Single Serving Friends

Borgo Trattoria
818 16th Ave SW
borgo.ca


Another post from this past summer. Checked out Borgo Trattoria. Located on the trendy 17th avenue, Borgo Trattoria specializes in Italian cuisine in full size plates and the ever popular tapas style. The front face feature beige block and black window mullions with "Borgo" in giant cursive across the middle. The semi open patio is packed with hungry patrons. A very lively atmosphere.


Unlike other tapa places where dishes are generally offered in a serving of unknown size (typically small, but how small?!?!), Borgo Trattoria offers many of their items in single piece servings. Two meatballs. Too many? How about one? You got it. This offers diners the opportunity to try a variety of different dishes (especially the small eaters, I'm an eating machine so it wasn't a big deal). Dishes are brought out when they are hot and ready. Except the cold dishes. Those are brought out cold. 

To start, we ordered two pieces of focaccia bread. Some of you may know of my unhealthy obsession with foamy focaccia bread. It makes Gollum's ring obsession look like a weekend hobby. So where does Borgo's bread rank among Calgary's restaurants? In my humble opinion, it is up there with the best. Though not as squishy as Charcut or Bonterra Trattoria, Borgo's focaccia bread is tasty in it's own way. Toasted to a golden crispy state, the bread is topped with caramelized onions. Forget the balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil, the bread is heavenly on it's own. Ordered initially to soak up all the sauces, it was definitely tough to not gobble it all up before the other tasty dishes arrived. 

The classic bruschetta was the first to arrive. There aren't many Italian restaurants that don't serve bruschettas. It's like going to a Chinese restaurant and not being able to order some sort of rice dish. Not gonna happen. Cherry tomatoes were halved and served on a toasted piece of bread with watercress garnished on top. Flavours were light and refreshing. 

The next to arrive was the feature frittata. This little wedge of omelet is stuffed with cheese (I forget which kind) and potatoes. The pie is then topped with watercress. Borgo really likes the watercress. 

More stuff began arriving. Next up, the eggplant frites. Deep fried to order, the outside batter was light and crispy while the inside was moist and juicy. It is served with a fennel yogurt for your dipping pleasure. Really good! 

The prawn were the next to arrive. Served with a sprig of rosemary, the prawns were seared to a golden brown. Perfection! 

The next to arrive was the arancino of risotto. These little balls of rice are stuffed with cheese and served in a tomato paste. 

This next dish, which looks sort of like the risotto balls before, is the meatballs. Served in a tomato paste, the meatballs were firm and meaty. 

Also served in a tomato paste is the calamari. Not deep fried, it was a refreshing way of presenting the ingredient. The meat was surprisingly not very chewy but rather tender. Strange. 

The most disappointing dish of the day was the beef skewer. Beef skewers, in my mind, entails large chunks of meat (in this case, beef) speared together with a medieval claymore and served over a raging fire with sweet cow juice dripping off the oh-so-very-tender medium rare bovine flesh. This was not the case at Borgo. I can live without the raging fire but the toothpick size (exaggeration) brochette featured a small film of beef wrapped along its length and served on a plate that was 10 sizes too big. It was a little disappointing. Taste wise, the beef skewers were pretty good. I think the trick is to eat it with your eyes closed. Some of you are probably wondering 'But David, that's dangerous! What if I poke my eye out with the skewer?!' Fear not loyal reader! This item is no longer served at Borgo (Not surprised). The world is at peace once again! 

The last savory dish to arrive was the sautéed mushrooms in a wine sauce. The dish was very fragrant and tasted equally delicious. The sauce was rich and creamy. It came with two slices of bread which was definitely not enough to scoop up all the sauce. I dipped the last remnant of my focaccia bread to soak up the remaining creamy goodness. 

We finished off our tapa dishes with an americano and the dessert combo. Served on a silver platter (why aren't more things handed to me like this?), we have the quartet of tasty dessert. 

