Heat

I just finished reading "Heat" by Bill Buford. It's a must-read for anyone who's interested in the mysteries of a professional kitchen or the rhythm of preparing food traditionally.

When I started, I hadn't wanted restaurant. What I wanted was the know-how of people who ran restaurants. I didn't want to be a chef: just a cook. And my experiences in Italy had taught me why. For millennia, people have known how to make their food. They have understood animals and what to do with them, have cooked with the seasons and had a farmer's knowledge of the way the planet works. They have preserved traditions of preparing food, handed down through generations, and have come to know them as expressions of their families. People don't have this kind of knowledge today, even though it seems as fundamental as the earth, and, it's true, those who do have it tend to be professionals - like chefs. But I didn't want this knowledge in order to be a professional; just to be more human.

Personally, I can't think of a more perfect life journey.

Alice's Restaurant

Went for dinner yesterday to Alice's restaurant on College. It's a sparse dining area with some wonderful photos from a local photographer (oversight on my part by not finding out the name). Chef Jason Pekka Woods has cooked at Toque, North 44 and other places so he knows his way around.

First, the good. I started with a sea scallop appetizer. The scallops were well cooked with a satisfying crust and were paired with grilled apples, rocket and what I believe was strawberry puree. The dish was well executed overall but the fruit puree was too sweet and generally tasteless (hence the "I believe" in the previous sentence). A sharper raspberry with higher acidity would have played better with the grilled apple.

The main was a lamb shoulder confit on a bed of rice with other accompaniments. As in all confit preparations, the risk here was that the meat would be dried out and unfortunately chef Woods' lamb was not completely spared. While it was generally tender there was a distinct, unpalatable dryness towards the centre. Also, oddly, the lamb was couched on top of a candied orange slice (?). Normally this would have been fine but since the restaurant seems to market itself around seasonal, local food this was a bit of a cop-out (I fact admitted by Woods himself during a pleasant discussion after the meal).

The big disappointment in the evening was with the wine list. Chef Woods is attempting to cobble together an Ontario-only wine menu but unfortunately the wine does not match the quality of the food. Three bottles were put away with gusto: Legends pinot noir, an unremarkable syrah whose name escapes me and something called an "arcanum" (Peninsula Ridge Estates, 2001). All of them suffered from the same narrow, impoverished flavour profile. As always, Ontario wines continue to disappoint with their lack of character, overall thinness and simplicity. If I go back to Alice's I will most certainly be bringing my own wine.

That being said, will I go back? Possibly. The service was top notch, the food - while not mind blowing - was certainly reasonable and the pricing was not outrageous (it helped, of course, that I wasn't buying). Still, given the competition in this space (including restaurants close by on Ossington) it may be some time before I return.

Frozen Morning Sunrise

Frozen Morning Sunrise
Originally uploaded by The Cooking Coder

It's tough some days to get up in the winter given how dark it is. One redeeming factor is being able to watch the sunrise when I get into the office while drinking a nice, warm coffee.

Blog Editing with Google Docs

Testing the blog editing in Google Docs. Maybe this will work for me going forward.