Bodega - Ratatouille

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Date visited: July 19, 2013

Time: 8:00 pm

Party Size: 3

Price: Summerlicious Prix Fixe $35 plus tax and tips

Website: http://www.bodegarestaurant.com/home

Summerlicious menu: 

Food consumed:
- Escargot and sweetbreads (fusilli, pommery mustard, brandy, tomato, and cream)
- Seared scallops and shrimps (orzo pasta, asparagus, heirloom tomatoes, olives, and parmiagiano)
- Flourless chocolate cake (raspberry coulis and crème anglaise)

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on images to enlarge)

Review of Restaurant:

• Why did I come to this restaurant?

Summerlicious. Pure and simple. Else, I would have never known about this restaurant. I have been on this street so many times that I never noticed it. It looks like a house. 

According to their website, bodega is a Spanish word for wine cellar. It is also a French restaurant located on the outskirts of Chinatown in a predominant Jewish area in the early 20th century. The thing that gets to me is that the restaurant doesn't even sound French. I am pretty picky about this because the name of the restaurant defines the food that you serve. On the bright side, it does highlight the multiculturalism of Toronto.

Found this joke on the Internet:
Three men, an Italian, a French and a Spanish went for a job interview in England. Before the interview, they were told that they must compose a sentence in English with three main words: green, pink and yellow.

The Italian was first:
"I wake up in the morning. I see the yellow sun. I see the green grass and I think to myself, I hope it will be a pink day."

The Spanish was next:
"I wake up in the morning, I eat a yellow banana, a green pepper and in the evening I watch the pink panther on TV."

Last was the French:
"I wake up in the morning, I hear the phone "green...green...", I pink up the phone and I say "Yellow ?..."

• What did I think of the food and service?

Mmm, escargots, can't go wrong with that. I still remember the spices from the black pepper. It still lingers in my head. If you don't like black pepper, stay away from the escargot.

The mains was small, but in French dining, you aren't supposed to be full. It's about the food and atmosphere. Scallops and shrimps were cooked to perfection. Orzo pasta is interesting, it's like pasta rice.

Finally the dessert. It was delicious, not too sweet as most chocolate cake would be. Probably one of the best cakes I had until you go on a cruise.

I remember the service being slow. We asked for the bill and it took a long long time to come. The waiter probably took a two hour nap in between.

• How did my sensitive stomach feel?
  

Stomach satisfied. Mission accomplished.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

(Click on image to enlarge)

Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=98577

Here are just the SIGNIFICANT AND CRUCIAL infractions:

January 14, 2013 - CONDITIONAL PASS - 4 significant infractions

1. Operator fail to properly store solid waste

2. Operator fail to use proper utensils to ensure food safety
3. Operator fail to provide adequate pest control
4. Operator fail to provide accurate indicating thermometer

July 29, 2013 - CONDITIONAL PASS - 1 significant infraction

1. Operator fail to provide adequate pest control

I like surprises, but not when it involves pest control. A conditional pass 10 days after my visit! I believed that I just dodged a bullet. The horror my boss would experience when I am sick during quarter end.

I wonder where the rat came from. Could it be Remy?

We now know that he is in Toronto and why the food was so good. Come visit this restaurant before the lines get chaotic!

Usually I would ban a restaurant with this many conditional passes. Not in this case, when you have a celebrity chef cooking for you.

VERDICT: I wished I went to the kitchen to visit Remy!