Hawthorne Food & Drink -Serves up good things

Do you ever go to a restaurant and wonder what eating your meal is doing for your community and the planet?  Well, I had the opportunity to try Hawthorne Food & Drink's NEW MENU that serves up food sourced from local producers and sustainable and produced with little waste all while training future chefs to gain employment in the culinary industry in their efficient kitchen.  

It really does come full circle to helping the local community.  It helps local vendors know the people that purchase their products and vice versa and in training young chefs to know how to cook everything they receive in terms of products used to generate less waste it will in turn make them better chefs and more employable in the culinary world.  And the ripple effect on the planet will thank them in the future if other restaurants adopt this same model.  Imagine if every food service industry operated this way.  There might be food for all for generations to come.

Not only does this operation #DOGOOD it also Tastes Good.  

I was so impressed with everything about this restaurant.  I have never been to the restaurant before but I have tried small bites of their food at festivals and events so I knew it would be good but I was blown away at how perfectly seasoned and thoughtful everything was.  The plating was gorgeous to say the least but the flavours weren't bland or overpowering.  I prefer things to be less salt and more natural flavour and this is how these dishes were prepared.  If you have a salt addiction you may want to add salt but I think this really is the better way to do it.  Add your own to taste because you can't take it out if it's too much.
.I had a fantastic meal that had many of my favourite vegetables as the main ingredient.

The Menu included:

• Bar Snack - Pickled eggs, tumeric and grape juice.  I loved them.
• Cauliflower 3 ways with deep fried crunchy florets that just crunched in your mouth.
• Roasted bone marrow with lardons and mini caramelized brussel sprouts
• Roasted butternut squash topped with fried shallots
• Schmaltz Carbonara with Chicken
• 3 potatoes, red, purple and fingerling with radish
• Cereal coated fried chicken and slaw (not pictured)
• Panna cotta with chocolate and pumpkin sauce (not pictured)

My only thing that I wished was that the lighting which is gorgeous for people and really interesting
but it's not great for instagramming pics of their fantastically plated dishes.  I didn't post the chicken and the dessert because they lights went down even more so I couldn't get a good enough photo to post.

I returned to Hawthorne once again and tried a few other things like their Burger and spiced fries and this fish dish and fantastic potato croquettes.

This restaurant concept is similar to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant in the UK but really is more about the local community and helping young chefs that need a break.

Location:  Hawthorne Food and Drink
                 60 Richmond Street West
                 Toronto, ON
Website:  http://www.hawthorneto.ca
Closed Sat & Sunday.

Dufflet brings Sunday Tea to the Beaches

Who:            Dufflet
What:           Sunday Tea
Where:         1917 Queen Street East (Beaches)
When:          visited November 15, 2015
Why:            Sample new Sunday Tea menu

Dufflet Rosenberg reminds me of my mom.  She is a tiny dynamo baker in Toronto who has expanded her empire of tasty dessert delights.  She now has her sight set on expanding her empire in new ways.  I was invited to the exclusive location of the Dufflet bakery & cafe in the Beaches to try their new Sunday Tea Menu.


Dufflet started her first Bakery in 1975 and has been steadily building up locations, and offshoots of her business.  The Beaches location was opened in 2007.  I used to spend a lot of time in the Beaches years ago but way before this location opened so I haven't had a chance to visit this cafe until I visited it to check out their new special Sunday Tea.

I love spending a sunday afternoon having a relaxing Sunday Tea or Afternoon Tea or High Tea or whatever it's called depending on where you are and what time of day.  Either way I really like the relaxing ritual of enjoying hot tea and fresh pastries and little sandwiches with friends or family.

I spent this gloriously gorgeous sunday afternoon with my friend who is originally from Ireland so she knows something about enjoying a cup of tea and was excited to be able to join me.  Other than the fact that it was at the same time as the Santa Claus parade we couldn't have picked a better day for it.  Both of us had scratchy cold throats so a comforting tea was in order for the day.

