El Catrin

Last week I was invited to a media preview dinner at El Catrin (Twitter: @elcatrinca), a new Mexican restaurant located in the trendy Toronto’s Distillery District area. I must admit my Mexican dining experiences were only limited to tacos and burritos prior to this dinner, so I was very excited to try out some creative and modern Mexican dishes.

El Catrin welcome drink

vibrant dining scene

El Catrin replaced the old Boiler House location, and was transformed into an energetic and modern space with striking design by Mung Leung Interior Design firm. When I first entered the restaurant, I was blown away by the jaw-dropping gorgeous design and artwork. The wall mural was huge – it was forty-foot long and twenty-two foot high!  It was so bright and colorful that kept my eyes wandering for a long time. The mood was mysterious yet energetic and fun.

impressive wall mural

wall mural

Various decorations and artwork throughout the restaurant were brought in directly from Mexico as well. Kudos to the design team!

Mexican artwork

stone chamber

wall decoration

Executive Chef Olivier Le Calvez (Twitter: @ChefLeCalvez), a native Mexican, brought over his twenty-four years of experiences in French Mexican cuisine to this new restaurant. We were delighted to try out Chef Olivier’s seven-sampling courses and dessert with cocktail drink pairings in that evening.

Executive Chef Olivier Le Calvez

1st course
Guacamole en la Mesa ~ avocado, tomato, red onion, fresh cilantro, serrano chili
Nueces Picante ~ glazed pecans, peanuts and walnuts rubbed with a blend of three Mexican chilies
cocktail pairing: Traditional Margarita ~ Milagro Blanco, triple sec, agave nectar, citrus

three different chili as condiment

Guacamole en la Mesa

Traditional Margarita

I enjoyed the guacamole mashed with a mortar and pestle right in front of me. It’s very fresh and tasty.

2nd course
Ceviche de Atun ~ fresh tuna, lime juice, olive oil, watermelon, chive and habanero mignonette
Vuelve a la Vida El Catrin ~ east coast oyster with a ceviche of shrimp, octopus, bay scallops, red onion, cucumber, jicama and acapulco cocktail sauce
cocktail pairing: Pepino Diablo ~ Milagro Blanco, muddled cucumber, Serrano peppers, agave nectar, citrus, Tajin rim (cucumber drink)

Ceviche de Atun

Vuelve a la Vida El Catrin

Pepino Diablo

This was my favourite course. Tuna was very fresh, and the added watermelon helped reduce the heat from habanero peppers and added extra sweetness to the fish. Oyster and seafood ceviche was another hit. I also loved the freshness of this cucumber drink. Cucumber flavour was very pronounced ~ perfect for a hot summer afternoon! The rim was seasoned with Tajin powder, a very popular seasoning in Mexico. It is widely used in various Mexican dishes.

3rd course
Tacos al Pastor ~ corn tortilla filled with shaved pork marinated with axiote with pineapple, fresh cilantro and chopped onion
cocktail pairing: Fuego Sandia ~Tromba Blanco, St. Germaine, Agua Sandia, lemon juice, Tajin rim

Tacos al Pastor

Fuego Sandia

Shaved pork mixed with pineapple cilantro marinate was fragrant. The salty and spicy rim of the watermelon drink balanced out the sweetness perfectly.

4th course
Tostada de Higado de Pato ~ hot seared foie gras, el Catrin made tostada, mezcal mango syrup, poblano and red onion relish
cocktail pairing: Hibisco Rosa ~ Milagro Blanco, Patron Citronage, hibiscus syrup, rosewater, citrus (hibiscus rosewater drink)

Tostada de Higado de Pato

Hibisco Rosa

I liked the idea of foie gras pairing with sweet mango and onion relish, unfortunately I found my foie gras a little bit too pungent. Would prefer adding more heat to get some kick.

5th course
Ensalda de Nopal ~ cactus salad, onion, tomato, fresh cilantro, radish with tequila lemon vinaigrette
cocktail pairing: Mojito Reposado ~ Milagro Reposado, agave nectar, muddled mint, fresh lime, soda

Ensalda de Nopal

Mojito Reposado

It was my first time eating cactus in my life! Cactus has a crisp texture and tangy vegetal taste, yet it’s also a bit slimy.  Chef Olivier added a very nice vinaigrette to bring out the freshness of cactus salad. I enjoyed it a lot. It was very unique. Be sure to order this dish next time!

6th course
Camarones al Ajillo ~ jumbo shrimp sauteed with guajillo, garlic, lime juice, white wine, over red rice, black bean puree and guacamole
cocktail pairing: Zarzamora ~ Jaral del Barrio Joven, Patron Citronage, muddled blackberries, cilantro, citrus (blackberry and cilantro lemonade)

Camarones al Ajillo

Zarzamora

I liked this dish a lot. The shrimp was big and crunchy, while black bean puree was smooth and red rice strong in flavour. I could almost relate this to some Chinese styled dishes. Excellent!

7th course
Costilla Corta en Mole Negro ~ beef short rib braised 24 hours with black mole sauce, sweet potato puree, sautéed sugar snap peas
cocktail pairing: Mayahuel ~ Milagro Reposado, Jagermiester, agave nectar, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer

Costilla Corta en Mole Negro

Mayahuel

Beef rib was very tender and juicy. However I found this dish a bit salty for my liking.

