ursa

Every week I like the Downtown Restaurant Club more and more.  Each meal, a different member of the group chooses a restaurant that they'd like to check out, and for Maggie's pick, it was Ursa.  Since it opened in February, Ursa has been the subject of positive reviews aplenty (here, here, and here) and I will report no different.  Honestly, this was one of the best meals that I've had out in a long, long time.  Everything was on point - service, check, presentation, check, food, MAJOR check.  My main was a beautiful serving of chicken with polenta, greens, and mushrooms.  The chicken was cooked so perfectly that I'm sure that even my chicken-hating grandmother would get along just fine.  And the polenta?  I never thought I'd say this, but it very closely rivals that at Scarpetta.  I saved room for a dessert that I'd read a lot about prior to going to Ursa - the Milk & Honey.  Centered around house-made ricotta, this is an incredibly fresh dessert that doesn't leave you feeling like you just ate your face off (not that that ever happens to me when I go out to eat...cough).  And just when I thought things couldn't get any better, our server brought over some complementary shots.  So... I rest my case.  Ursa is worth the hype.

the Ginger Indie: ginger-infused gin, earl grey tea, fresh lime, candied ginger shave

Seasonal vegetables - pickled red and yellow beets, Ontario white asparagus, sprouted green lentils, dressing of burnt honey & toasted hazelnuts

Georgian Bay whitefish - puree of white beans, crispy cauliflower, and salsa verde

Rhode Island Chicken with amaranth & quinoa polenta, smoked wild mushrooms, lemon wilted chard, sprouted lentils, dehydrated buttermilk tuile

And again, with a view of the greens, mushrooms, and & polenta

Milk & Honey - ricotta, rosewood honeycomb, leatherwood, bee pollen, spelt rye

la merceria

Discovering new-to-me restaurants, cafes, or shops is without a doubt one of my greatest joys in life (it doesn't take much, folks).  My friend Pat (the same one I had a date with here, and who serves as a fantastic model in the following shots) introduced me to La Merceria, a cafe that seems like it's off the beaten path, but is actually about thirty seconds from the hustle and bustle of King West.  Luckily for us all, It's light on the bottle service, and heavy on the while-the-afternoon-away coffee shop charm (not to mention the fantastic selection of kitchenware, linens, and even clothing) .  La Merceria is also what introduced me to alfajores, delightful Argentinian shortbread cookie sandwiches with dulce de leche filling (oh, YES).  I assure you, there's no shame in trekking all the way across the city for an alfajore to go with your coffee (right?).

date night

It seems to me that when the topic of relationships comes up - no matter who I talk to - one of the most common complaints is that our busy lifestyles make it really challenging to find time to spend one-on-one.  To counteract this issue, my boyfriend's mother is a very vocal proponent of the practice of scheduling a weekly date night.  While it's a goal we're still working on (our last "weekly" date night was, in fact, two weeks ago), Darren and I had quite a lovely evening when we took in a play and dinner.  To be fair, the play was actually a fundraiser at the Arts and Letters Club being organized by a friend (so we didn't spend the whole night as a twosome), but it was nevertheless a night of gazing deeply into each other's eyes talking about our weeks and enjoying each other's company.  We had a late dinner at the Queen and Beaver, an upscale gastropub that I'd been wanting to try, where we spent our meal surrounded by royal family paraphernalia (and if you know me, then you'll know that's pretty much my idea of interior decoration perfection).  Oh yeah, and my ox tongue was pretty good, too.

Theatre at the Arts & Letters Club

Can you believe this is only 5 minutes from Yonge & Dundas Square?

Born a model

I've been eating some Spirit Tree Cidery granola for breakfast, so obviously I had to have some of their cider!

Duck & potato pie

Ox tongue & beet root

Cute little nook

Liz Windsor makes for a fantastic dining companion

saving grace

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  While I have come to terms with the fact that dining in Toronto almost always involves a wait or a line (or a combination of both), it still annoys me to the very core of my being.  In fact, for the most part, I tend to avoid situations where my desire for instant gratification will be denied (or at least get around them by dining at unfashionable/inconvenient hours on slower days).  Most of the time, this works pretty well.  Such was the case at Saving Grace, a well-known brunch restaurant on Dundas West.  I'd heard great reviews of their food, but had been warned that weekends bring ridiculous waiting times.  When a mid-week brunch date was arranged, I knew that it was now or never.

The restaurant itself is small and low-key.  I was surprised at the mix of clientele; there was even a family with three young children (who were extremely well-behaved) sitting a table over from us.  Ordering was a bit of a chore because everything sounded so good (although we both chose the "Espressado" smoothie without hesitation: avocado and espresso? Yes please!).  Our meals were both delicious, but my (unfortunately) conservative order of poached eggs (served on an english muffin, with tomato, arugula, avocado, and emmental) was a mistake as Pat's picadillo (tostada, turkey sausage, onion, garlic, tomato, cumin, apples, cabbage, and cilantro) was the clear winner of the two.  But really - mid-week brunch with one of my oldest friends?  No complaints here.

spaghetti (squash) + tomato basil sauce

I'm a little embarrassed that I only recently made spaghetti squash for the first time (especially as it's a pretty popular lower-calorie and gluten-free alternative to regular wheat-based pasta).  The truth is, I've only come around to liking squash over the past year or so.  I didn't really have it as a kid - my parents were never big fans of squash either (hmm, could have something to do with my own attitudes towards it, non?) - so it's a food that I've had to explore on my own.  Spaghetti squash is a very welcome addition to my dinner repertoire.  To start, it's not very "squash-y" - perfect for the not-so-enthusiastic squash lover!  Secondly, it's a cinch to make; add some tomato sauce and you're all set to go.  In this instance, I made my own tomato sauce, but you could use a store-bought jar for convenience (although, what else are you going to do while that squash sits in the oven for an hour?).

Set spaghetti squash on a baking tray, puncture with fork (so it doesn't explode!), and put in a 375F degree oven for 1 hour

Remove from oven and cut in half...

Gently separate "spaghetti" by gently tugging at squash with a fork

Voila!

simple soup

According to the majority of my latest blog posts, it would appear that I never eat at home.  Quite the contrary, actually, and my most recent home cooking has been focused on simple comfort meals like soups and casseroles driven by the cold (well, cool) winter weather.  Here is a recipe I used for soup just the other day...

Makes about 5 large portions, or 7 small ones

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 shallot, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

About 10 green beans, chopped

1/2 cup each corn and peas (I used frozen)

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 can chickpeas

900 mL vegetable broth

1/2 small can of tomato paste

1 cup dry barley

1 breast chicken, cooked and chopped

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus a little to spread)

Salt and pepper to taste (or any other spice you wish to add)

What to do:

1. Saute shallot and garlic in oil.  Add chopped carrots and celery and let simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.  Stir in beans, corn, peas, tomatoes, and chick peas.  Let simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes.

2. Add vegetable stock, tomato paste, and barley.  Turn up heat to high and let boil, then turn down to low, add chicken and parmesan, and let simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

3. Top with grated parmesan and serve!