AND COMPANY RESTO BAR

295 Enfield Place, Mississauga On., (905) 808-2112, Wed. 6:00 pm to 2:00 am, Thurs. 6:00 pm to 12:00 am, Fri. and Sat. 6:00 pm to 2:00 am, closed Sun. Mon. Tues.

Located in Mississauga, close to Square One shopping plaza is a vibrant restaurant and nightlife venue called And Company Resto and Bar. 

It is unique in the fact that there is a lovely comfortable restaurant, a sleek bar with a couple of televisions for chilling, a lounge area that includes a dance floor with comfy couches, grand piano and a DJ station. It even has a large rooftop patio for those long summer evenings!

After being seated by the friendly and smiling girls at the door we began to review their new menu. Their menu was entirely designed and executed by their new Executive Chef Ron Stratton.  He came with over 20 years of experience working in a variety of fine dining restaurants all over Canada.  The menu focuses on "fine familiar" cuisine, which basically takes conventional dishes and adds imaginative touches to their ingredients and presentation.

We selected a nice California Zinfandel that was moderately priced and very nice.

My wife chose for her appetizer the Crispy Thai Calamari with a pickled vegetable salad and green curry coconut veloute.  The calamari were delicious and the sauce was very light.

I chose the Jumbo Tempura Shrimp with seasonal vegetable and rice wine vinegar.  The shrimp were very large, the tempura coating was thin and the asparagus was tender.

For her main my wife chose the Salmon Wellington.  This dish consisted of a salmon fillet, enclosed in a light puff pastry, fresh buttered seasonal vegetables and red wine jus.  It was quite dramatic on the plate and the flavours were delightful.

For my main I chose the Chicken Parmigiana.  It consisted of two substantial pieces of Ontario chicken, marinated bocconcini, San Marzano tomato sauce with egg pappardelle.

This was a fine example of a familiar dish being elevated with just a couple of different ingredients and presentation.

Our dessert was shared and was quite different in it's presentation and ingredients.  It was called Brownie Banana Split and consisted of a dark chocolate brownie with a banana spring roll, seasoned berry compote, ice cream and sorbet.  It was a great ending to a wonderful dinner.

We found the servers, our waitress Lizzy (who was efficient and took good care of us the entire evening) and management to be very friendly and inviting.  The music was upbeat and current. The management mingled and socialized with patrons and this was very nice to see.  I should point out that we were invited by Basel - their marketing director and our meal was complimentary.  I think from our comments about this venue and the food you will get a good picture of our experience here.  We enjoyed our evening and are looking forward to returning again.

http://www.andcompany.ca/

EAST THIRTY-SIX 

36 Wellington St. E. St. Lawrence Market/Old Town, Toronto, (647) 350-3636 Open for Dinner and Late 7 days a week

Located in the St. Lawrence Market area of Toronto, East Thirty-Six is the third restaurant change in the same building. Previously it was the Lucien, then changed to Olde Town Bistro and Oyster Bar.  Although now it has a new name, it seems to have a similar menu as the previous Oyster Bar.  It appears to follow a similar philosophy - do only a few items and do them well.  The menu is rather limited and encourages sharing.

We decided to begin with a nice red Cotes du Rhone and it did not disappoint, it was smooth and delicious.

We decided to get started with some bread and olives.  They charge $3 for some crusty pieces of bread and butter, which seemed a little chintzy for a restaurant like this. (We ate a couple of pieces before this pic was taken)  

The olive selection was delicious for $4 and had some unusual types of olives, including a small one that tasted lemony.

We then ordered an appetizer each and shared them. Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) ordered the Cailletes (made of various pig organs and marinated in red wine) sitting on a small piece of toast.  They were very tender and melted in your mouth.

My wife ordered the e36 salad with castelfranco, kale, endive, ricotta salata aioli, focaccia, it was very good, but it was the only salad available.

I chose the cauliflower with capers, preserved lemon, brown butter, hazelnuts and parsley.  We all agreed they were different and flavourful.

