Weekly Tips: October Edition
We escaped to Greece in September to catch the last of the summer. We started summering there in 2017 and have concluded that the food and wine, even in the most obscure places, just keep getting better every year.
This year, after visiting the islands, we ended up in Athens for a performance of Sophocles’ Electra in the ancient Greek theatre beneath the Acropolis. After the performance, we walked down the hill to a wonderful, inexpensive wine bar called Winepoint. This bar specializes in Greek wines from across the country, served by knowledgeable waiters who speak English. When in Athens, don’t miss it if you want to experience the best of Greek wines. Order the accompanying charcuterie platter as you taste the wine.
Back in Toronto, Chef continued to take advantage of this year’s superb Ontario produce. Even though the harvest is wrapping up, he continues to buy only food produced in Ontario—except for fish from Canada’s three oceans and birds from Quebec.
Late fall items include Ontario apples, artichokes, fiorelli pears, peppers, squashes, onions and shallots. He loves the artichokes and will use them in both vegetarian dishes and his lamb dish.
Chef is still buying late field tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini and eggplants, which will vanish with the first frost. Peaches, grapes, cantaloupes and plums are pretty much finished. A farmer Chef hadn’t seen in five years arrived this week at the Terminal with a load of late fava beans.
Missing from the Terminal this year is Ontario quince.
Chef has been changing his menu to heartier fare as fall sets in. He has substituted bitter lettuces and other greens for the sweeter, lighter summer varieties. These now accompany robust meats such as confit duck legs, bison cheeks, sous-vide duck breasts seared lightly with tomato salad and venison.
Chef’s special Japanese Wagyu beef second course with corzetti remains very popular.
More large turbots from Nunavut have arrived, which he grills over charcoal. Nova Scotia halibut and swordfish will end soon, but prices for Nova Scotia tuna and scallops have come down. Gindara black cod from Vancouver is exceptionally good.
Chef is developing a new apple dessert that we will be offering shortly. He also recommends his sponge toffee creation and an olive oil sponge cake with plum.
Our Harvest Tasting is about to wrap up next week and will be replaced with another value-oriented special.
A reminder that we have a wonderful Wine Dinner scheduled for October 23. The founder of a vineyard in Montalcino, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who makes superb Brunellos, is sending her daughter to GEORGE to pair their wines with Chef’s Italian dishes. A unique aspect of her operation is that she employs only women. If you love Brunellos paired with Chef’s favourite Italian dishes, this event will be one of GEORGE’s highlights of the year.