Restaurant Porn: Alo 2016 Winter Tasting Menu

[Tran_Bronstein]

Foodies,

Fellow board and TWEC ™ member Jay Shampur and I returned along with TWEC member Linda Sinozic to Alo, the premiere tasting menu restaurant in Toronto for an amazing 14 item tasting menu. The evening proved to be spectacularly humiliating for me as I was reduced to being debonair man about town Jay “Hello again, Mr. Shampur, nice to see you again, how are you this evening” Shampur’s nameless and fawning hanger-on and sidekick.

The humbling started literally as soon as we sat down to eat. Jay was greeted with “Jay Shampur, welcome back. How are you?” and a handshake by the sous-chef who literally didn’t remember I had been there with Jay twice before.

General manager Amanda also greeted Jay warmly by name as we started to eat and clearly didn’t remember mine and gave me a generic “Welcome back Sir.” For the rest of the night, she kept referring to me as the generic “Sir”.

There is a running joke at Alo where Jay lets out a “holy fck" when one of chef Patrick’s dishes blows him away and the chef tells him to mind his language. Well I let out a "holy fck” upon one such dish right when chef Patrick was nearby. I complimented him on the dish and he ignored me and went right to Jay, who proceeded to tell him that I let out a “holy f*ck” and chef Patrick laughed it up with Jay even though they were both talking about ME and I was right there beside them! It’s pitiful playing less than second banana to a guy who can’t even cook!

But enough about me, it’s all about the food and this evening’s was simply superb. Our first amuse-bouche was a Fontina Jalapeno Gougère, a savory choux pastry stuffed with melted jalapeno fontina cheese and topped with powdered caramelized onion.

Next was oysters two ways: a Chicken Fried Oyster from British Columbia on the West Coast and a freshly shucked and lightly dressed Oyster on the Half Shell from New Brunswick. I loved the fried oyster. Linda gave me hers because she doesn’t eat fried food. Her loss.

[Tran_Bronstein]

The last amouses came together, a Fois Gras Popsicle coated with and sitting on a bed of puffed rice pearls and Beef Tripe Rind with Foie Gras Dressing. The tripe was interesting in that it was cooked the same way a pork rind snack would be and had the same texture but was lighter and more delicate in flavor. Linda and Jay were given a fresh Tuna Loin Ceviche as a substitute for a substitute for the pork rind.

The first course was a deliciously creamy Broccoli Bavarois topped with a ginger emulsion. A high class take on cream of broccoli soup. Same ingredients done in a completely different manner.

Next up was a Cured Sea Breem Sashimi with breakfast radish slices. The tiny delicate radish gets its name as it is served often with breakfast in Japan.

[Tran_Bronstein]

Next up was a very interesting dish that caused some debate among us as to whether or not it was intended as a palate cleanser. A bowl of Milk Skin with Caramelized Milk Ice Cream. This was sweet and creamy and refreshing, but not made with ingredients that one usually associates as a palate cleanser. Still, it served its purpose in getting us ready for the savory courses to follow. I forgot to take a pic.

Next was the famous Alo Pillow Bread and house made cultured butter. The restaurant cultures its own butter and then uses the leftover liquid to make their light airy bread pillows.


Things ramped up as we were next served Toro with Carolina Gold Rice and Dill Fennel Pureé. Toro, or Chutoro if you prefer, is sashimi made from the rich fatty belly area of the tuna fish. Chef Patrick served this himself and referred to the Carolina Gold Rice which I have raved about out loud every time I’ve been there to the entire staff as, and I quote, “Jay Shampur’s favorite.”

[Tran_Bronstein]

Next up was my absolute favorite savory dish of the night, a Triple Cream Brie Sabayon sitting on a ragout of braised pine nuts and chanterelle mushrooms. I could’ve eaten an entire bowl of this and then died and gone to heaven a happy man. Unbelievably rich and delicious. This was the one that elicted the “holy f*ck” out loud from me.

Next was a Nova Scotia Lobster Tail served more of the Carolina Gold Rice with butter sauce and squash pureé on the side. Sadly I missed a pic again as I was too busy coming down from Heaven to planet Earth after the last dish to enjoy this one. My bad.

Then came a BC Sea Urchin Tartare. How do you make a sea urchin tartare? Put fresh British Columbia sea urchin sashimi and a tiny mound of bone marrow on top of a fresh beef tartare slice.

Finally out came the main course – or rather three variations of them. Pictured below was mine, the Cap of Ribeye Beef in Jus topped with freshly grated black truffle. To accomodate their dietary restrictions, Jay and Linda got a medallion of fresh fish and Muscovy duck in place of the beef. Jay’s jus was also done with chicken instead of beef. All three were stunningly delicious but I definitely got the best end of the deal as the beef was literally melt in your mouth. Chef Patrick personally shaved a generously heaping amount of fresh black truffle on each plate himself right before us.

Next we chose to have the cheese course before dessert. The course consisted of 18 month old aged Beemster with sides of apple covered in hand-torched Beemster, house made mustard honey, apple chutney, pretzel buns and house-made beer nuts that I devoured single-handedly.

[Tran_Bronstein]

Next came the first of THREE dessert courses! Oh yeah! It’s like they knew I was coming! First up was some Sunchoke Ice Cream and Chips with Vanilla Foam. Now an artichoke is not something I would normally think of as an ice cream flavoring but it made perfect sense once I tasted it as sunchoke is actually pretty sweet and nutty as a vegetable.

The second dessert was Blonde Chocolate Chantilly sitting on a bed of walnut butter and expresso gel. The chantilly was essentially a rich white chocolate mousse greatly complemented by the flavors of walnut and coffee.

Our third dessert was an upscale version of an old favorite, Alo’s version of Carrot Cake. A carrot cake medallion was served with creme fraiche, carrot gel, carrot ice cream and tangerine pieces. The sour tangerine and creme fraiche cleverly took the place of what would traditionally be cream cheese frosting and raisins or pineapple in a standard carrot cake recipe.

[Tran_Bronstein]

The final mignardises consisted of a sweet choux pastry Cream Puff and a molded Sweet Popover.

This was a spectacular meal the likes of which I’ve rarely had in my lifetime. Every single dish was simply perfect. I personally thanked pastry chef Cori Murphy for her stunning desserts as we finished and then chef Patrick Kriss and manager Amanda Bradley as we left. This was my third dining experience here and definitely not my last. I am a customer for life. Our thanks to the staff at Alo for an amazing four hour dining experience not to be forgotten until the next time.

[Mike_Grammer]

You are evil. All 3 of you. That is all

Mike

[Sanjay_Shampur]

Tran,

I offer you a mission: (should you choose to accept it): find a place where I am your “hanger on”

I’m looking forward to “Challenge Accepted”

Cheers
PS: A restaurant - just to clarify - I ain’t doing no martial arts (being the delicate flower that I am )