Cafe Bar Pasta Serves Up Authentic Italian in DuWest

 

 

Originally posted to Ama’s twice-weekly column on Toronto is Awesome.

Cafe Bar Pasta is exactly what it sounds like: an authentic Italian restaurant serving espresso during the days and beautiful pasta and wine at night. This gorgeous space opened by Tom Bielecki in the regenerated area of Dundas West has great splashes of red, white and black all on the walls. It’s eye-catching and visually appealing.

 

A private dining room in the wine cellar doubles as a classroom for pasta-making, preserving and wine tasting workshops. Imported from Italy, there is a pasta maker which makes beautiful fresh cut pasta. All wines are on tap. A beautiful communal butcher block style table made of a hard white and wormy maple, with built in power outlets for your computer or phone, along with an exposed brick wall. No detail has been spared.

Executive Chef Jay Scaife works the pans in the back and what I appreciated most was the chef’s respect for the ingredients. I was treated to a chef’s side tasting of his different pastas made in house: Bucatini Amatriciana, Rigatoni, Ravoli and Tagaletrelle Carbonara. Pasta dishes can be a complicated thing to master and Chef Jay did them justice with them truly shining and playing the lead role. My personal favourite was the Bucatini. Rich in flavour and full of slurp-tastic goodness.

The servers were all very friendly and knowledgeable of the menu and the wine options. The tartar and the meatballs were to die for. Along with all the desserts. Everyone enjoys some good wine and beautiful dishes. With dishes ranging in price from $10-$28, this is definately the perfect date night restaurant.

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Getting the S’MAC Attack in NYC

Let’s make one thing clear, Fat Girl Food Squad: I am on the quest to find the perfect Macaroni and Cheese — or at least try all of them.  First up, we headed to New York’s own S’Mac to test out the multiple flavours they have of mac and cheese.

S’Mac currently has two locations in NYC, both in Manhattan, and they offer dine-in, take-out, free delivery and catering for all your many cravings. If I lived in this city I would probably turn orange from the amount and frequency that I would order.

After looking at their extremely large menu (and being indecisive), we decided to test out the S’MAC Sampler.  Served up in a skillet for $16,  you receive 8 different varieties of Mac-n-Cheese. This is the only version that accepts no substitutions, so they pick the flavours and it is only regular pasta. Thankfully they let us add breadcrumbs on top for that extra added crispiness.

The sampler comes with a visual wheel showing you which flavours lay where which helps both the picky folks, and those deciding what to order in a larger size next time. Flavours include: All-American, 4 Cheese, Cheeseburger, La Mancha, Cajun, Napoletana, Alpine and Parisienne.

Trying all of the flavours provided us with a daunting task, even for 2, but we managed to leave no noodle uneaten. The verdict for best flavour goes to the Cheeseburger. Made for the hearty meat eater, it comes with both cheddar and American Cheese combined with seasoned ground beef. There is not too much ground beef, and it’s definitely gooier and tastier than anything I’ve had like it before. With the breadcrumbs added on top it was like eating the best cheeseburger but a step above. Coming up in a close second would be the Alpine. This swiss mac goes a different route than the other traditional american styles and uses gruyere cheese and is filled with slab bacon. It was the perfect melty stringy cheese that stretches as you try and take a spoonful out for yourself, very hard to share. Our least favourite had to be La Mancha.  It may have very well been my personal distaste for onions leading that one, but if you’re looking for a taste of Spain in a dish, this is the one for you.  It was Manchego Cheese mixed with fennel and onions.

What was the most fascinating to me is that those were not the only flavours available.  They have another 4 recommended flavours to choose from as well as a build your own category with four different sizes: The Nosh, Major Munch, Mongo and Partay. Having been here before I felt that the Major Munch was enough for two but we each got one and it’s a really good portion leaving plenty of leftovers should you have the hankering for more later.

S’Mac makes sure to cater to everyone having the option of multigrain and gluten free pasta, as well as reduced lactose and dairy free cheeses as well! And for those who want the full cheese option but are worried about a tummy ache, they offer lact-aid’s at the counter just in case.

