Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

We Visit Bombay's Chutney

Last weekend was a busy one for me. I was working a conference in Kingston on Friday and Saturday. I raced home Saturday because we had plans to go out with a friend for dinner. Paul wanted to try a new Indian restaurant in Burlington that had been opened for a few months - we had driven by but not popped in. It was time to correct this.

Elise arrived at about 5 bearing gifts. She had brought a wonderful early anniversary gift for us which was such a nice treat. In her words: 'the 10th is a big one so gifts it is!'

Who were we to refuse?

We sipped a Tahitian Sunrise while we opened gifts, chatted, and laughed.

Then it was off to the restaurant.

Bombay's Chutney, featuring high ceilings and big windows, makes the transition from the busy decorating in many Indian food establishments to understated without a drop in quality of the fare. It's located  in the Longo's plaza at Walker's Line and Dundas Street and features a mix of muted colours and stylish lighting. The Indian touches show up in the profile of a room divider and art under glass on table tops.

The menu is quite extensive and we had a difficult time deciding what to order.

We decided to start off with an appetizer platter which featured a generous assortment of Vegetable Samosas, Aloo Tiki and Onion Bhaji. This was served with a tangy tamarind chutney and curred chickpeas.

We decided to order a number of different dishes and share, that way we could try many different things. The first one to arrive was Lamb Tikka. We enjoyed the juicy chunks of lamb which had been marinaded, cooked in a tandoor and finished with cinnamon. It was served with mint chutney and salad.

The next dish in our feast was vegetable biryani. This was an aromatic blend of ling grained rice cooked with saffron, vegetables and spices. It came topped with crisp onions and sliced almonds. I really enjoyed the layers of flavours and textures in this dish.

One of our all-time favourite things to order at Indian restaurants is butter chicken. I laugh at folks who think that the dish is actually made with butter; instead what we received was moist pieces of chicken cooked to perfection in a rich sauce of tomato, cream and spices. The sauce was accented nicely with dried fenugreek.

Elise selected a vegetarian dish I had never heard of, let alone tried, for her dish. It was called mutter paneer. For those of you who, like me, don't have a clue about this it is cubes of cottage cheese that are simmered in a rich tomato sauce with cream, onions, and green peas. I was so glad that she had ordered this, I doubt that I ever would have, yet it was wonderful! Thank you Elise for expanding our horizons.

Now, before anyone says anything, of course we ordered naan bread. I can not eat Indian food without copious quantities of hot naan bread to sop it all up. The waitress tried to tell us that we had ordered too much naan - clearly she hadn't met us before. We went with what our gut told us and were happy that we had. This was wonderful naan - light and crispy on the edges.

Of course we were not able to eat all of this food so Paul had leftovers during the week - a good thing as I was away for four days running another conference. The portions were generous, the flavour incredible - there wasn't one bad dish amongst those we ordered. I can't believe that we have driven by this spot for seven months and not stopped in! We will definitely return.

The dishes shown above, with steamed basmati rice, beers, and water came to $ 95 with the tip. 

Tuscan Thursdays at the Grinning Gourmand

Last week our friend Catherine suggested that we go to a 'Tuscan Thursday' event tonight. The Grinning Gourmand, a gourmet food shop here in Burlington that generally sells gourmet foods and light lunches, has recently started opening up on Thursday evenings for this special event. The shop is run by a personable young couple: Paul is the chef and his wife Cary does much of the greeting/serving.

Dinner is served outside on a lovely patio nestled between the shop and the building next door. The wall of the shop is covered with ivy so it made for a very peaceful and relaxed setting - it actually reminded me of one of the restaurants where we had dinner in Rome (although without the extremely insistent rose seller but that, as they say, is a tale for another day).

The menu is simple: three salad choices, an antipasto platter, two pasta dishes, two meat dishes, and two desserts. There was a limited wine and cocktail list.

I discovered thaat the food wasn't traditional Tuscan food (having been to Tuscany last year I am of course an expert!), it was more a fusion of Italian regional tastes with a North American twist. It was, however, extremely tasty, freshly prepared, and served in an efficient and friendly manner.

