Saul G.
Yelp
Fat yes, pasha no. This is a snug little boite, and if you eat too much, which is likely to be the case, you may have to inhale to exit.
On arrival, our server announced that fried dishes (felafel, etc.) were off the menu as the fryer was hors de service. This struck me as odd, couldn't they deep fry the old fashioned way - in a saucepan? No matter, we weren't going fried. I began with a Sask Me Anything, vodka, saskatoon berry juice, mint, arak, cava. This was not a winner, so for my second round, I had a glass of white wine, which La Portena had wisely commenced with.
Along with our drinks, we had ordered the olives and these were excellent - mixed varieties of green and black with sesame seed and garlic cloves. Warning - do not eat a garlic clove, whether by inadvertence or design - they are quite powerful Soon after, the end game chopped liver arrived. Sorry Aunt Pauline, this is quite a bit better than yours, mixed at the table, egg, caramelized onion, warm schmaltz. But what makes it sing is the perfectly grilled challah.
Next up our first main - the salmon - it seemed to me that the salsa/aioli had fused to form a savory crust, the little gem underneath the perfect foil. One of the better restaurant salmon dishes in this writer's experience.
And then the piece de resistance, which nearly all tables commanded - the whole roast cauliflower, with some stems still attached. Perfectly cooked - I am guessing it was blanched or steamed before roasting. The shkug, the tahini, the halloumi. The dish reminds me of something from Ottolenghi. Although we are only two, we manage to eat three quarters of it.
We were so stuffed dessert seemed impossible, but solely for the sake of this review, I ordered Franny's Bread Pudding to go. Eaten an hour later, this was not up to the level of the previous courses, although in fairness, it might have been better straight from the kitchen. Maybe the cheesecake would have been the better bet.