A Toast! To Toronto Bourbon Week

FGFS is pleased to welcome Janine Isabelle to our writing team. She plans on bringing you 100% more boozy cocktail content with her column A Toast! Janine is a Toronto-based designer and web developer with a penchant for kitting, the ukulele and the finer things. Keep checking back here for more from Janine and a lso, keep visiting Belle, Janine’s design & lifestyle blog cataloguing her work and inspiration.

Let me start off by saying that I am super stoked to kick off our new booze-themed column with a post about Toronto’s Bourbon Week festival. I’ve been a bourbon-drinker for a number of years, and I am hugely excited that the world is finally catching on to the awesomeness of Kentucky’s finest export.

I come from a very European family, so once I hit 12 or 13, having a small glass of wine on special occasions was pretty standard. I feel really grateful to have been brought up this way because it took the taboo away from alcohol consumption — getting hammered with your friends at 16 kind of loses its appeal when your grandmother lets you drink aperitifs before family dinners. Still, my taste in hard liquor has definitely matured over the years. I started out drinking mostly vodka, like most teenagers I think, then rum (Malibu & root beer, anyone?), and eventually gin. Then came one fateful day in my early twenties when I went up to the bar at a show in Vancouver to order my usual gin & ginger(ale). The bartender, bless her heart, said, “You should really try that with bourbon instead of gin”. I took her advice, and I’ve never looked back.

I moved to Toronto from the West Coast just over a year ago, and have been overjoyed at how this city has embraced the growing bourbon trend. Establishments like The County General, The Comrade, and Monarch Tavern all boast extensive bourbon offerings and fantastic cocktails. Cass Enright, founder of The Bar Towel and the Golden Tap Awards, decided to take things one step further and put together Toronto’s inaugural Bourbon Week, which ran from September 27th to October 3rd. With a myriad of bourbon-themed events like “Fingers & Bones” at the Indie Alehouse, “The Hillbilly Whisperer” at the Amsterdam Brewhouse, and “The Bourbon Derby” at 3030 Dundas West, the festival is a bourbon-lover’s dream. Yuli and I were particularly intrigued by “Classic from the Old School”, so we headed over to Monarch Tavern this past Monday to check it out.

The event was guest bartended by Joe Howell of the Spoke Club and featured five classic cocktails made with a range of the 35 bourbons Monarch regularly has on the shelf, including Ancient Age, Buffalo Trace, and Woodford Reserve (who also had a special lounge set up for tastings). The menu consisted of a classic Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Mint Julep, and Bourbon Sour, plus a Chocolate Vanilla Old Fashioned. Walking in, the place immediately had a speakeasy vibe, with the lounge setting, the bartenders in black & white, and a pianist in the corner playing old jazz standards.

For our first round, I tried the Chocolate Vanilla Old Fashioned. I was pleasantly surprised that the chocolate and vanilla flavours were both apparent without being overpoweringly sweet. I have to say though, it paled in comparison to my next choice – the Bourbon Sour. Now, this is my drink; it’s what I order when I’m channeling Don Draper (even though he drinks Old Fashioneds), so my expectations were pretty high. I was not disappointed. It was, quite possibly, the best Bourbon Sour I’ve ever had.

Bourbon Sour. Delish!

Here’s hoping Bourbon Week becomes an annual event in Toronto!

First Annual Toronto Bourbon Week Lets You Taste the Freedom

Bourbon: beloved by FGFS and Toronto.

Bourbon is in. Like, way in. I’m always equally perplexed when things outside of say, clothing and furniture, come in and out of vogue. And right now bourbon is on everyone’s lips.

Toronto, being the great cosmopolitan metropolitan that it is, has itself a Bourbon Week this year. Not to be outdone by the other boozy weeks Bourbon Week aims to offer something for new comers and old pros. Each evening between September 27th and October 3rd will offer a different experience. From the festival opener at Indie Alehouse with Fingers and Bones, serving up fingers of the sweet sticky alcohol along side some equally sweet and sticky ribs. Or opt for a daylight sipping with the Bourbon Brunch at Acadia where you can tap into some of two exclusive in-house kegged bourbon cocktails.