We started off with cocktails (I had a limoncello with soda which was an amazing drink for a summer's evening!). For our appetizers we ordered salads (a caprese for me). The caprese was unusual in that it wasn't made with roma tomatoes and it had a dressing instead of the usual simple olive oil, salt, and pepper dressing. It also had thin slices of cucumbers and baby leaf lettuce. However where it lost points on the 'traditionality' scale it gained because it was so fresh and flavourful; one of the servers actually gathered the basil for the salad from a tiny herb garden beside our table after we had ordered.

The antipasto platter was brilliant! It had three types of cured meats, three cheeses, roasted garlic, a wide variety of house cured olives, and roasted red pepper and eggplant. This thing was HUGE! I could have happily had this for my meal.

For the main courses Ruth and Catherine both ordered a pasta dish which came with roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, in a tomato and herb sauce. It smelled wonderful. Paul and I both ordered Chicken Saltimbucca which was nothing like the saltimbucca in Rome (which as you know is the Saltimbucca capital of Italy!) It was really a chicken cutlet with fresh sage and prosciutto, breaded and served with a tomato sauce and cheese. Like most North American Italian restaurants it was served with pasta, and a vegetable (roasted peppers, onions, and zucchini). OK, so it was not traditional in any way, but it was good! The portions were huge so I have lunch for tomorrow!

Like I said, we took most of our dinners home (except for Paolo AKA the finisher!) This allowed us room for dessert. Tonight they were featuring a baked chocolate and banana tarte and a biscotti plate. Paul, Catherine and Ruth ordered the tarte and I ordered the biscotti. The tarte looked amazing and apparently tasted even better. The biscotti was unusual, there were two types: fig and chocolate. The crisp cookies were softer than I remembered. Cary commented that it was because they replaced some of the flour with almond flour. Even though I know some Italians fine it 'gauche' I missed dipping them into a glass of vin santo! YUM

The bill for the four of us was $ 224. This included four cocktails, a bottle of wine, a bottle of water, four salads, the antipasto platter, four mains, two tartes (Ruth and Catherine shared) and my biscotti platter. It was a nice evening; great food, better company, and the house did not need a second mortgage to pay for it all!

Happy Birthday to Moi!

Today marks the 43rd year since dad dropped off mom at the hospital and went off to work. Not long later a little Jerry was born.

I once used to think I had an issue about age and getting older. I really don't though. I am content with my age and the freedom it brings. Of course - I notice things like thinning hair, slowing metabolism, fumbling fingers when I try to do up the tiny buttons on my shirts but I weigh that with the good things (own a house, great job, family and friends whom I love, and so on) and guess what, it is all good!

Last night Ruth made plans to go out for dinner with us to a Thai restaurant here in Burlington called My Thai (how cute is that?) by the Lake. Yes, it is located by the lake at the base of a large condo looking out over the water. When I first moved to Burlington Thai restaurants were not to be found - they were far too exotic I guess. Now ten years later they thrive!

We were supposed to be there at 7:30 and at twenty after seven Paul came upstairs and wondered if I was soon to be ready (I was finishing up yesterday's blog). I pushed save and ran about getting ready to go. Then I lost my wallet. Then I lost my glasses. Yes folk, we were late! Quite late it turned out. Luckily everyone else was late as well.

The restaurant is located in an area of Burlington that has many restaurants and bars but also has little parking. I was delayed again while we tried to park. Finally I dropped Paul off and drove around until I had a spot.

There were six of us for dinner. Paul and I, Ruth, Dave, Rosanne, and Catherine. It was wonderful to see Dave and Rosanne because we so rarely get to see them (they live in Ottawa) and a surprise to see Catherine. Paul, Ruth, Catherine, and I all have birthday's with 16 days of one another so this was really our 'birthday dinner'. It was a shame we didn't know Catherine was coming because we would have brought her gift with us - oh well, she will get it on Monday when we go to our class at the LCBO.

The restaurant was full - I had never been there when it was this busy.  There were a number of large tables; it seems as if many people were celebrating birthdays! The waitress seemed a bit harried when she came over and took our drink orders. Ruth, ever the planner, also ordered our appetizers (2 orders of shrimp rolls, 2 orders of spring rolls, and 2 orders of soft spring rolls). Our drinks arrived followed shortly by our appetizers. We were so hungry that I didn't even have time to snap some pics before the plates were emptied.

