in shades, monochrome pictures of Canadian landscape dot the otherwise barren walls.
We were sat at the bar, which seems like an odd place for a high end dinner, but it was large and comfortable. I am not generally a cocktail drinker, but the list looked very interesting. We asked the bartender for two drinks, something sweet and fruity for her and something dry and earthy for me. The man behind the bar worked his magic and brought forth two wonderful beverages. For Maegan there was a drink with an absinthe washed glass, ruby port, star anise and egg white (of which I can find no trace of on their website's cocktail list), and for myself a Penicillin, a tantalizing concoction of blended scotch, ginger syrup, lemon juice and honey, floated with an uber-peated single malt. The four course dinner is offered with two options per course (one being vegetarian), as well as a 'supplement', an additional available item to add to the menu if you like. Our server recommended we each order one side of the menu and share all 8 dishes. We obliged, and took him up on the supplement (a cheese plate), and the wine pairings. Our meal commenced quickly thereafter.
The meal began with a few amuse bouche; a cone of kombu dusted popcorn, oysters with a salsa verde and salmon tartar topped with a horseradish cream and served with nori sheets. The popcorn was a fun way to start the meal, and the flavor was clean and uncomplicated, the oysters crisp and fresh, and the salmon tartar the same, the horseradish a lightly textured but richly flavored preparation with a mildly spicy edge. We also received wine pairings, however our server didn't seem to be too educated in this regard and was barely able to tell us the regions and varietals. Consequently there are no notes, but I don't remember finding the pairings particularly inspiring, rather run of the mill.
Next up was our second course, Maegan had a piece of sea bass with preparations of turnip, as well as a brown butter jus. I got what I thought was the star dish of the night, a slow poached egg with Parmesan foam, kale powder, truffle chips and onion and vegemite consomme. Super rich and earthy, this luxurious dish was loaded with umami.
Following that Maegan was presented with a duck duo, roasted breast and confit leg, garnished with apple puree, roasted baby parsnip and maltose syrup. I had a dish composed of various kinds of carrots in different cuts and cooked in different methods, chickpea curry, yogurt and cilantro. Both dishes were very satisfying.
We were advised that our supplement would be best enjoyed after the meal, and our last(ish) course arrived. Maegan was given a dessert of chocolate in textures, white chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate crumble and meringue. I was presented with a buttermilk panna cotta garnished with fresh raspberries, rosewater granita and sorrel. We agreed that while the chocolate was tasty (when is it not?), it was overwhelming in a sense, the panna cotta on the other hand displayed a layered complexity that proved it both the more difficult to execute, and tastier dish.
Lastly, we enjoyed our cheese plate, garnished with candied figs, marmelade and pine nut butter. After dinner we opted for coffee and the bill.
A great meal to be had here, and at the low end of the price spectrum for luxury dining. Dinner for two with cocktails, wine pairings and the supplement came to somewhere around $350. The food was creative and excellently prepared, the service prompt. Wine pairings were a little lacking, so I would recommend selecting a bottle you can count on instead. All in all an enjoyable experience, I would love to try out the Carte Blanche if given the chance.
Yours Truly
yours-truly.ca
229 Ossington Ave
Toronto
We were sat at the bar, which seems like an odd place for a high end dinner, but it was large and comfortable. I am not generally a cocktail drinker, but the list looked very interesting. We asked the bartender for two drinks, something sweet and fruity for her and something dry and earthy for me. The man behind the bar worked his magic and brought forth two wonderful beverages. For Maegan there was a drink with an absinthe washed glass, ruby port, star anise and egg white (of which I can find no trace of on their website's cocktail list), and for myself a Penicillin, a tantalizing concoction of blended scotch, ginger syrup, lemon juice and honey, floated with an uber-peated single malt. The four course dinner is offered with two options per course (one being vegetarian), as well as a 'supplement', an additional available item to add to the menu if you like. Our server recommended we each order one side of the menu and share all 8 dishes. We obliged, and took him up on the supplement (a cheese plate), and the wine pairings. Our meal commenced quickly thereafter.
