A World of Flavour

Chef Ibrahim Ghozlani serves up a cultural blend.

Experimentation is the name of the game at Bistro Narra.

The kitchen staff, led by Chef Ibrahim Ghozlani, is always eager to try new combinations to see what their clients enjoy, or what they might not.

“Mississauga can be a tough crowd, because it’s so diverse,” says Ghozlani, “but that doesn’t stop us from trying new things. Our annual tasting menu, which collects all our experiments throughout the year, allows us to be mad scientists, in a way. For example, we’ll do things like molecular gastronomy—nobody expects a restaurant in Mississauga to be doing that. It’s a lot of fun.”

Located in a plaza in the Churchill Meadows neighbourhood, the cozy yet upscale restaurant offers classic European fare, but with a twist, as Ghozlani brings with him several other culinary influences beyond the French cuisine he was trained in. After graduating from the Culinary Arts School of Ontario in 2004, he lived and worked in Toronto, Montreal, Dubai and Amman, Jordan (and had his own restaurant there), before moving to Mississauga. Somewhere in there, he also found the time to get married, spend three months on honeymoon in Italy, and subsequently fall in love with Italian food.

“I’m from Jordan, so I add some Mediterranean and Arabic influences in my cooking,” he says. “But I’ve lived in many different places, and each new country I’ve worked in has exposed me to different ingredients. I love combining all these influences in ways that are fun and modern. You can always find a new fruit or vegetable you haven’t seen before—you just have to travel!”

Ghozlani enjoys working with seasonal ingredients, and changes the menu accordingly; whiteboards listing the restaurant’s ever-changing daily specials help illustrate his desire to keep it interesting. His philosophy? “Respect the ingredients,” he says. “Every item on the plate needs to shine on its own, and the dish must be balanced.” We got to try one of his dishes during our visit—this philosophy is paying off.

So what’s next for him? “I’d like to have my own restaurant again,” he says, “but I’ve only just returned to Canada. I need to give it a few years to better understand the local palate—that’s why I keep changing the board. I want to get as much feedback from our clients as I can.

“And in the future, I see myself going back to and retiring in Italy… but that’s a long way off!”

RECIPE: SURF ’N’ TURF

“This is my take on surf ’n’ turf, with organic beef loin, roasted bone marrow and snow crab claws. It’s currently my favourite dish to cook at Bistro Narra.”
—Chef Ibrahim Ghozlani

INGREDIENTS

• 6 oz AAA strip loin steak
• 1 bone marrow, 6-inch, split lengthwise
• 2 snow crab claws
• 1 Yukon Gold potato
• 1 asparagus spear
• 1 slice prosciutto Parma
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• dollop of butter
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• salsa verde (see separate recipe below)

METHOD

For bone marrow

1. Soak marrow in cold water for 12 hours in refrigerator; change water after 6 hours.
2. Remove from water and roast in convection oven at 320°F for 20–30 minutes.

For crab claw

1. In a small sauce pot, add butter, fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
2. Poach in butter for 7 minutes.

For strip loin steak

1. Season meat with salt and fresh-cracked black pepper.
2. Grill to desired doneness.

For prosciutto crisp

1. Place a slice of prosciutto between two sheets of parchment paper on a baking tray and bake at 400°F until crisp; about 5–7 minutes.

For potato fondant

1. Using a paring knife, shape potato into a 1.5-inch cylinder and place in a small sauce pan; cover with chicken stock or water.
2. Add a dollop of butter and a sprig of rosemary; bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer until all water has evaporated and potato starts to brown from the bottom.

For red wine glaze

1. On low heat, reduce 2 cups of good quality red wine to 3 tbsp (should be the consistency of syrup); about 20–30 minutes, but keep an eye on it after it reduces by three-quarters.

For asparagus

1. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper; grill (though you can substitute for any veggie you like).

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SALSA VERDE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp capers
• 3 gherkins
• 1 fillet anchovies
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 bunch basil
• 1 bunch mint
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil

METHOD

1. Add all ingredients to food processor and blitz for 2 minutes on high.

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PLATING

1. Place bone marrow in the centre of the plate; prevent bone from rolling by anchoring it to the plate with red pepper salsa or whatever you like.
2. Place potato fondant on one end of the bone and crab claws on the other; arrange slices of meat in the centre. Place asparagus on top of potato.
3. Top the sliced meat with salsa verde.
4. Place prosciutto crisp at an angle for height.
5. Drizzle plate with red wine glaze in a circular motion.

 

Bistro Narra
3030 Thomas St., Unit A404
905-567-8555

(Originally posted on mississaugalife.ca; recipe originally posted on urbaneats.ca. The print version originally appeared in Mississauga Life, issue 30, 2015; the PDF of that is available here.)

Simple Is Best

Two new chefs are shaking things up at Saucy.

Change isn’t necessarily about fixing something bad; sometimes it’s about improving on what’s already good.