In the top centre, we have the classic cannelloni. One of the ends is dipped in chocolate and coated with pistachio. It is finished off by dusting it with icing sugar. Working in a clockwise direction we have the rum baba. This yeast cake is soaked with liquor and served with whipped cream and strawberries. The cake is soft, moist and most definitely melted in my mouth. Rum oozed out of the cake as it is compressed. Heavenly. In the bottom left, we have the almond tart with gelato. The tart had very rich almond flavours. The gelato was smooth and creamy. Delish! The final dessert was the mix berry semifreddo. This frozen "half cold" dessert is made with whipped egg whites and whipping cream folded into it. As a result, when frozen, it does not get as hard as ice cream. Though described last, we ate the semifreddo first so it didn't melt into a sloppy mess. 

Atmosphere: 8 out of 10. Beautifully decorated interior. The restaurant was busy the whole time we were there. Very lively. 


Food: 8 out of 10. The food was very good. Some better than others. 


Presentation: 7 out of 10. Above average presentation overall. 

Price: 7 out of 10. Many items are offered per piece but adds up quite quickly. So keep that in mind when you order. The menu is fairly straight forward. But if in doubt, inquire with your server. Which brings us to the next point. 


Service: 9 out of 10. Incredible service. Our server was very knowledgeable of all the dishes. Very friendly and attentive to our needs. Our waters were consistently topped up that my mom complained that I never drank any water. I swear I drank lots! 


Overall: 8 out of 10. Good food, warm inviting atmosphere and amazing service. Borgo Trattoria. Check it out! Bring your friends.

More Samples Please

Welcome to the 2011 edition of F-Log for Thought's adventure at the Taste of Calgary. Click here for the entry from last year. And as always, this is posted several weeks after the event is over so you're probably jonesing for that thing that I ate and you passed on because you weren't sure if will be taste good or not but now it's too late. 

After a short relaxing 14k run with Maria on Sunday morning, I decided to check out the Taste of Calgary at Eau Claire after a quick shower. For those who have never been, Taste of Calgary occurs every year around the middle of August. Various restaurants around town congregate in the courtyard area at Eau Claire Market to serve up tasty samples of their menu. It is the perfect time to try out that restaurant you've been eyeing but couldn't commit to eating a full order of that thing they serve. All items are sold for tickets (They don't want your dirty money) ranging from 1 to 5 tickets each. Tickets can be purchased for $1 each at various booths on site. A tip from a Taste of Calgary veteran: Don't line up with the other ten thousand people at the entrance to get your tickets. There's probably a vendor around the corner twiddling their thumb longing for social interaction. Remember: time spent in line is time spent not eating delicious food. The exception to this rule is when you are lining up for delicious food. But only because they sell out sometimes. There's a variety of non food vendors but this is a food blog so we'll skip right on over to what you came here for. 

Back again this year is Nubian Express. They were sold out of many of their popular items last year so I made my way there first this time around. Small sample dishes were set out to show what was what. I had an order of coconut rice with beef and a separate order of plantain. To be completely honest, I think I enjoyed the chicken from last year better. The chicken didn't look as appetizing this year. Taste wise, the beef was decent but it was a little on the thin side. The plantain were cut up into small pieces this year rather than serving them as giant blobs of deliciousness from last year. Texture was a little crispier. For a total of seven tickets, that was a pretty significant increase from last year (40% increase). I wish my salary increased by that much. 8 stars out of 10 for both the coconut rice with beef and plantain. Photo of the chicken in the second photo below.

Pacific Hut was the next vendor I hit up. I had an order of BBQ pork skewer (Second photo, if there was any doubt about that). It was very flavourful. It may have been a tad undercooked... I'm still kicking so it was probably alright. To wash it down, I had a refreshing sago and gulaman beverage (First photo). It was sweet and syrupy. Nice and cold. Perfect for a hot summer day! Best of all? It only cost one ticket. So I doubled fisted it like a champ. 5 and 9 stars out of 10 for the pork skewer and beverage respectively. 

