Notable Guide to Summerlicious 2013

Summerlicious officially kicks off today, and we couldn’t be happier… or hungrier. Running through July 15th, this prix-fixe extravaganza of city-wide proportions allots us with a chance to taste the city on a budget. What could be more notable than that? So, to prep you for the next week and a half of great eats, here are the 10 restaurants whose menus you don’t wanna miss… alphabetically for fairness, natch

Auberge du Pommier
Let’s forget that Chef Marc St. Jacques recently won the coveted Gold Plate. Let’s forget that Auberge has been one of the top 10 restaurants in the city for years. Let’s forget that it set the standard for haute cuisine in the city years ago, and that it consistently ups its game to stay current. On second thought, remember all that and you’ll know why we’re sending you here. 

BENT
Get bent, yo! (Sorry, we can’t not take the easy way out sometimes.) Susur may run the kitchen, but his sons run the front of house, and everything here is tight. Their Summerlicious dinner is like a trip to Asia, with random stops in Mexico, France and Italy along the way for inspiration. Fusion? Perhaps, but don’t let the connotation fool you. This is flavour mixing at its best.

Bloke & 4th
The Food Dudes can basically do no wrong, so it should come as no surprise that their joint-ventured supper lounge is almost always on point. Fan favourites and crowd pleasers abound during the food fest, and you get an extra amuse bouche at the beginning… a nice touch if we do say so ourselves.

BOSK at the Shangri-La
Need we say more? (In case we do, here are seven words that will cement our cockiness at this suggestion: Alberta beef short ribs with cheese fritter. Tight!

Estiatorio Volos
Where else in the city can you get gourmet Greek food – we’re talking finessed plates, the freshest of seafood, contemporary takes on classics – in an environment that doesn’t see any cliched blue and white, shouts of “Opa!”, or skewers of questionable meat tossed atop mounds of rice? The answer is nowhere, so Volos is a must-go during ‘licious. 

L’Unita
The first time we ate at L’Unita, our hearts sank. Why, (we assume) you ask? Because it had been open two years already and we’d let this hidden and insanely special gem pass by our radar like a Green Beret during ‘Nam. Don’t do what Notable did. Go there, eat like Italian royalty, and tweet us a ‘thank you’… it’s only kind. 

Origin Liberty
With the recent arrival of the third Origin, it’s a bit curious that only the Liberty Village location is partaking in the Summerlicious fun. No matter, we’ll take it. You can’t really call the menu at this former (like, back in the day before YouTube and, like, vaccinations) gun factory turned restaurant anything in particular, but that presents you with the opportunity to simply discover a place where good food is born. Origins, if you will. (Will you?) 

Nota Bene
Its name roughly translates to “note well.” Well, you better note this (har, har), because we’re anything but wishy-washy about our love for this Financial District hotspot. (You know, the first time we went we didn’t even know there was a back dining area? Maybe we just didn’t want any distractions from our drinks at the bar…?) Summerlicious is the perfect time to try Nota Bene, or to go back if you’re as knowledgeable as we are about the good eats in our fair metropolis. 

Splendido
Listen, and listen carefully: You will be stupendously stupid if you pass on the pickled mackerel with smoked creme fraiche; you will be (completely!) remiss if you don’t order the egg yolk raviolo with wilted spinach and Perigord black truffle; and if you skip the strawberry lemon mille feuille, you can no longer call yourself notable. There… we said it.

$tock at Trump
Eat like the rich and famous – or wealthy and weary, depending on the night – at $tock during le licious. Their $45 dinner is an insane steal for a few reasons. First, there are four options per course as opposed to the typical three. Second, one of the dishes has sugar cane pork belly. (We’ve never had it, but instantly we’re getting hot at the collar.) Third, their famed chocolate lab concoctions are up for grabs. Nuff said.

 

Cover Image Courtesy Of: Origins Liberty