Epicure
on the move Queen West Cafe replicates its decor and able menu five
doors down
By STEVEN DAVEY
Le Select isn't the only long-running Queen West bistro making
a move. That francophone spot famous for its hanging bread
baskets will shortly relocate to new digs on Wellington
West.
Another
- Epicure - has recently packed up and shifted five doors
east after two decades at Queen and Portland. Not that you'd notice.
The three-storey space is virtually a replica of the previous
rooms, right down to the posters and paintings hung on
exposed brick and deep burgundy walls and the chairs now
ringing a row of partitioned-off semi-private tables lining
the long, dimly lit first floor.
Up a long flight of white-painted stairs, there's a second dining
area and a recreation of Epicure's breezy rooftop deck.
Even the storefront's identical: red paint and gold letters that spell
out the resto's name above French
doors that open to the street.
The menu - helmed by 15-year vet S. Sri - hasn't changed a bit
either. But while it might read like the same old same
old of pasta, pizza and panini, the card is consistently competent, and good value,
too.
Witness a starter of mussels Provencale
($6), a prodigious portion of 27 (!) bivalves in the shell
steamed in a superbly garlicky tomato sauce flecked with
sweet onion and basil. Sadly, the mussels themselves are
some of the smallest I've ever encountered. A baby species, perhaps?
That same marvellously pulpy sauce beefed
up with ground chuck to morph into a Bolognese reappears
liberally ladled over Epicure's Old
World lasagna ($13), its several layers of pasta peppered
with more minced hamburger and another tier of creamy
ricotta.
At first, Epicure's Italiano pizza ($12)
appears unpromising. But closer inspection reveals unexpectedly
choice toppings evenly spread over a delightfully thin
cracker crust: shaved prosciutto, whole cloves of roasted garlic, sun-dried tomato
and sliced artichoke hearts that taste remarkably free
of the tin.
Chef Sri's assured take on steak frites
($18) is another keeper. This triple-A black
Angus 10-ouncer comes to table unabashedly untrimmed of
fat (it adds flavour, but you're not required to eat the stuff) and sauced
with a rich demi-glaze thick
with black peppercorns. A nice touch, a spoonful of spicy
chimichurri adds unpredictable
punch. Correctly steamed broccoli and a more than passable
passel of skinny double-fried frites
complete the plate.
We also love his pumpkin ravioli ($14), a dozen or so wonton-like
packets plump with pureed fruit nipped with ginger and
nutmeg in a Parmesan cream littered with button 'shrooms,
spinach strands and roasted kernels of corn. Bravo!
But we're unable to applaud the view from the rooftop terrace of
the restaurant's dumpster full of garbage.
Not only does the trash give off a distinctively ripe odour, but it's also attracted a swarm of kamikaze wasps who do their best to re-enact Pearl Harbor
by dive-bombing non-stop into ou r drinks during dinner.
But insect invasion or no, the new Epicure still has a buzz.
What the Critic's Say...
"For
French and funky there's Queen West's answer to Paris
in Toronto. The Epicure Cafe. Framed posters and prints clutter the walls.
To start, we split a Caesar salad, a large portion of
fresh romaine in a tangy yet delicate lemon dressing.
I know we're all familiar with the taste of a Caesar,
but this one was especially good.
For
his main course, my companion had a dark and richly sauced
roast chicken leg with curried vegetables. Served piping
hot, this was a perfect antidote to a damp evening. My
choice was the Bouillabaisse brimming with mussels, oysters,
clams and shrimps cooked in their shells in a saffron
wine broth full of healthy chunks of salmon, squid and
scallops. The textures were simmered to melt in your mouth
perfection. Served with toasts and the mayonnaise sauce,
rouille, this dish is a rollicking success.
I'm
not sure if it's Paris,
but my belly assures me. The Epicure Cafe is serving up
a little bit of heaven. And that is just fine with me."
Peter Hawkins,
Xtra! Magazine
"The
Epicure Cafe reminds us of those cozy little Italian restaurants
in New York's Greenwich Village;
after all, Queen Street West is the Village of Toronto. Intimate and friendly, the Epicure is a terrific place to
relax and refuel after traversing this fascinating district.
Take in the restaurant's contemporary yet comfortable
ambience and menu, and begin with an order of bruschetta,
toasted bread slices rubbed with garlic and served here
with olives, and the salads are quite good. We like the
tender, fresh tortellini in a mushroom herb cream sauce,
the surprisingly good cold poached salmon, and the zippy
provencal-style chicken with crispy roast potatoes."
Gault Millau,
The Best of Toronto
"Where's
there's smoke...a basic utilitarian chicken can be transformed
into a gourmet entree by a few hours in the smoker plus
imaginative presentation. The Executive Chef of the Epicure
Cafe, Toronto,
lays boned chicken legs on the racks of his chubby, cylindrical
Weber Smoker - affectionately nicknamed R2D2 - for five
hours of hot smoking over coals, wood chips and a water
pan which keeps the meat moist. When the meat has cooked
and takes on the flavor of mesquite or hickory, he combines
it with sweet peppers, mushrooms and
reduced chicken broth to create his Spaghettini with Smoked Chicken entree."
Susan
Thorne
Hospitality Magazine
"Cooking
Pizza Without A Pizza Oven...Epicure
Cafe attributes their super-tasting pizzas to delicious,
rich home-made sauces and light, tasty crust. Customers
are looking for greater variety and fabulous taste, and
in both respects Epicure Cafe is definitely surpassing
their expectations. Epicure Cafe's reputation for serving
tasty delicious and varied foods is always maintained
in a cost-efficient manner. What more could any great
chef ask for?"
