Dinner at Ruby WatchCo – Thursday, July 28th 2011 Good food is well worth the wait – even if its three months in the making.  I first heard about celebrity chef, Lynn Crawford, at the agency. I had gotten a call from a photographer who needed a senior hair & make up artist to style Crawford for the cover of her latest cookbook. As you’d expect when dealing with celebrities, there was an unsettling exigency about the photographer’s excessive calls. She kept confirming I had booked the best stylist possible, one who could tame Crawford’s thick hair.  And so I was prompted to look her up.  I thought to myself: Who is this Lynn Crawford, anyway? What’s all the fuss, and why should I care about her thick hair?  What I found made my mouth water, and suddenly, there was nothing appetizing about my $5 chow Mein lunch. Crawford is a gastronomy genius and in an industry dominated by men, she’s soared past the glass ceiling and into the upper echelons of chef-hood. Executive chef at the Four Seasons New York and Toronto, Iron Chef alumnus and restaurant makeover star – Crawford is a big deal and thankfully a local and accessible one too. You can imagine my excitement when I found out she’d quit the Four Seasons to open up shop in Toronto’s East end strip – Ruby WatchCo, a cozy dinning room with a prix fix daily changing menu.  Three months later, I’m sat in Ruby WatchCo. I’ve especially prepared myself for the experience – I’m tired and famished from work but my senses are super alert. I’m looking out to see if the experience will live up to everything I’d heard and read about, and fortunately I am not let down. The ambience was really relaxed - sophisticated but with a neighborhood feel, the staff was incredible, and the food - you’ll have to try it because my writing won’t do it any justice. The restaurant really does capture the essence of a family dinner – the kitchen is visible, servers charmingly unveil dishes like mother would, meals are served in Le Crueset pots to be shared by the table (so cute), there’s a familial winter coziness about the ambience, and all of that familial bliss is very contagious – guests are buzzing with camaraderie and inter-table chat keeps the evening alive. THURSDAY, JULY 28TH 2011 WALNUT HILL FARM’S PORK SHOULDER SALAD Green Cabbage, Ruby’s B&B Pickles, Grated Carrots, Pickled Mustard Seeds, Brown Derby Vinaigrette RUBY’S B.B.Q BRICK CHICKEN Grilled Ontario Corn with Queso Fresco & Chipotle Aioli, Warm Fingerling Potato Salad with Caramelized Onion & Dill Dressing, Sovereign Farm’s Tomato & Cucumber Salad with Basil Pesto BLUE HAZE BY ABBAYE DE SAINT-BENOIT DU LAC Strawberry & Port Jelly WARNER FARM’S APRICOT BAKLAVA Amaretto Mascarpone, Honey Roasted Apricots

Dinner at Ruby WatchCo – Thursday, July 28th 2011

Good food is well worth the wait – even if its three months in the making.  I first heard about celebrity chef, Lynn Crawford, at the agency. I had gotten a call from a photographer who needed a senior hair & make up artist to style Crawford for the cover of her latest cookbook. As you’d expect when dealing with celebrities, there was an unsettling exigency about the photographer’s excessive calls. She kept confirming I had booked the best stylist possible, one who could tame Crawford’s thick hair.  And so I was prompted to look her up.  I thought to myself: Who is this Lynn Crawford, anyway? What’s all the fuss, and why should I care about her thick hair? 

What I found made my mouth water, and suddenly, there was nothing appetizing about my $5 chow Mein lunch. Crawford is a gastronomy genius and in an industry dominated by men, she’s soared past the glass ceiling and into the upper echelons of chef-hood. Executive chef at the Four Seasons New York and Toronto, Iron Chef alumnus and restaurant makeover star – Crawford is a big deal and thankfully a local and accessible one too. You can imagine my excitement when I found out she’d quit the Four Seasons to open up shop in Toronto’s East end strip – Ruby WatchCo, a cozy dinning room with a prix fix daily changing menu. 

Three months later, I’m sat in Ruby WatchCo. I’ve especially prepared myself for the experience – I’m tired and famished from work but my senses are super alert. I’m looking out to see if the experience will live up to everything I’d heard and read about, and fortunately I am not let down. The ambience was really relaxed - sophisticated but with a neighborhood feel, the staff was incredible, and the food - you’ll have to try it because my writing won’t do it any justice. The restaurant really does capture the essence of a family dinner – the kitchen is visible, servers charmingly unveil dishes like mother would, meals are served in Le Crueset pots to be shared by the table (so cute), there’s a familial winter coziness about the ambience, and all of that familial bliss is very contagious – guests are buzzing with camaraderie and inter-table chat keeps the evening alive.

THURSDAY, JULY 28TH 2011

WALNUT HILL FARM’S PORK SHOULDER SALAD

Green Cabbage, Ruby’s B&B Pickles, Grated Carrots, Pickled Mustard Seeds, Brown Derby Vinaigrette

RUBY’S B.B.Q BRICK CHICKEN

Grilled Ontario Corn with Queso Fresco & Chipotle Aioli,

Warm Fingerling Potato Salad with Caramelized Onion & Dill Dressing,

Sovereign Farm’s Tomato & Cucumber Salad with Basil Pesto

BLUE HAZE BY ABBAYE DE SAINT-BENOIT DU LAC

Strawberry & Port Jelly

WARNER FARM’S APRICOT BAKLAVA

Amaretto Mascarpone, Honey Roasted Apricots

0 notes, August 10, 2011