It was shaping up to be an exceedingly pleasant evening, sitting on the cusp of King St. West inside
Fred Not Here’s exposed dining area, with large glass doors open to the nightlife strolling by. Multicolored pepper lights dangled nearby and a misleading mirror loomed ahead, as the swanky atmosphere of the restaurant oozed out onto the sidewalk where couples sat an arms reach from passerbies. They pored over the diverse Summerlicious menu, which was specialized with affordable process for an everyday crowd, or your average student on summer break. The
extensive dinner list was Fred’s main attraction, after researching some of the 130+ fine dining establishments promoting themselves as part of the
Summerlicious festival brewing in Toronto the next 2 weeks.
The night was pulsing along to high heels of future club goers and those in search of a good meal. At 25$ a person we knew we couldn’t go wrong. Sometimes munching on a seasoned piece of asparagus with good friends, the night air hanging comfortably around you makes summer seem to fit into reality instead of existing as an elusive concept.
When my appetizer arrived, the self proclaimed, famous lobster and crab soup, I was pleasantly surprised by the bowl set in front of me. What resembled a balloon shaped pastry was protruding cheerfully from the rim. Puffy and plump, when pierced with a spoon the quandary of reaching the soup was solved with a doughy poke. Unfortunately, the soup, which I had heaped with expectations of savory seafood chunks, was devoid of anything to chew on, and lacked texture. It ended up being too spicy for my delicate palette and lost points in taste that it had earned in presentation.
Luckily my entrée, jump friend gnocchi in brown butter with sage, asparagus, artichokes and red peppers exceeded my expectations exquisitely. The brown, soft, doughy pastry had absorbed a rich, buttery taste that melted in your mouth, and was both contrasted and accentuated by the sweet red peppers strewn throughout the dish. The artfully sliced asparagus glistened invitingly with juices and was punctuated by the tangy, delightful taste of the artichokes that popped in your mouth and sang with each bite. Gnocchi just happens to be my favorite kind of pasta and the generous portion and beautiful blending of flavors made this my most appealing experience with it thus far.
Next, came the seasonal desserts…yummn. Between warm apple crumble, mango ice cream and a banana split, I had to choose the split, which had chocolate sauce and brownie chunks, a definitely sell. Needless to say I had a very comforting experience as the flavors of whipped cream, banana, vanilla ice cream and chocolate intermingled and embraced good naturedly in my mouth. Overall, Fred’s was satisfying and delivered exactly what I was hoping for. Amazing cuisine, a stylish atmosphere and a lovely experience.
By now the night had pulled down a darker shade of violet over us and the streetlights were all aglow, illuminating the outfits that passed by with intentions of dancing and drinking yet to occur. We left our perch overlooking the street, appetites enhanced by an incredibly delicious meal, because it was time to seek our own night time entertainment.
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