opening remarks: -the carbon bar (tbc) is one of the latest hot spots to grace the seemingly-exploding east end dining scene. the restaurant is located on queen east at church street in the prior home of citytv, a disney rehearsal space and the nightclub electric circus. -tcb is the latest project by david lee, yannick bigourdan and franco prevedello, the trio behind nota bene on queen west. -the restaurant’s name comes from the spanish word carbón for coal, giving reference to the wood-fire cooking featured on the menu.
ambiance: -toto, i’ve a feeling we’re not in in kansas queen east anymore. seriously, if i were blindfolded on the drive over, i would have sworn this was a king west joint. from the moment you walk down the dark front foyer towards the beautiful ladies waiting to check you in and take your coat, it feels like a happening spot. i’m hoping this is becoming an east end norm. -the breathable dining space took almost two years to renovate, seating an impressive total of 104 diners with room for an additional 45 at the bar and 30 in their private dining room suite upstairs. - rustic tan bricks scale all the way to the 30-foot ceiling, giving the appearance of a grandiose event space with the sex appeal of a hopping downtown night club. tcb is the electric circus 2.0, but with food instead of gyrating bods. sounds like an upgrade to me.-equally spaced spherical lamps hang from springs into the room, while circular mirrors line the walls for easy lipstick checks. the combination of the sleek black tables with the low-rise mahogany leather booths and matching wood and red chairs is modern, masculine and sophisticated, while the neon “electric” sign brings a little playful youth into the mix. -speaking of playful, another area pays homage to the building’s disney roots with a little cavern of donald duck figurines. it kind of reminds me of all the mini coronel sanders dolls in the old susur on king west- does anyone else remember those? -the rectangular bar overlooks a ceiling high shelving unit packed with premium booze, and reflects the moonlight spilled from the window walls. above the busy bartenders hang a series of translucent milky-way like sheets lit up by a cluster of glowing lamps. in my opinion, this is one of my features of the space.-with such high ceilings, the noise level is certainly loud but completely tolerable. it’s about as busy as busy gets, but i still have no problem conversing with my party or the server. -temperature is also well controlled. with the luxury of a separate room and hallway from the door, there is no risk of a drafty dinner. translation? short skirts and sleeveless blouses are totally game here, and they’re played out fairly often with this demographic. as i waited for my jacket at the end of the night, surrounded by 20-40 year old ladies with freshly blown out hair and high heels, and men in nice fitting pants and shined shoes, i couldn’t help but smile. finally, someone has found a way to bring the downtown and west end folk east of yonge.
service: -service at tcb was very attentive, professional and friendly. our water glasses were persistently refilled, despite being a very busy night, and our plates and cutlery were changed between courses. -our server knew how to describe the dishes and drinks effectively but i did find her pushy with the oversells. when i ask a server to recommend the number of dishes i should get, i have to trust i am getting an honest answer based on their experience with average tables, and their knowledge of the portion sizes. what we ended up ordering was far more than we could comfortably eat and it was still a few dishes less than she recommended me to get. i don’t really mind over ordering when the prices are low, but we’re talking about $50 of excess food. it’s funny, because my friend visited the restaurant last weekend and the same upsells happened to him. but despite the slightly skewed recommendations, overall, i think we had a very pleasant and professional service experience that definitely made the evening easy to enjoy.
drink: -i love the way tcb organizes its wine. in contrast to most restaurants, which organize their wine list by region or varietal, tcb divides their offerings by price – either $39, $59 or $79 per bottle. i think this makes an incredible amount of sense for torontonians who have budget on their mind when they dine out. no more sifting through pages and pages worth of bottles to arrive at one that suits your tastes and budget. you simply just have to go to the appropriate price point and choose! -for those who are dining in smaller groups or just don’t want to commit to just one wine, tcb has about 13 mainly north american wines by the glass, available conveniently in both 5 ($9-17) and 8 oz ($13-26) pours. -beer drinkers will be pleased by their well-rounded selection of international and microbrew selections by bottle ($6-7), bigger 500-750 ml bottle ($12-25) and draft ($7-8). - tcb’s boozier libations include 3 signature hooch ($14-16) drinks and 5 carbon originals ($14-16). reading through their signature offerings, i liked the friendly balance of familiar flavours and playful executions. take their signature carbon bar caesar for example. no one is going to mess with the tried and true clamato (though theirs is made in house), but their version uses tequila instead of vodka, and adds a 37 spice rim and chili tincture. the carbon originals, by contrast, come at you with names you probably have never thought of and flavour combinations you’ve never seen- like tequila with cardamom and ginger beer in the sassily named “the deal closer”, or bourbon, port, martini bianco and chartreuse in the heavy hitting “heart of gold”. i’d probably want to call that the heart of burn, but hey, i guess i’m a bit of a light-weight. desperados ($7) and negra modelo - my friends sampled a few of the microbrews including the desperados ($7), negra modelo ($7), collective arts rhyme & reason ($7) and the bellwoods monogamy ($12 for 500 mls). everyone seemed pleased with their picks. as usual, i’m always going to go the cocktail route first, and sampled a few of them over the course of the night. the carbon bar caesar ($16) olmeca tequila, house clamato, 37 spice rim, chili tincture, lime, hecho en mexico margarita ($16) tequila, st. germain, orange bitters, lime, smoked sea salt, the alibi ($16) tequila, chartreuse, lemon, buckthorne guajillo chili syrup, the deal closer ($14) tequila, campari, cardamom, grapefruit bitters, ginger beer - i definitely found the cocktails overall to be pretty damn good. the best of the bunch were the two signatures, the spicy caesar with a well-rounded zip from the chili and lime, and the margarita with the delicate hint of floral elderflower. the strongest of the bunch, the deal closer, had a nice balance of buzzing heat from the ginger beer and citrusy bitter bite from the campari and grapefruit. i also liked the unique combination of sweet, spice and tang from the alibi’s buckthorne guajillo chili- definitely the fruitiest of the bunch without being cloyingly sweet. overall, a solid run down of booze if you ask this well hydrated girl (we did partake in avion tequila shots at some point in the night. oy vey).
