Joey opens at the Eaton Centre

Joey Restaurants has opened a brand-spanking-new location at the Eaton Centre. Something was needed in that space, and I will happily welcome another restaurant - I like to shop too, but there are enough shops there - bring on the new restos! (We had also just hit up Trattoria Mercatto, another brand-new resto in the Eaton's Centre, a couple weeks before).

Let's talk design for a second: the interior is beautiful, there is a section that is open-air, and there are huge big-screen TVs that were playing vintage movies while we were there. It's a large restaurant with an upper level as well. I did hear the bathroom was awfully far away from where you dine, but meh. When it comes down to it, it's really mostly about the food and drink!

Since food was more pass-out style rather than a sit-down dinner menu, I can't say for sure that everything we ate was on the menu - but everything was pretty solid. I checked the menu and my favourite item, the Phanaeng or Penang or Panang curry (which is typically mild in spice but is still nicely flavoured) is on the regular menu. Was disappointed not to eat any of his seared Ahi tuna tacos at the event like we had at Shops at Don Mills, but I did check the menu and they are available. Yum!

If you want to know more about Joey Restaurants and Chef Chris Mills, check this out: we've covered Chef Mills both at his restaurant opening and patio opening at his location at Shops at Don Mills. We also were lucky enough to taste-teste the Pacific-Rim-inspired menu he created right before he went to cook it at the prestigious James Beard House in New York.

Yours in food,

-Stacey

A Pacific Rim-inspired menu: Chef Chris Mills does a dry-run before he takes his menu to James Beard House in New York

Chef Chris Mills of Joey Restaurants (Joey Don Mills to be more Toronto-specific, but he's based in British Columbia) was in town at The Burroughes this past Wednesday. He tested out his Pacific Rim-inspired menu on diners in Toronto before he takes it to the James Beard House later this month. The James Beard Foundation, a not-for-profit organization in New York City with a mission to celebrate, nurture and preserve America's diverse culinary heritage and future, has invited him back to cook at the House. Chef Mills was there in 2006 and, to paraphrase him, his second invitation means either he was phenomenal and they want an encore, or he screwed up and they are giving him another chance. My guess is it's the former, judging by the quality of the food - some of which Chef Mills actually foraged for himself. In my experience, he's one of the best chefs we know when it comes to fish and seafood. Living in British Columbia, he knows quite a bit about both.

We got to be his guinea pigs for that final test run before he and his team head off to NYC. We should also note this is the first time a chef has been able to bring servers with him (usually the servers are staffed by the House). So as much as the evening was about the food, the servers were also getting prepped for their big day.

Unfortunately we missed being served some of the appetizers (Peaches & Cream Chicken 'Corndog', Japanese Hummus, Chicken Tacos) but we did have the Pacific Tuna Chopsticks, which I loved the presentation of and told Chef Mills exactly that when he came around to say hi. The hors d'oeuvres were served with Joie Rose from British Columbia.



Dinner was a multi-course experience, each paired quite nicely with an appropriate wine, followed by a delicious dessert - here's what we had (in addition to a Waldorf Salad as a palate cleanser and some Blackberry/Lavender Financiers to finish off the meal):

• Citrus-cured Haida Gwaii Salmon with Dungeness Crab Flan and Cornbread - The crab flan was delightfully rich, I think some thought it was *too* rich but I personally loved it. I'm a salmon freak (raw, cured and smoked being more my favourites than cooked) and curing it with light and tangy citrus was just heavenly. This was probably my favourite dish if I had to choose one. Wine pairing: L'école 41 "Walla Voila" Chenin Blanc, Washington

• Atlantic Black Cod, BBQ Pork Belly and Squash Dumpling in a Matsutake Mushroom Broth - Never have I tasted such richly-prepared fish - I thought it would fade next to the rich pork belly, but it really stood up to it. Punched it in the snout, even. Loved it. The mushroom broth was poured over top of the dish by the servers and you could smell it wafting up from the bowl. A well-executed job at mixing fish and meat in one dish. It was topped with a ginger shoot (essentially that's what starts growing off ginger after a while, sort of like potatoes grow those "eyes" - it was a milder ginger taste, and was absolutely delicious) Wine pairing: Sandhill "Small Lots" Viognier, British Columbia (not widely available since it's part of the small lots program - this was the first time I've had a Viognier and I loved how viscous it was, plus the fruitiness and sweetness of it)

• Licorice-lacquered Duck Breast, Summer Cherry Conserve, with a Hazelnut-Crusted Korean Duck Roll - The anise lacquer on the duck breast was delicious, and cherries with duck = match made in heaven. The duck roll was good also but the real star was the duck breast, cooked just to the right doneness. Wine pairing: Sonoma Cutrer "Russian River Valley" Pinot Noir, California
  
  
  
  

• 45-Day-Aged Beef Rib Eye with Yukon Gold Potato, Braised Oxtail and Black Trumpet Mushroom Lasagna and Bellmann Farm Carrots - Delicious all around. Loved the idea of doing the "lasagna" with layers of potato rather than noodles - it was quite delicious. Wine Pairing: Efeste "Ceidleigh" Syrah, Washington (I think this was Mark's favourite wine, he was talking about it the rest of the night!)

