{"id":527,"date":"2010-10-11T14:00:27","date_gmt":"2010-10-11T19:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jameschatto.com\/?p=527"},"modified":"2012-05-01T10:19:56","modified_gmt":"2012-05-01T15:19:56","slug":"ici-j-p-co","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/?p=527","title":{"rendered":"Ici – J-P + Co."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Jean-Pierre Challet and Jennifer Decorte, partners at Ici<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf there was ever a story overtold, it\u2019s ours.\u201d These are the words of Jennifer Decorte, business partner of Jean-Pierre Challet, chefs and co-owners of Ici, the miniature 24-seat bistro on the corner of Harbord Street and Manning. They took over the property two years ago, if you remember. They will finally open this coming Wednesday, after an epic battle with the city (councillor Joe Pantalone bitterly opposed their being granted a liquor licence) and less public but equally frustrating struggles with the building\u2019s infrastructure. Now all is well and J-P and Jennifer staged an open house all day today to thank the neighbourhood for its patience.<\/p>\n

I must say, the space looks great now \u2013 high stools at the bar and counter, a long magenta silk pillow above the banquette setting off the smart grey d\u00e9cor. A take-out window is planned for the Harbord fa\u00e7ade. This morning they were passing round yummy little sliders made with sliced shoulder of lamb \u2013 lambs J-P bought from Southbrook winery where they have spent the growing season in the vineyards, trimming the lowest leaves from the vines. And there were plates of his awesome croissants, the recipe perfected over literally thousands of trials during the last few years.<\/p>\n

I had a look at the menu and wine list on the chef\u2019s laptop. Both will change every 45 days, the menu reflecting the seasons and also J-P\u2019s current fascination with what he calls \u201ccuisine nouveau classique.\u201d He has a book on the subject coming out next year but explains it as classic French dishes with a contemporary lightness of touch \u2013 and a deliciously avant-garde approach. Order beef Bourguignon, for example, and you\u2019ll find the traditional onions and carrots expressed as a cipollini tart and a carrot-ginger pur\u00e9e. Lobster bisque is enhanced with salmon quenelles, autumnal corn soup with crab cakes. Wild mushroom croquettes will accompany the foie gras while veal entrecote Bordelaise comes with a marrowbone split, rather dramatically, lengthways.<\/p>\n

For a restaurant this small, the winelist is unexpectedly large, with Ontario the main contributor, France providing the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having a very quiet opening,\u201d says J-P. \u201cJust building the business slowly.\u201d The neighbours who have waited so patiently may have their own ideas about that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf there was ever a story overtold, it\u2019s ours.\u201d These are the words of Jennifer Decorte, business partner of Jean-Pierre Challet, chefs and co-owners of Ici, the miniature 24-seat bistro on the corner of Harbord Street and Manning. They took over the property two years ago, if you remember. They will finally open this coming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,19,95],"tags":[154,155,156],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=527"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2097,"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions\/2097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameschatto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}