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Any reviewer knows it's easier to pan than to praise -- and
it's infinitely more fun. So why on my first disappointing visit to
the Copper Grill did I refuse to review it? I didn't have the
stomach to help destroy it.
You have to understand:
Roncesvalles has never been a culinary destination. Yes, it's true
that the Pope made a pitstop to the long since boarded up Sir
Nicholas Restaurant for some Polish/Hungarian cuisine. And, yes,
there was the brief meteoric rise of an Italian bistro, Pichii's,
where people would actually line up for Paul's culinary art. But,
unfortunately, this charming area is still known as a street where
you a can find a cinema, a funeral home, and a full plate of Chinese
food for four bucks and change.
Thus, when Penny Young
decided to open this upscale establishment, it was a brave move. She
saved enough from the sale of her Second Cup franchise to open up
where few restaurateurs have dared. With no formal training, Young,
who owns the building and lives above the restaurant, sees Copper
Grill as a catalyst for change, attracting young professionals to
the new and trendy east side of High Park. I hope she's
right.
I'm happy to discover the original chef along with his
offending dishes is a thing of the past; he lasted a mere two weeks.
Better yet, prices have dipped dramatically.
Large sidewalk
windows flood the attractively lit, small, modern room. Denis, our
waiter, obligingly closes the windows, helping us to warm our chilly
bods on this cold fall night. Water and three different breads a la
Fred appear: a bitter, brown bread, olive-infused white, and, best
of all, a plain baguette slice.
I'm tempted by the soup of
the day ($3.50), a dazzling, dense, viscous, purée of fresh sweet
potato with just the right spicing. I then wade into a broad white
dish of perfectly cooked just-pink sautéed chicken livers with
spinach, garlic and shallots in a delicious bourbon demi-glace
reduction served with puff pastry and a mound of thin crispy red
onions ($7.50). In one word, the pumpkin gnocchi ($7) are wow.
Although nickel-sized, it's firm and extremely tasty, and the
sun-dried tomato/chipotle cream sauce tangos with tang. A baker's
dozen disappear in a nanosecond -- so does the sauce.
The
grilled portobello mushroom with arugula, radicchio, roasted sweet
pepper and baby grape tomatoes, tossed in extra-virgin olive oil
with shaved asiago ($8.50) is another winner. Its slightly crusty,
tender, warm mushrooms come garnished with a delicious combo of
greens and dressing. (A glass of fresh, crisp, dry, apple-melon
flavoured Cave Springs VQA Ontario Dry Riesling ($6/glass
$24/bottle) works well with both openers. The ever-changing wine
list features 19 wines, 10 by the glass in the $6 to $8 range. For
apres diner, there are a variety of ports, dessert wines and special
spirits like a Delaforce Paramount tawny, $5.50.)
This may be
executive chef Brad Krawchuk's first solo gig, but he certainly has
a firm grip on his sauces. Krawchuk spent several years in kitchens
on the West Coast, six months in Italy on a special George Brown
culinary program, and, most recently, two years at Mildred Pierce
with Claire Stubbs. Sous chef Ryan Klauke, who solos Sunday and
Monday, seems perfectly comfortable behind the stove.
After
this auspicious start, we proceed to select from eight mains, priced
from $13 to $21. The roast duck breast ($17.50) au jus with
Cointreau and sun-dried cherries is served with roasted new potatoes
and sautéed seasonal vegetables. The seven, albeit small, slices of
tender and tasty duck come on a plate so hot you could fry an egg.
The problem is it keeps on cooking; when I get down to the last
slice, it's overdone. The sweet spirit-infused sauce is quite
sublime, as is the veggie, a nicely prepared melange of roasted
potatoes with flavourful zucchini, green beans and slivers of red
pepper -- all topped by a big sprig of fresh rosemary. (Note:
unfortunately this dish didn't make the cut on the new
menu.)
A daily fresh fish of the day is available, yet
conspicuously absent from the menu. Krawchuk does good work with
fish. We settle for his pan-seared sea bass ($20) with a roasted
pepper coulis, crispy sweet potato, sauté of spinach, green beans
and oyster mushrooms. The surprisingly ample portion is perfectly
cooked and served skin-on -- probably the finest to grace the area.
I most enjoy the sweet coulis with fish flesh contrast.
For
dessert (all six are $6) we give in to a flourless chocolate
espresso torte with a berry coulis -- more like two small slices of
a very dense, sweet, moist truffle cake. Thumbs up. A new item on
the fall menu worth exploring is a surprisingly thin "low-rise"
sweet maple pumpkin pecan pie served with a tangy cranberry coulis
and superbly rich vanilla ice cream.
Young has had her hands
full with what was a very shaky June start. In all, I visit this
place three times, and with each she's risen to the challenge: she
has reduced prices, brought in a new culinary team, and come up with
a credible menu. And while portions tend to be on the modest size,
customers should be pleased with above-average quality. Copper Grill
is a welcome breath of fresh air and may well become a new east side
High Park destination.
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SAUCES SUPREME: This may be executive chef Brad
Krawchuk's first solo gig, but he certainly has a firm grip on
his sauces. |
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