@movernie
It’s that time of the year, what better way to start off the New Year & Chinese New Year with a great Winterlicious dinner? As you know me by now, I like to explore new places to eat as I love food. Winterlicious, as always, is a great time to test out restaurants that you normally wouldn’t think or plan to go if you have to pay alot of money for it.
The first Winterlicious restaurant that I have chosen is called The Boiler House. It is located at the Distillary District. In summer time, it has a big patio, outdoor lounge area with cozy bench and sofa for you to spend quality times with your loved ones or friends.
In the winter time, the warm, cozy indoor, 2-floor cabin decor gives you that “relaxing & chilling” atmosphere as well. In this cold winter night, as I walked on the old, uneven brick road, entered into The Boiler House. Quickly greeted by a smiley hostness who told me that our table is upstairs in a private room. Our b-day girl, Anita’s got us the table in a private VIP room. Special thanks to her! Happy Birthday & best wishes!
As I walked up 2 flights of stairs, it was a high ceiling second level that you could see downstairs with a great view. It’s a lovely concept, you felt very spacious & a place to really spend time with friends. Walked to the back of the VIP room, through the glass, I sat at the table.
Everyone arrives and our server greeted us. We ordered a bottle of red wine, recommended on the Winterlicious brochure. First off, I ordered my appetizer which was potatoe & leek puree. The proportion was great, nice and warm temperature (exactly what I want for a hot soup to warm up my tummy). The colour and the texture of the puree was awesome! It tasted great.
MoVernie Rating (Appetizer): 9.0/10
Then comes my entree order of the spice rubbed 8 oz baseball sirloin. I was intrigued by the description of the term “baseball”. I love the Blue Jays, so I could imagine a steak shaped like a round ball, lol. Mind you, when it arrived, it did shaped like a baseball. I ordered the steak to be “Medium Rare”. As it arrived, it was cooked to the perfection of “Medium Rare”, it also came with the superb mash potatoe along with fresh green beans. I love the combination of the side veggies. You could taste the mash potatoe was freshly baked and not some powder that some restaurant offers. However, I am not sure the reason but I found the sirloin (despite medium rare) was hard for me to crave and hard to chew. The taste lacked some flavour in it.
MoVernie Rating (Entree): 7.5/10
Lastly with a nice dessert, I ordered the Pomegranate Panna Cotta. You possibly asked “What exactly is that?” Well, as far as I know, Pomegranate is a fruit that is good for our health. From the plate presentation, it reminded me of Creme Brulee, but there is a syrup layer of the Pomegranate, then a paste/pudding underneath. More like two layers. Along with some shortbread & fresh fruits on top of the pudding, it was perfect combination.
Along with ordering a cup of fresh coffee, it was perfect!
MoVernie Rating (Dessert): 9.5/10
I have to say. It was an amazing experience. I heard enough good things before my visit but The Boiler House have definitely delivered & met and exceeded my expectations. The server did a great job the entire night. Taking the right order, very talkative, polite & hardworking. Our b-day gal got a b-day song from the crew along with a nice fiery alocholic drink. Even better yet, The Boiler House offers “live” band music almost every evening (check their schedule). It’s free but just added the extra entertainment experience. I love it! Highly recommend this place. You should give this a try.
Overall Rating:
Food 9.0/10
Atmopshere/Vibe 9.5/10
Service 9.5/10
Accessiblity 7/10 (no cars, it’s a bit hard to travel in the winter with TTC Bus)
Check out their website @ http://www.boilerhouse.ca/
Follow me on twitter @movernie to find out more good finds, restaurants & other interesting stuff!