Saucy Restaurant, a Streetsville staple for 14 years and counting, is embracing change in the form of new head chef Alex Aboui and sous-chef Devon Clark. These friendly and enthusiastic young chefs are taking an innovative approach to cooking through experimentation and blended cuisines.

“I don’t have a favourite cuisine,” says Clark. “I like fusion, so I guess I like everything. Every culture has its own unique flavours; I’m really interested in that aspect of cooking so I want to learn everything I can about it.”

“I love picking up ingredients that I know nothing about, figuring them out and creating something cool with them,” adds Aboui. “We have fresh specials every day, where we get to play around and do whatever we want.”

Some examples of those somewhat random-sounding specials include crisp pork belly on a roasted honey-glazed pineapple slice with a balsamic reduction, and a roasted red pepper and asparagus slaw. Or a white fish rolled up and stuffed with cream cheese, lobster and spinach, poached with lemon water and herbs, with a lemon beurre blanc.

This creative and adventurous philosophy is reflected in Saucy’s menu, which includes key lime prawn salad, and fried chicken and waffles, to name a few. “We have a little bit of everything,” says Aboui. “Our restaurant is like something you’d find in downtown Toronto, only it’s close to home. That said, we’re going to have a menu change soon. It’ll be a blend of the old and new.”

Both Aboui and Clark became interested in cuisine at a young age; 18 and 15, respectively. Aboui doesn’t have any formal training; she started as a dishwasher at Saucy and worked her way up. “I don’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t luck out and get that dish pit job,” she says. “I’d probably still be making burnt toast and runny mac ’n’ cheese!”

For Clark, cooking was a way to get through high school. “I was one of those kids who skipped class, partied, did all the fun stuff,” he says. “One day, one of the chefs from my school talked to our class about his job, and something clicked for me. I asked if he could teach me, and did a co-op there. From there I went to George Brown, worked in a couple of restaurants and now I’m here.”

The chefs share a similar philosophy and style: simple is better. “Over-thinking things just makes it more difficult for yourself, especially when you’re serving 60 or 70 people,” says Clark. “We keep it simple, clean and fresh.”

What’s next for them?

Clark is staying put and learning all he can. “I’d like to open my own place one day. Something with a simple menu, that’s welcoming to everyone. The door’s open, come on in.”

Aboui is interested in teaching; she’s currently helping a friend with a cooking class. “But Saucy is my focus right now,” she says. “Eventually, I’d like to have my own restaurant, too—a tapas place, though not necessarily Spanish tapas—but that’s off in the future.”

“And if that doesn’t work,” she adds with a laugh, “then gourmet toast!”

RECIPE: Potato-Crusted Pickerel with Lobster Pernod Cream Sauce

Elegantly different and delicious!

Ingredients (to serve 1)

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup crushed potato chips (regular)
• 1 fillet (6–8 oz) pickerel
• ½ tbsp garlic butter
• pinch (or as desired) green onions
• pinch (or as desired) basil
• ½ cup cream
• lobster, as desired
• ½ oz Pernod
• 1 tbsp Parmesan
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. On stovetop, heat vegetable oil over medium heat; just enough to cover the pan.
3. Crust pickerel on one side with potato chips, season with salt and pepper, and sear in pan; about 1 minute.
4. Put pickerel in oven and cook until golden brown, flip; about 5 minutes.
5. While pickerel is cooking, prepare sauce: over medium heat add garlic butter, lobster, herbs and seasoning. (For some extra flavour, add some cooked bacon as well.) Add Pernod to deglaze and then add cream right after. Reduce to one-third; about 2 minutes. Stir Parmesan in. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Spoon sauce over pickerel and serve with steamed vegetables or whichever side you prefer.

(Originally posted on mississaugalife.ca; recipe originally posted on urbaneats.ca. The print version originally appeared in Spirit of the City/Mississauga Life, issue 29, 2015; the PDF of that is available here.)

I Can’t Believe I Ate the Whole Thing

The Spirit of the City—MississaugaLife team had a chance recently to check out the new Ontario location of west-coast chain Browns Socialhouse, and boy, did we ever. Folks, this was a marathon performance of eating and drinking, the likes of which might shame some in an aftermath of guilt. We had no such aftermath.

Let’s set the scene first: it’s a trendy looking place, upscale-ish, but comfortable. The tables are roomy enough. It’s like they’re going for the Jack Astor’s vibe, but without the noise and big flashy screens, which, while OK, can sometimes be annoying. There’s music, but it’s at a level where you can hear it if you concentrate; it’s there more to provide some white noise. The whole point of this place is, as the name implies, to be social; you can hear each other here without having to yell. That’s a good thing.

We started off with a sampling of drinks and appetizers. First, the Social Lager and Social White and Red wines. These are drinks specifically made for the restaurant; a house beer and two house wines. I’m a fan of stouts when it comes to beer, but this lager was light and crisp; it matched well with our upcoming food choices. The white wine had an odd coconut smell to it, but was nice. The red had a much drier bite than I was anticipating, but it was good too. I guess. I don’t yet know enough about wines to really tell.

After that were martinis: the Cucumber Martini (which I hated; sorry guys, it did nothing for me) and the cleverly Reservoir Dogs named “The New Mr. Pink” martini, which was much better. It was a raspberry martini, sweet and tangy. Bellinis followed, which were even sweeter, heavy on the peach. Those are all well and good, but that’s Hangover City just waiting to happen, isn’t it? I’m glad I stuck to my beer.

Then, the food. Here’s where it gets really good.

General Tao’s chicken

Chicken tacos and the dragon roll

First up, four appetizers: chicken tacos, fish tacos, a dynamite roll, and General Tao’s chicken. The dynamite roll would be much better if they used less rice, but the General Tao chicken was amazing. You know how some places make this dish with fatty bits of chicken, and some pieces are good and crispy and others make you question what you’re eating? This was nothing like that: every piece was lean chicken breast, and it was crisp with just a touch of heat, nothing crazy. I could’ve devoured that plate and a second one like it in no time, but UGH, sharing. I mean, er, go team!

But then there are the tacos. Holy crap in a hat, the tacos. Now those were fantastic. Just an explosion of flavour: chipotle chicken, pickled onions, a cilantro cabbage slaw with lime sour cream, plus a small bit of pico de gallo (which was as sweet as if they’d grown the tomatoes in their backyard; and for all I know, they did). The fish was largely the same, but replace the meat with a lime pepper grilled halibut. I would go back for those in a heartbeat.

Tahitian tuna salad

Blackened chicken kale Caesar

Roast beef French dip sandwich

Next was the second round of appetizers, which were really entrée samples that we all split (pictured above, L–R): the Tahitian tuna salad, the blackened chicken kale Caesar, and the roast beef French dip sandwich. The tuna was quite good, with its lemongrass crust—and I generally don’t like tuna. But it was the beef dip sandwich that stole the show this round. Wow. Lots of thin slices of beef, a generous portion of grilled onions, and a great thin gravy to go with it. One thing I don’t like is soggy bread, or sandwich bread that can’t stand up to the ingredients it houses. I like my bread crunchy or crusty, and this bread was nicely toasted and held its own, even when you dipped it. It was a hell of a sandwich.

Sounds like a lot so far, huh? Well, there’s more.

Steak sandwich

Chicken and shrimp pad thai

#28 Dragon Bowl

Fettucine carbonara

Hickory burger

The mains. (Pictured above, L–R): Jay got the steak sandwich, Jordan ordered the chicken and shrimp pad thai, Sarah grabbed the #28 Dragon Bowl, Alicja got the fettuccine carbonara, and I ordered the Hickory Burger. I always try a similar burger when I visit a new place, for the sake of comparison. Everyone’s dishes were great, but this is my review, so let’s get to that burger.

Chef Chris and General Manager Gary. They’re not this purple in real life.

According to Gary, the general manager (whom we met along with head chef Chris), they have very little freezer space in the restaurant, so, for example, the burger meat is always fresh-ground chuck. That’s one checkmark for me. It’s seasoned only with salt. Another checkmark (because if the beef is good, you really don’t need any other seasoning). They also griddle-smash the beef, which is huge: it sears the meat, gives it a nice char/crust, and locks the juices inside. Three for three so far. Lastly, the meat-to-bun ratio. The patty was a bit smaller than other places, but its size helped balance the flavour of the sandwich. Nothing was overpowering; it all worked together.

Next, the bun is brioche, which is good because a brioche bun can take on beef juices or other condiments (like the great BBQ relish they added to it) and it won’t fall apart; that’s a big deal for me. As much as I love places like The Stockyards (still my #1 burger in the GTA) and The Burger’s Priest and the like, they could both be better served by having stronger or denser bread. By that same token, this burger wasn’t as juicy as the other two places I just mentioned, but it was very good, tasty, and a lot cleaner, i.e., I didn’t have grease running down my elbows.

The Hickory Burger comes with cheddar, bacon and barbecue sauce, and I think there was also a house-made mayo, too. It would’ve been better with some crispy onions, but I had no complaints. In fact, I ate that burger like the appetizers didn’t even happen.

Ye Oreo jar

Oreo jar, aftermath

While the rest of my colleagues were happily complaining that they were way too full, my Italian genes kicked in and said, “Pfft, you call that eating? This is an afternoon snack! You’re all weak! BWAHAHAA!” (Don’t worry folks, I paid for my hubris the following morning.) But then came dessert and suddenly no one was full anymore. How could you be? It was an Oreo Jar, i.e., a small mason jar filled with Oreo cheesecake, whipped cream and topped with an Oreo cookie. I mean… I just… I can’t even… oh good lord. You know how in a cartoons, you might see a school of piranhas skeletonize a tasty morsel in a feeding frenzy? I want to say we weren’t that bad… but we kind of were. Maybe I’m exaggerating.

