Restaurant Porn: SPLENDIDO in Toronto; Summer 2015 Tasting Menu

Foodies,

Board member Jay Shampur and I and our fellow Toronto Wine Elitist Cabal ™ member Michael Wright made a long overdue return to Splendido on Harbord street in Toronto. The tasting menu destination of the city, this was my third visit and we decided to go all out for the new summer tasting menu 16 course extravaganza.

During the dinner, we learned that one of our favorite sommeliers in the city Ms. Ellen Jakobmeister will soon be leaving the venue to join her love in Burgundy, France. She had met and fallen in love with a visiting winemaker from Burgundy in Prince Edward County and she will be moving there to be with him before summer is over. We are happy for her but of course very sad that she is leaving us. A lovely dinner and parting gift awaits her in the near future.


AMUSE BOUCHE

We began with a pair of amouse-bouches served side by side. The first was a beetroot chip topped with Dijon mustard ice cream – you read that correctly – and fresh apple purée. At first, I thought the creamy Dijon ice cream was actually an aioli but it was given away by the cold. Very nice combination. The second was a “candy apple” radish crudité consisting of fresh local whole radishes sitting in a bowl of crushed peanuts. Beside it was a little bowl of salted caramel. You dip the radish into the caramel and swirl it to coat. Then you dip it into the peanuts and swirl again to coat before popping it whole in your mouth. The radish greens were edible, chef Victor advised us, and so we got to dip, swirl and eat again with the greens to finish off.

FIRST COURSES

The first 8 courses were all seafood based and Asian inspired. Our first was a Sea Bream Sashimi with a dot of Cloudberry pureée on the side. A cloudberry is a golden colored bush fruit similar to a blackberry or raspberry that only grows in Newfoundland and Labrador in this country and is considered a delicacy due to its rarity.

Second and third courses were served side by side and both were Hamachi based. A fresh Hamachi sashimi in soy maple glaze topped with fresh wasabi and topped with fresh jalapeno slices. Beside that was a gently slow-roasted Hamachi belly topped with fresh ginger scallion purée.

Next up was a sensational dish that nearly caused me to disown Jay and Michael: a British Uni Nori Brioche Sushi. This consisted of some of the finest and creamiest uni imported from Britain sitting on a top of an extremely buttery brioche pastry made with dried seaweed. Both components were out of this world but together they were heavenly.

For those of you who don’t know, “uni” is the polite Japanese term for “gonad of sea urchin.” Yep, it’s essentially a seafood testicle and therefore a very acquired taste but if you like it like I do, then you’re all in for it and this was great. I liked it so much, in fact, that I ate Jay’s portion as he hates uni and Michael sent back the majority of his uni.

I told owner/chef Victory Barry who had visited our table that if he gave me another piece of the nori brioche to go with it, I wouldn’t let the rest of the now massacred uni go to waste. Ever the professional, the kitchen sent me out instead a completely new freshly made extra piece at no extra charge. Honestly I just didn’t want the uni to go to waste but I very much appreciate the extra length they went to in order to please me.

Next up was a Snow Crab Tart with Brown Butter Aioli. Freshly pulled snow crab sat in a savory pastry shell filled with a brown butter aioli sauce.

Next was an absolutely delicious Smoked Mussel Warm Salad consisting of house smoked mussels with three different types of seaweed and pickled kombu sitting in a pool of fresh pork broth. Due to Jay’s dietary need, his pork broth was subbed out for some savory flowers but otherwise was the exact same dish.

Continuing on, next came a Rainbow Trout Sashimi consisting of local Ontario rainbow trout that had been lightly cured in maple syrup and miso sitting in a pool of creme fraiche and parsley oil. Ridiculously artistic presentation of the sauce on this one.

The final seafood dish was a freshly shucked Raspberry Point oyster from the East Coast sitting on a bed of smoked potato purée mixed with fish roe. I loved the aroma of this one.

VEGETARIAN COURSES
The next courses were all vegetarian with the intention of both cleansing the palate as well as rounding out the meal.

First up was a delicious Vanilla Curd with Mint and Peas. A homemade vanilla flavored unsweetened milk curd was served with its own whey, fresh split peas, mint oil and baby mint leaves.

Next was Grilled Asparagus. A pair of grilled white asparagus spear halves were topped with preserved lemon, covered with greens and served with a dollop of creme fraiche. You can just see the asparagus sticking out from under the leaves.

After this came Porcini with Mushroom Purée. A braised Porcini mushroom was served with a dollop of mushroom purée beside it.

Our next dish was Foie Gras in Rubarb Consommé. Hard to see in the picture, but a slice of freshly seared foie gras was topped with a sliced baby radish fan and served in a bowl of rhubarb consommé to add tartness.

Our last vegetarian course which was by far my favorite dish of the night was a Truffled Cutured Butter Tagliatelle pasta. Homemade tagliatelle sat in a sauce consisting of nothing but butter… a hand-made house-cultured butter, that is. It was generously topped with shaved black truffle.

MAIN COURSE AND DESSERTS

Our main course was a Braised Lamb Shoulder. It was served in its own jus with smoked rape on the side. You read that correctly, rape is an unfortunately named but quite tasty leafy green that tastes like kale but is as soft as butter lettuce.

Jay does not eat meat so was substituted a pair of Seared Scallops with Smoked Rape which was dressed with rape infused oil and served with some turnip purée on the side.