food: - executive chef david lee and chef de cuisine hidde zomer have developed a menu best described as southern bbq with a playful and international twist. not surprisingly, the menu is anchored around that carbón reference- the wood fire pit - this is where the bbq action goes down. here you’ll find all the meat-sweat staples - your pork ribs, beef brisket, sausage, pulled pork and on fridays, the goat ribs special. most folk going this route would also be wise to round things out with some classic southern fixin’s – fries, collard greens, pork and beans, slaw or a monster of the baked potato called the “hot mess”. -those who want a more composed meal can choose from 7 main plates, 10 shareable apps and 5 desserts- all of which detour from the strict expectations of a southern meal. expect to see the best of asian, canadian, mexican, and caribbean fare intertwined with an underlying base note of contemporary american cuisine. so, no, this is not your momma’s basic southern meal, but gosh damnit, who the hell cares. this is a menu for those of us who want to give the finger to anyone who yaps on about the laws of “authenticity” – innovative overrides authentic any day in my eating agenda. crisp chicken skins ($7) sweet chili vinegar - can someone tell me how this could possibly be bad? like thanksgiving, but better. an order brings out four pieces of super crispy skin packed with rich poultry flavour. a little greasy on the fingers, yes, but the bright tangy dip helped to balance out the fat. cheese croquettes ($9) apple-chipotle sauce - a warning to those wearing your fancy pants to dinner. safety first with this one, folks. secure the napkin on your lap and chest, and then lean over the side plate-these little bombs of hot cheese will explode upon contact. but let me tell you- messy ain’t got nothing on deliciousness with these little bites. crispy on the outside, and ooey gooey cheesy goodness within- i also liked the spicy sweet dipping sauce to cut the fat. yes, please. queso de cabeza ($13) fried suckling pig, pork n’ beans, hen’s egg, pickled beets - one of my favourite dishes of the night because who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner? the beans were sweet, salty and starchy, absolutely delicious with the fall apart tender suckling pig and the luscious runny yolk. what made the dish, though, was the unexpected addition of the pickled beets. with so much fatty goodness of the plate, that little bit of tangy veg just brightened everything up. i would totally consider just ordering this as my main. raw salad ($12) avocado, pear, radish, shaved coconut, jicama, peruvian peppers, coriander, lime vinaigrette - this is what i think we’re going to see more of this 2014- chefs making vegetables super hot. this raw salad was a great example. with so many bright flavours, contrasting colours and irresistible freshness going on, even a hard-core carnivore would be enticed to try this. the vinaigrette was definitely more on the acidic side, which is my preference so i loved it, but those who preferring more neutral flavour may feel there was too much citrus. i do think those people suck. pit master’splatterfor 2 ($58) ribs, beef brisket, jalapeno sausage, pulled pork, turkey - i wish thisplatterwere available for one person, because if two people ordered this, they couldn’t have room for anything else, and thou shalt not make a meal of meat alone (unless you’re down with a mean case of the meat sweats, of course). regardless of the portion size, everything on theplatterwas super delicious. the ribs were a favourite amongst my group but i fell in love with the deckle bits with all the smoky bark – oh my lord, that was good. there wasn’t anything on thatplatteri didn’t love, i just wish it was possible to purchase a smaller portion.jalapeno sausage (with platter) - despite being part of the platter, the sausage came alone (maybe not enough space!), but was one of the best bits of the meal. these were some of the juiciest, most flavourful sausages i’ve had in a while, and the hint of jalapeno really offset the fat. deliciousness all around.goat ribs ($18, fridays only) - i was really happy we ordered this, as they ended up being (in my opinion) even more delicious than the pork ribs. surprisingly tender, with a good level of smoke and very little fat. if you happen to be here on a friday, definitely get these ribs.the big rib ($35) cumbrae farm’s pit fired & braised beef rib, savoy cabbage, parsley, mustard, horseradish, pickled relish - hands down, everyone’s favourite dish of the night. the smoke and braising method yielded a massive hunk of meat that was both smoky and well caramelized but also impossibly tender. sweet, sticky, rich and savoury all at once. i also liked how the bright zippy horseradish in the herbaceous parsley salad refreshed the traditionally heavy winter main. a bit pricey, yes, but absolutely delish.tcb slaw with corn nuts (accompaniment to goat ribs) - it was a small portion as it came with the goat but man, was it ever good slaw. the dressing had a perfect ratio of creaminess and tang, while the contrast of the crunchy sweet corn nuts and supple cabbage was addictive. i would highly recommend this side.