I turned into this guy for a sec.

All in all, it was a spectacular meal. Give this place a try, dear readers. We loved it, and we think you will too.

Browns Socialhouse
2525 Hampshire Gates, Unit #2B, Oakville
905-829-2727

(Originally posted on urbaneats.ca.)

3 Brewers

Five different beers, same (great?) taste.

A good friend of mine currently lives in Barrie, possibly as penance for sins in a past life, as far as he knows. He wants to come back to the GTA, but for the moment he’s in the Land of Unending Snow Squalls. When he does come down ’round these parts, it’s usually for a special occasion—his birthday, for example, which was this past weekend. So my friends and I were excited to hang out with buddy, and after some deliberation and weighing of options, we settled on 3 Brewers (Oakville).

According to their site, 3 Brewers began in France in 1986 and have since expanded to Canada. There are five locations in Southern Ontario: Ottawa, Kanata, two in downtown Toronto and the one in Oakville. Their whole thing is that they’re a microbrewery and restaurant, so they brew their beer on-site. It’s local, it’s fresh, etc., all the things you’d expect from a good microbrewery, right? So what’s a guy to do when it’s a friend’s birthday and he doesn’t have to drive for once and there are a few new beers to try? Start with a flight, of course.

I tried the “Et Cetera” (their word for a flight) with their four standard beers: white, blonde, amber, and brown. They’ve also got a neighbourhood beer which is unique to the location (theirs was a cream ale), and a beer of the month (a pumpkin ale). Here’s the part where I tell you that I was unimpressed.

Full disclosure: when it comes to beer, I prefer stouts, porters, cream ales and the like. I like my beer to be lighter, less carbonated, and with a thicker mouthfeel. And even though I don’t really like bitter flavours as a general rule, I like the strong flavours of stouts. The beers I had in front of me were nothing like that, and they were considerably hoppier than I like. But fear not, dear reader, for I soldiered on through it.

The problem wasn’t even really that they weren’t my preferred kind of beer; I’m up for trying new things. It’s that despite being different, they pretty much all had the same flavour profile—at least, I thought so. Perhaps a beer connoisseur will pick up on the more subtle variations in taste than I will. Of the four, I’d say the blonde and the brown were the better ones. The white was a little cloudy and reminded me of a wheat beer, which I’m not generally a fan of, and I have yet to find an amber that I really like. The blonde tasted like a standard beer, if a bit hoppy, and the brown came the closest to the flavours I like. That wasn’t bad.

After the flight, the food came, and it was quite good. We split a bunch of appetizers (potato skins, onion rings, garlic bread, mozzarella sticks) and while there was nothing out of the ordinary about those (except for the strangely too-firm sour cream; seriously, you could’ve mortared brick with it), there was nothing bad either. There were also fish and chips and everyone seemed to like those, too. No complaints there.

Not one to give up, I decided to go for the cream ale, but given the experience with the flight, I figured a half-pint was the prudent choice. It was. The cream ale was better than the other four beers, easily, but it still had a too-similar flavour profile when compared to the other beers.

Verdict: I wish I could’ve liked this place more. It has a good rep, the food was good, it was clean and well-decorated (just a good-looking place all around), and our server was wonderful. For me, it failed on the beer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t go back—I just won’t have beer next time.

3 Brewers (Oakville)
2041 Winston Park Dr.
289-813-2239

(Originally posted on urbaneats.ca.)

[UPDATE: Looks like 3 Brewers is opening another location in Mississauga, in Heartland.]

The Burger’s Priest

Photo by Shanen Lautan.

I’ve written about my fanaticism and philosophy behind my love for burgers before, so let’s skip all that and get down to business, yes?

The Burger’s Priest is one of my favourite burger joints. It started with one lone shop way over on the east end of Toronto, at Queen and Coxwell, and now it’s just opened its sixth location, right here in Port Credit. So of course, the MississaugaLife team had to pay it a visit. In the name of, um… journalism?

When I go to Priest, I typically get a double cheeseburger with bacon and caramelized onions (this is an indulgence, so I might as well go all the way). But this was a special occasion—that’s a good enough excuse, I figure—so I went for The Vatican City: a double cheeseburger that uses grilled cheese sandwiches for buns. And that’s not even close to the craziest thing they have on their menu—or their secret menu.*

The Vatican City. Don’t judge me. Photo by Shanen Lautan.

This thing arrived with cheese practically coming out of every layer, and those grilled cheese sandwich buns were really that: two pieces of bread, a slice of cheese, soaked in butter, grilled, and pressed flat. It was artery-clogging decadence, the kind that will be your final meal of the day, because you’ll either be too full or fast asleep.