As a special secret if you check in at any S’MAC location on foursquare they have different loyalty specials. Including the 25% off for newbies and also 25% off on every 3rd check in for loyal customers. And on every other trip the option of 50% off (max $5 discount). I’ll definitely be going back for all those deals, and to try building my own soon!

Interview with Chuck Hughes: Heart of a Chef, Soul of a Seagull

Chef Chuck Hughes photographed by Dominique Lafond

Originally posted on Ama’s weekly Breaking Bread column on Toronto is Awesome

Chuck Hughes is a man who loves food. He also loves making you laugh and showing you a good time in the process. Depending how much Food Network Canada you have watched in your day, you may or may not have become acquainted with this French-Canadian chef’s show, “Chuck’s Day Off”. Well, just recently Chuck released his adaptation of the television series (also titled, Chuck’s Day Off) in book form and I had the chance to speak with him on the phone regarding the book, his travels and life, in general.
The book reads like small window panes into Hughes life, with shout-outs and short stories of important people and situations in his life. One that stood out to me most was his tale of his tattoo artist. As many chefs are covered in tattoos from head to toe, Chuck explained “my artists and I have been friends for just over 20 years. He is someone who means a lot to me and I love cooking for.” Chuck got his first tattoo when he was just 18 years old and from then it became an addiction, with several food tattoos covering his arms too However, his first tattoo was a dedication to his mom.

It was Chuck’s mom who inspired him to go into cooking. He tells me, “My mom is seriously the bomb. I always thought I was going to get into advertising or marketing. But when I was 17 years old, I got my first job in a restaurant. I loved the restaurant and cooking. My mom truly believed in me and pushed me to get into the culinary profession.” Since then, Chuck has had many opportunities to cook in the kitchen for his mom and family, as documented here.

But Chuck’s life has always been a great inspiration in all his dishes. For him, food is the greatest connector of all people. “Food inspires people. Life can be so crazy and complicated. But the one big thing that brings people together and people can communicate through is food,” Chuck tells me with great confidence. So for him, he tries to find comfort wherever possible when he is cooking. For Hughes, food should not be, “elitist or stressful. It should be something that people feel in their hearts. That is the comfort of food.” With this style of cooking, he likes to keep it simple and from the heart, like Chicken Noodle Soup.

But Hughes cannot escape his celebrity chef title, as much he may want to. He was one of the youngest chefs to beat out Bobby Flay on Iron Chef USA. But he is humbled by the title telling me, “if you really watched Iron Chef, they hated that Lobster Poutine and that is what I’m famous for!” with some laughter. “My grandma respects herself and she wouldn’t even eat my poutine”. But after much discussion he tells me that having the title is weird, fun but also really humbling. “Cooking is a lot of things: it could be cooking an egg or making a salad. But through & through, I never aspired to be a celebrity chef and I’m just having fun while I’m here.”

You can pick up Chuck Hughes book now at bookstores across the nation. Or you can catch Chuck flying around the nation in his chef spirit animal form of the seagull, which he explained: “may not be noble, but knows how to hunt, float on water and definitely get free food”.

 

Friday Foodie Five

Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews. 

1. Local – Steve Gonzalez’s Valdez, Toronto

2. Breakfast – Foolproof Eggs Benny from Mark MacEwan

3. Atmosphere – Wine Classes in Aspen from Nicole Franzen

4. Sweet – Blackberry-Yuzu Ice Pops by Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops

5. A Lot – Aloha Burger

Steven Salm and Michael Steh Set to Bring Stellar Seafood to Downtown Core

Proprietor Steven Salm – Photos by Yuli Scheidt

This past Thursday May 23rd a baker’s dozen of media types donned hard hats and got a very special tour of the spaces that will shortly be two unique dinning spaces in Toronto’s Downtown core. Proprietor Steven Salm, a New Yorker who is having a big love affair with Toronto, and Executive Chef Michael Steh have taken up residence in the Historic Dineen Building at 10 Temperance just off Yonge St. And they’ve been busy.

The tour began out on the street with some hearty chowder from The Chase‘s food truck. The chowder was rich and full of vibrant colours, elements evident in all the dish served up. From the delicate burnt orange of the oysters to the bright green of the peas; the flavours came through and blew away any notion of chowder being standard and boring.

