Category: Food
Title (Restaurant): Fred's Not Here
Event: Summerlicious 2013
Fred's Not Here, located right across from the TIFF Bell Lightbox building on King St W and John St., has a big sign with simple letters of "Fred's Not Here" highlighted in red lights. Surrounded by competition (aka other restaurants) with waitresses calling you in for a delightful dinner, this restaurant shares the space with Red Tomato. While a little confused as to which door to enter and where we shouldve went, my friends and I slowly walked up the few stairs towards the hostess.
The People
Hostess: She was nice and friendly. Greeted us upon arrival and (even though we were 10 minutes late), brought us to our dining table situated right beside the open kitchen. We also mentioned that one of our guests will not be joining us, and they politely accommodated us to our adjustments.
Waiter/Server: He was a great guy. Slightly humorous and surely approachable, he was one of the better waiters that I've encountered over the year. Unfortunately, he had to ruin our visit by telling us that their infamous soup was sold out. Not only that, the next best option (wings) were also gone. To apologize for the inconvenience, he did give us a 10% discount, and joked about why we couldnt get our soup. I must say, he has a tiny bit of attitude which can easily get in your nerves if you're sensitive to those personalities.
The Ambience
Small, cozy area with comfy seats. I sat at the far back of the restaurant right beside the kitchen, so there was plenty of space beside me. The kitchen was 'open' so you can peer inside and see what they were doing, which made the place looked a bit bigger. The restaurant was quite red/ red tone shades, with images painted on the wall of naked bodies - 18th century type drawings. The outside seem a little blah, but other than that it was just a typical downtown restaurant.
The Food
Bread and Butter
We were served three different types of bread and it came to our table right when we sat down. As good to some as that is, the bread was cold so it doesnt give you that soft squishy warm toasty bread. Instead, we were served with white and rye bread (that's rye right?) with a stick of jalapeno cornbread. The cornbread became quite addictive but the other two were just average and cold.
Appetizer 1: Iceberg Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese and Peppercorn Dressing
I personally wont order a salad for licious events because you're paying $35 for greens that you can toss at home. That being said, I was pretty much forced to because they ran out of their famous lobster soup. As sad as my crew was, the situation got worse when they ran out of the chicken wings too! I would've chosen the gnocci but it came with walnut sauce and I'm allergic, so salad it is. This salad was pretty good. A bit of peppercorn taste blended with honey dressing added flavour to the iceberg lettuce. The lettuce had its crunch, and big bacon bits contributed a bit of salty flavour alongside the texture it offered. Red onions were very raw, but I didnt mind that. The blue cheese wasnt strong as the dressing hid the cheesy flavour that blue cheese usually offers. Still, it added another flavour into the dish that made it better. Overall, it was a good salad.
Appetizer 2 and 3: Caesar Salad and Feta Salad
Appetizer 4 to 6: Lobster and Crab Soup, Duck Wings, Gnocchi
Entree 1: Two Way Beef: Petite Filet and Brisket with Mac & Cheese
I enjoyed the brisket more than the petite filet. When my plate came, I found the petite filet to be rather, tiny: petite was for sure the right word to describe it. Perhaps an inch thick with diameter of 4 inches, this wood grilled and simply seasoned filet was more towards medium rather than my preferred medium rare. The filet itself had a an off texture and got saltier overtime to a point that you might say it was oversalted. In contrast, the brisket was much preferred. Soft and falls right off by just a slight touch of the fork, this piece of meat was well cook. The flavours were also a bit salty, but bearable. A little sweet with the sauce balanced out the saltiness, and the fat from the brisket gave it a moist coating. The meat paired well with the mac and cheese, but the pasta dish itself was disappointing. Not much flavour and was already cold (and hardened) at arrival. More cheese and a hotter (fresh) dish would've been better.
Entree 2: Prime Rib with Celeriac Yukon Gold Mash & Vegetables
Entree 3: Wood Grilled New York Strip Steak with Duck Fat Frites & Vegetables
Entree 4: Twin Lobster Tails in Garlic Butter with Grilled Vegetables Israeli Cous Cous
Entree 5 - 6: Vegetarian Dish and Seafood Linguine
The prime rib was well cooked: the meat was tender, juicy, and soft. Perhaps I shouldve ordered the prime rib (again) instead, but my friend said the mashed potatoes were nothing special. The NY strip steak was juicy but oversalted (for my liking). I didnt try the lobster, but my friend said it tasted bland and rubbery for one of the two lobster tails. Duck fat frites were also nothing special, tasted like normal fries.
As a seafood fan, a part of me wished that I chose the salmon, tiger shrimps and clam linguine, but considering this was a steakhouse, I thought that eating their beef wouldve been the dish to try. Vegetarian dish also didnt seem that worth it.
Dessert 1: Fresh Ontario Peach Melba
I did not know what a melba was (still dont), but from what we had, the dish had caramelized peach paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with strawberry sauce. The dish overall was sweet. My first bite reminded me of an orange cremesicle, and I... dont like those at all. The second bite, however, tasted better but the peaches felt like they came out from a can of Dole peaches. Dish was good, but thats it.
Dessert 2: Chocolate Almond Cake
I enjoyed this much more than the peach melba. Not really a fan of chocolate cake (usually they get too chocolatey for me), but this one was tasty. The buttercream was not heavy but offered a rich chocolate taste. The sponge cake layer was thin, and once you put the buttercream and cake in your mouth, the cake basically disappears and gives the dish a tiny bit of fluffy and moist cake. I avoided the almonds (not a fan) but it gave the cake a bit of texture as well. Enjoyed this much more than the melba.
Dessert 3: Fresh Fruit Ice
We felt this was a waste of money so we didnt order it. Maybe we should've. Couldve tasted good!
The Verdict
The People: 4.5/5
The Ambience: 3.5/5
The Food: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Come again? I would for the soup and for the people yes, but for food (and hence the lower overall rating) no, it's nothing special. I prefer The Keg more.
Worth $35? I would say for what I had, not really, but if I had the lobster soup (or wings), then yes. That being said, they were very considerate and gave us a 10% off for not having the soup, so I do give them S for SUPER service.
Recommend? Not really... it's not bad, but not amazing food.
Comments? Overall, the place had great people, good ambience, and average food. I enjoyed my stay as they never rushed us out either (we were one of the last people still there after their open hours) and gave us a 10% off because there was no soup, which, although I thought they should, I didnt expect them to actually give us a discount. Food can be better, though, and my ratings are more based on food.
Thanks for reading! Summerlicious is over. I can save money again!
TeaC101
No comments:
Post a Comment