Other burgers enjoyed by team members include: The Pope (a cheeseburger with “the option” (which is their veggie patty—a deep-fried Portobello mushroom cap stuffed with cheese)), consumed by Jordan; and the Holy Smokes (a double cheeseburger with panko-crusted deep-fried jalapeños), consumed by Jay. But then he went for another one, this time a simpler bacon cheeseburger. Our hearts exploded—but thankfully, only from joy.

Jay’s Holy Smokes…

…which he then chased with this. Go ahead and judge him. Both photos by Shanen Lautan.

You might be saying, “Well, so what? It’s just a burger,” and to that, all I can say is that you have to try it. I’d be willing to bet this style of burger is better than most burgers you’ve had. Its construction is really simple (ground chuck and kosher salt in the patty, and that’s it), it’s cooked on a flat-top griddle to sear the meat and lock all the juices in, and because there are no fillers, it just crumbles apart; it tastes fresh. And I’m not kidding about how juicy it is—it could be running down your elbow and you won’t care because you’re lost in a delirium of beef wonder.

If you order fries, they give you quite a lot. And the fries are good, but they’re really just an add-on; filler. The burgers take centre stage here. And just to cap off the “screw my diet” experience, I grabbed a chocolate and vanilla shake, dubbed with the fun name “Riggs and Murtaugh.”

These guys, but in milkshake form.

Next time, I think I’ll try Jarge Style (which seems to me to be their take on the Animal Style from In-and-Out, but I might be wrong on that). Or maybe The High Priest. That’s their take on the Big Mac.

Oh, Burger’s Priest—you’re the best thing to happen lately to my stomach, and the worst thing to happen to my wallet. But I love you anyway.

*

What’s that? You want video of us at The Burger’s Priest? Here you go!

*The secret menu, by the way, isn’t really a big secret. You can find it on their site, but you’ll have to answer a Bible-related skill-testing question first.

The Burger’s Priest
129 Lakeshore Rd. E.
905-990-7300

[UPDATE: I’ve now had Jarge Style: mustard-seared patties with fried onions and special sauce. Very good, but a little sloppy. Get ready for damage control when you eat this.]

(Originally posted on urbaneats.ca.)

No Egos Here

Local chef competes on Chopped Canada—did he make the cut?

Who knew we were two concussions away from missing out on a fabulous chef in Lorne Park?

JohnRoss Woodland, the 24-year-old head chef at Tu Casa Fine Dining, wasn’t planning on a culinary career; he was en route to the NHL as a goalie, but the injuries (both happened in the same week) meant he had to change gears. “I’m not one of those chefs who ‘cooked at home with mom’ or anything because we were always on the road with hockey,” says Woodland. “So when I took Home Ec in Grade 10, I finally got the chance to sit down and develop a good relationship with food—it just clicked. From there I went to culinary university.”

A big believer in farm-to-table cooking, Woodland hails from Prince Edward County, currently a hotbed for creative restaurants and chefs. He trained for four years under celebrated locavore chef Michael Potters, and at the ripe old age of 21, he opened and eventually sold his own place, The Devonshire Inn, in Wellington. He’s been with Tu Casa for almost three months.

Though he’s put something of his own spin on Tu Casa’s menu, his main concern is staying loyal to the residents of Lorne Park. “I’m not going to come in and do the ego thing of changing the whole menu to my food,” he says. “I have changed things here and there, but if our customers don’t like it, I’ll change it right back. It’s a business as much as it is a passion. I want to get this to the point where our clients can trust me.”

It’s this lack of ego (and a firm non-disclosure agreement) that prevents him from telling me a lot about his appearance on Chopped Canada, scheduled to air on May 15. “We filmed a year ago,” he says. “It was tough, mentally, because of the time constraints and the random ingredients. Even so, I knew the flavour profiles of the ingredients and I knew how I could make them work.” And in case you’re wondering, as I did, the time allotted per course is real. “Once it starts, there is no stopping that time, even if you cut yourself.”

Woodland states that it’s unlikely he’ll cook what he made on Chopped again, but perhaps the experience has left more of an experimental mark than even he realizes: according to Tu Casa manager Dale Redmond, the chef made a lobster cappuccino for their bar menu the other day. “It’s really a spin on a lobster bisque,” says Redmond, “and it was delicious.”

And now, from the kitchen of JohnRoss Woodland, one of his recipes.

Loaded Baked Potato “Risotto”

I like to take classic dishes and present them in a way no one has seen before. This dish is a play on my loaded baked potato; it takes all the expected flavours of a loaded baked potato and turns them on their heads. Cooking the potatoes by using a risotto method allows the starches to create a creamy sauce without the addition of cream. Note: it’s important that you use a russet potato—the starch content is higher and it creates a creamier sauce with better texture. Vegetable stock would work just as well as potato stock, if desired.

Enjoy,

JohnRoss Woodland

Ingredients

• 1 large russet potato
• 4 cups potato stock
• ¼ cup white wine
• 2 strips bacon
• 2 tbsp parmesan
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche or sour cream
• 2 tbsp scallions

Method

1. Dice peeled potato to ¼-inch cubes; do not rinse or submerge in water.
2. Render bacon in a medium sauté pan until desired doneness is reached; add potatoes and sweat for 1 minute.
3. Add white wine and reduce until pan is almost dry; set aside.
4. Begin adding potato stock, ¼ cup at a time.
5. Continue adding stock until potatoes reach desired texture.
6. Finish with parmesan and butter; garnish with remaining ingredients.

For potato stock

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• peels of 1 large russet potato
• 1 sprig thyme

Method

1. Rinse potato skin very well and then roast until dry.
2. Add potato skin, water and thyme into a medium sauce pan and reduce until 4 cups remains.
3. Pass through strainer, pressing to extract flavor;
   set aside.

[UPDATE: JohnRoss Woodland won that episode of Chopped Canada. And one of the mystery ingredients was spruce tips.]

(Originally posted on mississaugalife.ca and urbaneats.ca. The print version originally appeared in Spirit of the City/Mississauga Life, issue 25, 2014; the PDF of that is available here.)

Holy Smokez

I’ve got to write this one quick, before I fall asleep.

“But Leo,” you might ask, “it’s the middle of the day and clearly you’re at the office working for that fine publication, Spirit of the City. How can you be sleepy?”

Because, dear reader, if you’d eaten the sandwich I just had for lunch, you’d be fighting off the Sandman too.

You may have noticed that Mother Nature hates us today, with a mid-April afternoon high of 0°C and SNOW. So I needed something summery to counteract this nastiness, and I thought “barbecue.” (Eh, that rationale is as good as any, I figure.) I’d heard of Holy Smokez through other media channels that shall remain nameless, and it’s only about a 10-minute drive away from the office, so what the hell.

Holy Smokez is located on Dundas a bit east of Tomken. Owners Rick and Robin have had it for about a year and a half. Everything is slow-cooked (18 hours for the brisket) and they make their own barbecue sauce. And that’s some good sauce: sweet and smoky, but it doesn’t punch you in the gut with smoke. It’s on the sweeter and tangier side.

The place is tiny; like, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tiny, so keep an eye out. It’s clean and well maintained, but more to the point, it’s well ventilated. I’ve been to other barbecue places and while their food was tasty, they could sometimes be a bit smoky inside. This place has none of that. The walls are adorned with awards and write-ups all praising the food; I was about to find out why.

I ordered the pork ’n’ slaw, which, if we’re being honest, is really the only way to have a pulled pork sandwich. This thing was HUGE. It was packed with meat, well sauced, and the balance of slaw to pork was good. It wasn’t a creamy slaw, either; it was tart and light, but flavourful, and most importantly, it didn’t overpower the other flavours. The star of the show was the meat and sauce, and the slaw did what it was supposed to do: complement it. The bun was big enough and strong enough that the various sauces and juices didn’t destroy it; it held fast right to the end. Most of those juices ended up on my left hand. How I suffer for my art.

On the side: corn bread. Oh boy, the corn bread. It’s fresh-baked to order, so it arrived warm and sweet and… is that… jalapeño? I wasn’t expecting that, but thankfully it appears in tiny amounts here and there in the bread. It plays the same role as the slaw in the sandwich. I brought some back for a colleague, and she practically swooned over it.

I devoured that sandwich like Jabba eating a frog-thing. Like Cthulhu consuming humanity. Like a hungry guy eating a sandwich. (OK, I didn’t try on that last one.) Maybe because I hadn’t eaten since breakfast (six hours ago), or maybe because it was just that good, I don’t know; it’s probably a little of column A and a little of column B. The restaurant could’ve burned down and I wouldn’t have noticed, I was that engrossed in the meal.

When I go back—because oh yes, I’m going back—I’ll try the cheese steak sandwich, on Rick’s recommendation.

Folks, if you love barbecue, do yourselves a favour and head over to Holy Smokez. And bring a pillow.

Holy Smokez
1133 Dundas St. E., Unit #2
647-799-2273
holysmokez.com

Cthulhu image from Dr. FaustusAU, from his children’s book adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu.

Burger Legend

The main man

I love burgers. I mean, I LOVE burgers. In fact, I daresay they’re my favourite food. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s not a critical foodie choice, but I don’t care. Jughead is my role model.

In the last few years, burger joints have been popping up all over the GTA, most of them in Toronto and many of them embracing the fresh-beef-ground-daily-in-house-with-no-fillers philosophy of burger-making. I have long applauded this approach and promote it to my friends often, because frankly—there isn’t a better way to make a burger in my opinion. In my burger-tasting experience so far, my top three places in descending order are The Stockyards, Holy Chuck, and The Burger’s Priest.