Next up - Delicious Thai. We hit the lines as I was finishing my tasty drink. The line was fairly long. When I got to the front, I placed my order. "One Pad Thai please!" The lady opened the tray to reveal a couple pieces of scraps left. That should have been my cue to order something else. But I wanted my Pad Thai. And to be honest, I am most definitely regretting it. My bowl consisted of mostly tofu, a couple of pieces of noodles, sprouts and a nice garnish of crushed peanuts (that was all me though). It was a little on the dry side. I was expecting it to be a bit more moist. Taste wise, it was ok. I think it was mostly because I had the bottom of the barrel scraps. : ( 6 stars out of 10. 

Coconut curry chicken was one of many dishes offered by La Jawab (I got a weird warning message when I checked out their website but it's totally legit). Upon ordering, a spoon full of the orange gobbly goop was slapped onto a styrofoam plate. I know what you are all thinking "Sick David! That looks like a plate of your own vomit!" But I can assure you that it was in fact sweet tasty coconut curry chicken! The meat was tender and the sauce was super fragrant and delicious. I wish there was rice so I could soak up all the tastiness. Wouldn't do that if it was vomit, that's for sure! 8 stars out of 10. 

I've been to loungeburger a few times in the past and despite the massive lineup, I decided to check out their curry lamb meatballs. Each little meatball cost 2 tickets. Although it was pretty delicious, I thought it was a bit overpriced. Served over a mango chutney, the goat cheese stuffed meatball is finished off with a tandoori aioli and a fancy cocktail stick (The kind I didn't want to throw on the BBQ). The meat was firm but not hard. 6 stars out of 10. 

My last stop of the day (for savory items anyway) was Pegasus Greek Restaurant. I had the Spanakopita with tsatziki. This savory pastry features a flaky shell. Taking a bite revealed the tasty spinach and feta cheese stuffing. So good! 7 stars out of 10. 

I finished off Taste of Calgary 2011 with a moijto from Soho Bar and Grill. After an sizzling afternoon of greasy foods, my bevy was extra refreshing. Mmmmm... So good! 10 out of 10. 

Taste of Calgary 2011 was decent. There was a lot of repeat vendors from previous years serving similar, if not the same, items from before. Like Ric's Grill. I'm fairly certain this is the third year in a row that they've served the peppercorn New York Strip. It's not bad... But some new dishes would be nice... *hint hint*

Awesome Ish

Cafe Ish

82 Campbell St, Sydney

www.cafeish.com.au

For our second last night in Sydney, we went to Cafe Ish for some dinner. Located in Surrey Hills, Cafe Ish is a Japanese Tapas Ish place serving up Japanese inspired cuisines (not sushi). I crept the urbanspoon earlier and found many favorable reviews. They also served kangaroo and crocodiles meat and I was like "Sweet! let's go there!"

We arrived super early like we always do and walked around the block a million time. To work up an appetite. Obviously. Under the recommendation of our server, we started with 4 tapas. The first to arrive was the crocodile skewers. Battered and deep fried, the crocodile meat tasted like chicken ish. The panko crusted skewer is then served with a Japanese curry and a bunch of watercress leaves.

The next item to arrive was the kangaroo sausage. Topped with feta cheese, it did not taste like chicken. The meat was a little tougher than typical farm animals.

Tuna salad arrived shortly after. Arugula, avocado were mixed together with seared tuna in a tasty dressing. So good.

The last of our initial tapas to arrive was the soft shell crab omelette. This dish is literally featured on every single blog post about Cafe Ish on urbanspoon. And rightfully so! Crispy soft shell crab was wrapped up in a fluffy egg omelet with avocado, shallot and garlic. The dish is finished with a sweet chili ginger soy sauce and watercress leaves. So insanely good. The favour was tangy, a little spicy and generally amazing overall. The texture of the eggs and the soft shell crab contrasted each other. So good. Love it.

We decided to order two more tapas after our initial round. The cucumbers "salad" (because my mother was complaining we were not getting our daily serving of vegetables) and wagyu beef skewers. The cucumber salad was probably one of the weaker dishes of the night so I'm just gonna move on. The wagyu beef was much better. The small cubes of tender wagyu beef were perfectly cooked and super juicy.

