FOXLEY BISTRO
207 Ossington Ave., Toronto. 416-534-8520. Dinner for two with wine, tax and tip, $120.
I am confused by Foxley Bistro, Tom Thai's new place on the happening strip of Ossington below Dundas. Chef Thai is a guy I've been following since 1994, when he became chef at the fabulous Café Asia and then Youki, under the tutelage of chefs Camilo Costales and Andrew Chase, who were ahead of their time bringing Asian fusion to Toronto.
Later in his career, Thai got pigeonholed into doing sushi: He was sushi chef at Canoe, and then did mostly sushi at the delectable Tempo on College Street. Which may explain his refusal to do sushi at Foxley.
That's almost okay with me. We love Foxley for its location (a previously arid gastronomic neighbourhood, save for the pho at Golden Turtle), its unassuming warmth, and most of all for the fact that Tom Thai is back behind the stoves after a hiatus since Tempo closed in January of '06.
Stove, however, is an apocryphal word applied to Thai. Tempo had a Lilliputian kitchen and almost no cooking space, which may explain why most of its menu was sushi and sashimi, albeit incredibly creative.
His menu at Foxley (where he has ample stove space) changes often, but the majority is cooked food, which is unfortunate. His work with raw fish remains creative and delectable, almost dazzling: Sea bream ceviche with yuzu and shiso leaf is heart-stoppingly wonderful - sweet moist slices of raw fish with delicate yuzu jus (yuzu being like a sour tangerine), with shiso leaf for fragrance.
He constructs a visual pun with raw wild spring salmon and watermelon, two pink items with different sweetness, among greens. He spikes Malpeque oysters with zingy chili lime salsa. Each day's fresh fish at the market becomes ceviche with fried shallots, mango and salsa.
Kissin' cousin to raw is the spring roll of grilled portabello mushroom, chipotle, vine leaf and herb salad. This savoury confection is fresh, light and charming, with a great hot/sweet dipping sauce.
Only when chef starts using the stoves do things go sour. Not 100-per-cent sour. His Asian style greens are dependably delightful, sautéed with soy, ginger and garlic. Fowl is his friend: He roasts duck breast until it's pink and tender, and slathers it with umeboshi plums stewed in port reduction. The sour plums and the sweet port combine into a warm relish that flatters duck beautifully.
Thai is equally adept at such a commonplace as roast Cornish hen; he moistens its flesh with a citric zing thanks to lemongrass marinade, which marries well with crisp skin.
But the other cooked food lacks delicacy. Grilled side ribs with caramelized shallot glaze have a thick dark sauce that recalls molasses, so heavy that it overwhelms the meat flavour. Grilled king fish with almond curry wrapped in banana leaf is bland fish slathered in bland almond paste, which doth not a charming curry make.
Lamb and duck prosciutto dumplings have a pedestrian filling, and their pastry is somewhat robust. Black cod has fab fiddleheads on the side, but its thick crust of Indian spices overcomes the fish, and one should never make black cod play second fiddle.
Shrimps with garlic jalapeno sauce are huge, with great hot-sweet sauce so thick it almost obscures the shrimps. Tempura oysters are made flaccid by sitting in that same sauce.
The size of dishes is confusing. We can't tell whether it's a tapas menu or a regular one, and if so, what's an appetizer and what's a main? It's hard to distinguish from the prices (which range from $6 to $21), and the menu makes no mention of what should come first.
Desserts are an afterthought. One evening, there is only almond pannacotta, a cross-cultural miscalculation whose custard has far too little cream to be pannacotta. Instead, it resembles watery Chinese almond soup that has been thickened with gelatin.
Another evening, there are two flavours of ice cream for dessert.
If I could make a wish for Foxley, it would be for Thai to do less of what he wants to do, and more of what he was paid to do before he became his own master.
The market can be a stern taskmaster too.
*****
Bits and bites
BUZZ: I have been hearing bad things about Colborne Lane. Clearly, after I slavered over it, the staff became overwhelmed. Apparently they still are. It probably doesn't help that chef Claudio Aprile and Hanif Harji, who own it, are getting ready to open Bar Crudo on Queen Street West in the summer
RIP: The delectable Lure, on Dupont at Avenue Road, has closed. Lalot, the lovely Asian resto on Bathurst north of Queen Street, has also closed. We mourn the demise of their drunken chicken, the best in Toronto.
COMING SOON: Simon Bower, who owned YYZ and before that Mercer Street Grill, has joined with chef Scot Woods (who did terrific work at Habitat on Queen Street, and trained at Avalon and Canoe) to open a restaurant in the Pravda Vodka space on Wellington Street East. Pravda is moving to a larger location. The Bower/Woods team plan to open by late August.
Joanne Kates