For starters, you receive this basket of fresh breads and my ultimate favourite is their "jalapeno corn bread". It's crispy on the outside and moist yet crumbly on the inside with some sweet and spicy jalapeno bits and the goodness of comforting corn. Honestly my favourite bread at any restaurant. I always ask for more when I come here. It looks like an ear of corn split in two halves - two extra points for design and a million for its functionality. Once in a while, you get a little piece of jalapeno with the bite of bread and holy moly is it ever amazing! You can tell I love their bread, so here's a photo along with the other boring breads like rye and white.
The holy grail that is the bread basket (corn bread and rye bread shown) |
For our actual appetizers, Jeffrey (my boyfriend) ordered their "famous lobster and crab soup" which comes lidded with puff pastry so you can dip it in their soup and eat it together. He was smart enough to take off the entire lid before it stuck to the sides of the bowl and wow, it was really intensely flavourful. I thoroughly enjoyed their soup. It was immensely fragrant with the crab and lobster (mainly I tasted more crab, which I was thankful for), and it wasn't as fishy as it would be with just the broth. It was creamy, didn't have any chunks of crab or lobster regrettably, but nonetheless really yummy. I should warn you, it is literally boiling hot so wait until the steam lets out and make sure to dip any remaining bread you have into this soup. It's simply scrumptious. Another warning: they tend to take away the bread basket when you receive your appetizers so make sure to hold onto your bread if you want to eat the remainder of your basket!
Their famous lobster and crab soup (Please excuse Jeffrey's expression lol) |
For my appetizer, I ordered the "baked stuffed calamari with seafood risotto" inside. This was also piping hot and the risotto was a bit too wet for me and sticky, most likely because it accumulated more moisture sitting inside the calamari with the cooking process, but it works out since the calamari becomes slightly dry when baking. The calamari itself is a bit chewy but when you slice it in half, pile on the tomato sauce and stuff it in your mouth along with the risotto inside, is a delectable bite. I don't recommend this dish for people who are not fans of chewy seafood, but I love squid and calamari, so this was great for me. When you're trying to slice it in half, the rice may fall out, so be mindful of your arms as you try to gather what's on your plate. There are limited spaces between tables and servers going back and forth.
Baked stuffed calamari with seafood risotto |
Oh the long awaited main entrees. My eyes have never seen beauty till now - on a duck dish. "Two way duck - confit of muscovy duck leg and roasted breast of duck a l'orange with duck fat frites and steamed vegetables". The description comes with duck fat frites and steamed vegetables, and no, they did not provide such said food but I was content with what I received. It wasn't until I was nearly finished with my duck I wanted some more greens. The taste verdict for the duck a l'orange is that it was tender, juicy, delicious and fragrant with a slight crisp on the skin. The duck leg confit was gamey and a tad bit dry compared to the breast. And believe me, there was a lot of meat. As much as I really enjoy duck, the imbalance between meat and vegetables were hard to overcome, so I could barely finish my plate.
Two way duck - duck leg confit & duck a l'orange |
Blue label burger with house blend waguy (kobe) and angus beef |
As a final word, thank you so much for the exceptional service we received here that night and for your smiles to our server. She was really charming and I wish everyone else were equally charming here. Please feel free to let me know what you think if you ever stop by here. It's a great Summerlicious/Winterlicious stop for anyone that hasn't tried their menu and at $35 per person, it's quite reasonable. I was very happy with my duck a l'orange - all three pieces of it. And their jalapeno corn bread. Did I mention their corn bread? Deeeeeeeelicious!