Interview: Chef Rob Gentile on Ingredients, Italian Influences and Buca Yorkville

“The best ingredients” – Chef Rob Gentile uses the phrase repeatedly in our conversation, stressing their importance. The repetition is not redundant, there is no lack of meaning. The ingredients constitute his dharma; they are a representation of his childhood, his family, his education, his mentorship, his pride, his work, his restaurants and his life.

Ingredients take centre stage in the live Gaspé scallop w/ chamomile infused olive oil, sea asparagus, buffalo milk yoghurt and lump fish caviar.

Like his two previous award-winning restaurants – Buca King Street (described as "Nona" – the tank, the originator) and Bar Buca (the "spunky nephew") – Chef Gentile has an ingredient-focused approach to Buca Yorkville (formally titled Buca Osteria & Eoteca), whose maritime twist forms the basis for his somewhat simple, yet sophisticated new endeavor....

READ my interview with Chef Rob Gentile on View the Vibe. Take a look at some of the sensational menu items at the new Buca Yorkville below. Note: the menu constantly changes and there's no guarantee you'll be able to order what you see here. 

Also, worth noting for those that like to splurge – a special Chef's Tasting Menu is slowly being introduced at Buca Yorkville. It will feature 19-courses at $180 for food, plus $100 for wine pairings. 

Puntarelle Salad: roman chicory, crisp white smelt, pesto genovese, pine nut, quail yolk, gremolata

Bucatini alla Carbonara: bronze die-extruded duck egg pasta, herring bottarga, hen's egg

Spaghetti Pomodoro: bronze die-cut pasta di gargnano, seaside tomatoes, garlic, olive oil

Polipo e Vongole: braised octopus, B.C. clams, bone marrow, black kale, baby artichoke, fregola sarda

Peperonata: baked eggplant, sweet pepper, zucchini, parmiginao

Flourless chocolate cake, hazelnuts, compressed orange, squash ice cream

Who's The Real Fat Pasha?

The air is damp and it’s drizzling as I sit down on the barely moist bench at Fat Pasha’s back patio. The Dupont Street restaurant – the third on the midtown strip launched by chef and co-owner Anthony Rose – has been open for just about two months. Reviews have been resoundingly positive despite catering to a nitpicky local clientele. Fat Pasha serves Rose’s twist on Middle Eastern food, with an added pinch of personality, and several dashes of schmaltz.

The best chopped liver I've ever had – drizzled tableside with schmaltz!!!

The 41-year old Toronto-born chef sits across from me in a jean shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His demeanor is more placid that usual. He’s getting over the stomach flu and a broken heart. His love for his restaurant, his son, his employees, his eats and his customers, is however evident.

It’s 8pm on a Saturday night and the restaurant is getting slammed. Unexpected rain has limited their patio seating to less than 50 per cent capacity (their full awning is being installed on July 28th) and some of the customers are cranky. Those with a more laissez faire attitude are enjoying everything from the food to the al-fresco atmosphere. He remains engaged in our conversation while somehow quality checking with staff and complimenting neighboring tables on their meal choices “You’re never going to please them all,” Rose concedes. “But we do our best and we do what we love and that’s what’s most important.”

READ MORE... full article and the truth behind "The Real Fat Pasha" on View the Vibe

Seared albacore tuna w/ preserved lemon and salsa verde

Sensational schmaltz fried rice

Ice cream sandwich for dessert w/ caramelized matzah and Manischewitz jelly

READ my full article on View the Vibe.

Trio Ristorante - REVIEW

Trio Ristorante may not be one of those much talked about downtown Toronto restaurants, but Midtowners in the know have been singing its praises for years. The romantically lit two-story restaurant on Yonge Street has been serving up a tantalizing mix of traditional Italiano for nearly 8 years.

Owner Eduardo Beccati hails from Calabria in Southern Italy and describes his fourth restaurant as a family oriented place for great pizza and handmade pasta. The mix of tables reflects his statement, though don’t cross Trio off your date night list.