We decided to each try a different main.  Mark had the duck

confit and he loved it.

My wife had the halibut with artichoke, white wine, lemon and fennel.  The halibut was perfectly cooked and the sauce, which seemed more like a soup, was filled with a variety of flavours too hard to identify.

For my main I selected the braised beef shortribs with brussel sprouts and pureed potato in red wine sauce.  It was delicious the meat was tender and the bone was removed, however it could have been hotter, it arrived on the lukewarm side.  It was very filling.

We shared a dessert of a very dense chocolate cake that was drizzled with caramel and covered with nuts.

We enjoyed our choices here, however, there are not enough choices available for us to come back.  The service was efficient and the flavours of our food were great but the menu is very limited.

http://eastthirtysix.com/

CANTINE 

138 Avenue Road, Yorkville, Toronto On., (416) 923-4822, Brunch 10 am - 3 pm Sat. & Sun. Lunch Mon. - Fri. 11:30 - 2:30 pm, Dinner 5 pm to close 7 nights

On a bitterly cold and windy February Saturday evening, my son Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) and I decided to try Cantine.  We arrived at about 6:30 and were quickly seated (luckily) at a casual table in comfortable leather armchairs. They were a little awkward to eat from, but very comfortable to sit in. The interior of this restaurant is very comfortable and invites relaxation.  Most patrons were drinking vodka martinis during the evening.  We began by ordering a nice bottle of Refosco wine.

A nice bread platter quickly arrived with spicy olives and olive oil for dipping.

I ordered a fried calamari appetizer.  It was tender and nice and hot.  They were accompanied by a lemon and a chipotle mayo that was rather bland.

Mark ordered the crab cakes.  He really enjoyed them.  They were also accompanied by a chipotle mayo.

I ordered one of this evening's specials.  It was a house made ravioli dish filled with portabello and crimini mushrooms, onions and garlic.  They were tender and outstanding.  The ravioli were covered in a white wine cream sauce, that was light and very tasty.  Between the ravioli were short spears of very tender asparagus.  A sprinkling of parmigiano reggiano completed the flavouring of this plate.  This was a wonderful light dish that I would order again.

Mark ordered from the regular menu and had the grain fed boneless half chicken, with veal jus reduction and seasonal vegetables, that included bok choy and broccoli and mashed potatoes.  Unfortunately, the picture did not do this dish justice since it was to dark.  Mark really liked it.

We both complete our meals with a wonderful tiramisu that was light and delicious.  It was accompanied by sliced strawberries and chocolate sauce.

Our meals were very good and well presented.  The food was not heavy and the sauces were light and tasty.  The service was timely and efficient.  A number of patrons seemed to know each other and probably were regular patrons.  The restaurant was filled by 7:30, so reservations would be a good idea. We found the restaurant very comfortable and will definitely return to try other dishes.

http://www.cantine.ca/

BAR ON LOCKE 

178 Locke Street South, Hamilton On., (905) 521-9116, Open for lunch and dinner Mon. - Sat.

Went to Bar on Locke with my son Thomas on a dreary, rainy, December Saturday, late afternoon.  It is located on Locke street in Hamilton (a trendy street of cafes and restaurants). This bistro has been here a long time and is quite popular, with a regular clientele.

It has an easy vibe - playing soft jazz and a laid back feel.

It has an inviting bar and a variety of diner like booths.
Notice the Christmas wreath made of wine corks.

We began with a half litre of Chilean wine.

Thomas ordered the hot hamburger dinner - it was very large and delicious - it had a great gravy and a good variety of ingredients.

I had their pad thai with chicken and it too had a nice selection of ingredients that blended well in a spicy sauce.  It was very good.

The food was tasty, the service was pleasant, the atmosphere was laid back and the prices were fair.  We will definitely come back to try other dinner selections and libations here - it is definitely worth a visit!


http://www.baronlocke.com/