Chef Rob Feenie opens the Cactus Club in Toronto [REVIEW]

I met up with a friend on the warmest November day we have had in a very long time in Toronto and we decided to go for lunch.  We had an event to go to in the evening but had lot's of time to linger over a nice lunch so I suggested going to the Newly opened Cactus Club Cafe restaurant.  The restaurant created by Vancouver well known Chef Rob Feenie brings the  West Coast to the East Coast.

It's located at 77 Adelaide Street West at the First Canadian Place.  A great destination for the business crowd and in an area that is dominated by Path food courts and not very impressive restaurants this restaurant really stands out.  There are so many things that really rise above most of the restaurants in the area including the entrance from Adelaide Street.  Upon walking toward the restaurant we were immediately drawn to the Yellow Umbrellas on the Patio and the Fire bank leading toward the entrance.  It's a spectacular patio and huge sign you can't miss on the front of the restaurant that says check me out I am big and beautiful.
When you step inside you are greeted by some very attractive women dressed in professional but very pretty blue dresses.  Very friendly but I think they are still getting used to how things work but it's new so that's ok.  We were seated at a high top table just in front of the entrance and in front of an elevator so we asked if we could move and they were able to move us to the dining room upstairs a few minutes later.  I am so glad we were able to move.  The downstairs area is more of a bar like environment while the upstairs is a very glamourous dining room.  We were seated at a table for 4 but we were really happy about that because we ordered a lot of food that wouldn't have been able to fit on a 2 top table.

 You know a restaurant is destined for success when you look around the room and there is a prominent Gossip columnist and a well respected Chef and media personality with their people at different tables and both catered to by Chef Rob Feenie.  The well known Chef was even given a tour of the restaurant by Chef Feenie.  Hey Chef,  bloggers here want a tour too.  Don't get me wrong we received excellent service but I would have loved to check out the kitchen too.  I had a peek when I went to the washroom which was also spectacular.  There was a full length mirror with a selfie tag on it so that you could take a selfie in there and post your pic with the tag.  So of course we did that.

The Food was really unexpected as well.  We were expecting tiny portions for the prices of what we ordered because that's generally the case in restaurants with Chef's of his calibre.  We decided to share everything and ordered the Tuna stack which I heard Rob Feenie talk about being one of their signature dishes. It was stacked with chunks of avocado and citrus pieces and dotted with sesame seeds and with a mild dressing.  It was served with light chips.  This was a standout for me.  I am already a sucker for tuna dishes but this one was so light and just the greatest balance of creamy, rich and citrus flavourings.  It was a great size for a lunch dish for 1 with maybe something on the side but also great for sharing.
We decided to order the fish tacos, an order comes with 2 tacos and we were expecting a couple bite tacos but these things were humungous.  The fish deep fried perfectly with a light batter coating.  It was topped with white cabbage and pickled red onions and came with a tomato salsa and chipotle mayo.  I didn't like the salsa that much and skipped the mayo.  I would have preferred a lime crema I think on top.   The next huge dish was the deep fried calamari.  Also battered in a light and crunchy batter it was mixed with deep fried jalapeno slices and red pepper slices.  It was easily a great sharing plate for 3 or 4 people.  It came with a tzatziki and another sauce.
We also thought the ceviche we ordered would come in a small dish but was plated on a platter.  It was pretty heavy on the lime citrus and it came with tortilla chips.  It was good but wasn't as good as the Tuna stack.  We didn't order any drinks or dessert and the bill was about $30 each.  We ate everything but took home what was like a full order of the calamari.

Bring your appetite and lot's of friends.  It's a gorgeous space to either have a date, a business lunch or a great lunch or dinner with friends.

What I really loved about the place was the decor though.  Other than the fact that the lighting wasn't very food photo friendly but it was people flattering.  The lighting fixtures were spectacular and the artwork around the room was colourful and super modern and interesting.

What a great space and the food and service are what you would expect from a Chef like Rob Feenie with a solid reputation for producing a quality restaurant.

I really loved every bit of it and highly recommend checking it out.   This might bite me later in not being able to get a table in the dining room but hopefully someone will read this post and find a spot for me.  I would love to see more restaurants outside of the typical King, Queen and Dundas Street West areas around town.  This one is right in the heart of downtown.  It makes me happy and I wish I was still working in the area.
Thanks Chef Feenie for bringing some light to the East Coast.