Because I'm an eating machine, I ordered an extra round of lamb cutlets.

More panko crusted meat. Mmmmm...

Points as follows:

Atmosphere: 7.5 out of 10. Cute little place. A nice collection of sake bottles on the window.

Food: 9 out of 10. Amazing! Get the soft shell crab omelet. Unless you're allergic to seafood. Or eggs. There's a reason why it's featured on every blog post.

Presentation: 7 out of 10. Above average presentation.

Price: 6 out of 10. Average prices. Prices range from a few dollars to high teens per dish. Of course, all the dishes you want are the pricey ones. Don't underestimate tapa places. Things add up quite quickly.

Service: 7.5 out of 10. Our server was very knowledgable of the dishes, offering her recommendations as needed. Water was constantly topped up and dishes cleared despite having a full house.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10. Very good overall. I highly recommend it for groups as you can try many things. This place was definitely awesome. Not awesome ish. 

Check out this photo of the Kardashian sisters, I mean the Three Sisters, I took earlier in the day!

A Four Hour Affair

Quay

Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, Sydney

www.quay.com.au

Nothing on my trip was set in stone except our lunch at Quay, followed by a ballet performance at the Sydney Opera House (Unfortunately, Opera season ended in April and doesn't start till June... Impeccable timing I know).

Coming in at number 26 in the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant (A one spot jump from 2010), Quay has been steadily climbing the charts in recent years and is a 'Three Hats' status award recipient for 9 consecutive years. Helmed by chef Peter Gilmore, Quay has been offering nature inspired dishes before it became the hot new thing. Two menu options were available; A 3 or 4 course menu with multiple choices for each course or the 8 course tasting menu. Searching through the Urbanspoon you will no doubt find several posts on the former. Though it all looks amazing and is very much drool inducing, I decided to go for the latter. As a wise friend told me (not in exact words) 'Go big or go home'.

So without further ado, I present to you the ever elegant tasting menu.

Situated at the end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal at The Rocks, Quay offers one of the best views of Sydney's most iconic landmarks- the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Upon arriving, we were seated by the window overlooking the Opera House. It was such an amazing view.

We were quickly presented with a seaweed pudding hors d'oeuvre upon ordering. Served on a shell plate, the pudding is garnished with sturgeon roe and leaves of baby arugula (rockets) and fennel. The combination was so flavourful yet very refreshing. If only the portions were bigger.

The first course to arrive featured thinly sliced pieces of Hiramasa kingfish sashimi with pickled kohlrabi, octopus, nasturtiums and white dashi jelly presented in a very tasteful manner. The little balls of dashi jelly have little leaves solidified inside. Biting into the jelly balls unleashed a flavour explosion unlike anything I've ever experienced. The kingfish was fresh and sweet. So good.

Course 2 features black lipped abalone and shiitake mushrooms braised in seaweed and oyster juice. It is served with a ginger milk curd and purslane. The abalone and mushroom were pretty amazing as it had absorbed all the tasty flavours of it's accompanying ingredients. The ginger milk curd was super smooth and not too gingery. A perfect mix in my mind. My dad used to make it at home but he always use too much ginger juice. I think the secret is to not boil the milk directly, provide passive heating over water instead.

Course 3 features native freshwater marron. Marron is a freshwater crayfish and, as such, exhibit a less salty and sweeter taste than their oceanic cousins. De-shelled and cooked to perfection, the flesh was sweet and succulent and the flavour was rich yet not overpowering. The dish is served with organic pink turnips, jamon de bellota cream, oloroso caramel, almonds and society garlic flower. I have no idea what half of those things are but it tasted super amazing. And that's all that matters right? 

A tea type drink was brought out for us to clean our palates after the marron in preparation for more tasty non seafood dishes. Slices of freshly baked sourdough bread were also brought out for us to savor as the remaining dishes were prepared.

