100km restaurant

In my last blog I talked about my hopes along with other Canadian culinary experts dreams. Well low and behold Mark and I stumbled across a restaurant that has been leading the way for the past two years. Teo Paul from Union 72 Restaurant grew up in the neighbourhood where he has his restaurant on Ossington Ave in Toronto.

Teo is very wise and changes his menu to reflect what ingredients are available locally. The menu is small but ingredients are what is fresh and in season. On a chalkboard in the restaurant Teo lists his suppliers which at within the 100km range from toronto. Occasionally some menu items are acquired a little further afield but this is an exception not a rule. 

The Manager, Luke, was very friendly and knowledgable about the wine menu the menu ingredients and obviously enjoyed his job. Luke seated us at the chef bar which looked into the kitchen. This was the perfect place for me to sit. 

We started with an interesting wine from Ontario’s Prince Edward County call Rosehall Run Chardonnay 2008. This wine at first had an acid lean but smoothed out to be tropical fruit and toasty caramel. I would definitely order this one again. It stood up to the beef dishes we ordered. Mark ordered the signature Union Salad consisting of greens topped with a potato rosti and Union smoked bacon. I chose the steak tartar that although presented in a simple manor, was packed with a lot of flavour from the habanero sauce. Mark’s main was Steak Hache a Cheval (a tasty hamburger topped with a perfectly fried duck egg that oozed over the burger ). My main was Teo’s famous Sticky Ribs (Teo’s recipe on my recipe page). The recipe I have includedis not to the exact way Union makes their ribs, Luck tells me that the ribs are double smoked in their own smokehouse. The glaze on the ribs was “finger licking good”. 

We were both stuffed by the end of the night but had the opportunity to watch many over the pass. The most frequent one ordered was the Sticky Ginger Cake with Toffee Sauce and ice cream. Not far behind was the Signature Bread Pudding served with cooked apples and brandy ice cream. 

Teo Paul and Union restaurant are here for a long time. The rustic simplicity along with the dynamic flavours along with the 100km range are helping make my wishes come true. 

If you are in Toronto give Union a try

Union

72 Ossington Avenue

Toronto

416 850-0093

www.union72.ca

100km restaurant

Saturday, January 7, 2012