Wed, Feb 4, 2015
Giles admits that he knows little about Toronto, Ontario, beyond it being a big North American city and that it has a notorious mayor. Beyond quickly learning that it is also a cold city in the winter, he will learn about its diverse food scene narrowed down to Julia's five choices. The first restaurant he visits is Opus, a high end restaurant with an extensive wine collection (some in the tens of thousands of dollars). It has been losing business with a downturn in the economy as it is perceived as being too expensive and outdated with 1990s sensibilities. Giles finds that everything about the place is old school in its good and bad, but it may be a trip to the wine cellar that will decide if Giles will give them his review. The second restaurant is King Place, a low end "affordable" Indian Pakistani restaurant whose owner struck out on his own after leaving a partnership at similarly named King Palace restaurant. Something about the restaurant has to be exceptional to get over Giles' notion that it is not a restaurant but a catering business with its pre-prepared food sitting out on steam tables. Giles has a special side-by-side test to judge the quality of the food. The third restaurant is Small Town Food Co., whose owners, two small town boys, want their customers to have that friendly, intimate dining experience they find is more common in small towns. They are betting that neighborhood residents are looking for a more challenging menu than the largely casual places of the area, such as taco stands and barbecue joints. With it being a meat heavy menu, how they handle a vegetarian request and the quality of what Giles' unusual in his mind entrée will determine if they get his review. The fourth restaurant is Agave y Aguacate, which started out as a food stall in Kensington Market. Whether they get Giles' review will depend largely if Giles believe they have made the successful transition from stall to restaurant, with Giles admitting that Mexican cuisine is not his expertise. The final restaurant is The Atlantic, basically a one-man show in its chef owner, who has no concept beyond what is going through his mind at any given time. There are no reservations, and no menus, with the food and beverages served at the owner's discretion in discussion with the customers. That food will often contain items at the bottom of the food chain, such as insects. No menus also means no prices or bills, as each customer pays what he/she feels the dining experience was worth to them, which could also be services or items in return. This business plan makes cash flow planning difficult. Whether they get Giles' review will largely depend on the quality of the unusual food items, and how much Giles buys into the non-concept. In-between his meals, Giles has a taste of the local food truck scene. And he finds out what it is like to hang out with the notorious mayor from a media perspective.
Wed, Jan 21, 2015
When thinking about about Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Giles first and foremost thinks of his favorite movie, Rocky (1976), iconic scenes from which he hopes to recreate while in town. In terms of food, he thinks blue collar street food, not the developed restaurant scene which Julia promises exists. The first restaurant he visits is Vedge, a fine dining vegan restaurant which wants to be known as fine dining more than vegan. As Giles is a confirmed omnivore who likes animal protein in his meals, they have an uphill battle to get his review. The second restaurant is Cheu Noodle Bar, an Asian noodle joint run by two very non-Asian guys, who place their non-Asian spin on the concept. Getting Giles' review may be dependent on if he sees their spin being distinctive and successful enough. The third restaurant is The Mildred, a French-American restaurant where all dishes are served in cast iron pots to evoke a sense of home cooking. Giles may see the iron pots and other measures used to bring in customers as either inspired or gimmicky. The fourth restaurant is The Avenue Delicatessen, a Jewish-Italian deli where everything is made from scratch. The food and service have to be excellent to overcome the negative of the long drive through a dicey neighborhood from downtown. The final restaurant is Kanella, a traditional Greek-Cypriot restaurant that is also BYOB. Getting Giles' review may depend on how the chef handles a special request, and if they can elevate Greek food above what it is normally seen as. Although not among his five official meals for review consideration, Giles can't leave Philadelphia without having its staple, the Philly cheesesteak, both a street version and the most expensive version in the world. And about Rocky...
Wed, Jan 28, 2015
Because of all it has to offer including a reputation for being home to world class chefs, Giles is looking forward to his stay in Charleston, South Carolina. The first restaurant he visits is Aluette's Cafe, which serves what they call healthy holistic soul food. Although Giles has no issue with soul food, he does question the term holistic and what that implies for what they are serving, and that healthy is generally not used to describe soul food. The second restaurant is The Obstinate Daughter, a beachfront establishment on Sullivan's Island, which wants to bring downtown caliber food to a beachfront setting, which in this case means tapas styled plates instead of the traditional appetizer, entrée, dessert courses. To get Giles' review, it will have to live up to what it states it is. The third restaurant is Poogan's Porch, what the owner is trying to change from its reputation as a tourist trap to one that serves authentic low country cuisine with a modern twist. Because of that, Giles has a test for the chef to see if he can indeed pull off good tasting authentic local food. The fourth restaurant is The Lot, which uses locally sourced ingredients for a farm to table experience. The food and service have to be excellent to overcome the drive from downtown, and the fact of being located next to a noisy live rock music venue. The final restaurant is Lee Lee's Hot Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant. As Chinese cuisine is Giles' favorite, they may have to overcome both his expectations of doing something different while not pandering to the masses with bland food. In-between his meals, he decides to ditch the pompous wool suit for something more apropos to the American south. And he laments not having authentic southern barbecue, which he learns from Jessica is not typical to the Charleston region.
