The glory of aioli at Bar Begonia
Bar Begonia K (out of 4) Address: 252 Dupont St. (at Spadina Ave.), 647-352-3337, barbegonia.com Chef: Trista Sheen Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Reservations: No Wheelchair access: Yes Price: Dinner for two with wine, tax and tip: $100 Plate envy The prismatic plate draws covetous looks.
“What’s that?” asks the diner at the next table, leaning closer.
It is aioli, hand-whisked mayonnaise touched with garlic and ringed by vegetables and poached trout for dipping ($13 at dinner, $17 at lunch). The aioli is beautifully silky and subtle. With a glass of rosé and some good bread, it makes the perfect summer meal: cool and cooling.
Welcome to Bar Begonia, the Annex restaurant where everyone wants what their neighbours are having. Raising the bar To call six-month-old Begonia a bar — even owner Anthony Rose admits it’s a misnomer — overlooks the reality of a rather refined all-day restaurant. True, one wall holds bottles of booze but De Kooning-like sketches dominate the rest of the space. Ignore the reggae soundtrack and you could be in a classic bistro.
The mood comfortably straddles casual and proper, from the LiteBrite happy face sign to servers who change cutlery between courses. The local crowd is older. Rose will soon open a 100-seat back patio and raw bar at Begonia, his sixth restaurant. Top chef Delicate, classical and refined aren’t adjectives I’d use to describe Rose’s usual stonerfood. But Ro isn’t cooking at Begonia. Scaramouche vet Trista Sheen is.
Sheen, 34, brings a light touch and a working knowledge of Larousse Gastronomique.
Her shallot vinaigrette is bracing. The cheese board ($6) is proper. She makes frites ($7) to die for.
Sheen mashes up two classic salads for the lunchtime tuna salade lyonnaise ($13), topping the frisée with poached fish instead of the traditional bacon.
The poached egg yolk should be runnier but — like the slight oversaltiness of an otherwise ideal flat-iron steak ($16) — it’s a quibble. Mmmm, butter “French food is easy to do, if you do it well,” Sheen says.
The proof is in the whitefish ($16). Northern Ontario or Manitoba lake fish is poached in clarified butter until it gleams like alabaster. The flaky brilliance sits in a pool of beurre blancstained green by a purée of wild leek tops, Sheen’s way of extending spring ramp season. Cherry toma- toes, crushed fingerling potatoes and shaved fennel provide contrast and complexity. Oh, and don’t forget the sprinkling of fines herbes (parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil), Begonia’s signature. Puffy pleasures Sheen masters the classical elements of earth, water, fire and, especially, air. Take the gougères, cheese puffs as light in texture as they are strong in flavour.
And that’s before the storm of grated gruyère goes on top.
I can only resort to superlatives for a pain perdu ($8) soaked in citrusy custard. It’s paired with thick caramel and creamy pears.
That glorious caramel also comes with sugar-dusted beignets ($6), another triumph.
But with high decibels and service that whips you through three courses in an hour, Begonia isn’t a place to linger — even though the food is good enough to make you want to order more. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki