A fine meal in a nice bistro atmosphere
I had driven past Downtown Bistro & Grill, in a charming brick house on Elizabeth Street near the lakeshore in Burlington, several times and finally decided to find out what it’s all about.
We walked up the steps to a small porch that opens up to accommodate additional tables during patio season.
We were greeted in a small room, bright red, with abstract martini art lining the wall by the bar. If the colour made that room feel fiery, the main dining room with large windows and French doors at one end felt cucumber cool.
The cucumber even extended to my G-Q (Hendricks gin with Fever Tree Qcumber spring water). It was crafted by our server, who took care of the room solo throughout the night. She emanated a capable calm right from the start as she brought our drinks.
The G-Q piqued my interest right away. The cucumber was prominent like I’ve never tasted. I’m going to be getting some Fever Tree products because their spring water was killer teamed with the gentle gin and sprig of thyme.
My companion sipped his drink, essentially a cosmo but with tequila. It didn’t transform him instantly into a character from “Sex in the City” but he definitely enjoyed it.
Our server hurried off to a nearby table of four and told them about that night’s special: $5 off any bottle of wine. A man at the table joked, “We’ll all take one!”
While we sipped we read the menu, which had us wondering where the chef, Michael Lorinczi, hails from. Is he German (schnitzel, Hungarian beef goulash), Italian (arancini, various pastas and risotto), or from the southern United States (blackened salmon, jambalaya)? Our server informed us that he is, in fact, Hungarian.
So I ordered the goulash. More of a soup than a stew. From its aroma, I thought it would have a deep pepper flavour but it was medium in that regard. Robust beef flavour (the beef was super tender) with just a light underlayer of spice.
My companion was drawn to the meatballs on the menu. He commented that you don’t put “meatballs and marinara” on a menu unless there’s something special about the meatballs. Straightforward beef with light seasonings, they came in a white casserole with melted mozzarella on top of a pool of marinara and two slices of baguette on the side. I liked the chunks of onion in the sauce, which made it lean pleasantly toward the sweet side.
After that, we tried an appetizer called “shrimp and chorizo.” It had a tantalizing description: corn flour crusted shrimp with a chorizo potato salad and an almond artichoke aioli. However, this one was a little disappointing. The chorizo, mild sausage rounds pan fried to well-done, rendered out most of the moisture. The aioli was nice but the shrimp could have had a crispier coating. My companion suggested it wasn’t a cohesive dish and I agreed.
There was no music that we could hear but the other diners’ chatter added to the lively atmosphere. Our drinks were empty by this point and could have been cleared — the only critique of our server. Instead, we sipped water garnished with slices of lemon.
However, she brought out our entrées after just a short wait. For my companion, short ribs braised in Beau’s ale that were fall-off-the-bone tender, with a simple jus, served in a wide white bowl with a straightforward Yukon gold mash, spears of asparagus and pea shoots laid over top.
I asked the server what she’d prefer, the schnitzel or the jambalaya, and she recommended the latter. Another wide bowl arrived, this time with an enormous mound of seafood and chicken in a tomato sauce that was spiced up just enough. Plenty of roasted red pepper and rice at the bottom soaking it all in.
When we asked about desserts, the serv- er rhymed off some from memory: chocolate torte, cheesecake and a few others. The one that caught my ear was toffee cake. Moist and nutty, it was just sweet enough and right up my alley. Instead of being overly sweet, it was balanced perfectly with whipped cream.
We looked around the room as we finished up — mostly over-50-somethings, and two tables of younger diners. Based on the menu, they might like a variety of dishes but not too much spice, no exotic ingredients. Just a nice atmosphere and a server who managed to be both efficient and friendly.
Alana Hudson has cooked in restaurants including Le Bernardin, Vong, and Avalon.
Special to The Spectator