If you’re invited to dine at The Spoke Club, la Lawyer and I have two words for you: definitely go. The Spoke Club is a cozy, modern space on King West and yes, it is a private members’ club, so either you must be a member or a guest of one.
The antithesis to the traditional, original men’s clubs in downtown Toronto, the Spoke is a testament to how quickly the restaurant scene – and interior design – has grown and matured in this city. The dining room seats about fifty people and the tables are not so close to one another that a private conversation is impossible. I love the few intimate banquettes (some for 2, some for 6-8) scattered about the room. It’s romantic (but not too romantic!), unpretentious and comfortable. Unpretentious also is the best term to describe the service, from maitre d’ to the servers. They are friendly, professional and very attentive without being in your face.
The menu is very Canadian, so I suppose it’s all about terroir just like Globe but without all the fussiness about it. It simply ….is. We start with some Canadian caviar from New Brunswick, served on potatoes and shredded white beets, set on a potato reduction. The caviar has a delicate flavour. It tastes faintly like the sea, but it’s lost on the potato base, which is a surprise. All that starch overwhelms the pearly grey beads. The reduction is tasty and has a nice hint of spice. Perhaps the caviar would be better on bland toast points or by itself on ice?
The Reluctant Chef has a personal mission to make the best-ever shellfish bisques, from shrimp to lobster, so it is no surprise when he chooses the soup of the day, which is shrimp bisque with tamarind. This is an excellent choice as the consistency is perfect and the flavours are failsafe together. The heat of the tamarind builds through to the last spoonful – divine. Our last appetizer is a phyllo pastry shell stuffed with spicy southwest flavours of red peppers, onions, tomatoes and some blue cheese, served with the cooling counterpoint of avocado tempura. La Lawyer loves the avocado, whereas I love the spiciness of the filling.
It’s hard to choose a main; they all look worthy, but since we can only choose one each, we’ll have to return for the others. At first, la Lawyer is committed to the rib-eye, but at the last moment changes her mind and orders roast pork. This stymies the Reluctant Chef, who wants the pork as well. (A clear winner with our crowd tonight!) He quickly switches to the rib-eye. I choose the sablefish.
The pork is unbelievably tender and moist throughout. La Lawyer positively loves the pork and does not stop lamenting that Sir Fussy is not present since he would really love it too. When Fussy arrives, he samples the dish and rightly comments that if we’d tried to make the pork at home, it would be burnt on the outside and still bloody on the inside. We don’t want to know the chef’s method – we just want to come back for more! In fact, I don’t know if lawyers are acceptable members of The Spoke Club but if so, she would join for the pork entrée alone. By the way, it’s served with apples (lovely) and spätzle, which are delicious but a little bit crunchy… although it’s perfectly okay to serve crunchy spätzle. They are sort-of like German macaroni and cheese. Some people like it baked and crunchy on top and some like it creamy; I’m of the latter persuasion but have nothing against the former.
The rib-eye steak is a perfect medium-rare; juicy and tender. It’s served with broccolini and, I think, (I deeply apologize for this oversight and lack of memory) little Yorkshire puddings. Unfortunately, a small dab of caviar on the pudding is sticky and warm. Ugh!
My wild sablefish is served on phyllo pastry baked with scallions. It is very tasty and provides just a bit of a kick to the firm, fleshy sablefish that comes apart in large, luscious flakes. I have no idea what to expect of the flavour since I’ve only ever had it smoked, but here it is slightly sweet and butter-flavoured, so the scallions are a perfect complement. Sablefish is also known as black cod or butterfish; it’s fished – and I understand, now farmed – in the Pacific. As an aside, the aquaculture of sablefish is a huge issue in British Columbia where an industry group is opposing it.
The portions are huge and I am not exaggerating. We are not a crowd known for restraint, but sadly we did not have room for dessert. This will have to be the topic of another column. In the meantime, my taste buds will fondly savour the Canadian-themed menu, the attentive service and the warm, comfy dining room at The Spoke Club.
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