Winterlicious at Weslodge

Yesterday was the first day of Winterlicious 2015 in Toronto so I gathered my favourite food blogging and Gastroposter girls together to go for lunch at Westlodge Saloon on King Street West.  It's a really beautiful space.

Winterlicious runs from January 30 to February 12th at over 200 restaurants in the city.

Most of the time we see each other at media tastings where we don't get to choose our food and are usually more focused on getting decent photos in a limited amount of time.  This time we just went for our own pleasure and I chose the restaurant.  It was actually my second choice because I wanted to go to America at the Trump Tower but they were booked up.  But I am really glad that I decided to go to Weslodge instead.   My friend Mary (Mary's Happy Belly) Carole (YumYum Factor) and Jenny (icecreamandknishes) met up on a bright sunny but cold friday afternoon.  As you can see from the photos the space was filled with bright sunshine which always makes a space look spectacular.  Because it was the first day and early on a friday in a normally club district busy weekend area but not as busy on weekdays so it wasn't as packed as it would normally be at night.  Good for us.  We didn't have to yell at each other to talk and had the best service because all of the servers were very relaxed.

 

With smart phones and cameras in hand we were ready to order from the Prix Fixe menu.

I ordered the Scotch Eggs to start.  These tiny little things were the best things I have had in a very long time.  A perfectly runny little quail egg surrounded by sausage in and coated in flavourful breadcrumbs and sitting in a pool of tomato jam.  Drool worthy. I wanted more.

Then I got my entree of Smoked Brisket Sandwich (open faced) with cabbage and a side of fries and a chipotle mayo.  I could smell how good it was going to taste before I took a bite.  The smokey brisket and chipotle mayo with the perfectly crispy and not greasy fries were a delicious pairing.

A couple of my friends ordered the Mushroom Tagliatelle which I sampled a bit of.  With freshly made pasta on a rich creamy tomato sauce.  I don't like mushrooms but I really liked this.

For dessert I chose the Chocolate Brownie with Bourbon whisky nuts and cream.  My friends thought it looked sad but it tasted so good I didn't even care.  Brownies aren't the best things to photograph but I love chocolate.

My friends chose this work of art of a dessert dish of Cheesecake with lime curd and crushed pretzels.  They all loved it.  I didn't try it but it was my second choice for dessert and I would have been happy with it if I had chosen it I am sure.

 I would have to say this is one of the best Winterlicious meals I have had in the past few years.  Normally you get 1 or 2 of the choices that you like or you don't like the food at all and have just taken a chance.  This time it was 3 for 3 for all of us and I can honestly say that we are tough critics because we all cook and some of us go to lot's of restaurants and media tastings.  That says a lot.  We all gave it a thumbs up.  We will be back for those Scotch eggs for sure.

follow along on twitter and instagram at #LiciousTO

Building a better lunchbox for Tiff

BUILDING A BETTER LUNCHBOX - TIFF14 Edition

This month one of the challenges for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Ambassadors is to build a better lunch box.  I am sure that when they were thinking about the challenge they were thinking about all the packed lunches that were going to school with all the kids starting their school year in September.  

Well I suppose it could also apply to people that return to work after their summer vacations but for me since I am not working right now my back to school like big event is TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival.  It happens every September and this is my 14th year doing it.  I am one of a special group of people that take care of guests at Roy Thompson Hall during the festival.  I am on a team of approx. 30 people who put in their time evenings and weekends,  most of the team have full time jobs and spend their free time at Tiff every September.   We are a pretty close group of people.  The Tiff staff know that we travel in packs.  Speaking of packs.  I decided to focus my building a better lunchbox to building grab and go food to eat before, during and after Tiff.   

My shifts start generally around 5:30pm and it takes me approx. 45 min. to an hour on the subway to get there so I find it difficult to eat dinner before I have to go to my shift.  

This year I have stocked my fridge with grab and go foods.  Things that I can either just eat quickly before I leave the house or things that I can bring with me if I am hungry during a break.   We can't store our food in fridges or anything and generally we try and go to a restaurant close by when we have a break but sometimes it's just not possible to eat healthy.  This year I am trying to have a variety of foods ready for any craving I may have.  The other thing all of this food is prepped for is in the event that I get home late at night and I am starving and just need something quick to tide me over before I crash.

Doing Tiff gets pretty expensive when we, as in some of my team go out to eat at a restaurant every night.  I have committed to 8 shifts this year so that's eating out 8 times in 1 week.  Because I am not working right now I don't have that kind of money this year so this is my way of saving a little bit of time and money and trying to get some healthy food in here and there.   