For our main dishes we ordered 'family style'. Everyone ordered their favourite dish and we all shared. We ordered 2 mango salads, 2 cashew chicken, 2 basil chicken, Pad Thai, Red Curry Chicken, Pineapple Chicken, and Emerald Curry. Every one of the dishes was chicken (poor planning on our parts)! The waitress reminded us that we hadn't ordered rice and she suggested two large dishes of jasmine rice which was perfect.

The food was very well prepared. Good Thai food should have multi layers of flavours: sweet, salty, hot, and spicy. None of these layers should over-power the other. Dinner was perfect! We weren't able to eat it sll so Paul and I ended up with all of the leftovers (double yeah!)

The bill for the six of us with beer, drinks, and non alcoholic drinks for the non-indulgent types, was $ 180. It is rare to get a great meal such as this for $ 30 a person. Clearly we shall return, just not on a Friday night when you can hardly hear yourself talk to the person next to you.

After dinner Ruth invited us back to her house for drinks, coffee, tea, and cake. We knocked back a wonderful red wine from Australia that Ruth had in her wine cellar (good choice Dave)! and enjoyed cake supplied by Dave and Rosanne.

As always, the best part of the evening was the presents! Catherine had gotten me some wonderful sauces from a gourmet food shop here in Burlington. Ironically they were made by Stonewall Kitchens which we had visited in Maine. I had tasted these sauces but not bought them to bring home so this was a great treat! Dave and Rosanne bought me 2 months of the wine and cheese club. For the next two months I will receive a bottle of red wine selected by one of Canada's foremost sommeliers and a cheese perfectly selected to match it. They bought the same for Paul so this should take us through to November - what a great treat! Ruth bought me a wonderful piece of garden art, some aged balsamic vinegar, a cookie cookbook, some scented tea light candles, and an amazing looking chutney from Scotland. It is so great to have friends who know the things that you enjoy (art, food, and booze!)

At 11:30 we had to dash home because I was getting quite tired. Our plan was to go to the market today and if we were going to leave at 6:30 to beat the summer 'tourist' rush we could not have a late night!

Tonight Paul is cooking my birthday dinner and then it shall be more gifts. Yeah. It all makes getting another year older soooooo very worthwhile!

My-Thai By The Lake

Our friend Ruth called on Saturday wondering if we wanted to go our for dinner that evening. We were going out on Sunday and didn't really want to go our twice in one weekend (we go to California in two weeks so we're trying to watch the unnecessary spending!) but in the end we went. Paul suggested Thai food. We went to one of the best Thai restaurants in Burlington - My-Thai by the Lake.

When I first moved to Burlington there were no Thai restaurants. Now there are so many that they can be compared and rated! I had never been to My-Thai but many people like it so I thought that it would be good to try it.

It is now one of my two favourite Thai restaurants in the city (the other being Bhan Thai). Unfortunately I have no pictures; Paul put his food down when I mentioned taking some photos for the blog.

The restaurant is located downtown near the lake. We parked in the free parking lot (YEAH!) and after wandering about for a bit we found the restaurant. Its address is deceiving because it says it is on Elizabeth Street yet the entrance is actually off of Lakeshore. Oh well, we found it in the end and the walk enabled us to eat more.

Catherine was already there when we arrived. She was almost finished her first drink of the evening and had scarfed back an order of shrimp chips and sauce. oink! We had to rush to catch up, but we did!

We ordered 'family style' - that is to say we ordered a bunch of things and just shared.

To start with we ordered spring rolls and summer rolls. They were good although I thought the summer rolls could have used more filler. I ordered a lemon grass and chicken soup which was amazing. It had the wonderful combination of flavours that you find in Thai food: hot, sweet, tart lemon, and saltiness all in one spoon. We also shared a mango salad.

For our main course we ordered pad thai, basil beef, cashew chicken, pineapple curry chicken, garlic shrimp, and rice. The waitress cautioned us that we would have too much food. We just smiled at her; clearly she did not know that we had the finisher AKA Paul amongst us!  LOL

The food arrived promptly and was very well prepared. The basil beef had an incredible heat to it that I really enjoyed. Sure enough we ate it all, in fact we did everything but lick the last tasty morsel from the plate.

The total for three appetizers, soup, mango salad, 5 main dishes, rice and drinks was $ 131 which was quite reasonable given the quantity and quality of the food.

I give this restaurant 4.5 out of 5 forks.