Bite Me... Oh Yes, You Can Count On That

by Julie Reitsma
Perhaps playing along with the reputation he has acquired for being a bit of a bad boy, Top Chef Marc Thuet, along with his wife and partner in crime Biana Zorich, has decided to revamp his formerly eponymous space, shake up the menu, and call it Bite Me. Being rather feisty ourselves, we took that as a challenge, and, high-heeled and hungry, trod up the stairs to see what delicious culinary barbs Monsieur Thuet would throw at us.

As is the way, we first had a gander at the cocktail selection. The list at Bite Me is impressive, but, as with their wine list, which starts at $50 a bottle or $11 a glass, the prices are a tad dear. That being said, how often do you get the chance to have a Biana Bloody Bardot ($17) with actual heirloom tomato consommé? Take that, Motts!

Onto the food! With the guidance of our heavily accented (Paris? Chicoutimi?), and at times a bit over-the-top, waiter, we started with the Tartine, and, in the spirit of culinary alliteration, the Terrine. The Tartine ($15) was a healthy dose of crèmetastique Chef’s fresh sheep cheese (we’re talking slabs here), delicate slices of smoky prosciutini, perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes all piled atop a chunk of Thuet’s bread and finished with balsamic, rocket, and chiffonade basil. The Terrine ($16) was the tiara wearer for presentation—soft pink triangles of meaty foie gras and Wild Scottish pheasant were punctuated with crunchy green pistachios, framed by drizzlings of sauce (an orange sweety and a zingy mustard), and vinager’d micro greens, all served on a swan (!), which was then, in turn, surrounded by toasted rounds of brioche. Mon dieu!

Et puis, pour les plats principaux—we went for the Sea Bass and the Three Way Porcelet. The Sea Bass ($28) came not only with earthy, squishy escargot, beautifully seared sea scallops (dived for, no less), ridiculously fresh and colourful heirloom vegetables, and a warming, rich sauce Bordelaise, but also a whole slew of cutlery, some of which left this intrepid gastronome slightly perplexed—were we supposed to skin our fish with this? Or serve really thin slices of pie? After fumbling our way through the silverware, we were ready for our next main. We realise our mind is oft in the proverbial gutter, but we couldn’t help but be titillated at the possibilities of The Three Way Porcelet ($25). Unfortunately this dish is in no way naughty, and was, in a rather ironic twist, a sampling of Mennonite farmed pork. The composition is daily created, with our selection consisting of belly, chop, and a rib, all flawlessly prepared, and served with a soft polenta, a top notch sauce soaker-upper. This dish, where the focus is so very obviously on the cochon, is not for those of you who don’t really dig eating pig.

Choosing which of Bite Me’s desserts to indulge in was a most difficult task. Though the Kit Kat Bar ($13) was tempting, and the table-side prepared Crêpes Suzettes ($40 for 2 two people) had us intrigued, we eventually decided on the Profiteroles and Crème Brûlée. The Profiteroles ($12), complete with skinny pastry swan-necks and filled with be-speckled vanilla ice cream, rested happily on a Green & Black organic chocolate sauce that was perfectly bittersweet balanced. As per our waiter’s instructions, we next dove into the Crème Brûlée trio of autumnal flavours ($14) from right to left, starting with an orange liqueur (the best of the three; the orange flavour was present without overwhelming the vanilla of the crème), a walnut (only one rogue nut was found, and while delicious, this sampling couldn’t have stood alone), and finally a chocolate pumpkin (a wonderful flavour, was almost too creamy to be a crème brûlée, despite being topped with the spoon-cracking burnt sugar chapeau).

Tongue-in-cheek name aside, Marc Thuet obviously takes his gastronomy seriously and has, with Bite Me, once again proven himself to be a top chef. The menu demands re-visiting but, stuffed to the brim as it was, and our wallets remarkably slimmer, we’ll have to wait for a special occasion before venturing back up that staircase. Then again, we aren’t quite yet in cassoulet weather—a Canadian winter may have our tums grumbling une chanson complètement différent. Bisou!

Bite Me!
http://bitemerestaurant.com/
609 King Street West
416-603-2777