I arrived at 2pm and had only driven by this location and never been inside so I was pleasantly surprised at how lovely the back cafe section of the bakery/cafe was.  To indicate that the table was having the Tea service there were formal white table cloths so there was only 2 tables with the tablecloths,  ours and one other table.  Other people just ordered food and beverages from the regular lunch menu.  I had a lovely reserved table right at the end where there was a glass full length door/window looking out to a tiny pretty courtyard with a supervising cat.  The sun was flowing into the space and later on as the day got darker some beautiful warm hanging lighting gave the room a warm glow.

I was presented with a list of the Tea selection which were all Sloane Teas™.  I chose the Green Tea and my friend chose the traditional Earl Grey Tea.  We were given special hour glass timers to choose our steeping strength.  I have never seen that before so I didn't know what it was.  Very interesting.

We were then presented a 3 tier selection of Tea sandwiches, one kind with smoked salmon and the other cucumber with cream cheese.  The next level was 2 kinds of scones, blueberry and black currant, they were still warm and so soft and creamy and perfect.  The top layer was a selection of a few flavours of Macarons including coffee, pistachio and raspberry.  Also a dacqoise and a chocolate cheesecake mini dessert.    We pretty much ate everything on every level and enjoyed it all.

But it was a bit light on the savoury side since we didn't have lunch beforehand so we were still craving a bit more savoury so we ordered a Turkey, cranberry and brie pannini and a Leek and cheese phyllo pastry tart.  We split them and shared them.  The leek tart was warm just out of the oven and just the most delicious and light tart that I have had in a long time.  The panini was grilled and I think the turkey must have been smoked because it tasted more like ham than it did turkey but the sandwich was good non the less.

We lingered in the cafe and caught up all afternoon and the sun was going down by the time we left.  That's how relaxing it was there.  This is the kind of place I have been craving in my neighbourhood which is filled with Asian cuisine and noisy bubble tea cafe's.  I crave a chill good quality cafe that I want to meet friends in and enjoy a little quiet catch up time.  I think this is what's missing in this city,  a quiet place to think and talk.

The Sunday Tea is only available at this Beaches location at the moment but if you go there and tell them how much you love it maybe they will add more of them.

After you enjoy your afternoon tea don't forget to pick up some cake and they have some new products that make great gifts especially with the Holidays coming up.  If you are stuck on what to get someone they have a whole assortment of chocolate letters and some cute cards too. One stop shop.

I found the price quite reasonable as I have had afternoon tea in a few other spots that cost a lot more.
You can select from 2 different Selections,

• Buttery and Sweet for $19.95 per person/plus tax 
• Savoury and Sweet which is what we sampled for $24.94 per person/plus tax.  

Minimum 2 persons per reservation.
It is available from 1pm to 5pm on Sundays only at the Beaches location.
To Reserve call (416)-699-4900

For more info check out their website at http://www.dufflet.com/About
Check them out on Social  Facebook,  Twitter,  Instagram

Beaches Location:  1917 Queen Street East.  just east of Woodbine.

*Disclaimer:  My meal was complimentary but all the opinions in this blog are my own.

Pukka restaurant introduces new menu

MEDIA PREVIEW of NEW MENU
Restaurant:    Pukka
Address:        778 St. Clair Ave. West (west of Bathurst)
Date visited:  Oct 26, 2015
Instagram     @pukkatoronto
Twitter         @pukkatoronto
Facebook      facebook.com/pukkatoronto
Hashtag        #pukkatoronto
Website:       www.pukka.ca
Phone:          (416) 342-1906


Pukka is a fantastic elevated Indian Restaurant like no other in Toronto, and it has added some new menu additions and invited a few local food bloggers to the restaurant to sample the new menu.  Pukka is owned by Harsh Chawla and Derek Valleau who also own the French Restaurant Concession Road which is located not far from Pukka on St. Clair Ave. West.   The small strip on St. Clair is quickly becoming a food connoisseur destination with original and high quality restaurants.  I had been to Concession Road not that long ago and enjoyed the food there.  You can see a previous blog post for a review of Concession Road.  I had heard a lot about Pukka and how good the food was so I was excited to attend this dinner.
Pukka is a lovely warm and comfortable restaurant.  I really liked the colorful artwork on the walls.

