Restaurant Beets

Dustin and I finally celebrated our 3rd year anniversary! Better late than never!

I can't believe it was over 3 years ago that I got to wear a pretty dress and walk around in crunchy autumn leaves. That was a nice day. A really nice day.

Tonight we had dinner at Cowbell, a super cute restaurant in the Parkdale area that celebrates local farmers. When I found out that our absolute favourite Toronto restaurant (Superior) closed a few months ago, I began a hunt for a new favourite.

Cowbell focuses on naturally raised, organic meat and produce sourced by local farmers. The menu changes daily so I just had to cross my fingers that duck was on the menu -- which it was!!! Excellent. What should I order as my appetizer?

That was easy.

Ever since we signed up for our next CSA box with Culinarium I've been working on a new game plan for our beets. We received plenty of beets in our food boxes last year, and we knew that this year would be no different. Although I found some recipes (like pickled beets) that I admittedly enjoyed, I still did not have a proper appreciation for beets.

I decided that the problem was psychological. I didn't have any amazing beet experiences to reminisce on. I did not have delicious beet salads to dream about when I smelled the beet aroma as they were cooking. I did not strive towards that je-ne-sais-quoi that I loved in a particular beet dish that I was served.

And so: Operation Restaurant Beets began. Two weeks ago, I tried a delicious beet root salad at O&B Canteen (a new Oliver & Bonacini restaurant in the Toronto Entertainment District.)

image from oliverbonacini.com

With my new quest, it was easy for me to decide what to eat at Cowbell (ah yes. remember? I went on a HUGE tangent to talk about beets? now I'm back to talking about what I ordered at Cowbell... I do that sometimes.)

On the menu was a roasted beet and fennel salad that was equally divine. It was a mixture of pickled beets and raw golden beets that was lightly dressed and served with a thin layer of roasted fennel. It was fabulous. I didn't even remember to take my camera out, embarrass Dustin, and take a gorgeous picture for this blog -- sorry. The lighting was so romantic, my poor little camera wouldn't have done it justice anyway.

I think I can safely say that I love beets! I'm 2 for 2 when ordering beets at a restaurant. It's only a matter of time before I can perfect my own recipes to taste just as good. I just need to keep ordering the beets!