RESTAURANT PORN: PARLOR FOODS in TORONTO

Foodies and Winos,

Board Member Jay Shampur and I had the privilege of enjoying the first-ever tasting menu developed at the brand new Parlor Foods restaurant in downtown TO located at 333 King Street West.

Co-Owner and Co-Head Chef Jason D’anna wowed us with the food while Co-owner and Co-Head Chef Brett the Buddha Howson took care of the table service, chatted us up, and shared wine with us. Jason also took some time out to say hello to us but sadly turned down my request to move into the restaurant.

Parlor is focused on local Canadian farm to table fine dining in a casual atmosphere. They have an Ontario VQA wine list but their big draw is their craft beer which pairs very well with their foods. They just opened in Nov. 2014 and are doing extremely well, attracting a young budding just starting to be upscale clientele along with their parents which we saw at many tables during the night. The fact that they were full on a Tuesday evening speaks of how well they are doing, much as we have found Los Colibris, Luckee, and the Harbord Room quite full on Tuesday evenings previously.

Earlier in the day, the chefs and their staff had foraged north of the city for wild leeks. After gathering these, they made them the star of their tasting menu giving it an “Iron Chef” feel. Our first dish was a delicious scallop ceviche sitting on top of freshly pickled wild leeks. The tender sweet scallop gave way to the briny and vinegary flavor of the pickles. Jay felt the finish of the dish was overwhelming the seafood, but I enjoyed that contrast.

Our next dish was an awesome homemade fettuccine in wild leek pesto with freshly shaved parmiggiano reggiano cheese, mushrooms and crispy pancetta. The pancetta, like all of Parlor’s charcuterie, is made in-house.

Our third dish was pan-roasted sea bass with a torch-crisped skin in a ragout of smoked wild leeks, corn, lobster, onion and dill. By smoking the wild leeks and not the fish itself, the chefs allowed the tender flavor of the fish in this highly aromatic dish to still come through and not overwhelm the delicate bass. It also forced us to consume some of the ragout with the fish as they intended. The crisp skin provided a nice contrast to the softer textures of the fish, lobster and vegetables.

At this point, chef Jason came out to meet us and a miscommunication became apparent – they thought Jay just didn’t eat pork when in fact he doesn’t eat red meat in general due to his Indian upbringing. They had planned to wow us both with their signature horse and lamb dishes. This resulted in some rejiggering and they came out with a plate filled with more of the scallop ceviche PLUS sea bream ceviche done in the same way.

I offered to eat both Jay and my portion so that nothing went to waste. Sadly, only my portions of the last two courses came next. A perfectly done rare lamb loin au jus with roasted wild leeks and quinoa risotto was followed by the piece de resistance and quite the showstopper… if you can get over eating Black Beauty, Flicka and Trigger. Yep, horse meat is a specialty produced in Quebec and the guys procured some to make an outstanding horse tartare sitting on a homemade potato chip. I absolutely loved this. I feel a little bad about eating a horse, but I hope he or she made a few riders happy before making me happy. I had to try this once in my life.

Dessert, which I forgot to take a picture of, was a creamy homemade ice cream blended with caramelized wild leeks. Now, you’d think this was an insane combination but in fact it actually works. The leeks were mild and sweet in flavor, and combined well with the caramel sugar and cream vanilla flavors. A touch gimmicky, perhaps, but outstanding as a dessert combination.

Service was excellent, provided both by Buddha and our waitress Emma. Both of them told us some great stories of their tattoos and their meanings and their lives in the business.

For our wines, which we shared with Jason, Buddha, and Emma, Jay brought a 2011 Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Vouvray Sec and a 2009 Chateau de Cruzeau while I brought a Kracher 1999 Nouvelle Vague #2 Traminer.

The Huet was initially full of ripe and acidic green apple and lemony Chenin Blanc flavors, one would almost think it was a Riesling if tasted blind. As it got warmer, however, more complex flavors and aromas came out and it started to become richer and creamier like a Chardonnay. In fact, though oversimplifying, that is the best description of this – what a Chardonnay and Riesling would be like blended together. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a very good match with the dishes but served as an excellent palate cleanser in between.

The Cruzeau was a shock, reminding me very much of a Smith Haut-Lafitte Blanc at 1/4th of the price. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc was mellowed out by oak which gave it some creaminess, vanilla flavors and great mouthfeel. Now obviously a SHL is much better, especially an older one, but this was a fantastic quality level for the price point. A great QPR.

The Kracher was pure ambrosia of the gods, a super concentrated Gewurztraminer full of honey, ginger, rye and slight pineapple flavors. It was so concentrated that at first it seemed as if it was lacking acidity but when paired with the ice cream the acidity immediately became readily apparent. In fact, this was so concentrated that its finish actually outlasted that of the ice cream in my mouth and completely took over again which was very impressive when you think about it.

Like The Harbord Room, Luckee, Langdon Hall and Los Colibris, Parlor shares the distinction of having a perfect tasting menu, where every single dish hit it right out of the park. I am a fan and will definitely be returning and dragging TO based board members and friends Mike Grammer and Michael Wright to this venue.

I’m continually impressed with the Kracher wines as well.