It’s been a while since I’ve done a Food Friday post, so please accept my apologies with a giveaway!
Now that the weather is warmer, it’s officially patio season in Toronto. To celebrate this, Fionn MacCool’s created a new food and cocktail menu that debuted on Monday, June 16th! Read on to see what Chef Bryan Jurek and Mixologist Nathan Cameron created!
RESTAURANT: Fionn MacCool’s
ADDRESS: 70 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 1Z4 – Locations across Ontario & Alberta
CUISINE: Pub Food
PHONE: (416) 362-2495
WEBSITE: http://www.primepubs.com/
You might remember reading last year’s #onthepatio event, this year was no different and was just as delicious. I just wanted to mention that my boyfriend and I loved the Patio Aphrodisiac from last year’s menu so much that to this day, we still make it at home! Thank you Nathan for giving us the recipe 🙂
Speaking of Nathan, who is not only the Mixologist for Prime Restaurants but also the beverage manager, he recently won the prestigious Drinks Ontario Hospitality Award for his work with the franchise system’s casual dining restaurants. His passion, creativity and deep knowledge of beer, cocktails and wine has enhanced the profile of alcoholic beverages across the province. Congratulations Nathan on your award!
It’s not easy to be the Head Chef for a franchise. You have to write recipes where the food tastes authentic and is easily replicable by chefs of different skill sets. Head Chef Bryan Jarek achieved this difficult task and had a hand in creating each item on the new food menu.
Note #1: Since this was a menu tasting, the presentation, portion, and plating will be a bit different than when ordering the full size item.
BIKEWORK ORANGE (6.5oz): Orange Pekoe infused Bombay Sapphire gin, Stiegl Grapefruit Radler, fresh orange.
The Somersby Mojito was my favourite of the night. I’m a huge Somersby fan after Nathan introducing us to it last year, so there was no doubt I would like this drink. This drink has elevated what the mojito. You get the traditional rum, lime, and mint leaves. Now add in the tang from the Somersby cider and made in-house candied lime syrup and lime. You read that right…candied lime! It just added a bit of sweetness to the drink and the candied lime garnish at the top was delicious.
SOMERSBY MOJITO (6oz): Bacardi Superior rum, Somersby cider, fresh lime, fresh mint, made-in-Pub candied lime syrup, candied lime.
During elementary and middle school, parents would come in and made latkes for us to celebrate Hanukkah. The Latke Grilled Cheese brought back these memories while adding some pub flair. The latkes were made in-house and weren’t overly greasy. To cut through the heaviness from the savoury Guinness cheddar cheeses was the sour cream, orange, and pickles.
Usually grilled cheese is paired with something that is tomato based, whether it be tomato soup or ketchup. To add one more layer of comfort food to this dish, Chef Bryan paired it with spicy ketchup on the side. The spiciness from the ketchup just made the dish that much better!
As a side note, the full sized version of this dish comes with two latkes.
LATKE GRILLED CHEESE: Made-in-Pub shredded potato cakes. Layered with sour cream and orange, old and Chill’s Guinness Cheddar cheeses. Finished with bread-and-butter pickles. Served with spicy ketchup for dipping.
Note #2: Due to our dietary concerns, some dishes were served without pork.
Normally you wouldn’t think that a salad would be good at a pub. I mean…who orders a salad at a pub? Usually the salads on the menu are overly dressed and your options are either a garden salad or caesar salad. Chef Bryan solved this problem along with my hatred for red onions by creating the Farmer’s Salad. I always detested red onions because of its distinct spicy taste well Chef Bryan caramelized the onions to bring out the sweetness in it and boy was it sweet. This is actually a very healthy salad as it contains spinach and hard boiled egg along with some indulgent ingredients like potato and bacon. My favourite part of the salad was the honey-mustard vinaigrette which was lightly dressed onto the spinach leaves.
The picture below is a sampler plate and does not contain bacon.
FARMER’S SALAD: Roasted Yukon gold potatoes, grilled red onion, and spinach tossed in a honey-mustard vinaigrette. Topped with green onions, and a hard-boiled egg.
