Amy's Food Adventures

Alas, I made my dinner visit to Table 17 on Good Friday last month. Table 17 is extremely active on Twitter and they also have a Facebook page where pictures and news are shared among their fans. It was all thanks to my foodie tweeps or else I wouldn’t even have know that such a fantastic restaurant existed! Table 17 really does a fabulous job in engaging their followers on twitter, not to mention how friendly and cute the person behind the twitter account is! ;) Table 17 tweets always bring a smile onto my face. It’s very disappointing when our favourite restaurants don’t make use of their twitter accounts to their optimal potential. There is a great pâtisserie that I absolutely adore, but it’s such a let down that they don’t engage their followers (of course I’m not referring to La Bamboche) . I honestly hope, wholeheartedly, that businesses understand the power of social media and use it to their full advantage. Nothing is as disheartening to a loyal customer than to not acknowledge their existence online and not expressing appreciation toward their patronage. The very least they could do is follow their followers back. Anyway, I’m kind of going off track here so let me get back to my dining experience at Table 17 :)

Table 17 is such a cozy and friendly place due to its earthy and rustic theme. When you first enter the restaurant, your eyes would immediately focus on the open bar ahead and the little window where you can get a peek into the kitchen. I loved their use of dark wood, chalkboards, black framed mirrors and brown packaging paper on their tables. I was especially intrigued by the long wooden table in the middle of the dining room. On top were baskets of bread, bottles of olive oil and vinegar, and eating utensils.

To start off my meal, I ordered a Chocolate rum (Dark Rum, Crème de Cocoa, Crème de Menthe, and light cream). I really enjoyed it and particularly with the addition of cocoa powder on top. Table 17′s menu is short and simple, yet delightful and enticing at the same time. I love one or two page menus because it’s usually a sign that they use fresh ingredients and they’re able to concentrate on creating high quality food for their customers. I told my companion, Dennis, that the appetizer Hot Balls were a must so it was vital that we ordered them, haha. I ordered a spaghetti from the menu and Dennis had the trout, which was one of the specials of the day.

Hot Balls; you know you want to give them a try :) The order comes with 2 of each flavour: Arancino – mushroom & Fontina stuffed risotto, Goat cheese – with wildflower honey, and Arancino – spiced lamb stuffed risotto. They are $6 for an order of 6, and $11.50 for 12 pieces. I loved all three of them so I can’t tell you which one was my favourite :D What I can guarantee you is that these Hot Balls tasted amazing and you’re missing out on a lot if you don’t try them at least once!

My main entrée, Spaghetti Al Limone ($18), consisted of house-made string cut pasta with lemon, capers, ricotta and fresh sorrel. I have to say that this pasta was a complete surprise to me and would definitely be categorized as a clever dish. Although the pasta tasted salty at first due to the capers, the lemony flavour kicks in two seconds after and your palate is completely clean after 5 seconds. Each bite that you have, your taste buds go through a series of flavour adventures and come off clean at the very end. The texture of the pasta was different and a bit rough; exactly what this dish needed. The combination of ingredients in this pasta is simply ingenious and leaves you (or me) fully satisfied.

Dennis’ special was a Steelhead Trout with Fennel Purée and a citrus Fennel salad on the side. The fish was cooked to the right doneness and the skin was oh so crispy and delicious! The fennel salad was extremely fresh and the toasted walnuts were a nice touch. Dennis is a very picky eater (more so than me); so if he found the food here to be pleasant, then that really says a lot (haha).

For dessert, we opted for the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Barchard orchard apple butter ($8) and Panna Cotta with Candied Bacon ($8). When the pudding first arrived, I didn’t find it to be warm enough. When the server came to check up on us, I let him know and he promptly came back with a new pudding that was piping hot. This dessert was simply amazing and a great finish to my wonderful dinner. The panna cotta was silky smooth and the candied bacon was very interesting. Nothing beats combining both savoury and sweet flavours into one delish dessert. In fact, bacon makes everything taste so much better ;)

So with everything said, photographed, written, and read (by you), it only makes sense that you make a reservation at Table 17 for dinner. The service is exceptional and the food is incredible. I’d really like to try their brunch one day because I’ve seen pictures of their Farmer’s Breakfast and I’m determined to gobble that into my stomach really soon!

Address

782 Queen St. East
Toronto, Ontario
M4M 1H4
416-519-1851