Mississauga got a taste of this philosophy when Five Guys opened up a location at Burnthamthorpe and Erin Mills (though I don’t know their freezing/grinding methods, so I can’t say for sure). Another location opened somewhat recently at Dixie and Dundas, and yet another is rumoured for Heartland. While Five Guys is all well and good, there’s a new joint in town in the same style: Burger Legend.

Burger Legend is located in Streetsville, at Thomas and Queen (less than a block south from my new favourite pizza place in the city, Goodfellas); they started as a food truck, and now they’ve got a restaurant. Last Saturday (a day after their grand opening), my sister and I showed up to taste the city’s newest burger.

The classic

The place is a lot prettier and cleaner than Five Guys; it mercifully lacks the fast-food greasy-tile feel. We were there around 2:30 in the afternoon, and it was quiet. We ordered, and didn’t wait all that long to get the food; it was faster than I expected. I figured I’d start with the regular burger and go from there, so I had “The Classic”: cheese (and it’s real cheese, not processed), tomatoes, mixed greens, and “Bawss” sauce. And I added bacon (maple-smoked), sautéed onions and barbecue sauce, because duh.

The burger lived up to my expectations, but there were a few things slightly off. Yes, the meat was fresh, loosely packed and had no fillers: it was just beef and salt. But it was a bit too loosely packed; it fell apart a little too quickly. The cheese was plentiful and melted, the onions were finely chopped and well-cooked, and it wasn’t overflowing with sauce—the balance was right.

The bacon is seriously thick; so thick, in fact, that it presented me with a slight impediment to biting and chewing the food. Ideally, you want all the ingredients to come away in one clean bite, without much dragging. This bacon prevented that. Don’t get me wrong—it was good, but in this one instance I think the burger could be better served if the bacon was a little thinner and easier to bite into.

As for the fries, they’re fresh cut and double-fried, so they were nice and crisp. No complaints there. I think the next time I go, I’m going to try the poutine, because who needs to live forever anyway?

Verdict: Burger Legend isn’t as good as any of my top three (it will be very difficult for anyone to beat Stockyards, in my opinion), but that’s by a slim margin. It’s quite good, and a welcome addition to Mississauga’s burger scene. I, for one, am really happy they’re here, and I hope more places follow suit.

Burger Legend
236 Queen St. S.
416-918-6308

Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza

Why fly to Italy when you can drive to Streetsville?

Walking into Goodfellas, at the corner of Queen and Main in Streetsville, produces an odd sensation—you don’t quite feel like you’re in Mississauga anymore, but rather in Italy or New York. Inside, the smiling wait staff, rustic décor, big band music and authentic food all add up to an unforgettable casual fine dining experience in a 90-seat, 3,000-square-foot space.

Co-owners Rocco Giovannelli and Rick Taddeo have been in the pizza business for 15 years, working with Gino’s Pizza and 241 Pizza, but wanted to develop something better. “That market was saturated; they’re all fighting for the same dollar,” says Taddeo. “We wanted to shift into the gourmet market.”

Their head chef, Antonio Ferone Danieli, is from Naples, Italy, and he’s a certified Neapolitan pizzaiolo, holding a diploma from the Scuola Nazionale di Pizza. This means that the ingredients and cooking methods used at Goodfellas match the Italian standards. Many of their ingredients are locally sourced, but many are also imported from Italy—in fact, for authenticity’s sake, they have to be. Goodfellas also uses D.O.P. products, a designation (verified by the Italian government) that guarantees the quality of the ingredients. And of course, everything is made from scratch; even their pasta.

“Many people say they have gourmet pizza,” says Taddeo, “but the real gourmet style is this: a thin crust, with mozzarella di bufala and San Marzano tomatoes, baked in a wood-burning oven. We’ll put our pizza up against anybody.”

The restaurant is lively and energetic. “It’s a reflection of the southern spirit—we’re passionate people,” says Taddeo. “Sometimes, when certain songs come on, we’ll all sing together,” says Giovannelli, humming a bit of “Eh, Cumpari.” “Customers watch, or join in, and everyone’s laughing—it’s a good time. I think customers like that loose, free mentality.”

But it’s not just about serving great food; it’s also about improving the community’s experience.

“One thing I hear often is, ‘Hey, I don’t have to go to downtown Toronto anymore!’” says Giovannelli. “Streetsville’s renovation plans will turn the town square into a piazza, with cobblestones, trees, benches, tables, and a stage for live music. We’re perfectly positioned to add to that concept.”

“What better restaurant to have in a piazza than an authentic Italian restaurant?” adds Taddeo.

“The square will attract people,” continues Giovannelli, “but we will also drive people to the square. That’s not only good for the town, but it’s good for the other local businesses. The people who come to our restaurant don’t just eat and leave—they’ll walk around afterwards, go for an ice cream and visit other stores.”

“I think that’s why the City has been behind us, because by supporting us, they know the effect will ripple and the whole community will benefit,” says Taddeo.

