It's been almost 3 weeks since Winterlicious ended, but nevertheless I would like to dedicate my first blog of 2012 to a French Winterlicious meal at Le Petite France. This place holds a special place to me for it is the restaurant C and I went to for our one year anniversary :).
For starters, I will explain what Winterlicious is for people who are unfamiliar with the term. Basically, it is an annual two week winter event in Toronto (other places may also have this event!) where high-end or just overall any good restaurant opts on a single menu with a fixed priced. The menus usually provide a three course meal (appetizer, entree, dessert) with options to select from and the prices range from as low as $15 for a lunch, to $45 for a dinner. When C and I were scanning the winterlicious menu, we had decided on this because it was situated on Bloor Street West, which we thought was downtown Toronto, but upon Google-mapping this gem, we discovered it was in Etobicoke! But, as you can see, we still decided to eat there :)
The restaurant also provided lunch, but since we could not fit that into our schedules, we decided on a dinner at 6pm. We made reservations just in case there wasn't any room, for we did not know the dimensions of the restaurant nor its popularity. So! On the day of, we drove through a raging snowstorm with devastatingly slow traffic, parked in a nearby underground parking lot (street parking was very tight), and finally arriving 20 minutes after our reservation, we were gently greeted by a burly man in a black dress shirt tucked into blue denims. The restaurant had a very humble but warm exterior that, even when covered with white snow, beckoned us to enter and embrace the warmth it had to offer. Inside, the place was not completely packed, but it had a good amount of people for a blizzarding weekday.
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| image provided by Google |
We were placed at a small table for two by a picture adorned wall and rustic open bar. The aesthetics of the restaurant was not much, in fact everything was kept to the basics; tablecloth-laden tables, cutlery placed to the sides of the setting, standard wine glasses with cloth napkins inside, glass water cup placed at the tip of the knife on the right, and a bread plate beside the fork on the left. A little candle and sunflower was also placed, which I thought was a cute touch. Our waitress was a brunette that started us off with water, a basket of bread, and the menu, which only housed the winterlicious options. We were actually disappointed that they did not provide any of their usual foods, so we were unable to order anything more.
Since C and I had scanned their menu before, we knew what to order the moment she returned to take our orders. We were, though, tied between 3 different appetizers, so upon getting the approval from the manager, we were able to order an extra appetizer and just paid the difference. Alongside our meal, we ordered two extra glasses of pinot, each for a reasonable price of $8.75.
Appetizers
Pâté de Campagne
This was the appetizer that C had ordered, and it was their house made French style pâté. Pâté is essentially a mixture of cooked ground meat with fat that is turned into a spreadable paste. Usually, additions like herbs and vegetables are common, and the dish is served either cold or hot. Ours was a fairly large slice, served cold with a dollop of dijon mustard and cranberry sauce. The pâté was actually both our favourite, for it was very smooth, rich, and savoury! Out of the two condiments given to us, we concluded that the cranberry sauce tasted best, for the dijon mustard overpowered the pâté's delicate taste, whereas the cranberry's sweetness enhanced all the flavours inside the very smooth dish. As yummy as the pâté was, it was slightly too rich to eat on its own, and had to be paired with the complimentary bread. The bread possibly lowered the potential of the pâté, for it was seemingly just unwarmed, sliced baguette. But, if the bread had been warmed, the pâté could have probably upped from tasting good to tasting amazing.
