FABBRICA

Finally made my way to Mark McEwan's most recent venture, "Fabbrica" at the shops at Don Mills, Toronto. "Fabbrica" meaning factory, is the operative word driving the rugged yet slick interiors by Giannone Petricone Associates, the post-war-Italy-inspired graphic design/branding by Concrete, and most importantly the handcrafted pizzas and pastas, among other rustic Italian fare, offered by the restaurant.

Despite mixed reviews, it seemed like our table ordered exactly all the right things. The perfectly-grilled octopus was accompanied by a tasty salad; the wood-fired funghi pizza was aromatic and light with an amazing texture; and the seafood linguine was just heaven. The meal was rounded out with a limone cagliata with mango & raspberry salad, pistachio gelato, and espressos.

Everything was flavoured just right and the hand-made-ness of the pizza and pasta made me smile! :) yum. The nay-sayers either ordered the wrong things or need to have their taste buds checked! (images via Concrete, Where.ca, and CBC)

東京グリル!

The objective of my Graphic Design course was to re-brand a Yonge Street Store between Wellesley St. and Bloor St., a stretch of Toronto with generically named businesses and atrocious storefronts. I chose Tokyo Grill as my client to re-brand. (Above: New storefront with signage)

Tokyo Grill is a Japanese restaurant that serves up authentic home-style cuisine. Specialties of the house include home made soba noodles available every last Saturday of the month. Also on order are a variety of grilled fish, teriyaki, ramen, curry, don, and katsu dishes; along with a selection of Japanese beer and sake. The dining style is intimate and friendly. Wedged within a small pink building with a hybrid program, the restaurant occupies a minimal storefront in true Tokyo-style. With 32 seats, Tokyo Grill is a favourite retreat frequented by loyal customers for its relaxed atmosphere.


The re-branding was simply an exercise in consolidating the existing brand. The new Tokyo Grill signage capitalizes on its roots by favouring the Japanese font. The exclamation mark is a minimal way to draw attention but also as a reference to exaggerated expressions from Japanese Pop Culture but also relates to retro monster movie dialogue, such as Godzilla and King Kong. A new graphic motif was created for Tokyo Grill drawing inspirations from their own house made soba noodles but also relates to grill smoke, grill marks, and the Great Wave off Kanagawa. The block-iness of the Japanese font allows for multiple ways of locking text together, creating a working pattern that can be used for various touch points as well as decoration (say, wallpaper or place mats) - this was a lot of fun for me ;)

YANG'S

Since it's relocation from the old Wujiang St. location to a food mall a block away, Yang's Fried Dumpling has been no less busy, for those who can find it. Known for it's tasty Shen Jian Bao (fried soup dumpling), and beef or fish balls soups. It's always busy and never disappoints. Greasy goodness! A Shanghai must.
(Above: an army of dumpling making cooks)

(4 dumplings for 5 yuan = 75 cents!)

(beef balls soup)

SWISH!

For our dear friend, FK's bday, we tried Swish by Han located at 38 Wellington St. E. Toronto. Swish is a tapas style korean fusion restaurant featuring Korean shabu shabu and ssam (hotpot & wrap). It's owned and operated by two brothers from Philly. Since opening it's doors in July 2009, Swish has a shifting menu that has also been adjusted in response to feedback from critics and customers alike. The setting is warm and welcoming, the customers ranging from yuppies to families and couples. Price point is great for this area. They also have large group sets and an after 10:30pm special $20 all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ!

We shared 4 dishes as well as a BBQ set which also comes with a stew, kimchi set and ssam set. The seafood crepes, berkshire tacos, and lobster bimbimbap were excellent. The berkshire pork mandu (dumplings) were a big let down. Shared soju and a green tea bingsu dessert (shaved ice). Thanks to CC (2) for his recommendation, our meal was mostly a hit.


(seafood crepes)

(berkshire pork tacos)

(lobster bimbimbap)

(alberta ribeye on the grill)

(alberta ribeye ssam)

(cucumber soju - yum!)