Or what about meeting some of us FGFS members at the Monarch Tavern on the night of the 30th for Classics from the Old School, where we’ll be downing some mainstays like the Manhattan and Mint Julep.

Guest Pinner: Janine Isabelle of Belle

In that round-about -way that is becoming the norm I met a wonderful person on Instagram recently. The story goes that I followed her all but randomly and the very next day I opened my email to see the sweetest email I think I’ve ever received, asking point blank if we could be friends because we so obviously should be. In Janine Isabelle, a designer and web developer working in Toronto, I’ve found an adventure buddy, someone to see Toronto anew with and someone to admire good design with; someone to bitch and moan about body politics and brainstorm about new, exciting projects with. Janine has a good eye, which is evident in every post on Belle, a design & lifestyle blog cataloguing her work and inspiration.

So, of course we asked this lover of good food, and beauty to be a guest pinner with us. Stars and schedules have alined and this week is the week! So head over to our Pinterest page and take a look at Janine’s board, and follow it see her updates all week long.

Curious Cuts: A Pop Up Offal Dinner with Chef Trish Gill

I’m an Alberta girl, through and through. But I also grew up eating more vegan/vegetarian food than most people, wherever in Canada they hail from. While I have had meat from exotic animals like Llama and Emu — something not uncommon in Alberta — liver was as adventurous  as my family ever got (don’t let the German last name fool you).

That’s not to say I’m not willing to try. And I recently had a chance to try a whole range of offal offerings with Toronto Pop Up‘s most recent meal with Chef Trish Gill (currently at Catch). Curious Cuts, hosted at the Monarch Tavern two weekends ago, had all the trappings of a down-to-earth Canadiana evening.

We were seated communal style down long tables with brown craft paper stretched over top. Antlers and wild flowers in mason jars and votives lined the rows. The interior of the Monarch is Old World, and added to the backwood, cottage feel. The tavern has recently been turned around from dingy Italian neighborhood pub to something pretty special. Ethan has brought craft beer and cask conditioned ale to the public house, as well as some choice bourbons.

First Course: Cheek, Heart, Liver

Amuse-bouche  indeed! Three little bits to get your started and enticed. Cod cheek, crispy as anything served up with some crunchy-fresh cucumbers, and soft as cloud white bun, like the kind you find on a dim sum cart.  Next it was a heart tartar with a horse radish drizzle superb enough to me make change my horseradish hating ways. And finally, a liver pâté served with tiny egg and toast.

Second Course: Sweet Breads with Rhubarb and Peas

I’m still, all these weeks later, dreaming, craving and talking about the rhubarb in this dish. I’ve never had sweet breads before and discovered it’s not my bag, but I imagine this is how they should be prepared. The pair sitting next to us assured me the whole evening was stellar in terms of how eat cut was prepared. Just look at the colours in there, you could quite literally taste them. This dinner was as much a celebration of nose-to-tail dinning as it was about the bounty of Ontario. This country also included parings with Ontario Craft Beers and Wines.

Third Course: Bone Marrow with Root Vegetables and Burnt Toast

Ever since the episode of The Layover where while in Toronto Anthony Bourdain sucked back some bourbon via a empty beef calf at The Black Hoof I wanted to try the stuff. One guest at the end of our table had the right idea and grab a bourbon from the bar’s fine selection. I can now say I’ve had it, and also say I don’t like marrow. It’s just too rich for my blood, though the burnt toast was a brilliant addition as it helped cut down on the fattiness of the marrow.  I thought the real stars of this dish were again the vegetables. Carrots, beets and radishes cut expertly. would you look at that radish just casually hanging out over there, stem still on? Beautiful.

Fourth course: Rabbit with Kidneys and Lime

Unfortunately, an unusual number of the people seated around me are carriers of that gene that makes them taste cilantro not as the citrus weed of the Gods but rather like soap. I think they missed out on the full expression of this dish. But this point in a meal I was wary of something heavy, but the cilantro and consommé keep it airy.

