Restaurants
Calico Cafe
Calico Cafe is the latest entry into the bulging catalogue of casual eateries that are popping up in Bloordale Village. This vegetarian/vegan restaurant, at Brock Avenue, opened a couple of weeks ago and offers seasonally rotating menus for lunch, weekend brunch and, most recently, dinner.
We visit for dinner on what the affable owner/chef/server Jared Davis informs us is (ominous pause) day 13 in Calico's brief history and are ushered onto the small, sunny, back patio.
We order the (non-alcoholic, there's as yet no liquor license here) drinks of the day, a lavender iced-green tea ($2) and beetroot/pineapple juice ($3).
The iced tea is quenching and not over-sweetened but the beetroot juice is fantastic; the earthiness of the beets is offset nicely by the pineapple. It's so good that we share the first juice before swiftly ordering a second.
As the menu is pretty small, we're able to order most of it between three of us.
The tomato and wild rice soup special ($6) has an almost ratatouille-like consistency and features a deliciously fresh, rich tomato base.
Polenta cakes with poached eggs and balsamic syrup ($6) are so new to the menu that we are the first to order to them.
The eggs are poached to just the right extent in order to perfectly leach their liquid yolk content into the stodgy discs of polenta. The balsamic syrup adds enough sweetness and depth to balance the saltiness. They're so tasty that they start a barter war as two of us try to persuade my friend to part with one more slice of polenta for whatever she'd like from either of our plates.
My seared tempeh with mung bean croquettes ($13) comes with a red wine reduction that manages to compensate for my usual hesitation when it comes to said beans. The croquettes turn out to be very good, and apart from the tempeh being a bit more charred than I'd like, I'm suitably impressed.
Our photographer gets the grilled tofu with sautéed kale, sweet potato mash and red wine reduction ($13). The mash is such an irresistibly creamy puree that it quickly disappears from sight.
The honeydew and mango sorbet is sold out, which gives us a good excuse to order the vegan chocolate mousse with blueberry compote and coconut cream ($7).
As much as I hate admitting it, I'm a practicing stereotype where dessert selection is concerned. It doesn't matter that it's often a disappointing choice - if chocolate is an option, then anything else isn't even a consideration. Happily, this mousse is not one of the disappointments. It's an extremely rich combination of dark chocolate and cashew cream topped with coconut cream.
The consistency is more like a vegan ganache than a mousse, as the lack of egg whites make it heavy rather than aerated, but that's no bad thing. The presentation of a mint umbrella, strawberry side and blueberry drizzle mean it looks as good as it tastes too.
Calico is a small scale operation and all the better for it. Our table is one of four on the patio and is situated right next to the vegetable garden where the foliage that makes up the basis of the menu grows in neat rows.
Having a server who also happens to own the restaurant and design the menu is much appreciated. He's happy to talk with us when he gets the chance and to answer all our menu queries in depth (though my vain attempt to ascertain the chocolate mousse recipe is batted away with a cheerful grin).
We were all extremely impressed with Calico Cafe; a lot of thought and work obviously goes into the menu and it shows in the food.
Photos by Emma McIntyre
Discussion
26 Comments
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excited to check it out!
To the person who fears that Blansdowne is getting too hip -do you live around here? Hip so soon? Is one new bar, one vintage buy-the-pound, some bike shops and three art galleries the death of a neighbourhood? I for one am glad Calico is not another 24 hour Coffee Time, a cheap furniture store, or just perpetually Vacant - For Lease. I'm hoping my 'hood doesn't go the way of West Queen West, but everyone I know loves that there are now a few places nearby to have a drink that doesn't involve naked women or crackheads, places to get healthy food, and interesting art.
As for the decor, give it time, give it time. The owner's partner is a brilliant young artist... I hear there are great ideas in the works.
Owned and fully operated twenty-something non-meat-eaters, Calico is unlike any other veg resto I've ever been to, and I've been eating veg for 16 years. This is a fine example of how young people can help create a better, more sustainable and delicious world.
I've had nothing but delicious brunches and snacks at calico and the service was great each time I ate there. The chef served me himself! I'll happily send my family and friends there to make up for your poor reviews...
I'm a real person. I live a few doors down from Calico. I used to go to the falafel place that it replaced, Babylon Garden. In fact I posted about the falafel place in an earlier BlogTO thread. I've posted about Calico, and a bunch of other neighbourhood places, on my twitter account, myownbloordale.
I don't think the Calico folks have to worry about one negative comment from someone who's clearly unhinged, amongst a ton of positive responses. Get some help.
A lot of thought has gone into the fresh ingredients and presentation of the food as you can see from the pictures. I am very excited to have a restaurant of this caliber in my neighbourhood but I'm afraid once the word gets out I won't be able to get a table:-) Congratulations to the Chef and Bon Appetite!
PS..I was at Mildred's Temple Kitchen the other weekend and this was more special.
Vegeterian = no meat
Lesson over.
I really like the idea behind the place, and I'll probably go back and give it another shot at some point. I just think the food is being conceptualized more than it needs to be. You have access to delicious fresh ingredients that you care enough to source and even grow yourselves and there's no reason to overcomplicate this.
Too many veg restaurants (maybe it's the patrons?) have this notion that serving alcohol takes away from their food experience, and for some it may, but it's also nice to have the choice.
I also use Calico's weekly meal service, receiving a delivery of four meals a week every Monday. Everyone at the office is so jealous!
Big bummer.
"I ate here 5 days ago and cant stop pooping blood" thats a lie....but its damn funny. Nice one Senor Phil