A meal to remember, the night before the eclipse
On Sunday, as the skies waited for the moon to waltz between the Earth and the sun, Donato Carozza was preparing to bring out the big guns — the big wine guns, that is.
’Twas the night before the eclipse, and Carozza, a sommelier and firstclass sybarite, was in fine form, eloquently describing two vintages of Château Coutet, from 1979 and 1985 respectively, to a room full of rapt Torontonians at Enoteca Sociale.
Château Coutet is a special vineyard, explained Carozza. Situated on a “limestone-y bank of Bordeaux,” it’s owned by a family that goes back 17 generations: “They’re one of the only families who still owns and has the same name in all of France.”
The occasion to sample such rare vintages? The latest in a ticketed dinner series known cheekily as Charlie’s Burgers, a food-and-wine hive that has commandeered various spots around town, and which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. On the menu tonight: a sevencourse meal that acted as a time capsule of the 1980s and early ’90s. With great care, it paid tribute to one of the stalwarts of New York fine dining: Le Cirque, which was founded by the late, great restaurateur Sirio Maccioni.
Le Cirque was a restaurant so famous that HBO made a documentary about it in 2007: “Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven.” I was reminded of this fact by Franco Stalteri, the other half of Charlies Burgers, who, with Carozza , is one of the most effervescent hosts in Canada. Stalteri called Sunday’s dinner “a period piece,” adding that it was a “way to highlight what dining was nearly 40 years ago … and to honour the culinary achievements of that era.”
How to properly honour those achievements — and the starry clientele Le Cirque attracted? Stalteri and Carozza started with the menu. They worked in consultation with Maccioni’s son, Mauro, to revive iconic dishes like “scallop black tie en croute.” Wine was another important consideration. They sourced bottles from the 1979 to 1999 period (many from private family cellars!), while trying to recreate the exuberance of a restaurant that drew the starriest of celebrities: everyone from Jackie O, Andy Warhol and Frank Sinatra to Prince Albert of Monaco, the Reagans and the Clintons.
Le Cirque, after all, was not only the place that made pasta primavera a thing, but it remains part of culinary history for the heaps of chefs it helped cultivate, chief among them Daniel Boulud, who was the restaurant’s executive chef from ’86 to ’92. Other famous alumni include Jacques Torres, David Bouley and Sylvain Portray. When Sirio Maccioni died in 2020, GQ called him, “the last great front-ofhouse impresario and a prodigious spotter of kitchen talent.”
On Sunday in Toronto, bigger is better was the vibe, as exemplified by the giant poufs of butter — as voluminous as cotton candy — that were paraded through the space.
“We spent a lot of time researching techniques, plating, even the breads that were served in the 1980s at Le Cirque,” said Stalteri. “Our bread maker Matthew Duffy (who worked for Boulud for five years) spoke to Daniel Boulud about the exact breads that were served at the time at Le Cirque.”
Altogether, it was a chef group effort. Representing the Italian components of the night: Kyle Rindinella, Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognized executive chef from Enoteca Sociale. Rafael Covarrubias, the executive chef of Hexagon, repped for France. Dishes included lobster salad and beef tenderloin with black truffle. A classic crème brûlée — served as perfect moonlike discs — added a sweet finish to the evening.
Given the purr in the room, and the glowing faces on either side of me, people clearly departed happy.
“There is a particularly sweet sound of a dining room humming with a terrific vibe when you stop and listen mid-service and realize that the guests are having a lot of fun,” said Stalteri, who, for the occasion, was decked out in a ’90s-era Versace tie.
Like the eclipse … perhaps you just had to be there? As Carozza had instructed the room earlier: “Tonight is not for putting things off or aside, or saving them for later. Enjoy it in the hot moment.”
Le Cirque, after all, was not only the place that made pasta primavera a thing, but it remains part of culinary history for the heaps of chefs it helped cultivate