Top-rated
Wed, Feb 11, 2015
Giles arrives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the threat of the worst snowstorm the city has ever faced, meaning he isn't sure he will make it out alive let alone eat at the five restaurants for his possible review. Despite the local restaurant scene burgeoning from the city's blue collar roots due to a recent upturn in the economy, Giles still expects to have many meals of simply prepared cod, but he finds two other St. John's trends instead, one which he ends up liking, the other not so much. The first restaurant he visits is Saltwater, serving Atlantic-Serbian fusion cuisine, cooked in part by its Serbian owner who only recently learned how to cook. The one thing that may work for or against it getting the review is if Giles can actually remember his dining experience beyond the liquid courses its owner provides him. The second restaurant is Chinched Bistro, a restaurant specializing in meat, most specifically locally raised and in-house prepared charcuterie. Because of that specialization, they need Giles' review to get the word out to a broader clientèle. The third restaurant is Raymonds, arguably the most critically acclaimed restaurant in the city as being named in several circles as among the best restaurants in all of Canada. They want Giles' review to take them to the next level, which is to have their name be known among the best in the world. As it is fine dining, Giles offers them a challenge, the outcome which may determine if they get Giles' review. The fourth restaurant is The Reluctant Chef, which only serves five-course tasting menus done out of necessity because of the restaurant's small size. They need Giles' review to be able to afford the recent additions of an expensive executive chef and sommelier to the staff. The final restaurant is Bacalao, the original St. John's establishment which took local cuisine to modern fine dining. As others have emerged in the category during St. John's' recent restaurant boom, they are getting lost in the pack and need Giles' review to reemerge as the top in this category. A photograph on the table may make or break Giles' dining experience. In-between his meals, he and Julia learn about what it means to be a true Newfoundlanders, namely in learning how to screech. And they go on a search for the "mythical" creature which has graced many of their dinner plates.
Wed, Feb 18, 2015
Giles has a difficult task for his stay in Providence, Rhode Island, as the city is known as a restaurant haven, which may make finding that one special place all the more challenging. He is however not looking forward to eating what looks to be the local specialty, namely snail salad. The first restaurant he visits is North, a hipster Asian fusion joint. Giles is looking forward to the Asian component of the experience as Chinese is his favorite cuisine, but not so much the hipster part as he considers the moniker to mean too cool for the average pompous London restaurant critic. Giles will not let the owners' philanthropic work for the local food bank sway if he chooses their establishment for the review. At North, Giles experiences a first in his fifteen years as a restaurant critic. The second restaurant is Los Andes, a family owned and operated Bolivian/Peruvian establishment. Its busy-ness may either work for or against them in getting Giles' review, but the promise of eating a 550 pound Amazonian air-breathing fish dish may be the true make or break item. The third restaurant is Nick's on Broadway, what is known as a brunch place - the meal which Giles reluctantly eats here - trying to be known more as a dinner place. Its owner is still determined to show Giles what the dinner food is all about. But a challenge Giles has for the owner chef may determine if Giles gives them his review. The fourth restaurant is Joe Marzilli's Old Canteen, which has been owned and operated by the same family since it opened in 1956. Nothing much has changed in the sixty years, including the primarily old world cuisine. Its owners want to show that traditional food does not mean boring or out-of-date. The final restaurant is The Dorrance, which is located in a grand converted bank building. They originally made their name largely on the food and menu created by their previous high priced executive chef who has since moved on, leaving them head chefless while they train their kitchen staff which is made up primarily of culinary students. They want the world to know that they still exist despite what made their renown no longer being there, but that their reworked menu is every bit as good in its preparation and presentation. In-between Giles' meals, Giles and Julia have a close encounter with a mysterious creature from the sea. And they do a typically Venice touristy thing, something that Giles has never even done in his few trips to Venice.
Top-rated
Wed, Feb 25, 2015
Giles is in the unusual position in Québec, Québec, without Julia, the two who are still in telephone contact as they rely largely on the advice of a local food blogger. Giles is hoping that the local food scene is not just French food wannabe, and poutine, which he nonetheless has to eat before he leaves. He does learn that the local food scene is largely French fusion, which is reflected in the five restaurants chosen. The first restaurant he visits is Hosaka-Ya, a ramen noodle house, family owned and operated based on "mom"'s recipes. Although Giles does try the phallically shaped king clam aka geoduck there for the first time in his life, he will probably base his decision on whether to give them his million dollar review on the strength or weakness of the soup stock, the hallmark of any ramen place. The second restaurant is L'Affaire est Ketchup, a hipster joint, whose owners have no defined concept for the establishment, wanting the food and atmosphere to speak for themselves. Being hipster and warned by Julia, Giles is expecting extremely casual, but even Giles is surprised by the general lackadaisical attitude of the hipster owners and the state of the non-commercial kitchen. The food will have to win Giles over for them to get his review. The third restaurant is Soupe & Cie, which has the unusual concept of serving solely healthy soups (which Giles in general finds boring) and tartars. The food will have to wow him to overcome the uncomfortable tree stump seats to get the review. Giles does admit, however, that the internal scenery - the owner and staff - are nice to look at while he's waiting. The fourth restaurant is Panache, a fine dining establishment in the equally high end Auberge Saint-Antoine Hotel. It is run by a family with a two hundred year history in Québec. They will have to live up to their avant-garde label to get Giles' review. The final restaurant is La Traite, which serves a modern take on First Nations food. As is his custom, Giles orders what he considers the most disgusting thing on the menu - seal - the taste of which may decide if they get his review. In-between Giles' meals, he goes to a traditional sugar shack, sending him to which he may chastise Julia for more reasons than one. And about that poutine...