“It changes from simply ‘Goodfellas is a great restaurant,’ to ‘Streetsville is a great place to dine,’” adds Giovannelli. “I don’t expect a customer to always come here, and I’m happy to see that our customers do visit other places.”

What’s next for Goodfellas? Expansion. Giovannelli and Taddeo are looking at markets in Oakville, Burlington and Milton, as well as a second Mississauga location in Port Credit. “With our Streetsville location, we were developing it as we went; it was all inspiration, our vision,” says Taddeo. “When we grow, we have a blueprint to work from—and it will be a lot faster to put up a new place with the same concept. I can’t wait!”

With authentic Italian cuisine like this, neither can food lovers in Mississauga.

Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza
209 Queen St. S.
855-G-FELLAS (433-5527)

(Originally posted on mississaugalife.ca. The print version originally appeared in Spirit of the City/Mississauga Life, issue 24, 2014; the PDF of that is available here.)

Goodfellas Pizza è una Cosa Bella

Last night, I visited Goodfellas Pizza with my mom and my sister. I’d heard lots of good things, and wanted to see it for myself. We weren’t disappointed.

Folks, this place is the real deal.

It’s located on the northeast corner of Queen and Main in Streetsville, across the street from Kate’s Town Talk Bakery. When we walked in, the first thing we heard was “Buona sera,” (“good evening”) from our server, Marco. He was friendly and attentive but unobtrusive, which was good.

The place is spacious, and was quite full at the time; we didn’t have to wait for a table, but it was busy. And this was on a Tuesday night at 8:00. I can only imagine what the dinner rush must be like on the weekends.

The décor at Goodfellas is gorgeous rustic Italian: shelves fully stocked with wine bottles on their sides, wooden but comfortable furnishings, a fireplace in the back room, statues, stone archways. It’s beautiful. They also decked the halls a bit with Christmas accoutrements, which was a nice touch.

Despite the large range of offerings and a great wine list, we barely even needed to look at the menu, because we knew what we wanted. The best way, in my opinion, to judge the quality of a new pizza place is to order the Margherita. It’s a simple pizza: sauce, cheese, basil, and that’s it. No other ingredients for the pizza to hide behind, you see. If those basic ingredients are good, then any other pizza they make will be good.

But let’s go one step further: this is a Napolitano-style pizza, from a chef who is a certified Napolitano (Neapolitan, or “from Naples”) pizzaiolo (“pizza-maker”). That is, there are certain ingredients and cooking methods you have to use to get this certification; basically it ensures that you’re making it the same way they would in the motherland. So:

• Fior di latte mozzarella? Check.
• San Marzano tomatoes? Check.
• Slightly chewy dough? Check.
• Wood-burning oven? Check.

The pizza was light and fresh, the way a Margherita should be. The tomatoes were bright and sweet, but not artificially sweet, the way you see in a lot of American pizza sauces; all the sweetness comes from the flavour of those tomatoes. The cheese isn’t grated; rather, it’s somewhat thickly sliced and laid out. If it’s made right—and this was—you can eat an entire Margherita to yourself and not feel overly stuffed. Excellent.

But wait a sec, I’m getting ahead of myself. We actually started with the arancini (riceballs). Three well-sized fried riceballs arrived, stuffed with mozzarella, ground veal and peas, and topped with tomato sauce and cheese. It was crisp and not greasy at all. These arancini may even be better than my mom’s—but don’t tell her that!

My sister and I got the Margherita pizzas, but my mom opted for the Maccheroni alla Carbonara pasta. This pasta dish was a work of art. Rigatoni with a creamy sauce, with perfectly crisp pancetta and presented with the half-shell of an egg in the centre containing a well-beaten yolk, which you then pour over the pasta. To be honest, the sauce was a bit odd for me, but certainly not bad. Might take some getting used to. For a cream sauce, it was surprisingly light. And that pancetta was dynamite.

And then came dessert: Nutella pizza. I love Nutella, and I love pizza. Putting them together is an experiment in decadence, and it was fantastic. It came with dollops of whipped cream and was sprinkled with pistachios. A return visit is in order, just for that.

Even their espresso was good! I realize how that sounds. Let me explain. In my coffee-drinking experience, I have found that it’s quite difficult to find a place that makes a good espresso. Admittedly, I’m a bit of a coffee snob, but full disclosure: I used to be a barista, running a café with my dad for five years in the late ’90s, so I know how hard it is to get it right.

Well guess what? Goodfellas gets it right. The espresso wasn’t burnt, there were no grinds in the cup, and the crema had a good thickness to it. They even kept their cups heated so that the coffee stays warm. Well done, gentlemen.

For seriously authentic Italian fare in Mississauga, you don’t have to look any further than Goodfellas. They may very well have the best pizza in the city. Do yourself a favour and check them out!

Goodfellas
209 Queen St. S.
(855) G-FELLAS (433-5527)

(Originally posted on mississaugalife.ca.)