With the mains out of the way it was time for desserts. As always, Splendido adds a touch of fun at the end with not one but two desserts at the end of the meal. Our first finisher was a fun little Hay Ice Cream Cone. An upscale take on a kid’s drumstick ice cream filled cone, this was a small handmade cookie cone filled with hay infused sweet cream and topped with hay ice cream. Now if you’ve ever smelled hay from a barn like I have, you must be puzzling how this could possibly work as a dessert but it actually does really well because of the sweetness of the hay.

Our second dessert was Three Chocolates, consisting of warm dollops of tempered milk and white chocolate, fresh guimave i.e. marshmallow creme and crumbled homemade chocolate and nut grahams. Once the fancy name and beautiful presentation sank in, I smiled as I realized that this fancy pants high end dessert was actually a cleverly done deconstructed S’More! I loved this and got to finish both Jay and Michael’s portions. Oh yeah.

We then finished with a set of Petits Fours consisting of a lavender macaron, pineapple gelées, and a pair of artisinal chocolates that were works of art. I forgot to take a photo at the restaurant itself but I took the leftovers home and so managed to snap a picture of them.

The final touch from Splendido is that anyone who orders a full tasting menu is graced with a complimentary bottle of El Dorado 12 year old rum and a small decanter filled with a homemade cranberry ginger vanilla juice. You can have both together as a cocktail or separate. I actually loved the juice on its own as a final palate cleanser. I thought the El Dorado 12 was much too raw but then again I am a huge fan of the 21 year old.

We did indeed imbibe in some wine. Jay generously shared a 1983 Dom Perignon he acquired in a trade. Remember my notes from Langdon Hall on the well-aged Kalin Cellars 1993 Chardonnay and the 1998 Krug Grand Cuvée champagne? This was the love child of those two wines. Rich creamy butterscotch and brioche flavors were supported by an underlying crystalline acidity and minerality to its structure.

I really wish I’d actually had this younger as I would’ve preferred a fresher more crystalline taste but not that I’m complaining – this was very generous of Jay to share and quite something to experience as it quite literally matched with every single dish without exception or fault. Now having this and the Krug under my belt, I can see why Champagne fans go crazy over the stuff and can’t really fault them if they drank nothing else. How many wines can you say literally go with everything as a food pairing?

The second wine also contributed by Jay was a Moutard Pere et Fils 2006 Cuvée de 6 Cépages. One of my all-time favorite champagnes, this is made with Chardonnay, Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and is everything Champagne can be. You like your rich brioche and full body in your champers? It’s got it. You like a more fruit-driven crystalline purity to your champagne? it’s there too. I’m oversimplifying, but this champagne is like mixing this evening’s 1983 Dom with the 1997 Krug – richness and pristineness all in one.

Of course I brought a dessert wine, a 2000 Nittnaus Welchriesling Trockenbeereneauslese. Hans and Christina Nittnaus are unfortunately very highly underrated as they make TBAs and dessert wines as well as a wide range of table wines in Austria and don’t seem to get the glory and accolades that Kracher does even though their wines are IMHO just as spectacular.

This TBA has lost the golden yellow color of its youth and turned dark orangeish and was redolent with pear, lime, honey and quince flavors. Acidity was still lively but I felt was starting to fade out so I am glad I opened it. I had a generous serving, Jay had one, Michael had a very small amount as he was driving and Ellen joined us for a toast with a glass as well. We gave a glass to Jill the bartender and then asked Ellen to give the rest of the bottle to the entire kitchen staff as our thanks for an amazing meal.

This was an unbelievable experience, surpassing our last time here when all three of us had the tasting menu and was easily of a one Michelin star quality at least which Jay informed chef Victory Barry of. The night was a bit unusual as it is a long weekend for us here in Canada and so business in general in the city was quiet. However, the restaurant was actually full for the night but the clientele were all very laid back and there was no service backup so chef Victor was actually able to get around and both serve and talk to all of his clientele all throughout the evening, not just ourselves.

Our thanks once again to chef Victor Barry, his entire kitchen and floor staff, sommelier Ellen Jakobmeister, and our bartender Jill. We look forward to our return and giving Ellen a proper sendoff to Burgundy, France.

Interesting, have never seen English uni served before. Would be curious where in the U.S. It is served. Most of the uni in our high end western seafood and Japanese sushi restaurants are from the Pacific Ocean (Japan and California)

Also, 97 Krug? Maybe thinking 98? Krug didn’t declare a 97 vintage.

Regardless, looks like a fantastic meal

that looks great! If I ever figure out how to get around the too many pixels problem I’ll post some similar pics from Nodoguro.

Also, I wonder about the name of the restaurant. Do you know any more about it? It seems infinitely awful.

Very nice, Tran and guys (though I wouldn’t have been able to eat a number of the dishes), great pics and descriptions. I almost feel bad for missing it, but given that I’m on my California tour…

Uni is an acquired taste? It’s like if foie gras and the ocean had a baby. Straight delicious.

+1 but also Ankimo too

There is a resize image option.

Oops. Definitely a 98 Krug, as my own post on our recent return to Langdon Hall demonstrates. My bad. Fixed above.

Damn straight it is! That’s why I nearly disowned Jay and Michael over it. Fortunately, the restaurant preserved our friendship by bringing me another uni sashimi. Lucky for them. And me.

I don’t know what the history is myself. I know they have been around a long time and have scored consistent marks on quality and service forever. Co-owner and chef Victor Barry bought out the place after an amicable split from his partner who wanted to go in a different direction and open a new place which he in fact did.

Chef Victor then made the daring and somewhat risky decision to do tasting menus only in an effort to make Splendido the tasting menu destination of Toronto as they have become very much in vogue here over the last few years.