Dessert
Churros ~ cajeta, chocolate and strawberry mousse
Barra de Choclat ~ double smoked and spiced hazelnut crunch chocolate bar
cocktail pairing: Agua de Coco ~ Patron café, Amarula, coconut water, lemon (with cinnamon stick and caramelized sugar tortilla chip)

Churros with Barra de Choclat

Agua de Coco

As you can probably tell by the photos, the sampling dishes and drinks were quite big in size. I had to keep reminding myself throughout the courses not to finish every dish in order to save room for the next. By the time I had dessert I was literally full. How could a meal be completed without dessert?! I ended up squeezing out my reserved 10% room in my belly to enjoy them.

For those who haven’t tried churro before, it is a deep fried dough pastry snack often referred to as a Spanish doughnut. The dipping sauce that came with churros was a great compliment. I just wished the dipping sauce be thicker for coating. The double smoked and spiced hazelnut crunch chocolate bar was brilliant. I was told the smokiness came from the hazelnut cream being prepared in a smoker. The spiciness gave a mild kick to the chocolate. This delicious dessert made it worth the extra fullness in my tummy. 🙂

separate dining area on the second floor

50 ft long bar

tequila bottles sitting on old whisky racks from the Distillery

I noticed the fully lit up gorgeous outdoor patio on my way out. It was an enormous area – 5000 sq. ft. – centered around a huge fire pit, perfectly enough to host various parties and events for groups. I’m sure it would be extra nice to gather around the fire pit with cocktail drinks when the weather gets cooler at night.

El Catrin is a great addition to the Distillery District. Go visit its impressive decor, try out some delicious Mexican dishes and enjoy some amazing cocktails with friends! 🙂

Note: The meal was complimentary but my review remained unbiased.

Duff’s Wings

I’ve been to Buffalo, NY, a number of times mostly for shopping. However, I’ve never been to any Buffalo wings places for meals. This time I told myself I have to make an effort to take some time off in the shopping mall and try some Buffalo wings. Many reviews and blogs seemed to pick either Duff’s Wings or Anchor Bar as the original wings place. After flipping my coin, I’ve decided to bring my parents to Duff’s Wings.

Duff’s Wings in Amherst, Buffalo

This place was located in Amherst and it was the first Duff’s Wings restaurant (twitter: Duffs_wings). It’s like any other college pubs, definitely not fancy at all. In fact I felt like I was in a cafeteria. However it didn’t keep customers and tourists from driving all the way to this small little town and try out the wings.

inside the pub

Even President Obama visited the pub before.

After almost 30 mins of waiting in line, we were finally given a table at 3pm. We’ve ordered its daily special #2 – 20 wings (10 medium hot, 10 medium light) + large fries + large pitcher of pop. Getting so hungry and excited, we quickly got a bite of the wings.

Duff’s menu

We ordered Daily Special #2

cafeteria style service

the famous Buffalo Wings!

And the taste? IT WAS SO SALTY AND SOUR!

My mom couldn’t stand it so much that I had to order a turkey burger for her instead. I kept thinking if it was a mistake that the wings were made that way. I asked the waitress and got her reply – the saltiness came from the sauce and they did not add any extra salt. I looked at other customers eating happily around me, puzzled.

So here it is, I’ve finally tried the authentic Buffalo wings in Buffalo, but I hated it. I couldn’t stand the saltiness and sourness. My brother, on the other hand, loved the leftover wings I brought from the restaurant. It’s all personal taste after all.

Final verdict: I would stick to my honey garlic wings from now on. So long, Duff’s Wings!

Winterlicious 2012 – Auberge du Pommier

Once again, my friends and I were participating in the annual Winterlicious events in Toronto  (Twitter: @liciousTO).  Initially we wanted to try another restaurant, but it was already fully booked by the time we called.  We ended up visiting Auberge du Pommier, one of the Oliver & Bonacini restaurants (Twitter: @Oliver_Bonacini) for lunch instead.  Luckily I wasn’t disappointed.

We had our reservations at 1:00pm on Sunday.  The restaurant was fully booked.  In fact, it might have been overbooked so we waited for 35 mins before our table was ready. There were lots of customers waiting at the foyer.  It was so crowded that we even felt like we were in a dim sum place.

drinks menu

lunch menu

Our first course choices were split between leek & cabbage soup or smoked salmon rillettes. I picked the leek & cabbage soup.  It was very delicious and light.

Smoked Salmon Rillettes

Leek & Cabbage Soup

In terms of main course, again, we were split between two choices – roast chicken or meatball.  I picked roast chicken, which was very moist and tender.  Two friends ordered meatball, but they didn’t like it.  They found it taste dry shortly after few bites.  The size of meatball was huge and inconsistent as well.  One was even large than a lady’s fist.

Roast Chicken

Meatball

We’ve decided to try all dessert selections.  I chose sticky date pudding, which was supposedly the sweetest of all three choices.  However, I found it the tastiest, and with the right sweetness.  The cake was very moist, and the raspberry sauce on the side balanced out toffee sauce’s sweetness on top.  There were few tiny candied ginger bits too. Very nicely executed!

Sticky Date Pudding – heavenly!

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chevre Parfait

At the end of the lunch, we were gifted with few $25 gift certificates to celebrate with the restaurant’s 25th anniversary.  It was very nice of them.  Thanks Auberge du Pommier!

gift certificate

Final verdict:  I really liked this Winterlicious lunch, and I think $25 meal was all worth it.

Friendly reminder: Parking is available around the restaurant, but it is quite expensive, so don’t forget to bring in extra coins, or better yet, use your credit card.  Our lovely waitress kept telling us that we wouldn’t need to worry about paying for parking on Sunday as no one would check on the weekends. However, we’ve decided to not take our chances and went out halfway during our lunch to pay for our soon-to-be-expired parking meters anyway.