Trying to make a 5:30p reservation on a hot summery day in office dress clothes, when the restaurant of choice is a several blocks walk outside, is not recommended.
However, the aforementioned restaurant, North 44, is absolutely recommended (as long as you don’t worry about the heft of your wallet).
Arriving just in the nick of the time, and feeling decidedly sweaty and unglamorous for such a high end restaurant, the first thing I noticed going in was the A/C. The next thing was that North 44 is a two story affair, with tables on the ground floor, and stairs to an additional level above. Most of the restaurants in the Yonge-Eglinton area just have one floor.
The restaurant was still quite empty, and after being seated, the table’s waiter came by and asked about drinks. Overall, the waiter was fine, but I think he was trying a little too hard - his speech came off as more than a little artificial, with a certain amount of excessive floweriness.
After some deliberation over the Summerlicious menu, me and my dinner partner finally decided. We both upgraded certain aspects of our respective courses - after all, how often does one come to such a restaurant? The courses were: foie gras, salmon, and a dessert (whose name I forget); the other (mine) was risotto, lobster & steak, and a “trio of desserts”.
As I recall, the service wasn’t particularly slow or swift. The appetizers were an interesting presentation, and signalled the look of the rest of the course.
I really like the name “risotto” on paper, but I always forget what it actually is. Rice that’s been soaked in a tomato-type broth is what I think this one was. Interestingly, the rice was *just* on the uncooked side of done; I didn’t mind at all.
Foie gras - goose liver. I’m normally not a fan of liver at all, but I must admit, this did look very nice. I tried a little bit. It reminds me of eating some steak fat, though of course much more tender and flavourful, with that “liver” taste. My dinner partner felt this angle was more “artful”. Looking at it now, I think I agree.
The “surf ‘n turf” was much smaller than I had expected. However, i *greatly* enjoyed the lobster. Perhaps it’s because it’s been awhile, but that was the best piece of lobster that I recall. Buttery (but not dripping in any way), sweet like sweet corn is sweet… yum. The steak was good, too, but it’s the lobster piece that I remember.
The salmon was quite interesting. The presentation was very good, as you can see in the picture; there’s also a scoop of mashed potato behind the salmon. If you look closely, however, you can see the salmon is seared outside, but still red on the inside. It tasted quite good. it wasn’t exactly like having sashimi, nor like having fully cooked salmon, although leaning more to the former than the latter.
I’m usually a glutton at meals, particularly when it comes to either novelty or desserts. So for the prospect of novel desserts, I upgraded more to have a sampler.
The dessert on the right was a light, cream (I think) and berry mixture. Those black spots on the right were edible seeds of some sort. Very sweet.
The centre is creme brulee. The caramelized layer was extraordinarily thin; I think I’d have liked a slightly thicker one to add a sweeter taste to the experience. The filling was creamy, but not very sweet. Probably the most “understated” creme brulee I’ve had.
The dessert on the left was banana based. IIRC, the shell was deep fried banana, and the inside under the cream was also a banana slice. More of a demonstration of skill and appearance rather than taste perhaps (though it tasted well).
The dessert of the other course was a larger version of the cream and berry mixture (I wish I remembered what it was called).
So that was North 44, some very fine dining. Due to the various upgrades, the bill was more than I expected: ~C$60 for me after tips and taxes I believe. Still, it’s a rare occasion to go, and it was a fun cuilinary tour. I look forward to when I can do it again at North 44’s sister restaurant, Bymark.
