25th Tasteemiversary! - A Special Zeke Tasteem Review!

zekepickleman(78)

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25 Tasteem reviews is a special milestone marked by a very special restaurant. So, I am making this a very special review loaded with photographs from a shoot we did last week.

Some of the things that makes this extra special:

We were able to sample the whole menu instead of just one dish
It was a photo shoot so nobody gave Ol' Zeke any weird looks for photographing his food
The restaurant is one of a kind and the food is pretty damn special
There is a brand new chef and brand new menu you pretty much get to swim in with all the pics in this post.

Here is the new menu. I have a picture of it but thought it best to use the one I have permission to use from the gracious restaurant owner Rob.

Andrew and Rob kept it quite simple as the food itself is a mixture of the fanciest comfort food you will ever eat, and the most approachable gourmet delicacies you will find. Appetizers, Charcuterie & Cheese, and Mains is about as straight-forward and non-pretentious as you can get.

I am going to let the photos speak for themselves with small descriptions as words can't really do the dishes justice.

Drinks

This customized Moscow Mule sweats to nicely for the camera!

An assortment of specialy cocktails you can actually get in a sample flight!

Berry delicious looking beverages.

As a Beerologist, of COURSE I have to include a selection of beer.

Appetizers

I never imagined liking Steak Tartare but man was I wrong. SO great with a wonderful texture and I now love this in the same way I do sushi. Check out those super thin lattice cut potatoes!

The Caesar Salad was brought home and earned me some great wife points later on.

Beet Salad. So photogenic. The Fondant was so neat and new for me.

Soup of the day with an excited bit of green garnish.

Steamed Mussels. Not my thing but seafood lovers crow about this delicacy.

Mushroom on Toast! So yummy.

Charcuterie & Cheese

Indeed a selection of house-made pate, terrine, locally cured meats, Canadian cheese, chutney pickles and grilled bread.

It can be ordered a la carte which makes it so easy to have everything you like.

Mains

The steak was not included in the lunch time photo shoot but I snapped a pic of it later the next evening when we did the photo shoot with all the people.

Same with the burger (which used to be called the Holy Burger.)

This would be the Zeke Holy Burger where I added a little of the Blue Cheese to give it that over-the-top flavour.

Spaghetti Carbonara. When we sat down to eat after the shoot, I REALLY loved this one and ate too much for lunch.

The Big Bowl Salad is as photogenic as the appetizer and twice as filling.

I think the healthy thick-sliced bacon would be enough but the chicken added to this would make it a really full and balanced meal.

The Chef and his bounty

Chef Andrew is such a down-to-earth guy with an incredible talent. Being a chef, you have to assemble the menu like a complex work of art meant to satisfy every vegan, carnivore, exotic adventurist, conservative minimalist and everything in between. In addition to being good at that as a core skillset, you have to be able to help run the business, not take yourself too seriously, and make things happen for management, staff and clientelle. Andrew is all of that.

Bonus shots!

As if a great sampling of the entire menu wasn't enough, I will leave you with some combination shots I snapped with my iphone while the real photagrapher did his thing.

By now, you have either stopped reading or are begging me to stop as your stomach growls at you in hostility for not having been to the Revival House yet. You will be too full for dessert and I will save that for another review.

In the meantime, I will rate this A Real Gem, but I really don't want to keep it a secret!

I don't post on Tasteeem for the contest rewards. I do it for the neat platform, supportive community, and hope that this will take off and launch me into foodie blogger stardom. That being said, if I don't win this weekly contest, I likely never will because it wont get any better than this.