We were greeted by our Blogger friend Vicky who brings us all together for these delicious evenings and also by owner Derek Valleau.   We hung out around the bar upon arrival and all gathered around the beautifully made cocktails that were set up on the bar.   A sling, a sour, a martini and a cocktail.   While we were busy taking photos of the cocktails the bartender was busy mixing up some cocktails for us and we chose the one we wanted to try while also munching on some amazingly addictive Okra fries with a curry mayo dip.  Everyone fell in love with the fries.  Crunchy and light and perfectly seasoned.  I ordered the Varnassis Sling which had mango, orange, cherry, rum and a few other things.  It tasted so good and wasn't too strong.  Like a taste of a tropical country.  I drank the whole thing which is unusual for me.  

 

Owner Derek spoke to us about the new additions to the menu as well as the menu items that are staying on the menu.  He also told us about the fact that most of their proteins come from a local provider who produces higher quality food.   They are also going to be doing a few new things at the restaurant like an Early Bird Prix Fixe $49 for 2 people between 5-6pm.   They are also going to be doing their version of a 100 Foot Journey where they start at Pukka and move over to Concession Road so you can have both Indian food and French fusion in one dinner event.  They are trying some new things to bring their local community together and see if people like it.

 Peter Boyd their Sommelier who spent many years at Scaramouche and is now happy to be with Pukka and Concession road to curate their great wine selections spoke about the wines that were paired with the dinner.  There was a white wine and a red wine served.  I didn't taste them but I did smell them but I was told they were fantastic.  I am not a wine drinker so I can't tell you much about it.  They also spoke about their Wine Evenings.  Wines from Alsace and Germany paired with dinner for  $65 per person.  The next one is November 2nd.

 After taking photos of the food set up at the bar and mingling we sat down to sample the array of tasty dishes from the new menu.

PUKKA MENU

Cocktails:

Mumbai sour, Bombay Sapphire, Aperol, grapefruit, cardamom bitters, egg white

Varnassis Sling, Mango, cherry, orange, rum

Coconut martini

Okra Fries

Tandoori Calamari, Coconut Chutney & Citrus Slaw

Herb-Infused Chicken Tikka, Tamarind Chutney

String Chaat

Wine:  Vina Esmerald, Torres 2014

Boatman's Fish & Prawn Curry, Tamarind & Coconut Broth

Pumpkin Curry 

Punjabi Chicken

Beef Short Ribs, Black Cumin, Garlic & Ginger Masala

Naan Bread

Basmati Rice

Wine:  Valpolicella, Le Salette 2014

Dessert:  Chai popcorn and truffles

Chai Tea

 My favourite dishes were the addictive Okra fries, the String Chaat a delicious mixed salad with vermicelli noodles, chickpeas, puffed rice, pomegranates and a few other ingredients I couldn't figure out but in combination it was fantastic,  crunchy, sweet, savoury, soft noodles and delicious.  A favourite with most of the bloggers was the braised short ribs.  You didn't need a knife to cut them it was so tender.  I really loved the Chicken Tikka which was unusually green from a coating of fresh herbs and the chicken was so tender and flavourful.  I also loved the Coconut broth in the Boatman's Fish and Prawn Curry and mopped it up with the fresh Naan bread.  My friend Niki went crazy over the rice which was served in a preserving jar.  All of the food was beautifully presented and the evening lighting doesn't really do it justice in these photos.  You really do need to go and try it for yourself.   Don't expect the usual butter chicken and typical Indian dishes.  These dishes are not what you find in other Indian restaurants in Toronto but they are authentic Indian flavours and probably more what people in India actually eat.  It's funny that my friend who is Goan recently brought over some leftover Pumpkin curry that his dad made and they served a Pumpkin curry.  My friends was so hot that I couldn't eat it but Pukka's version was a lot easier to eat.

If you are looking for a nice evening out with your spouse or your friends for a great dinner in a cozy space and enjoy trying new things then this is the place for you.   Get yourself over to St. Clair Ave. West and check out their great restaurants and tell them I sent you.

*Disclaimer:  The meal was complimentary but all opinions are my own.