Mmmm Lamb Pie. This dish is in contention of being one of my favourites from the new food menu. How many pubs (local and franchise) do you know that makes their own pastry in-house? You can add one to your list because Fionn MacCool’s does. The pastry was so flaky and perfectly cooked. Housed inside were tender pieces of lamb, carrots, celery, and onions. They really didn’t skimp you on the lamb and there were chunks of lamb, not minced. Though the filling was on the salty side, I could live with it because the bed of spinach cut through the saltiness.
LAMB PIE: Kikenny braised lamb, carrots, celery, and onions, baked in pie pastry. Served on a bead of sautéed spinach and mushrooms.
LAMB PIE: Kikenny braised lamb, carrots, celery, and onions, baked in pie pastry. Served on a bead of sautéed spinach and mushrooms.
There a very few places in Toronto that make good Fish and Chips as it is the type of dish that needs to be made to order. You can’t make it ahead of time because the batter and the chips will get soggy. You are really get your money’s worth when ordering this dish as the dish was massive and there were lots of fries. Along with most of the items on the menu, the batter is made in-house and is super crisp. The fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. There was only a slight flaw was the dish; when cutting into the fish, the batter slide off the fish while made it a bit more challenging to eat. I really wish I wasn’t full at this point in the meal because the fresh cut fries along with the Dungloe sauce were so good!
FISH & CHIPS: Cod fillet fried to order in our made-in-Pub dark beer batter. Served with rainbow slaw, Dungloe Sauce, and freshcut fries seasoned with Celtic Sea Salt.
To bring out the authentic flavours of Tandoori Street Sandwich, the chicken was brine in-house and the Tandoori sauce was sourced out to a local chef. You know a restaurant is serious about it’s food when it elicits the help of other chefs. I wasn’t a fan of this dish as the chicken felt a bit rubbery, the naan wasn’t warm enough, and there wasn’t enough Tandoori sauce causing the sandwich to be a bit dry.
TANDOORI STREET SANDWICH: Warm naan bread stuffed with grilled tandoori chicken, arugula, cucumber, and roasted red peppers. Topped with citrus mint yogurt.
With the cost of living constantly increasing, what can $5 really buy you at a restaurant? Well it can definitely buy you this succulent Fried Bread Pudding. I’m not a fan of bread pudding but when fried and tossed with cinnamon sugar, it tastes like a cross between a cinnabon and a doughnut. To make this dish even more indulging, Devonshire sauced is drizzled on top and you are given a side of salted butterscotch. I dare you not to fall in love with this dish. What do you have to lose? Only $5!
FRIED BREAD PUDDING: Bread pudding bites fried golden brown, tossed in cinnamon sugar, and drizzled with Devonshire custard. Served with salted butterscotch for dipping.
Fionn MacCool’s really treated us like VIPs and gave us the opportunity to try out their normal drink menu. If you’re into sweet drinks, try the Strawberry Rhubarb Daiquiri and Raspberry French 75 Sparkling Cocktail. I would suggest ordering the Raspberry French 75 Sparkling Cocktail towards the end of your meal as it is more of a dessert drink.
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB DAIQUIRI (2 oz): Bacardi Superior white rum, fresh lime juice, organic cane sugar, fresh strawberry rhubarb juice.
RASPBERRY FRENCH 75 SPARKLING COCKTAIL (4 oz): Fresh raspberries, Tanqueray gin, fresh lime juice, sage simple syrup, Prosecco.
I’ve never seen a margarita like this before but the Market Fresh Margarita wasn’t loaded with crushed ice but had the same flavours!
MARKET FRESH MARGARITA (2 oz): Jose Cuervo Especial Gold tequila, triple sec, fresh lime juice. Traditional lime, fresh strawberry rhubarb juice .
Thank you Fionn MacCool’s, Nathan, Bryan, Cathy, and Katherine for such a wonderful meal. My boyfriend and I loved the experience and got a indulge our faces with delicious food while meeting some fellow foodies!
Chef Bryan Jurek and Cathy Cowan, President of Cowan & Company (Unfortunately Mixologist Nathan had to leave before I could snap a photo with him.)
As a THANK YOU gift for all my readers, Fionn MacCool’s has kindly donated a $50 Fionn MacCool’s Gift Card! Make sure you enter in the giveaway in order to win!
Disclaimer: Menu tasting was provided by a Cowan & Company and Fionn MacCool’s for review consideration. The stomach doesn’t lie, so needless to say, all opinions are my own and are always open & honest.
