When chef Tamaru was manning the kitchen, Simple Bistro was my mid-town go to place for good, value for money and consistently reliable French bistro fare. With Chef T gone to the Left Bank on Avenue Road, I haven't been back to Simple for quite a long while!
I was looking for a 'non-Winterlicious' place to eat tonight, when I decided to give my old favorite a try. I was glad I did! The food was still 'simple', un-pretentious and tasty. And at $40 for a three course prix-fixe, still pretty good value for money.
Dishes chosen included:
- A multi-dimensional beet salad
- Salt cod brandade, micro-greens, horseradish Aioli
- Duck duo - Seared duck breast, truffled duck liver Boudin, braised
red cabbage, herbed Parissiene gnocchi, Port wine jus.
- Lemon curd, butter shortcake crust, blueberry compote, cream
cheese.
- Made to order, Creme patissieri fried mini doughnut beignets with Bailey's hot chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
The Good:
Nice plate presentation, gorgeous tasting salad dressing, perfectly cooked duck breast, light fluffy liver sausage and 'to die for' Doughnut desserts! The latter - OMG awesome and good!! Amazing textural and temperature interplay!
The Bad:
Slightly bland Brandade......?? That's it?! Just a simple mishap? Wow!!
And the service, professional and ultra-friendly.
Glad I don't have to drive all the way downtown for good French Bistro food!! Sigh!!!
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