“hot mess” ($11) sweet potato, cheese curds, crema, pickled jalapeno, chopped brisket - this dish is nothing to look at but, its definitely damn tasty, albeit a bit heavy amidst the meat heavy mains. the ratio of sweet pillowy potato and spicy jalapeno paled in comparison to the mountain of stringy cheese, the tangy crema and the rich beef brisket. somehow, although i had reached my meat-threshold, i still wanted to eat it all. my suggestion to make this perfect would be to use a larger sweet potato, making the $11 price tag seem more palatable and helping to balance out the heavy toppings. banana toffee cream pie ($16) - growing up, one of my favourite desserts of all time was banoffee pie, and tcb’s version didn’t disappoint. delicate flaky pastry, generous chunks of ripe bananas, thick luxurious ribbons of toffee and a mountain of cream on top. it perhaps sounds quite sweet and rich, but this pie was surprisingly light. cheddar ice cream sandwich ($9) aged cheddar, wafers, maple syrup - and for those who usually prefer a cheeseplatterto dessert, this may be an end of meal option for you. some of my friends didn’t love this, but i was actually impressed. i’ve made many cheese wafers before (i.e. frico) but they tend to always taste a little greasy and stale after even a moment. these ones were neither- just pure smoky savoury aged cheese flavour and crispy perfection to contrast with the mild ice cream and pool of sticky maple glaze. my only quibble would be that i didn’t find the ice cream itself to be very creamy or flavourful, but there was enough going on in the dish to make up for it. goat’s milk ice cream & wild honey ($3) - this was probably my table’s least favourite dish of the night. i actually quite liked the fresh, light flavour of the ice cream, especially with the floral wild honey, but like in the aforementioned sandwich, i found the texture a bit anemic. maybe some more egg yolks could add a little more body. the carbon chocolate bar ($3) bitter chocolate, pecan ganache, bourbon caramel - a solid last bite, and impeccable value for the intricateness and perfection of the dish. the combination of crispy chocolate wafers, nutty chewy ganache and sweet smoky caramel was divine. even if you’re totally full, i highly would recommend ending the meal on this high.
closing remarks: -disclaimer: some of the smaller dishes in this meal were complimentary, however, all opinions are my own. because of that, our bill didn’t reflect the absolute price of our meal, so i went through the menu to add it up manually for y’all. for 6 cocktails, 6 beers, 4 appetizers, aplatterfor 2, 2 mains, 1 side, and 4 desserts, the bill would have come to $480. at $120 pp for plenty of food plus 3 drinks each, it’s not high-end outrageous, but it’s certainly not a cheap night out. so did i think the meal overall was worth the price? honestly, yes i did. there were some dishes i felt were pretty pricey for the portion (i.e. the big rib, the banana pie, the cheese croquettes, the raw salad, the hot mess), but then there were other dishes i thought were a great deal (i.e. the goat ribs, the queso de cabeza, the chocolate bar etc.). i also thought the quality and quantity of the meat platters made up for the higher accessory prices. the cocktails were all well executed, the service (albeit a touch pushy) was friendly and super attentive, and i also absolutely loved the vibe.-in conclusion, tcb just solidified the trend that started last year- great dining culture is moving east. i am already excited for a repeat visit (and that seldom occurs in my world), and can’t wait to take more friends to check it out. actually, because of its massive size and buzzing atmosphere, tcb would make for an awesome destination for a celebratory meal with a group. thanks tcb for your warm hospitality (and the equally warming tequila shots). next time you see me, i’ll be at the chef’s table with a tequila caesar in one hand, and a goat rib in the other. cheers!
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