Colborne Lane...lessons in food

Well, my exam overload is finally over so I can get back to some delicious food and relax over the holidays. However, I did have some free time 2 weeks ago when my Mom took a visit into Toronto. We went out to a few extraordinary restaurants that have inspired me to be a better chef, but one of them stood out from the pack; that was Colborne Lane.The wait was worth it. After 16 months of taking walks down to St.Laurence Market just to pass by Colborne Lane and look through the glass, I finally had a chance to sit down and eat their. From the minute you set foot in the place you know that you're in for a different food experience. The energy from the restaurant is a vis of a love for food. People who come here are here for the food. Period. If you have any reservations about going, discard them right away, you need to eat at this restaurant. It is as close as you can get to a pure emotional response from food.
Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of all of the food. So, if you do manage to make it out there the food will probably not be on the menu anymore for you to try. The menu rotates frequently. Though, tasting the caliber of food that was offered I know that what ever is offered will be...delicious...

1. The special of the night ~ Toro Belly Sashimi done 3 ways
Simple. Light. Tasty.
Almost did not need the extra ingredients. As a frequenter of sushi, this dish made me understand why simple dishes are sometimes better than the more complex ones. The parts in this case were more important than the whole. The olive oil, fois gras and tomato were unnecessary. The toro would have been able to hold its own.

2. Prosciutto and White Chocolate Gnocci Soup
Presented without the cream and then poured on table side. The soup was silky but thick at the same time. Because the other ingredients were not cooked into it it gave it a unique texture that I have yet to find in another soup.

3. White Caramel Squid

4. Miso Foam Salmon
Actually, this salmon my least favorite. It tasted fine and the spices worked perfectly together. Yet, salmon outside of the west coast does not taste that fresh. I don't know...must be a west coast thing.

5. Green Pepper Indian Spiced Rack of Lamb

6. Sable fish (Black Cod)!
This was easily the best plate of food I have ever had in my life. I cannot being to describe how all the favors worked together. It is the mark of a good chef when he is able to make 3 or 4 different flavors work at the same time instead of them simply mixing together in the food. I had to stop and let the food sit in my mouth just to pick out the distinct individual flavors. That is what made this dish, and most of the others, stand out against the pack.


7. Nitro Ice Cream
Just look at the preparation for this dish. The matre'd come to your table with a metal bowl full of liquid nitrogen. He then takes a bowl full of white chocolate vanilla cream and pours it into the the nitrogen; freezing it instantly. Then he added nuts, marshmallow, and chocolate to the mixture. Imagine, ice cream created at your table. As cold, fresh, and smooth as instant ice cream can me. A marvel of science and food.

See...see...this enlightening experience has taught me two valuable lessons. Look above, specifically the gaps. Looks like a bad test I failed to study for. The mislabeled dishes and the empty picture spots. Shameful. I broke the first rule of writing about food. Always know what you are eating and how to describe it. I cannot properly do that with knowing the dish and showing the dish. Therefore, onto the rules. First, I must always remember and write down what I ate. I cannot come back here empty handed with incorrectly labeled food. Its an amateur more. For how can anyone first understand the food if they cannot know what it is. Secondly, to really appreciate the food it must also been seen, as well as eaten. Pictures must always, always be taken.

Lesson learned.