Bisque de Homard
This is the appetizer that I had opted on, which is essentially lobster bisque. Bisque is all about extracting the natural flavours of an ingredient, whether it be crustaceans or vegetables. It is a light and creamy soup of French origin, and for this particular one, is made from the coulis (which is basically pureed parts) of a lobster. The shells of the lobster are sauteed in aromatic ingredients beforehand, then strained, and added to the soup with the addition of some cream. For anyone who's eaten bisque before, we all know that it is quite thick and creamy, yet is very light and rich in taste. The bisque served at Le Petite France was a bit of a let down, for the bisque was not creamy at all (it had more of a brothy texture) and it was a little on the salty side. The salty side could actually have been my fault though because I had accidentally added salt twice to the broth thinking it was pepper (hey, they gave us two salt shakers, how was I to know? Hahaha). So for the saltiness, I shall take the blame. As for the thin texture, I assume that they either did not add enough cream or they watered-down their bisque as to increase serving size. Overall, the bisque was a miss for me due to it's thin/ watery texture, lack of creaminess, and overall un-lobstery taste.
Citrus and Honey Mussel Salad
This was the extra appetizer C and I decided to order. As the title claims, it was a salad with boiled mussels, drenched in a citrus vinaigrette. The leaves used were romaine and were nothing too outstanding other than the fact that they were crispy. The citrus and honey dressing was very refreshing, sweet, and acted as a great palate cleanser. The downside was that there wasn't much dressing as we would have liked. The winning part of this dish was definitely the boiled mussels. They had that delicious smooth texture inside, yet also maintained the slight chewiness on the outside. Also, the salad was laden with LOTS of these yummy mussels! The mussels with the citrus and honey was a great combination for it was light, cool, and sweet, providing a nice little break from all the savoury appetizers we were currently eating. Although this isn't part of the dish, C and I decided to take a slosh of red wine before eating the mussel and discovered that the mussels' flavour was enhanced when we had let the wine sit on the tongue for a small bit. The natural flavor of the mussels truly came out, and the taste not only remained on the tongue longer, but it also spread covering every inch of our palate with it's yummy pastiness.
Entrees
Moules Marinières & Frites
The entrees! This was C's entree; steamed mussels in a white wine, shallot, and garlic broth. This dish was served with a side of salted fries. As you could probably tell from the mussel appetizer, we are both big fans for their mussels. These mussels were just as good as the ones in the salad, except this time they tasted savoury and were slightly more soft because they were served hot. The important part of this dish was the oil-dotted white broth that surrounded each mussel and pooled at the bottom. The broth was what made this dish what it was. Although on the salty side, the broth was very rich and all the flavours of the shallots and garlic (and some butter!) were enhanced (if you do not like garlic, you may not like this dish). When you ate the mussels with the broth, you had that initial hit of the salty and garlicky-ness of the broth, but as you continued to chew through the mussel, the initial saltiness disappeared and became infused with the smooth interior of the mussel, having the taste not only sit on your tongue, but rather disperse all along your palate, seemingly reaching to the part closest to your uvula! Even when all the mussels were eaten, the broth still tasted good when dipped with the bread we received. Such deliciousness cannot be described in words on this blog, my only suggestion is to try this place yourself. But be warned, as I have said before I shall say again; it is salty. The frites served with the dish were very thinly sliced, leading us to speculate if they were made at the place or store bought. They were salted, a little too much possibly, or maybe we are just too sensitive to sodium. Overall, this was a good dish and I would go back to eat it.
