best of byblos

byblos. a toronto favourite of mine. drinks and decor alone make this king-west spot top-ranking. occupying two floors of the storys building, the ambience is perfect, exquisitely decorated and worth perusing. though our favourite bartender has moved on to alo, we were not disappointed with our drinks. in terms of food, the eastern mediterranean menu, created and executed by executive chef stuart cameron, is full of strong flavours with traditional and local ingredients. we opted to order a ton of different sharing plates in lieu of main dishes, which left us more than satisfied.
a strong recommendation--check it out.

interesting and authentic cloth menus (not pictured)

evening's drinks: nightingale sour, old fashion, gulab in a chalice.
we all ordered multiples ;)

one of my favourite menu items: roasted red beetrs with pistachio and labneh (a variation of greek yogurt), served with barbari bread (pictured below)

barbari bread to dip in the labneh (above)

tuna ceviche: green schug, creme fraiche buttermilk and squid ink chip. this had a real kick to it. really delish.

another fave of mine, and a must-have when at byblos, is the guernsey girl cheese. grilled haloumi cheese (shoutout AP), on a bed of watermelon, mint and upland cress

unfortunately, my photo-taking skills were too slow, and i missed photographing the lamb ribs. though they are quite game-y, the flavour is outstanding. they were spiced and topped with dukkah, buttermilk sauce, carob molasses and red chili schung

turkish manti dumplings, definitely a go-to. the smokey eggplant and yogurt sauce with molasses has such a memorable and distinct burst of flavour. can't go wrong here.

against our better judgement, we kept ordering food even though we were full. the flavours were all so robust it was hard to know when to stop. along with the crispy eggplant (not pictured and not a favourite) we ordered the steak tartar: roasted red chili, mint, labneh and barbari bread. this was the last of dinner.

although we were BEYOND full, you can't celebrate a birthday without dessert....

we opted for a sweet cap to our glorious meal. we had the brik pastry cigar. the cigar was flaky, and willed with a tasty fig caramel with some light honey cream. 

this whole meal, overall, was delicious. after each stunning dish, we were all blown away by the intensity of the flavours. way to go, byblos. can't wait to return soon!

back in action: origin

after a long and unanticipated hiatus, a culinary cabaret is back! it has been a wonderful and joyous year. between planning and executing my wedding (!!) and teaching full time, a culinary cabaret fell by the wayside. now that we are a month in to married life, this blog is back in action!

we recently dined at chef and owner claudio aprile's origin north, of the origin empire. we were happily surprised to see chef aprile himself there, on a friday night, overseeing the new season-inspired items added to their menu. 

the decor is trendy and open, the space much larger than their two downtown locations. patrons were well-dressed: mixtures of friends meeting after work and romantic dinners, with some business diners scattered among them. 

we have dined at origin north a few times and the service was quite poor. this week, however, our waiter was friendly and happy to go above and beyond to answer any questions we had, explaining the style of ordering (tapas/family style), and affirming our ordering choices were good ones! 

without further ado...

we started our with some beverages (Carlsberg and  a glass of Chianti)

origin's famous beet salad: goat cheese, pickled red onion, sherry dressing, yogurt, walnuts
this salad is not to be missed. it is remarkably fresh and always leaves you wanting more.

from the mozzarella bar: bufala with pear, rosemary oil, pine nuts and honey
such a fresh and tasty appetizer. the way these flavours come together is beautiful.

origin beef burger: smoked mayonnaise, avocado, arugula.
cooked to a perfect medium, this was one tasty piece of meat, and a menu
item they are well-known for.

origin's fries: don't miss out on these. perfectly cut and evenly-salted.
convince yourself that they go well with anything. you won't be disappointed.

the dessert menu looked incredible but we were beyond full....maybe next time.
we will definitely be back to origin soon. i'm already craving that beet salad!

dinner party

last week, we hosted an intimate dinner party at the condo! our first time hosting in the new digs.
it was a pretty successful eve, aside from the boggle-induced noise complaint after midnight!