The sweet aroma of roasted garlic from their wood oven-baked bread is the first thing to hit my nose when I walk in. It’s a perfect compliment to the windowed wine cellar, the flickering candlelight and the Italian love songs. It makes me feel like I’m back in the “old country”.

READ more about my gut-busting Italian feast at Trio Ristorante in my full article at View the Vibe

Brock Sandwich REVIEW: The Best Sandwiches in Toronto?

Matt Gregoris leans casually on the stainless steel counter at Brock Sandwich, the Bloordale sandwich emporium he established with longtime friends and co-workers Dominick Amaral and Peter Ornelas. He greets nearly every customer that walks in by name. Periodically, Matt glances up and waves at passers-by through the bright front window. Congeniality abounds in the small shop – there’s merit to developing an affable relationship with one of the city’s best sandwich slingers.

Crispy Chicken – charred onion, lettuce, piri piri sauce

The lads behind Brock Sandwich left the world of fine dining just under a year ago in search of a more plebian, but personally gratifying pursuit. Amaral, who heads up the kitchen is a 9-year veteran of Susur and most recently, spent three years as the sous chef at Zucca.

While fine tableware has been swapped out for aluminum trays, technical reverence and a focus on fantastically delicious food has not eluded the bunch. A 48-hour process of brining and buttermilk bathing whole chicken legs makes for the exceptional juiciness that’s enveloped within the crackling shell of their signature crispy chicken. Loaded on top of soft white buns from Silverstein’s Bakery and layered with Amaral’s family’s age-old Portuguese piri piri sauce, charred onions and a fresh piece of lettuce, this may be the finest fried chicken sandwich I’ve ever eaten. Period.

READ MORE about these talented sandwich hawkers and their creations pictured below in my full review on View the Vibe.

Porchetta – sautéed rapini, roasted red peppers, provolone cheese 

Shrimp & Calamari Po' Boy – slaw, tomatillo sauce, cilantro 

Fries – malt vinegar aioli

Cheek and Cheese  – beef cheek, roasted red peppers, sweet onion jam, shaved horseradish, provolone cheese 

Is this the best sandwich in Toronto? I won't say no. 

Brock Sandwich Menu

READ my full article at View the Vibe

Toronto Food Trends: Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Restaurants

Toronto seems to be perpetually trapped in the undertow of ebbing restaurant trends… or blessed, depending on how you view it. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean seem to be the latest culinary crazes. Thankfully they seem to be breaking the tiresome mould of single-item variants – restaurants that center around a dish rather than a more robust dining culture.

Photo courtesy of It's All GRK

With one successfully themed eatery, say tacos of 2011 or ramen in 2013, new entrants into the market are aping menus and mirroring concepts – capitalizing on the frivolity of Toronto diners. I’m not averse to the intrigue of a new taqueria or a bowl of tonkotsu – in fact I love the food – but sometimes it seems there are only so many restaurants that can occupy the bulging burger bubble, or so many chicken parts one can pop on a yakitori skewer.

This past year Toronto was treated to several sensational Spanish tapas restaurants. Lauded newcomers like Carmen, Bar Isabel and Valdez each offered diverse atmospheres and equally distinct menus. It was a refreshing diversion from the one-item wonders. 

Interested in seeing who's shaking up the dining scene in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean categories?

READ my full article at View the Vibe.

Toronto Food Truck Bylaws Too Tough to Swallow for Operators?

Change is on the horizon for the burgeoning food truck industry in Toronto. It remains to be seen whether the changes will suit food truck operators, however.

On March 18, the Municipal Licensing and Standards Committee approved a vote that would relax current restrictions on food tucks. Those in the City of Toronto (Wards 20, 27, 28) will see food trucks legally operating on the streets for the first time as early as Victoria Day weekend.

READ what could be in store for operators and eaters in Toronto. Full article at View the Vibe.

Photo Courtesy of Benson Kua on Flickr