Shellfish at Bar Reggio & I'm Angus Steakhouse

I was pretty excited to see my bestie when she visited me in Sydney last week.  She was in town on a conference, and we ended up having some great meals (and drinks) together.  Once such night was the one we went to Bar Reggio, a little Italian BYO in my work hood.  The boys in the office are quite familiar with the restos in this area, and when I asked if there was a good spot for BYO, they said that this was one of their favourites.   There would be quite the line up on a Friday night however, and they only take resos for large groups, so I headed over right after work to put my name down for a table for two.  The gyuy at the door said it would be 9pm for a table for two...it was 7:15.

Once M joined me, we set off to the bottleshop and picked up a couple bottles of wine. Of course, having already scanned the menu we knew that we would be having mussels and picked up a nice Riesling counteract the chili in the tomato sauce. In the meantime, while we waited for 9pm, we headed over to   Pocket Bar; a super cool little bar in Darlinghurst. PB was a great discovery, and I've been back to it several times since; with a funky interior and some serious cocktails, it's a great spot to catch up with friends.

My tab card...

When we got back to Bar Reggio there was still a serious wait, but it was well worth it.  The aromas wafting from the resto were intoxicating and quintessential for an Italian resto: sweet tomato sauce; yeasty bread dough and greasy cheese.  While we stood in the doorway, we watched one of the kitchen guys top a beautiful flatbread with a vibrant blend of fresh tomato and herbs - the bruschetta - which we ended up ordering as well.  

Mussels w/ chili & Napoli sauce

We were really pleased with the mussels.  Both M and I grew up in the Atlantic provinces in Canada, so seafood is very important to us, and we're pretty particular.  These suckers were fresh, plump and flavourful - and a generous serving too.  The sauce was certainly more-ish.  I found myself enjoying that to the same extent as I did the shellfish.  Unfortunately, by the time we got our bruschetta, the tomato topping wasn't quite as generous, but it was still delicious.  In fact, we ended up saving the broth from our muscles and spooning the bits of red pepper, tomato and onion onto the bruschetta base.  That was my idea.  I'm a genius.

Later in the week, we headed over to Cockle Bay in search of some oysters.  We ended up at I'm Angus Steakhouse at a table overlooking the boardwalk.  In that heat, a refreshing bevy was needed, and what better than a gin and tonic. As a side note - my favourite bevvy to beat the heat at home in Sydney is a tall glass of tonic water with a good squeeze of lemon and a generous handful of mint from the garden.  

Oysters Killpatrick ($20)

We ordered some oysters as a little snack before heading to the grocery store to get some ingredients for dinner.  We got 1/2 a dozen, and after debating over Natural and Killpatrick for a good while, we chose the Killpatrick; a topping of bacon and Worcestershire sauce.  The price wasn't too bad for oysters - especially in such a 'touristy' location.  They were Sydney Rock Oysters and the quality of the shellfish was top notch.  Beautiful oysters topped mysterious Worsh. sauce and salty bacon - we were some pretty happy gals.

The following am, I took a stroll over to the Botanical Gardens as my friend had mentioned that the rose garden was in full bloom.  My iPhone was full of flower shots afterward, but these are some of my faves.

Mouthwatering Meal at CUT Steakhouse

Earlier this spring, I did some work for an organization writing about various restaurants and food festivals in Halifax. In exchange, I ended up with a gift certificate to CUT Steakhouse (my choice) for a staggering sum...

Yeah, that's right...300 bucks!

When asked what resto I really wanted to visit, CUT was at the forefront of my brain. Certainly not cheap, it's the kind of resto that I was saving for a very special occasion. With my GC in tow, I knew that I could spend without a care in the world (relatively), which just enhanced the vibe of Marie-Antoinettish indulgence.

Now the best part about this meal was that I invited my best foodie friend and told her NOTHING about the night! OMG - I had so much fun taunting her! For weeks I told her how amazing the mystery was going to be. The night arrived, and I went to J's place and was thrilled when she had a glass of sparkling wine prepped for my arrival! We finished that off, called a cab, and I whispered the address to the cabby, who played along with my little game. When we pulled up at CUT, and I whipped out my GC, the look on J's face went from confusion - to shock - to sheer delight as she realized what was in store.

We started off with cocktails; mine was my 'usual' a straight-up Grey Goose martini w/ loads of olives. J went with the Berry Foam Collins; gin, fresh raspberries and lemon, shaken and topped w/ Prosecco. Our server quickly followed up our drinks with an amuse bouche-type course; a tangy goat cheese-based dip with crudites, followed by CUT's breadbasket. With a selection of soft savory loaves and crispy breadsticks it sated our virtually empty stomachs! Sidenote- I rarely fill up on bread in restos, but in RCR Hospitality's restos, the bread is pretty hard to resist!

After much, much consideration, we finally decided on our orders. As apps, on our server's recommendation, we chose 1 Shrimp Almondine each - he said the dish was very rich and filling. In addition, we ordered the broiled bone marrow to split.

Ah, the shrimp! These suckers will absolutely, positively make it on my list of Top Ten Memorable Bites of 2010. The shrimp themselves were plump and perfectly cooked- not a hint of chewy-ness. These were served on a beurre noisette with (what I think was) a puree of almonds. The contrast of juicy seafood, crunchy almond slivers and crisp breadcrumbs along with the velvety puree, had my tastebuds doing a happy dance indeed. It's not often that you find a dish whose components work so harmoniously together.

The bone marrow...well, it's not for me. I just wasn't a huge fan of the texture, though the accompanying jams were delightful and fragrant!

