Absolutely Fabbrica! We started with champers, darling – just a smidge – not Bolly but Nicolas Feuillatte Brut, standing around in Fabbrica’s front bar prior to our Visa Infinite dinner. We all know Fabbrica – Mark McEwan’s six-month-old Italian restaurant at the corner of the Shops of Don Mills. I reviewed it soon after it opened and felt the service wasn’t as smooth as it needed to be. Well, that problem has been more than solved. This was the first time the restaurant had done a dinner for 80 but everything went impeccably. Mark McEwan was his usual charming self, hobnobbing before we sat down and then introducing Fabbrica’s chef, Rob LeClair, and also Andrew Ellerby, chef from One (another McEwan property) who had come north to help on the line. LeClair and I had spoken a few days earlier about the menu (a collaboration between LeClair and McEwan) and discerned a subtle theme running through it. The notion of cucina povere, the proud culinary stance of Italy’s rural poor in which as little as possible is bought, as much as possible is grown or foraged and nothing is wasted. It isn’t an idea limited to Italy, of course – it reminds me of the way Canadian pioneers lived, especially at this hungriest time of the year when nothing is growing yet and the winter larder is empty. Is an exclusive and delectable dinner at a high-end restaurant too big a stretch as a way to honour frugality? I don’t think so. For all the glamour of his restaurants, McEwan’s cooking has very honest roots.
We began with a small homage to the egg. As LeClair reminded us, an egg is not something to take for granted. It’s a beautiful thing – especially the fine eggs Fabbrica sources through La Ferme, hen’s eggs that come from a farm near Tottenham. This one was hard boiled, peeled and beheaded then the yolk was removed and crumbled into a mixture of salt cod and mashed potato seasoned with chili and oregano, like a stiff brandade. The cod mixture was put back into the hollow egg white and garnished with two chives and a crispy ribbon of pancetta. Some of us saw the dish as a Provençal take on devilled eggs; others were reminded of an English breakfast of kippers, eggs and bacon – whatever. It was a delightful little opener. Matching wine to eggs is never easy. Craig De Blois from the Lifford wine agency had the job this night and chose a white Burgundy, Louis Jadot 2008 Bourgogne Chardonnay. It worked like a squeeze of lemon over the salt cod but the egg gave it the cold shoulder.
Our next course reminded me of days long ago when my wife and I lived in Corfu with our baby sons, experiencing the Greek village version of cucina povere. Our koubaros, Philip, taught us to dive for octopus and how to tenderize them by hurling them against the rocks 40 times. At Fabbrica they pop their fresh octopus into the freezer then thaw it again, which has the same effect and is much less messy. They cook it in just the same way we used to, placing it in a Le Creuset casserole with a touch of garlic, chili, parsley and just a dash of olive oil, putting on the heavy lid and then letting it seethe in its own juices. First it clenches like a huge fleshy orchid and turns purply pink; then it relaxes. Once cooked, the limbs are layered in a terrine with the gelatinous juices to bind them. Then, when the terrine is sliced, it ends up as a beautiful pattern of different cricles and colours. We each received a slice of this delicious treat set over a purée of long red chilies which had a gentle heat, strewn with chickpeas, shaved radishes and a variety of bitter greens dressed with parsley oil. The wine match was spot-on this time – Trout Valley 2009 Riesling from Nelson in New Zealand. Its racy acidity cut the richness of the octopus while a brisk minerality in the finish reached out to the chlorophyl flavours of the greens.
The next dish was classic Mark McEwan – oxtail slow-braised in a not-very-hot oven for hours until the meat is incredibly tender and the liquid is enriched by all the goodness from the joints of the tail bones and the integuments turn to jelly. Then the kitchen forks the meat apart, mixes it with a little very soft caramelized onion and folds it inside an oversized raviolo. The braising liquid isn’t wasted. McEwan lightens it up, refines it, balances the seasoning and then uses it to flood the plate around the raviolo. The final flourish is a perfectly seared day-boat scallop from the Maritimes set on top of the pasta like a golden tamoshanter. Oxtail and scallop is a brilliant combination – both so sweet and tender, both wickedly rich. Finding a wine with which to bless this unusual marriage was a challenge but De Blois triumphed again with another gem from New Zealand – Carrick 2007 Pinot Noir from Central Otago. Light enough to refresh the palate it had masses of flavour and no big rough tannins to bully the scallop.
Our main course was also iconically McEwan – gorgeous beef short ribs seared and then marinated in red wine. When they emerge from this bath they slide into another of veal stock with a vegetable mirepoix to be braised long and slowly in the oven until the chef can lift the bones out of the meat. To make it easier to handle and slice, McEwan presses the meat and sets each portion on a soft bed of polenta enriched with mascarpone and Parmiggiano reggiano. Again the braising liquid becomes the rich, dark sauce for the dish. Meanwhile, Rob LeClair has been busy with tomatoes, deseeding them, partially dessicating them in a cool oven and then smoking them lightly over a trickle of applewood smoke. He purées them by hand using a mezzaluna, feeling anything more mechanical ruins the texture, and they form a dazzling accompaniment to the meat, strewn with a scattering of crispy shallots. This time De Blois went to Italy for a wine – a super 2005 Brunello di Montalcino from Tenuta di Castelgiocondo – that proved an inspired match. The room bowed to his genius.
After that, Debbie Levy from Dairy Farmers of Canada introduced the cheese course, starring the cheese that is the new Grand Champion at the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. It’s called Louis d’Or and is a washed- and brushed-rind firm cheese made from raw, organic milk from a mixture of Jersey and Holstein cows. It comes from the Fromagerie du Presbytère and is incredibly hard to find in Ontario as the dairy only produces eight wheels a week. Mild and nutty with a fruity edge, it has a smooth texture and a subtle, beautifully balanced flavour. Levy chose two other finalists from the Grand prix to accompany it, both divine – Celtic Blue, a splendid, mild, creamy blue cheese from Glengarry Fine Cheese in Lancaster, Ontario, and a 14-month-old clothbound Cheddar from Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. With them we drank Quinta da Noval NV tawny port which was a fine idea, its relative delicacy perpetuating the mood of restraint.
Dessert was a trifle. Just saying those words will cause certain ears to prick up. My mother makes the BEST trifle that has ever been built and anyone who dares to offer me anything from the zuppa Inglese tribe will have the memory of her Christmas trifle as insurmountable competition. Fabbrica’s talented pastry chef, Sabine Gradhauer, rose to the occasion however with an excellent confection starring the only fruit or neo-fruit we have at this time of year – forced pink rhubarb. This she stewed with some strawberries and a little wine adding layers of dark chocolate sponge cake, of whipped cream stirred with yoghurt and lemon and a final topping of strawberry granita and streusel crumble. It disappeared in a flash, helped along by a tangy 2008 Late Harvest Tokaji from Disznoko Furmint. But about that trifle… You will notice from the description that custard was conspicuous by its absence and I don’t know that a trifle can really be considered a trifle without custard. I shall use this loophole to remove Fabbrica’s dessert from any comparison with my mother’s.
Next up for the VISA Infinite series is a visit by Rob Feenie to Truffles in the Four Seasons hotel, Yorkville. I won’t be there, alas, but it sounds like it’s going to be an amazing occasion. Chef Feenie is bringing most of his ingredients with him from Vancouver. Find out more at www.visainfinite.ca.