Course 4 is the butter poached coturnix quail breast. Served over a pumpernickel and ethical foie gras pudding and truffle custard, the quail meat is then finished with crushed walnuts, quinoa and milk skin flakes. The flavour is much richer than the previous dishes. The quail breast was very tender which contrasted the crunchy walnuts and quinoa.

Pig jowl was the focus of course 5. Jowl is the lower part of a pig's cheek. Think bacon... But better. We were advised to pause and immerse ourselves in the rich aromas of the dish. The smell of pig fat and caramel filled the air, taking us to a whole new world of ecstasy. The meat was slow braised to an otherworldly state of tenderness. It would literally melt in your mouth when you take a bite. Topped with a layer of crispy maltose crackling (which also melted in your mouth) over a bed of cauliflower cream and prunes, it was simply amazing just like all the previous dishes.

Don't be fooled by the picture, course 6 was not the start of the desserts. It is in fact a giant chunk of wagyu beef poached in an oxtail and morel reduction and coated with farro and ezekiel crumbs over a pool of molé (chocolate) purée. It's a nice transition though. The beef was cooked to a medium rare. The molé sauce had a very strong cocoa taste but did not taste all sugary like a chocolate bar. It was pretty tasty but pales in comparison to the pig jowls and the quail breast in terms of flavours.

The start of the dessert began with the arrival of course 7. Under the recommendation of our hostess, we switched our first dessert from the jewel in the snow to the famous snow egg. Check out this sweet YouTube video on how it's prepared. He makes it look so easy. The meringue ball features a maltose biscuit melted around like an egg shell. This sphere of awesomeness is then placed on a bed of strawberry and guava granita (shaved ice). Cracking the shell reveals a sweet gooey custard. The meringue was so smooth and light. Words cannot describe how amazing the snow egg is.

Course 8 featured a caramelized white chocolate walnut palm blossom sugar brioche with a prune sorbet. It was decent but the snow egg was definitely the star of the show. They should have swapped the order.

Upon completion of our meal, we were offered a cup of coffee and a couple of bite size pieces of chocolate. The light brown ball was stuffed with a whole hazelnut with a hazelnut cream. It was pretty amazing. I forget what the other one was but it had a really rich cocoa taste.

This was by far the most amazingest meal I’ve ever taste in my life. It was also the longest. We arrived at noon and walked out shortly after 4. The staff was preparing for dinner service as we left. Speaking of the staff, the service was amazing! Water was consistently topped up, I don’t even recall my glass being less than half full. Ever. A brief description of the featured ingredients were presented to us as each dish was brought out. Annnd there was a mini vacuum like contraption that they used to clear the bread crumbs between courses. I’m a sloppy eater. Don’t hate. 

So what did I think of it?

Atmosphere: 10 out of 10. Amazing view! The interior was warm and inviting. The plush purple carpet was a nice touch. Do note - Dress for success at Quay. You will feel underdress in a golf shirt and chino pants. So if you plan on rolling in with a wife-beater and MC hammer pants. Don’t. Just sayin’. 

Food: A million out of 10. Delicious. Heavenly. Scrumptious! Soooo good! I would eat here everyday if I can afford to.

Presentation: 10 out of 10. Beautiful presentation. It looks too pretty to eat. So I captured the moment and chowed down. I'm not paying the big bucks to look at it.

Price: 10* out of 10. This is a very ambiguous category. If you look at the price, it is extremely pricey. But if you consider what you get, I thought it was worth every penny. All 22000 of them. Per person. It is really dependent on what you value more. If you are eating to not be hungry, then Quay is probably not for you. Would I do it again? That would seem unlikely. I would probably try the 3 or 4 course menus. But I will no doubt remember and cherish this experience for the rest of my life. 

Service: 10 out of 10. Impeccable service. The staff was professional and knew what they were talking about. Not like that fifteen year old who brought you your quesadilla at Applebee’s. 

Overall: 10 out of 10. Experience of a life time. Check out these sweet photos I took. No, I didn’t take these photos from a postcard!