Jumbo Shrimp Almondine

U8 Jumbo shrimp, pan seared w/ almond slivers & garlic, beurre noisette

Broiled Marrow au Gratin

Broiled marrow bone topped w/ black truffle cheese,

brioche crisps & fig and apple-cinnamon jams

So as to avoid food envy, we both ordered the Kobe Beef rib eye- also on our server's suggestion. More on that later...For our enhancements and starch we chose a potato, mushrooms and onion rings.

I knew the O Rings were a good choice, as those at Onyx (one of RCR's other properties) are out of this world. While the onion rings were crisp, the mushrooms were tender, with an incredibly earthy flavour and aroma - a fantastic addition to the table. The potato was the perfect combo of both of these textures; a smooth truffle infused mash was wrapped in a layer of crispy potato to form...well, the phallic-like shape below - heretofore referred to as Penis Potato. Yeah, said it.

Tempura Onions Rings

w/ Smoked paprika-saffron mayonnaise

CUT Pommes de terre

Yukon Gold potato strings surrounding

white truffle infused mashed potato

Sauteed seasonal mushrooms

You're probably wondering how a 5", 100 lbs. chick put this all away by now hey? Well, it took a lot of effort, but absolutely worth it when the melt-in-your-mouth piece of meat arrived before me. This steak was the epitome of all the characteristics you want in your beef; tender, flavourful and rich, and smooth throughout - without any annoying bits of grizzle.

Kobe Beek Rib Eye

Sake & miso rubbed

Holy cannoli- this steak was like crack!

And here we are; two very content little ladies. This was a great experience in ways above and beyond the food. The service and hospitality at CUT certainly enhanced the evening and determined that a return trip is definitely in the future!

Sustainable Seafood Series # 7- Ryan Duffy's Steakhouse

You might consider it odd that I'm featuring Ryan Duffy's, a steakhouse as one of Halifax's prime sustainable seafood restaurants. I'm not disagreeing with you - it is odd - but in a great way. Ryan Duffy's is known for its terrific steak, but in addition to that, the resto is known for its champion chef, Chris Velden. Velden is a Master Chef, having worked in restaurants across the globe for over 25 years.

During his time spent in Vancouver, Velden began working with the Ocean Wise program. Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood. Velden has continued his work since his move to Halifax as their Atlantic Canada Representative.

Velden states that, "the most important thing about sustainable seafood choices is to get informed; read about what is going on in our oceans, check out the Ocean Wise web site, Seachoice and the Monterey Bay Aquarium." He also emphasizes that diners need to be conscious consumers and ask the restaurant's service staff the proper questions: "Where is your fish from? How is it caught? Is it local? etc." Velden encourages you to ask the same questions when you go shopping, and if you don’t like the answer, don’t buy it! One can really start to grasp the seriousess of the situation when Velden adds, "We need to do whatever we can. Otherwise we'll be eating a lot of jelly fish in the near future. "

Velden shares with me his local suppliers, including Nic Budreski for Oysters, Clams, Sea Urchins, harpoon-caught Swordfish, Striped Bass, Sable Fish and Wild Salmon. He also relies on Indian Pointe for Mussels, Scotian Halibut for land based farmed Halibut and Char, and Goldwater Seafood’s for hand-line caught Haddock.

Another indication of this chef's dedication to his craft and principles is his Chef's Blog, whereby Velden shares with his readers news of sustainable seafood deliveries, updates on Ryan Duffy's daily specials. On another sustainable note, and continuing Velden's passion to promote - and produce - local, the chef has created a rooftop garden atop the Radisson Hotel, whereby he is able to grow his own herbs for the resto, as well as keep honey bees to produce all-natural organic honey!

Halibut w/ Sweet Potato Risotto

Bouillabaisse

Celebratory night out at Ryan Duffy's

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend visited me for the weekend. On Thursday night, we stoped in at Trader's Bar for a beer and their Unlimited Mussels special, planning our "Big Night Out!" for Friday night.

My friend gave me free reign of our party night, saying: "You choose. Food is what you do!" After tirelessly debating all day long about where to go, I finally decided on Ryan Duffy's. I knew that I wanted to celebrate with steak and after comparing a couple restos, decided that this place seemed to have the best value.

We arrived at about 8:30ish and set to work picking out an appy to share. We considered several options; crab cakes, steak tartare, ect., until I saw the side option of onion rings on the accompaniments menu....SOLD! I dunno what it is about these things - when I see them on a fine dining resto menu, I just gotta have 'em! After putting in our order, the server brought over bread and a nice little treat; house-made dilled pickles and carrots, which provided a great snack as we waited for our appy.

Onion Rings

Oddly enough, we both ordered the exact same entree; a 6 oz. filet with sweet potato gratin. The steak was luscious. Grilled rare, the meat was supple, juicy and topped with a tantalizing garlic butter that upped the ante for sheer indulgence!

The sweet potato gratin was decadent as well with the tender vegetable enveloped in rich cream and butter with a delicious crust of Parmesan cheese. On the side we chose caramelized onions sauteed with earthy rosemary and tender wild mushrooms paired with woodsy thyme.

6 oz. Filet Mingon w/ Sweet Potato Gratin

Sauteed Wild Mushrooms & Sauteed Onions

To finish off the night, we had cupcakes from Susie's Shortbreads back at my apt. My AMAZING pal had picked up some cupcakes during the day to surprise me when I got home! A sinfully delicious chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream and Skor bites, this cupcake was the perfect ending to our perfect night!

Chocolate Toffee Crunch

chocolate cake swirled w/ Skor pieces

topped w/ chocolate buttercream & Skor pieces