Cilantro in the City
With the massive power outage on Thursday, and the unpredictable on/off again power on Friday, I was in a mood for anything that would get me out of the stuffy apartment (currently a very chaotic, stuffy apartment in preparation for Monday's move). I needed food! No dinner on Thursday, cereal for brunch on Friday - when Friday night rolled around, I told JK I was ready to eat a cow all by myself - raw! The power was still off and every store we passed had a dark, unwelcoming interior. Then....salvation! A single, solitary restaurant window on Eglinton East was lit up. Could it be? Was it too much to hope for? We hotfooted it across the street, visions of fresh food dancing crazily before our eyes.
Against all expectations, Cilantro was open. They were running on a generator and only a couple of lights glowed in the wide-open, orange-purple space but it was enough to see by. We had enjoyed our only visit to the Italian/Mediterranean restaurant months before when it first opened its doors but had never found the opportunity to return. In contrast to most new restaurants in the city, the tables were placed generously apart, with plenty of elbow and leg room, and we had our choice of seats.
The server was friendly and there was an air of camaraderie about the place. We were warned that the food would take at least half an hour to get to the table since the kitchen was only running on one stove so we settled in for the long haul.
About 20 minutes into our vigil, a warm bread basket appeared. We peeled the pristine white linen back, expecting to find the slightly stale, run-of-the-mill bread we had been offered the first visit. It was more than a pleasant surprise to find fresh wedges of the most fantastic flat bread I've ever had in the city. The dough was springy and full, with just enough fresh rosemary and salt to excite the taste buds. We tried dipping it into the accompanying olive oil with a dash of blasamic, which mellowed the taste slightly. I found (as I find most of the time) that I much preferred it a la natural.
The first time we'd come to Cilantro, JK and I had feasted well. I'd had the rack of lamb, succulent and immensely flavourful; and JK had had the stuffed chicken breast with shrimp, a tender, moist offering that was a huge success. The lamb had gone from being the best bargain in Toronto to a slightly more competitive price so I elected to go for the seafood linguini this time round and JK opted for the calf liver.
The linguini came bathed in a rich tomato broth that bore as much resemblance to pasta sauce as truffles do to button mushrooms. Chunks of slowly simmered tomatoes were interlaced with red and green peppers and slivers of calamari. There were tantalizing hints of garlic, oregano and thyme but nothing worked to overpower the seafood. The mussels were a little on the small side, but fresh and flavourful while the shrimps were plump, juicy and had that incredible crunch that indicated they hadn't been sitting around developing freezer burn.
JK's calf liver was served with a generous helping of sour cherry sauce and waxy new potatoes. Who would have thought cherries and liver could go so well together? The sauce had many dimensions - sour, sweet, smooth, chunky, with a slightly spicy aftertaste that left a slow burn (my kind of feeling). The liver was grilled a perfect medium-rare, dusky brown on the outside, velvety smooth and pink on the inside. Coupled with the cherry sauce, it was a sensual match made in kitchen heaven. The side of potatoes were rich and buttery although nothing extraordinary.
To close the meal, we split a chocolate mousse cake - again, executed to perfection but without the inspiration that propels a dish to greatness. All in all, it was a satisfying evening and we walked away with very little damage to our wallets and a warm afterglow. We decided that Cilantro was definitely worth a return visit, even if only for a bigger helping of the incredible flat bread!
Against all expectations, Cilantro was open. They were running on a generator and only a couple of lights glowed in the wide-open, orange-purple space but it was enough to see by. We had enjoyed our only visit to the Italian/Mediterranean restaurant months before when it first opened its doors but had never found the opportunity to return. In contrast to most new restaurants in the city, the tables were placed generously apart, with plenty of elbow and leg room, and we had our choice of seats.
The server was friendly and there was an air of camaraderie about the place. We were warned that the food would take at least half an hour to get to the table since the kitchen was only running on one stove so we settled in for the long haul.
About 20 minutes into our vigil, a warm bread basket appeared. We peeled the pristine white linen back, expecting to find the slightly stale, run-of-the-mill bread we had been offered the first visit. It was more than a pleasant surprise to find fresh wedges of the most fantastic flat bread I've ever had in the city. The dough was springy and full, with just enough fresh rosemary and salt to excite the taste buds. We tried dipping it into the accompanying olive oil with a dash of blasamic, which mellowed the taste slightly. I found (as I find most of the time) that I much preferred it a la natural.
The first time we'd come to Cilantro, JK and I had feasted well. I'd had the rack of lamb, succulent and immensely flavourful; and JK had had the stuffed chicken breast with shrimp, a tender, moist offering that was a huge success. The lamb had gone from being the best bargain in Toronto to a slightly more competitive price so I elected to go for the seafood linguini this time round and JK opted for the calf liver.
The linguini came bathed in a rich tomato broth that bore as much resemblance to pasta sauce as truffles do to button mushrooms. Chunks of slowly simmered tomatoes were interlaced with red and green peppers and slivers of calamari. There were tantalizing hints of garlic, oregano and thyme but nothing worked to overpower the seafood. The mussels were a little on the small side, but fresh and flavourful while the shrimps were plump, juicy and had that incredible crunch that indicated they hadn't been sitting around developing freezer burn.
JK's calf liver was served with a generous helping of sour cherry sauce and waxy new potatoes. Who would have thought cherries and liver could go so well together? The sauce had many dimensions - sour, sweet, smooth, chunky, with a slightly spicy aftertaste that left a slow burn (my kind of feeling). The liver was grilled a perfect medium-rare, dusky brown on the outside, velvety smooth and pink on the inside. Coupled with the cherry sauce, it was a sensual match made in kitchen heaven. The side of potatoes were rich and buttery although nothing extraordinary.
To close the meal, we split a chocolate mousse cake - again, executed to perfection but without the inspiration that propels a dish to greatness. All in all, it was a satisfying evening and we walked away with very little damage to our wallets and a warm afterglow. We decided that Cilantro was definitely worth a return visit, even if only for a bigger helping of the incredible flat bread!
posted by Flora at 7:46 PM
<< Home