Canoe is so good it's ridiculous.
To be fair, my last couple of visits at Canoe were all tasting menus at the chef's rail, which is, in my opinion, a very different experience than ordering a la carte from their dining room. The thing is, if I'm at Canoe, I'm gonna go all out since I'm most likely there to celebrate a special occasion anyway. Needless to say, I do hope that I can call Canoe a "regular spot" one day. I'm definitely not there *yet* but one day :) #Lifegoals, am I right?
Canoe's tasting menu blows me away every single time, and I feel like the Canadiana-focused restaurant just keeps getting better and better. Sounds almost impossible given that Canoe (Twitter: @CanoeRestaurant, Facebook: CanoeToronto) has been around since September 1995, which is more than 20 years ago! But I truly believe that one can never get bored of eating at Canoe. The restaurant is so innovative, and constantly strives to create new and ambitious plates. It's contemporary Canadian cuisine at its finest.
This post is, regrettably, two months late. I contemplated just not blogging about it but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't since the food was so good. The one reason why I thought of not writing about the dinner is because Canoe changed their tasting menu like two days after my visit, which means most of the dishes you see on this post is not even served at the restaurant anymore :( Oh well, bad timing. I still hope you guys will enjoy this post, though!
My friend took me here for my birthday and we reserved two seats at the chef's rail. Seriously, why would anyone want to sit in the dining room when you can get front row seats to the kitchen? The only "bad" thing I can think of was my constant urge to reach over the counter for oysters the entire night.
It's not all about the view of the kitchen, I guess. Situated on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower, the view of the city from the Canoe is pretty amazing.
Complimentary bubbly for my birthday :)
Canoe's tasting menu costs $100 per person, or $150 with wine pairings. That evening, Executive Chef John Horne (@chefhorne) and Chef de Cuisine Coulson Armstrong (@coulsoncooks) took turns cooking for me. I believe some plates were even created on the spot!
RAZOR CLAMS FROM B.C.
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE
RADISH DIPPED IN CULTURED BUTTER, MISO PASTE
A close up of the chicken liver mousse.
We each ordered a cocktail and a bottle of wine shortly after for the dinner. We did not do the wine pairing.
ATLANTIC FLUKE, ONTARIO ASPARAGUS, VERT JUS, SOURDOUGH CRISP, BUTTERMILK SAUCE
WILD GREENS, DANDELION SHOOTS, DAISY SHOOTS, SEA LETTUCES, BIRCH DRESSING, ONTARIO BURRATA, OAT & SEED GRANOLA
Chef Horne placing several oysters on sheets of kelp in a wooden box.
Chef Armstrong came by to see what's up.
Oysters steaming in the wooden box.
BENTWOOD BOX & KELP STEAMED OYSTERS, WILD LEEK KIMCHI, PONZU, ROASTED SEAWEED MAYO CHAR ROE
B.C. SPOT PRAWNS, PEA PUDDING AGNOLOTTI, SUMAC YOGURT, FRIED RAMPS
RHUBARB, GRANULATED SUGAR
LINGENBERRY, CRUSHED ICE, CANDIED VIOLETS
GIN CURED DUCK, MORELS, FOIE GRAS DUMPLING, FIDDLEHEADS, LIVE FOREVER LEAF, FRESH SHUCKED PEAS, IMMATURE JUNIPER BERRIES
14 ARPENTS, LACEY GREY, L'ETOILE BLEU, PEI CLOTHBOUND CHEDDAR, OSPREY BLUFF'S CREAMED HONEY & BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
I'm now one year older! Why am I celebrating again?
CHOCOLATE & NANCY'S ENGLISH MINT DESSERT, MINT MOUSSE, FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE, MINT MERINGUE, CHOCOLATE STREUSEL & MINT ICE CREAM
EARL GREY BON BON, SEA BUCKTHORN MARSHMALLOW, AERATED MILK CHOCOLATE
This dinner is by far one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time in Toronto. Canoe's tasting menu + chef rail is definitely splurge-worthy, so don't even bother thinking twice about making a reservation, just do it!