Fifth Course: Pigs Feet Pudding with Granola, Berries and Nasturtiums

And it’s with the dessert we complete the offal tour and get some pig’s trotters in there. Simple the best note to end the night on. I marveled at the texture of this pudding. Somewhere between a custard and a tapioca, no doubt all thanks to the pig. The berries were beyond fresh, and added a little kick of tartness.

I’m not likely to say not to another meal like this after learning I’m not the raging carnivore Ama is or wishes I was. And I think for my first time out Chef Trish Gill was the perfect guide. Expertly bringing each ingredient to full expression. Plus, this is one trend I can back. I’m all for people eating the cuts we used to call “peasant meat” or even “trash.” Some of the cheapest, once most undesirable cuts are being eaten, and that helps make the system sustainable. Which is always a delicious option.

Rock Lobster Opens 2nd Location on Queen St. W

photo by yuli scheidt

 

Queen Street West just hasn’t been the same since Loblaws and the condos started rolling in. The biggest indication of that was when late night food staple, Shanghai Cowgirl announced that it would be shuttering its doors for good. But all good things must come to an end and in its place “all things Canadian, seafood and booze” are stepping in.

If you can’t figure out what it might be, look no further than the booming Ossington restaurant Rock Lobster Food Co. founded by the delightful Matt Dean Pettit. The newly renovated space, which is set to open roughly around June 8th in Shanghai’s old spot (fingers crossed), features a custom art mural (as painted by Pettit’s father, Donald, who worked throughout the entire evening), an in-house raw bar, huge outdoor patio space and some more kitschy Canadian themed decor including a stuffed deer-head.

Matt has thought of everything here, from the food right down to the cocktails. Behind the bar he has lined up Adrian Stein (formerly of Mistura) and Robin Wynne (formerly of Fynn’s of Temple Bar) to whip up some speciality cocktails that feel like classic comforts. My favourite of the evening? The Fourty-Ninth Parallel. Made with barrel-aged spiced Canadian Club, sweet vermouth, amaro nonino, maple and aromatic bitters and cohiba cigar tincture, and garnished with a Bourbon-marinated cherry.

 

Matt has said that while the new Rock Lobster Food Co. space will be open seven days a week and open for lunch, he would like to keep the late night food vibe that Shanghai Cowgirl once had. We were treated to two items that could potentially be placed on the late night menu (Lobster Deviled Eggs and The Rocks Surf and Turf Burger). The Surf & Turf burger is honestly one of my favourites in the city. Weighing in at 9oz of pure love with traditional Bay Spices and some lobster meat a top the burger, you couldn’t ask for anything more.

 

But if it’s more of a traditional seafood experience that you’re looking for, then Rock Lobster has you covered. Both the Digby Scallops and Sweet Corn with Mint Green Pea Puree and Old Fashioned Crab Boil and Sam Adams Steampot felt as if I was back visiting the East Coast again, which is exactly the feeling Matt wants you to feel while there. Both these dishes are ones to get dirty with, playful and eat great seafood. The Sam Adam Steampot just kept giving me layers upon layers of goodness that would not end. Lobster, mussels, shrimp, crab, corn, scallops — each scoop into the pot pulled out more and more delicious food.

 

The nice unique feature that Matt mentioned about the new Rock Lobster space was that beyond slinging food all day, they will have their own retail corner complete with fish monger, custom sauces and other offerings. “As soon as customers have a bill brought to their table, they can check off which seafood they would like to have added onto their bill as well.” He mentions that he envisions diners adding a take-away order to their bill of fish filets and scallops and heading home with fresh seafood.

So with the combination of good (sea)food, amazing & accessible cocktails and late night eats – it sounds like Matt Dean Pettit and the Rock Lobster team are in for a success with the launch of their Queen West location.

Originally posted to Toronto Is Awesome, where you can find Ama’s bi-weekly food column.