Coq au Vin
This was the entree that I had ordered. It looks like a mess doesn't it? Indeed it was a mess, but my goodness, it was such a delicious mess. As described on their menu, it is a classic French stewed chicken with wine and mushrooms, but I honestly felt like I received more. Under the brown exterior, there was a nice juicy piece of chicken, soft sauteed mushrooms, some warm mashed potatoes, pieces of ham, and some salsa concoction. I shall start what I most disliked, which was the salsa. It was a mixture of tomatoes and celery and carrots that tasted oddly refreshing. It did not taste bad, but compared to the rest of the dish that was very comforting and savoury, this salsa-like addition did not match and seemed rather out of place with it's slight sourness. Next, I shall describe the sauce, one of the main components of the meal. I was unsure what this sauce was, but it most closely resembled that of a peppercorn gravy. It had the same texture and thickness of gravy, but an undertone of black pepper was apparent while I was eating. Due to the generous amount, it coated just about everything on the dish, soaking all the contents with a rich, savoury and deep flavour that just made you swallow each bite as fast as possible so you could just take another helping of it. The side additions of this were the mashed potatoes and mushrooms. They weren't spectacular compared to the gravy and chicken, but they were good. The mashed potatoes did not seem to be seasoned with anything such as garlic, but they had a wonderful creamy and thick texture that glided on your mouth as you ate it. Thinking about it, the mashed potatoes didn't need any flavouring anyway, since it was drenched in that delectable savoury gravy. The mushrooms were standard mushrooms; soft, yet rigid and infused the flavour of the gravy while maintaining that mushroomy taste. NOW, for the best part; the chicken! The chicken was very, very, very tender. My chicken was served with the skin still on, which probably contributed to it's softness. The meat came off in thin tendrils from the chicken, and glided off the bone flawlessly. The chicken did not harbor any flavoring of its own, rather it was the gravy that contributed most of the taste. But nevertheless, the chicken was warm, soft, and just downright delicious!!!!!!!! If the amount of exclamations in that last sentence did not depict my love for this meal, then I am not so sure what more I can say except add more exclamations. This was the epitome of comfort food and I would go all the way back there just to eat it again.
Dessert
Profiterolles
As with every meal, no matter how great, it must end. This, was C's end; profiterolles! Profiterolles are a choux pastry filled with cream, whether it be whipped, pastry, or iced. Such dessert would be most colloquially called a cream puff. C's was a whipped cream profiterolle, served with a large ball of icecream, and drizzled soaked in chocolate sauce. The profiterolle honestly reminded me of a store bought one, for the outer shell harbored a somewhat cardboard taste and was slightly soggy, a sure sign of defrosting. They did not taste bad, but they were not the greatest either. Slightly on the heavy side, this dessert was a bit of a letdown for me, and knowing what I know now, I would not order it again unless I know for sure that the profiterolle are made fresh in the restaurant.
Crème Brûlée
Here is my ending for the night, crème brûlée! Afterall, it is a French restaurant :) What shocked me was the size of this dish-- it was huge! Usually when I order crème brûlée, I expect a small custard cup but here I was given a custard bowl! But, do not be misled by the size; bigger does not mean better. For starters, the caramelized sugar ontop of the crème brûlée was burnt, and not just slightly, it was immensely. Instead of adding that very light sweet taste, the burnt sugar made the dish taste somewhat smoky and too overwhelmingly sweet. The custard inside was not bad, but it is not on the top of my charts. It was slightly too sweet for my liking, and the texture a little on the thick side, more resembling a pudding rather than a lighter, creamy custard. Although I always enjoy getting more for my buck, the portion of this was a little too large because it pushed me from being content, to being stuffed. I had to force myself to finish the custard interior because of the size. As for the caramelized top, I ended up taking it all off and putting it aside.
Overall, I was truly satisfied with this meal. Although the dessert was a letdown, the main entrée as well as two of the appetizers were able to leave a good enough impression of this restaurant. Another contributing factor to why I enjoyed the meal was due to the size. I had expected very beautifully set dishes with little food placed on it, but instead, I was given dishes that had big portions of quality food. To me, that is more beautiful than any carefully decorated dish! Well, almost XD
Le Petite France was a great experience, one that I will never forget. The food was good, the atmosphere was cozy and bubbling with quiet conversations, and the company I spent it with was none other than the best.
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| our table :) |
Conclusively. . . . . ...
food: 9/10 (some letdowns but main dishes were delicious)
atmosphere: 8/10 (very relaxed)
service: 8.5/10
portion: good! (I was content)
price: reasonable ($25 per person)
atmosphere: 8/10 (very relaxed)
service: 8.5/10
portion: good! (I was content)
price: reasonable ($25 per person)
Located at: 3317 Bloor St W
Phone Number: 416-234-8783
Happy eating!
xoxo,
- A