If you have ever DONE TIFF you know that it is exhausting.  I find that after day 4 I start to feel tired because the first 4 days of the festival are the craziest.  If I don't get nutrition in there somewhere I just peter out before the end of the festival and just don't have the energy to see films when I am off shift.

So here are some of my GRAB and GO foods that I have lined up so far for the first few days of Tiff.

All of these things can be applied to your kids lunches or even your workday lunches.   Prep on a sunday and have a few days worth of lunch bits to put together fresh everyday.

Veggies:

Carrot sticks, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes and cooked beets.

For quick salads I have already cut and prepped Kale.  It lasts longer than romaine and has max. nutrition.  You can also make some kale chips for quick snacks.

Fruits:

Cut up strawberries, cut up melon, blueberries, nectarines or peaches, apples.

Sandwich fixings:

Sliced deli meats like salami, mortadella and cheeses like provolone, cheddar and cream or goat cheese or whatever you like.   Anything you can make a sandwich with quickly.

I have also made up a container of tuna salad for quick prep of tuna sandwiches.

Ready to eat foods:

I made a batch of potato salad and will probably make some boiled eggs and maybe a macaroni salad or mac and cheese.  Things that can either be eaten cold or a quick heat up.

Snacks:

I try and stay away from the film festival popcorn.  It's really high in sodium and saturated fats and it doesn't agree with me, so I rarely eat it even if it's the only thing available when we are watching a movie.   This is where having some snacks in your bag comes in handy.   A few of the snacks I have right now are Clif bars, some german chocolates, some candied nuts and some roasted seaweed.  

This covers all the bases for sweet, salty, healthy and quick.  

Some of my fellow team members have a boat load of snacks that they line up before the festival.  I generally prefer to just have a meal but this year I am prepared to keep my energy up during the festival.

If I have some time I will try and prep a few more things like energy bars or trail mix or other prepared foods.   But this is the start of a week of Starving Foodie at Tiff.

Craft Service - Food on Set

CRAFT SERVICE

In film, television or video production, craft service or crafty refers to the department which provides food service and beverages to the other departments or crafts. In addition to policing the set they set down layout boards and protect the set area, as well as provide buffet style snacks and drinks. The crafts in film refers to departments such as camera, sound, electricians, grips, props, art director, set decorator, hair and makeup, background.  (from Wikipedia)

    food on set

I wear many hats and one of them is the hat of a freelance Makeup Artist.  Although I have been busy doing other things and haven't done any makeup jobs for a long time I decided to say yes to an offer to do the Makeup for a Short Film in St. Jacobs, ON.   You are wondering what that has to do with food?  Food is really important in making a difference in the experience you have working on a set and can make or break having the cast and crew feeling comfortable and happy.

Life on a film set is pretty crazy and hectic.   You throw a bunch of people together who in some cases have never met and they all do different things but they have to work together as a team to get the job done as fast and as great as possible.   When you work in film you work very long hours, an average day is 12 hours and it sometimes goes even longer.   We had one 15 hour day one of the days on this set.  It is customary to provide meals on set for the cast and crew to keep the team fuelled and also to keep them on set and ready to go at the same time.

A "Craft"table is set up for the crew to be able to graze for food when there are breaks in between takes.  The usual food for craft tables include high sugar and high carb foods.  Typically things like donuts, muffins, bagels, and junk foods.

The "CREW" is generally filled with men who prefer meat and carbs so if there are vegetables they don't go over as well as a Pizza might.

This is a picture of a sugar type of cake that was set up on the "CRAFT" table.














This Pasta Plate was one of the Lunches which occurs at any time of the day depending on start time.  Generally it's supposed to be 5 hours after the call time.   This lunch was served at 3pm.   It was a tasty pasta with sausage and tomato sauce with some garlic bread and caesar salad on the side.   So you could imagine a whole crew of people yawning an hour later after the carb high dips.  This is a typical meal and is what the majority of the cast/crew like.   But there are exceptions that always have to be dealt with.  We had a few vegetarians on set and it can be very difficult for them to get what they need to be satisfied.  They are sometimes limited to salads.

When you work on a film set you can't leave the set unless you are one of the runners, so you can't just pop out to pick up your lunch.   An average day could start at 8 am and go to 11pm leaving no time to be able to get your own food so that is why it is generally provided for the Crew to keep the production going.    When the catering is Great the Cast and Crew function a lot happier.  Variety and filling and satisfying meals is the key to a happy crew.

Never underestimate the importance of Food in the equation in making a great film.