The meal began with a few amuse bouche; a cone of kombu dusted popcorn, oysters with a salsa verde and salmon tartar topped with a horseradish cream and served with nori sheets. The popcorn was a fun way to start the meal, and the flavor was clean and uncomplicated, the oysters crisp and fresh, and the salmon tartar the same, the horseradish a lightly textured but richly flavored preparation with a mildly spicy edge. We also received wine pairings, however our server didn't seem to be too educated in this regard and was barely able to tell us the regions and varietals. Consequently there are no notes, but I don't remember finding the pairings particularly inspiring, rather run of the mill.
Afterwards we moved on to our first course. In place of traditional bread, lightly fried and garlicky bread knots were brought to the table. Maegan opted for the chirashi, a traditional Japanese preparation of sushi rice, marinated and topped with seafood. Her dish featured pickled mackerel and hamachi sashimi-style. I had 'variations', a vegetable medley that featured seasonal vegetables in several different preparations, I can't list them all but i distinctly remember a beet puree, a butternut squash cream, at least three kinds of stewed beans, as well as roasted carrots, parsnips and beets.
In between our first and second courses, a snack of crunchy house potato chips topped with savory and traditional greek taramosalata.
Next up was our second course, Maegan had a piece of sea bass with preparations of turnip, as well as a brown butter jus. I got what I thought was the star dish of the night, a slow poached egg with Parmesan foam, kale powder, truffle chips and onion and vegemite consomme. Super rich and earthy, this luxurious dish was loaded with umami.
Following that Maegan was presented with a duck duo, roasted breast and confit leg, garnished with apple puree, roasted baby parsnip and maltose syrup. I had a dish composed of various kinds of carrots in different cuts and cooked in different methods, chickpea curry, yogurt and cilantro. Both dishes were very satisfying.
We were advised that our supplement would be best enjoyed after the meal, and our last(ish) course arrived. Maegan was given a dessert of chocolate in textures, white chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate crumble and meringue. I was presented with a buttermilk panna cotta garnished with fresh raspberries, rosewater granita and sorrel. We agreed that while the chocolate was tasty (when is it not?), it was overwhelming in a sense, the panna cotta on the other hand displayed a layered complexity that proved it both the more difficult to execute, and tastier dish.
Lastly, we enjoyed our cheese plate, garnished with candied figs, marmelade and pine nut butter. After dinner we opted for coffee and the bill.
A great meal to be had here, and at the low end of the price spectrum for luxury dining. Dinner for two with cocktails, wine pairings and the supplement came to somewhere around $350. The food was creative and excellently prepared, the service prompt. Wine pairings were a little lacking, so I would recommend selecting a bottle you can count on instead. All in all an enjoyable experience, I would love to try out the Carte Blanche if given the chance.
Yours Truly
yours-truly.ca
229 Ossington Ave
Toronto
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Bellwoods Brewery
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Took a trip to the lovely Bellwoods Brewery, what a spot! We were promptly greeted by a friendly server, Mallory, who asked us what we were up to tonight and invited us in for a drink as though she lived here. A rustic farmhouse atmosphere; mismatched tables and chairs and reclaimed wood adorned the dining room, the beer menu displayed on an intricately decorated chalk board, the food on card stock menus on miniature clipboards. We ordered ourselves some beverages (even gluten free beer for Maegan, my girlfriend, who is a celiac) and some food as well. Well seared duck hearts were tender and flavorful, the olive selection fresh, the salad of brussels sprouts and bacon refreshing and rich at the same time. We also dug into goat braised in tomato sauce, served on a bed of polenta (pictured above), which was obscenely tasty. Beer taps were from the house selection, and ranged greatly, the bottles were mostly rare premium Belgian brews. I enjoyed a few of the house beers, White Picket Fence (a Belgian styled Wit), Monogamy Nelson Sauvin (a APA series from the brewery that uses the same grain bill but a different kind of hop for each beer, this one featuring exotic and fruity Nelson Sauvin), Roman Candle IPA and the Witchshark IIPA. Bill came to a staggeringly low $80 with tip.
A great place to go catch a beer, or a bite, and be sure to visit their bottle shop next door that sells their beer in take home formats! Bombers and growlers!
Check back soon for some bottle reviews!
Bellwoods Brewery
www.bellwoodsbrewery.com
twitter.com/bellwoodsbeer
124 Ossington Ave
Toronto
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