Midi Bistro

This is the last part of the Winterlicious'03 saga. Yes, I know I mentioned that I went to four restaurants this year; unfortunately, I did not get a chance to take pictures while I was at Bodega. It is a very nice (and a bit pricey) French restaurant, and it is probably one of my favourite 'licious events thus far. I'm still sad I won't be able to blog about that for you guys, but if you're interested, check out their website. 

I craved for French food constantly this winter, and we've heard great reviews of Midi bistro, so we decided to give it a go. Le friend and I liked the place right away, as the restaurant is very quaint and cozy looking. Especially during the dead of winter, the restaurant makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The plate closest to you is a crostini sautéed portobello mushroom, caramelized onion with blue cheese with a salad on the side. The crostini is quite good; they really got the savoury flavour into the mushrooms and onions. On the other hand, blue cheese is a difficult venture. It can easily overpower the delicate flavours of the mushrooms, but this one didn't. Also, people's affinity to blue cheese vary so widely, it is difficult to say how much blue cheese is enough. Midi Bistro managed this well though, there is a nice balance of flavours. My only complaint is the baguette. The inside of the baguette is as hard as the crust making it very difficult to eat. One last note: why are they serving an Italian appetizer in a French restaurant?

Pâté, toasts and gherkins.  

This is my appetizer. Again, the baguette is a bit too hard for my liking. The pâté was a bit chunky and hard to spread. The salad was good though, the dressing is zesty and light, which compliments the pâté well. 

For the main course, we both chose the roasted confit of duck leg with blueberry sauce. First thought that came to mind was how small our main course is. We're not big eaters, but the duck leg left us wanting more meat. We've had a bigger duck leg as an appetizer in Annona. On top of that, the meat is very dry and chewy, the skin took us a minute to saw through. On top of that, the sweetness of the blueberry sauce is way too overpowering. This combination of blueberry and duck is not great. When eaten with the sauce, this dish tastes more like a dessert than a main course. On top of that, the bottom half of the duck leg was fried, and inedible. We were left wanting a lot more.

Poire belle helene - poached pear with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. 

The pear is pre-made at least a while ago. Not only is it just as cold as the ice cream, it is very hard to cut through. The combination of ice cream, chocolate, and poached pear sounds divine, but this dessert left me wanting a lot more.

Crème brûlée. 

They burnt the sugar, which left a bitter after taste after every bite. 

Overall Review: 

Food: 6/10 

The tastiest thing we had was the crostini. Everything else left us wanting a lot more. Winterlicious has really taken a toll on their quality. 

Ambience: 9/10

We loved the cozy feel of the restaurant. It is an intimate yet relaxed setting, good for a date. 

Service: 8/10

The waitress was attentive, and the courses came quickly after one another. I was just a bit disappointed that she did not know what I was talking about when I ordered my dinner using the French name of the dishes on the menu. I understand not everyone speaks French in Toronto, but I think it's reasonable to say one should at least know the name of the dishes they're serving. 

Price: N/A 

Winterlicious/Summerlicious prices are adjusted; not reflective of their normal price range. 

Final Verdict: 7/10

I would give Midi Bistro another try when it is not doing one of these 'licious events, solely based on the fact that I've heard good recommendations from friends. 

Address: 

168 McCaul Street
Toronto, ON M5T 1W4

(416) 977-2929

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