Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe’s steal of a $25 prix fixe
There’s a reason Canoe is the most sought-after Summerlicious reservation every year: for only $25, diners can join the Bay Street elite in the serene space 54 storeys up in the TD Tower to feast on chef de cuisine John Horne’s menu of refined Canadiana. The restaurant already has over 2,000 reservations booked for the event (they’re even opening up a Sunday service), so your best bet at this point is to call in seeking day-of cancellations. Our meal begins with chilled pea soup, a delightfully sweet and silky purée that tastes of nothing so much as summer in a bowl. Brightened by minted Hewitt’s Dairy buttermilk, the cool broth surrounds an island of loose, shredded Dungeness crab meat, candy-like sweet peas and nori threads crowned with wildflower crème fraîche. A main of beef short rib is dense and tender, slicked with an incredible molasses-like glaze of tree syrups (cedar, maple and birch). An unctuous layer of collagen shields the mammoth main, which sits proudly over creamy mashed potatoes from Alliston, crisp French beans and addictive battered onion rings. A custardy B.C. cherry clafoutis (created by consulting chef Bertrand Alépée) sports a whipped crème fraîche hat and a toasted almond cream skirt. We finish off the sumptuous meal with a strong cup of Perle Noir Arabica espresso ($4.50).
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- B.C. cherry clafoutis with whipped crème fraîche and toasted almond cream skirt
- (Image: Renée Suen)
- Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe
- Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe
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- Beef short rib with a tree syrup glaze, mashed potatoes, French beans and battered onion rings
- (Image: Renée Suen)
- Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe
- Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe
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- Chilled pea soup with Dungeness crab, sweet peas, nori and crème fraîche
- (Image: Renée Suen)
- Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe
- Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe
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The cost: $39 including tax and tip. (Note: wine pairings are available for an extra $15.)
The time: One unhurried hour of dining with our head in the clouds.
Canoe, Toronto Dominion Bank Tower, 54th Floor, 66 Wellington St. W., 416-364-0054, oliverbonacini.com/Canoe.aspx
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/summerlicious-2012-canoe/&title=Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Canoe’s steal of a $25 prix fixe&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/jul12Canoe_intro-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_149119" align="aligncenter" width="656" caption="Chilled pea soup, beef short rib and clafoutis (Images: Renée Suen)"][/caption]
There’s a reason Canoe is the most sought-after Summerlicious reservation every year: for only $25, diners can join the Bay Street elite in the serene space 54 storeys up in the TD Tower to feast on chef de cuisine John Horne’s menu of refined Canadiana. The restaurant already has over 2,000 reservations booked for the event (they’re even opening up a Sunday service), so your best bet at this point is to call in seeking day-of cancellations. Our meal begins with chilled pea soup, a delightfully sweet and silky purée that tastes of nothing so much as summer in a bowl. Brightened by minted Hewitt’s Dairy buttermilk, the cool broth surrounds an island of loose, shredded Dungeness crab meat, candy-like sweet peas and nori threads crowned with wildflower crème fraîche. A main of beef short rib is dense and tender, slicked with an incredible molasses-like glaze of tree syrups (cedar, maple and birch). An unctuous layer of collagen shields the mammoth main, which sits proudly over creamy mashed potatoes from Alliston, crisp French beans and addictive battered onion rings. A custardy B.C. cherry clafoutis (created by consulting chef Bertrand Alépée) sports a whipped crème fraîche hat and a toasted almond cream skirt. We finish off the sumptuous meal with a strong cup of Perle Noir Arabica espresso ($4.50).
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The cost: $39 including tax and tip. (Note: wine pairings are available for an extra $15.)
The time: One unhurried hour of dining with our head in the clouds.
Canoe, Toronto Dominion Bank Tower, 54th Floor, 66 Wellington St. W., 416-364-0054, oliverbonacini.com/Canoe.aspx){kind=link}
These sentences are all so pretentious. Wonderful.
WAITER WHAT IS GROWING ON MY FOOD?
The bill plus tips as shown below:
Prix Fixe Expresso HST(13%) Tips
$25 $4.50 $3.85 $5.665 = $39.00
If everyone tips according to the summerlicious price…the waiting staff really hates this event. $10-$15 tips would be more appropriate.
TorontoLife is really not helping the restaurant industry.
wow….what a huge dessert…did they consult on that ?….must be at least one ounce…..shame on the great canoe :}….boooooo
Big plates and small food – cuisine nouveau is back!