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| Private room at Braise Food & Wine |
Do you ever feel like something is too fancy for you? Like when you go into a shop on Richmond Row and a plain white cotton t-shirt is $80 and the saleswoman says, "you don't belong here, please leave"? Wait, that was
Pretty Woman. Well, Braise Food & Wine on Dundas St. is like that--but without the cold rejection. This once old shoe factory has been transformed into a very modern and chic hotel and restaurant. From the gleaming hardwood floors to the radiant chandeliers, walking into Braise is like walking into a trendy up-scale restaurant depicted in Hollywood movies. I felt like I should have flounced my faux-fur wrap at the hostess and posed waifishly with pouted lips for the expectant paparazzi. Well at least my shoes were nice.
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| Amuse Bouche |
Seated in our own private room and tended to by a very knowledgeable waiter, our high-rollers night out started well enough. As we sat in our cloistered room with live jazz playing in the background I started to get the
Pretty Woman feeling again; this did not seem like the right sort of restaurant for a group of friends who more easily related themselves to the characters of
How I Met Your Mother than the sophisticated clientele which Braise seemed to be soliciting. That was until we saw the drinks menu and were able to take part in some witty repartee over the possibility of ordering a "Donkey Punch" (mom, if you're reading this, do not look it up on Google--seriously). Not only did we get to have bread at our table (a first in our dinner club) but the chef prepared a fresh amuse bouche to whet our appetites. And while I chose to skip the appetizer, everyone else seemed to enjoy theirs with a special mention to the quail and risotto. In the meantime, our drinks were topped up and dinnerware was exchanged in preparation for the next course and an added feature: if you go to the bathroom the waiter will refold your napkin while you're gone (which was a little bewildering for some the first time around!). For dinner I went for the big-ticket item: Butter Poached Lobster.
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| Lime Poached Lobster |
Taken out of its shell and placed on a lime-butter sauce the lobster was decadent but not too rich. Sir Cares Not and The Sheen ordered the Dry Aged Ribeye and were pleased with the portion size and with the steak itself. They did not, however, enjoy their bone marrow (a chef's specialty). As well, the steak came with beets. Beets are generally an acquired taste to begin with, but Sir Cares Not thought they tasted like they had been dropped in the bottom of a greasy barbecue while The Sheen thought they tasted like dirt (note: The Sheen went back to the beets after his third beer and the flavour had not improved). The other meal of the table was the Chestnut and Herb Stuffed Chicken. The chicken was good, but not exceptional. Served with creamy parsnips, one reviewer was confused as to why his mashed potatoes tasted funny. Also, the chicken comes with brussell sprouts--another acquired taste at best. While a more refined palate may have delighted in the different flavours the sides added to the meal, overall, I think they detracted from the dinner.
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| Donuts |
Bring on dessert! Ranging from fresh-made donuts to a toffee pudding with butternut squash ice cream, everyone delighted in their desserts. Eileen thought her cheesecake was the best part of the whole meal and marveled at how soft and creamy it tasted compared to traditional cheesecakes. The donuts, served with three dipping sauces, were big enough to share with everyone at the table and were scrumptious!
Just like at the end of
Pretty Woman, it was time to settle the debt and go back to our crummy lives. So it was with empty wallets and suprisingly full stomachs that we "left the place a little less classy than when we found it" (OR). So, how did this fancy foray fare? It's hard to tell. Everyone really enjoyed the atmosphere and service (though, Sir Cares Not apparently doesn't care about ambiance or decor), for the cost of the meals the food could have been better--or at least a little less strange. I would be willing to go back but it would have to be for a really special reason. Like if Richard Gere were taking me.
Location:
Braise Food & Wine (125 Dundas St., London, ON)
Entree Cost: $18-$38
Number of Reviewers: 6
Value:
$ $
Overall: * * *
The beets were supposedly apple wood smoked, however The Sheening and I both fealt the smoked taste had a greasy undertone and was off putting. Its hard to describe tastes verbally but I'll try, take the following two descriptions and combine them to get an idea of the taste of these beets: 1) Imagine cooking a package of hamburgers indoors in a frying pan and then rubbing the beets in the cold congealed grease left on the kitchen walls, this should give you an idea of the greasy taste, 2) Imagine a group of 5 French Canadian dish washers standing outside in the back ally on a smoke break feircly puffing on cigarettes as hard as they can and exhalling on to your plate of beets, this should give you an idea of the "apple wood" smoke taste. Combine those descriptions and you have something approaching the taste of the beets.
ReplyDeleteSo I didn't like the beets, however the fresh made donuts made up for them. Although it goes against my very nature, I cared for those donuts. In an attempt to spare them suffering, I chose not to chew them but instead wait for my saliva to slowly disolve the donut peices on my tongue. Mmmm.