• Vietnamese Banana Cake with Tropical Fruit Salad and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream - This was incredible, the cake was INSANELY moist, the coconut ice cream was better than any coconut ice cream I've had as it had another dimension of flavour with the toasted taste coming through nicely. The tropical fruit salad starred kiwi and banana - what a great combination that I've just never thought to put together... This item will soon be hitting the dessert menu at Joey Don Mills so if you're there, I beg you to give this a try - It's incredible. Wine pairing: Inniskillin "Okanagan" Riesling Ice Wine, British Columbia

(For more pictures, go here.)

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Welcoming Summer on the Patio at Joey Don Mills‏

If you want to avoid the G20 crush downtown, or are from the city's north east, the patio at Joey Don Mills is a fine place to chill out and have fun. Located in the Shops at Don Mills, Joey offers top notch casual dining, with a smartly dressed crowd. The vast space at Joey caters not only to the urban professional crowd, but to families as well. Joey Don Mills brings sophistication to the suburbs.





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JOEY DON MILLS
15 O'Neill Rd - 1090 Don Mills Road (At Lawrence Avenue East)
In the Shops at Don Mills Toronto - Don Mills | ON | M3C 0H2
Phone: (416) 445-6391
http://www.joeyrestaurants.com/location/don-mills


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The "F" Word and a Nipple-licious Bellini: Joey Don Mills Restaurant Opening and Interview with Chef Chris Mills

Mark and I headed out to the opening party for Joey Don Mills this past week. I must start by saying The Shops at Don Mills are pretty neat - it was my first time there. I'll be back to check out McEwan's new supermarket soon... but I digress. Okay, so here's the view of the restaurant from the outside.

Now before I talk about the event and the restaurant itself, let me start by saying Chris Mills, the Executive Chef of Joey Restaurant Group, was pretty fun to interview. I got to chat to him on the phone before the actual event and he fully embraced my weird request to have him answer our "You + Food: 10 Questions" thread on our Facebook group, where I've posted his answers on his behalf.

The long and short of it is that I like to see Canadians like Chef Mills doing great things. Joey Restaurant Group has 18 locations spread throughout B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, and even Washington in the U.S. Chef Mills has a global perspective and has done a lot of traveling, which heavily influences his cooking, but don't you dare drop the "F" bomb when trying to describe his signature style - he says what he does is certainly not "Fusion." He explained to me the word "Global" better describes his food.

I also think those of us who love food to the extent that it's creepy are always trying to pinpoint WHEN this love of food started. Was there a moment? Is it ridiculous to even try to pinpoint said moment? I have no idea when mine was, but Chef Mills remembers picking up one of his mother's cookbooks and baking bread when he was about 14 years old just to have the smell of freshly baked bread in the house. If there is such a thing as said pinpointable moment (yes, I said pinpointable, I make up words as I go), I'd say that sure sounds like his.

I met Chef Mills at the restaurant opening and he gave us the grand tour - men, don't miss the awesome "fireman shooting his hose" image above the urinals - I hope they have extra cleaning staff, as that picture could encourage some messy yet creative urination... We also saw what will be the patio by Spring 2010 - I think it'll be great once it is finished. They also had some great light fixtures which helped give a nice warm ambiance... All in all, the decor was what I expected - it was nice, though it felt a little suburban to me somehow as well, but who am I kidding - I'm not here to talk about decor, I'm here to talk about FOOD!

We visited a couple food stations where we tried the Panang Prawn Curry Bowl and the Bombay Butter Chicken (neither of which blew me away, though neither were "bad" by any means - they were just standard in my humble opinion). We also tried some of the samplers the waitresses were passing out. My favourite was the Ahi Tuna Taco, which had a square of lightly-seared sushi-grade tuna atop a sesame ginger coleslaw topped with wasabi-lime aioli. The taco was nice and crunchy - I liked the contrast it gave. The Lobster Grilled Cheese was my second favourite (a little on the greasy side, but if anything on this earth is allowed to be a little too far gone on the greasiness scale, it's grilled cheese).

As for drinks, Joey Don Mills has a really innovative wine serving system that preserves freshness and, as a result, gives them more flexibility to create paired tasting menus. We also had a few delicious bellinis at the bar - I think it was, in fact, the best bellini I have ever had. Sidenote: I don't have any reasonable explanation for why the bellini looks like a nipple... My goodness, with all the "F" bombs and nipples, this blog is getting a little X-rated...

And that, my friends, is my cue to call it a night!

Yours in food,
-Stacey