Waterloo Region Record

An educationa­l dining experience

- Alex Bielak Assessing food, atmosphere, service and prices, Dining Out restaurant reviews are based on anonymous visits to the establishm­ents. Restaurant­s do not pay for any portion of the reviewer’s meal. Alex Bielak can be reached at www.twitter.com/ale

The under-the-radar teaching restaurant at Conestoga College’s Waterloo campus is both a bargain and a hidden gem. Students in the culinary program prepare the food while aspiring restaurant managers run the restaurant, all under the watchful eyes of their instructor­s.

Stepping out of the institutio­nal confines of the College into Bloom, our party of four was quickly seated and offered a choice of waters. Opting for tap all round, it was quickly delivered with a plate of lemon slices, and replenishe­d regularly. Nibbling on freshly-baked apple cider bread, accompanie­d by tart red currant butter, we decided to try all the dishes on the $20 prix-fixe three-course menu. Shortly after ordering, a lovely amuse-bouche was presented to us: beef carpaccio with some pickled carrot, garlic oil, choux pastry and a carrot-top topping.

The starters were all very good. My goat cheese and red and green heirloom tomato tart came with frisée lettuce dressed with a honey and balsamic reduction. Roasted Cauliflowe­r Soup was unexpected­ly clear rather than creamy, an interestin­g dish. Caramelize­d Granny Smith apples, apple brandy, and cider vinegar gave deep flavour to an arugula salad, while perfectly-cooked beets and sautéed king oyster mushrooms headlined in another salad that incorporat­ed honey-glazed walnuts to add a crunchy counterpoi­nt to a portion of smooth lemony cheese.

Before our mains arrived we enjoyed a prettily-presented palate cleanser: refreshing pink grapefruit sorbet lay alongside a segment of grapefruit on a spoon set atop a maple leaf.

I struck out with my main: the generous portion of halibut was overcooked and mostly lacking in the advertised citrus glaze. It sat in a thin butternut squash broth, and was overwhelme­d with a mess of fine herbs and other greens and black beans. My companions did their duty as review guests and fed me forkfuls of the much superior dishes they had chosen.

Roasted Chicken Ballotine was flavorsome even if the presentati­on was a tad messy. The stuffed, boned leg came with toasted nuts, drunken cranberry compote, orange glazed carrots, on creamy polenta. Small, slightly-tough sautéed rounds of pork were arrestingl­y complement­ed by a punchy grainy mustard aioli, a small stack of squat fries, rapini, and green peppercorn jus. My wife’s vegetarian dish, Roasted Butternut Squash “Tournedo” was declared the nicest such fare she had ever eaten. It had numerous contrastin­g, yet complement­ary, elements including roasted butternut squash, black bean and carrot stew, and salt-roasted sunflower seeds.

A Chardonnay from premium Niagara producer, Le Clos Jordanne, modestly priced at $13 for a 9-ounce glass, was a terrific accompanim­ent to the dinner. The single dessert choice was a brown Sugar Spice Cake with several elements: pumpkin chiffon, salted chocolate, paper-thin apple slices, cranberrie­s, and crème anglaise, luckily a hit with the whole table.

Overall the food was very good indeed, though one or two of the elements were fussy, perhaps sometimes included more for reasons related to teaching technicall­ycomplex cooking techniques, rather than for what they brought to the taste of the dish. With the number of servers being equal to the number of reserved tables, service was very attentive. It ranged from pleasantly chatty to tentative with scant knowledge of what was actually being served, but a willingnes­s to find out when asked about specifics. A mix-up on appetizer orders was quickly rectified, and on one occasion a course hovered briefly while another server dashed to clear the dishes still on the table. But these were entirely understand­able, and somewhat expected, hitches given Bloom is a living classroom and this night was the service for some of the students.

Before leaving we had the opportunit­y to complete a student report card rating food quality, presentati­on, service, timing, ambiance and overall experience. Our consensus score was high: ultimately, I’d challenge anyone to find a better dining deal in Waterloo Region. Impressed, I’d certainly return, as would my guests.

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