bite me
the designer and i celebrated christmas today. we had plans to go to bite me for brunch but it was closed due to "extreme weather" so we trekked in the snow all the way to atelier thuet in liberty village. we wanted to try the butcher's platter - the designer's had this on her brain for months now.
cold and hungry, we waited eagerly for the waiter to bring the charcuterie and we were surprised to see that there was very little on the plate. granted, everything is house cured and the brunch platter is $5 less than the dinner platter but we still expected more. when we asked about the missing pate, the waiter asked the chef before returning to tell us that the pad thai only comes with the dinner platter. what?
maybe we'll try dinner next time to see if the platter is the real deal. our expectations did not come out of thin air. here is why we expected what we expected:
"A two-foot butcher's platter ($30) is one of the best deals in town for $30. Every inch of it is covered in homemade sausages, at least a dozen – venison prosciutto, smoked pork neck, maple-cured pork loin – which our well-studied server rattles off like Rain Man at a spelling bee. A pair of thick terrines en croute, filled with rabbit, duck, pistachios and dates, sits at one end. The platoon of meat, with multi-grain bread and gherkins, aided by a pair of Blanche de Chamblis Belgian beers, is nearly a meal for two."
- thestar.com
"...his boudin noir, which appears in multiple menu items, is just a sexy name for pig’s blood sausage; and the more honestly named head cheese, served on an absurdly large butcher’s platter ($30), involves the boiling of a whole animal’s head."
- eyeweekly.com
"The butcher’s platter encompasses a dozen distinct examples from soft blood pudding with apple and onion to maple-cured venison prosciutto. Venison jaegerwurst is a chewy salami spiked with mustard and coriander seeds; maple-smoked speck is the softest, fattiest son-of-a-bacon ever to melt upon the tongue. The platter comes with pickled eggs and onions, game pâté en croute and the crowning glory, Thuet’s ambrosial foie gras terrine, which seems even more unctuous and holy than it did a couple of years ago when Eddie and I dined so well at the Bistro."
- torontolife.com
after brunch, we bought overpriced crumbly macarons at $1.95 a piece. i can't help but think that "bite me" is not only a name for a restaurant but also a not so subtle message to patrons. thank goodness i found $5 on the floor at west elm. thank goodness le gourmand had a nice selection of bichons so we could chew on something delicious for dessert.
(bottom left image of atelier thuet courtesy of eyeweekly.com)