The Chase Chowder

The Chase food truck has been making the rounds in the Financial District this past week ahead of the restaurants’ opening. You’ll find it there tomorrow and at the NE corner of Yonge and Bloor on Thursday serving up Lobster Rolls among other eats. You can follow the truck’s adventures at ChaseTheChase.com

Steven Salm & Exceutive Chef Michael Steh

With the warmth of the chowder in our bellies the real tour could begin. The group was escorted down a cobble stone lane-way to the rear of the Dineen Building. We were met with the skeleton and frame work that will become The Chase Fish & Oyster on the main floor and the custom elevator still under construction that will whisk guests up to the 5th floor for The Chase. Two separate restaurants, with their own kitchens and staff.

Chef de Cuisine Nigel Finley, Steven Salm, Executive Chef Michael Steh

Stepping passed what will become a large open glass entryway, we entered The Chase Fish & Oyster. Large skylights let in beautiful afternoon light, cascading across exposed brick as far as the eye can see. Two Roman archways marked the entry way to the bar, yet to be constructed. Here the group was introduced to Chef de Cuisine Nigel Finley, known for his time spent at Bloom and more recently Catch. Chef Finely expressed his intentions to bring sustainably sourced seafood and local ingredients to The Chase Fish & Oyster and we got a taste of just what he meant by that.

Throughout the tour all those involved in the projects communicated the importance of sustainably sourced fish and seafood, as well as the need to bring humble and thoughtful seafood dinning to Toronto. When asked about whether either the ground floor space or the 5th floor restaurant would be open for lunch hours, proprietor Steven Salm said he was interested in doing so, but also thought that brunch could be a viable option. Possibly a risky venture in an area that all but becomes a ghost town when the office workers have gone for the day. It’s a refreshing notion and we look forward to seeing how The Chase tests those waters.

Steven Salm outlining construction and décor plans

After a tour of the main floor where Mr. Salm outlined all the details of the planned décor, including a hook-shaped bar and nautical flags adorning the Cathedral-height ceilings, we were taken to a lower level. Planned for this space are private dinning areas, restrooms, but more importantly General Manager and Sommelier Anton Potvin‘s wine reserve. At first glance it all just looked like the catacombs under Paris but with a little imagination one started to see the potential. Past the new framework and electrical bits you could really see the charm of the Dineen Building at the forefront of all these plans.

To ascend to the 5th floor future guests will take the custom built elevator but for the purposes of this Hard Hat tour the group had to make use of the existing lift in the Dineen Building. Here we got to peek our heads into the newly opened Dineen Coffee Co. An impeccably beautiful space that perfectly melds modern needs with old bistro allure. A wonderful addition to the area, not unlike The Chase.

Exceutive Chef Michael Steh in the future space of The Chase on the 5th floor

Once on the 5th floor we were greeted by floor-to-ceiling glass and what has to be one of the best views around. Being on the top floor has its advantages, such as the planned roof top patio, where guests can order from the bar without having to go inside, as the bar will traverse  both inside and out made possible by custom made windows.

Lobster in avocado with seasonal dressings

The structure is key to these two restaurants. The separate kitchens and staff ensure the spaces give different experiences and define them as different presences while both focusing on fresh, innovative, seasonal dishes. Both are grounded in the Chase Team’s philosophy of upscale dining that’s thoughtful, approachable, and social. Offering New Canadian food, using the techniques lured from the Italian, French, Asian and Latin American traditions.

As GM and Sommelier for the two restaurants, Anton Potvin stressed that while there will always be room to play he will focus on solid wine choices and that the two spaces will share a liquor license, allowing them to pull from the same reserves.

Opening this Summer The Chase and The Chase Fish & Oyster are set to take on those old-hat, preconceived notions about dinning in Downtown Toronto and what a seafood joint in this town looks like.

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Additional Photos:

Proprietor Steven Salm

Fellow member of the media tour stops to take notes

GM and Sommelier Anton Potvin

Executive Chef Michael Steh

Right: Chef Amira Becarevic