Globe Bistro

La Lawyer and her husband, whom I'll call Sir Fussy, decide to join us at Globe Bistro one chilly winter evening. I am keen to try it as I had known the original chef, Marc Cutrera many moons ago – right before he decamped for Stratford Chef School – and I’m eager to find out how he’s done. But to my chagrin, I find out that he has left Globe just a month after opening – why? Lips are zipped. But no matter.

The décor is supremely elegant. The only negative is the persistent cold draft at our table. We are seated – being the hoi polloi – at the first banquette table upon entering the dining room. This is just past the bar and the kitchen. Oddly enough, the kitchen door does not bother us at all; mainly we froze to death from the draft.

Now the food: in short, very good. The new chef has retained the nascent menu, which focuses on local ingredients as much as possible. You’ve heard of terroir in wine; Globe is about terroir in food. It’s a fine concept, though there is always the danger of it being perceived as a gimmick. Luckily for Globe, strong and steady execution proves they’re for real.

To start, we have pork belly with scallops; the portion was generous. The pork is perfectly done, although Sir Fussy – a veritable pork expert – doesn’t fawn over it. He would like to see it just a teeny, tiny tad more tender, but the Reluctant Cook didn't know if this would be possible. The gnocchi appetizer with wild mushrooms is cooked just right, bit it’s hard to lend strong flavour to mushroom broth and this is nice but doesn’t hold our interest too long. The quail is excellent. Again, the portion is generous. For mains, we have caribou from Nunavut. The consensus is that it is just “good” but we particularly enjoy having something so interesting for dinner. The rib-eye steak is enormous, served with frites and blue cheese foam. The carnivore in our party declares it is the best rib-eye he’s ever had and that is no small compliment from Sir F.! The frites are merely good, but the blue cheese foam is fantastic. It has tons of flavour. The special on our night is lamb and we try that too. It is very well executed. The last main we try is the lobster – it is excellent and second only to the lobster we had at the Blue Ribbon in New York City. It’s served with potato foam. Globe clearly has a fascination with molecular gastronomy and it pays off handsomely because it’s so well done. First, they’ve increased the consistency of what we’re used to in foam, and they’ve managed to make every forkful burst with the intended flavour. Desserts take a back seat to the rest of the menu. The wine list is well-rounded and well-priced. Although the wine we order is not available the maitre d’ offers to open another bottle and match the price. We end up not opting for this but it is an appreciated gesture.

Dinner at Globe is made more enjoyable for the excellent service. This is a thing that Toronto has forgotten. Or perhaps never knew how to do well. Globe wait staff know service; and they know their stuff. They are prepared for the evening; our server doesn’t hesitate once nor does he forget anything. He explains the menu and wine list exceptionally well and while some people don’t appreciate a lot of chatting from the waiters, we would say that Globe staff give more information than usual but do not talk ad nauseum. We’re sure they can expound on gastronomy if you’ll let them!

In summary, la Lawyer, Sir F., the Reluctant Cook and I would scurry back to Globe in a heartbeat. We hope we don’t have to beat all you plebian gatronomes to the door!