THE LAST SUPPER: CABANAS LAS LILAS

For our last meal in Buenos Aires, CN, SN, and I decided to enjoy one last steak dinner at Cabaña Las Lilas in Puerto Madero. Part of the Rubayait family enterprises (see A Figueira Rubayait), the steak house is wildly popular even on this particularly drab and rainy night. In fact, it gets so busy that they have an entire dining space dedicated to people waiting for a table where you can order drinks and snacks. Our wait was supposed to be 40mins but was cut down to 10 for some reason (not complaining).

The meal, like the other Rubayait restaurants, start with antipasti and end with petit fours as part of the "cubierto" or cover that you pay for. We began with a marinaded raw salmon salad, followed by a "bife de costilla" which is a rib eye with the rib part attached which comes out as a 700g (1.5 lbs) serving!!! We decided to split that between the 3 of us along with an order of lamb chops and salad. Polished it all off with the petit fours and a ristretto, CN had a Nespresso which seems to be the one kind of espresso everyone serves around here... A great way to be sent off from Buenos Aires. Until next time, Argentina, behave while we're gone!


(antipasti - red pepper, eggplant, ball of blue cheese, salmon, tomato & bocconcini)

(my "wibo cuya" cocktail)

(marinaded raw salmon salad)

(pao de queijo - yum!)

(the "master beef" - rib eye with rib attached 700g of goodness)

(salad - a welcome break)

(lamb chops)

(CN asked for some extra cow shaped tags that indicate how well your steak is done... our favourite is "estoy muy jugoso" or "I'm very juicy!" lol)

(some petit fours to finish up)

(ristretto - good espresso finally!)

VINERIA DE GUALTERIO BOLIVAR

The 16 course tasting menu is the only thing offered at La Vineria Del Gualterio Bolivar in San Telmo (Bolivar 865). The intimate restaurant serves one sitting at lunch and one at dinner each day and the meal runs between 2.5-3 hrs. Although all the foam and molecular gastronomy has been done to death, it was nice to be pampered with 16 courses (+ amuse bouche & petit fours). What makes the experience is really the suspense of what's coming next... A fun exploration of flavour. Great price, great service.

PREPARE TO FEAST YOUR EYES!!!

aa - amuse bouche, salmon skin, soy sauce foam, and "pizza skin"

01 - octopus tartare, orange & chicken curry on quinoa, olive and parmesan cheese sorbet

02 - funghi salad with beet root, greens, and olive foam

03 - egg quail filo pastry with truffles and goat cheese (BEST!)

04 - "faux truffle" with nectar

05 - octopus on crispy and mashed potatoes

06 - seaweed, creme de scallops wrapped in pumpkin, with seaweed & fish broth

07 - white salmon with bacon, garlic, and green beans (YUM!)

08 - roasted pork shoulder with glazing and cannellini beans (YUM!)

09 - crispy pork with sweet gelatin and bok choy (YUM!)

10 - young steer, leek, yucca, and foam (YUM!)

11 - pineapple sorbet with campari

12 - mandarin tea, 13 - mandarin sorbet, 14 - apple cake, 15 - grapefruit sorbet (these were individual courses which is a total cop out... but we were too stuffed to care)

16 - chocolate 3 ways with tobacco sorbet! (YUM!)

zz - petit fours, cookie crumbs, cream filled chocolates, dulce de leche shot (deconstructed alfajor?)

WHAT A MEAL! HOPE IT WAS A GOOD BIRTHDAY MEAL, SN!

EL TRAPICHE

Thanks again to RM's recommendation, this restaurant with an endless menu offers multiple solutions to a starving stomach. We went twice and were warned both times about the ridiculous amount of food we had ordered. The first time we started with fried calamari and a shrimp goblet, followed by pork cutlets and chicken skewer (everything was large enough to share) which is why we got warnings. They also have great chorizo! The second time we had a shrimp, palm heart and avocado salad, rabbit provencal, and trout with almond sauce. A great place for low-key evenings, great wine list, great food, and next-day left overs. El Trapiche, Paraguay 5099.
(Fried calamari! Yum!!!!)

(Shrimp goblet with palm hearts.)

(Best chorizo i've had! beats toronto street meat any day.)

(Pork cutlets, so tender!)

(Chicken skewer)

(Rabbit a la provencal)

(Trout with almond sauce)