a special thank you goes out to KB for sending the scrumptious chocolate cream pie we enjoyed for dessert!

allow envy to ensue...

savoury cheeses and an assortment of crackers
cheese recommendation: le delice de bourgogne
(available at: alex farms, st lawrence market)
cracker recommendation: cranberry hazelnut
lesley stowe raincoast crisps,  

salad: arugula with asiago/pear, homemade lemon vinaigrette dressing
(subbed apple for pear)

olive oil coated veggies, seasoned to perfection!

the plate
lemon peppercorn rounds, grilled veggies, salad

DELICIOUS chocolate cream pie, thanks again KB!
you can bake for me anytime!

lots of boggle...special shout out to AF for being the winner of the eve!
do i hear a rematch?

recommendation recap:
cheese: Alex Farms Delice de Bourgogne (a favourite cheese of mine!)
cracker: Lesley Stowe Cranberry Hazelnut Raincoast Crisps
wine: Cave Spring 2010 Reisling

coming soon: pictures from lake louise, banff and jasper!

nothing quite like the saturday market

i headed down to toronto's incredible st. lawrence market saturday morning. it is a definite "must see" on any visit to toronto.
the whole market was pulsing with an amazing energy-early risers of all ages and backgrounds, coming to enjoy the market vibe.
i loved all the fresh fruits, veggies, breads, cheeses and meat, in addition to the vendors selling a variety of unique items,
check it out!

freshly ground coffee was perfection (and needed at such an early hour!)

lots of cheese, many samples

wide variety of fresh, ontario-grown and exotic fruit

just think of how much tomato sauce you could make!

which way to the beach?

olive you

make your way over to the market. you won't be disappointed!

terroni: a raving review

went to the new terroni at yonge and summerhill friday evening.
it was delicious. phenomenal vibe.
our waiter was so friendly.
a few meal shots from the eve, complete with menu description.

salad from the nightly specials. pomegranate, arugula,
nuts and buffalo mozzarella.
YUM!

HIGHLY recommend the Rigatoni Arcobaleno
mozzarella di bufala, zucchini, light cherry tomato sauce, basil

DELISH Ravioli di Zio Paperone
homemade ravioli stuffed with duck confit, fig, roasted butternut squash,
sauteed with oyster, button mushrooms and parmigiano

tiramisu

capped off the evening with a loose leaf blood-orange tea.

definitely recommend this new terroni. enjoy!
1095 Yonge St  Toronto
http://terroni.com/

retroactive: winter adventures

just a random assortment of winter photos (still from new years). 

sorry i have been mia, lots going on. 

many pictures to come soon! stay tuned.....

a new year's toast!

our "window fridge" to store our goodies

nature walk

midnight snack...yum yum

walking the dogs....loved the light

lights and bites

it is the time of year for holiday everything!
holiday lights, holiday bites, holiday brunches, afternoon drop-ins, and evening soirees.
it was a busy weekend filled with lovely eats and beats!
enjoy some snaps.

it all started friday evening, attending CBC's the vinyl cafe. it was a great kick off to the season!

pictured here: stewart maclean, the vinyl-ettes, and hawksley workman (who is oh-so-talented), live from the sony center in toronto

as mentioned in a previous post (which i obviously cannot get enough of!), are the joy holiday lights bring me! check out this beauty!

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FAST FORWARD: saturday morning. 7th annual chrismukkah!

this year we moved to a brunch format in order to accommodate the busy-ness of the season. 

we ate well. to say the least.

home made baked french toast. 
pockets of baileys throughout. yum. 
complemented by icing sugar, fresh raspberries 
and pomegranate   

brunch without mimosas? oh, please. 

shout out to JESS for centerpiece and arrangement. stunning.

and as if we didn't have enough food....dessert.

beautiful weekend filled with beautiful friends, company and deliciousness. 
stay tuned...more fun recipes and holiday ideas to come!
thanks for visiting!