Dining Experience: Dinner
Venue: Atlantic
Specialty: Portuguese Fusion
Location: 1597 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON
Menu items: Littleneck Clam & Lobster Chowder, Trout Gravlax & Wakame Salad and Tartiflette. Paired with Vinho Verde.
Atlantic, formerly a family-owned Portuguese restaurant in the up and coming Ossington foodies area, is now home to Chef Nathan Isberg. Having worked the kitchen of Coca and Czehoski, Isberg has transformed this spot into an intimate, cozy and hip restaurant.
Using produce, low-fat/high protein meats and keeping in line with the area's Portuguese feel; the Atlantic features an array of fusion tapas-style dishes that will keep you fascinated with its unique use of ingredients.
With a similar fusion style thematic as Chef Susur Lee's Lee on King Street, Atlantic's Isberg offers a daily menu of 10-12 unique dishes inspired by European/Mediterranean staples. At any given day, you might find anything from Escargots to Risotto, Sardines and even Crickets. I guess this is what Isberg meant by low-fat/high protein meals.
Although we did not get the pleasure of being offered the crickets, we did decide on a very unique blend of its most popular items. On a cold winter day, soup seems like a no-brainier to kick-off a meal; Atlantic's Littleneck Clam and Lobster Chowder did the trick.
Notes of garlic, cream and paprika were present throughout this dish. The dish is called Littleneck as it refers to the size of the clams. In the shellfish hierarchy, littlenecks are the second smallest version of clams. Being as though this is more of a tapa, I can appreciate its use on this dish.
Atlantic, formerly a family-owned Portuguese restaurant in the up and coming Ossington foodies area, is now home to Chef Nathan Isberg. Having worked the kitchen of Coca and Czehoski, Isberg has transformed this spot into an intimate, cozy and hip restaurant.
Using produce, low-fat/high protein meats and keeping in line with the area's Portuguese feel; the Atlantic features an array of fusion tapas-style dishes that will keep you fascinated with its unique use of ingredients.
Although we did not get the pleasure of being offered the crickets, we did decide on a very unique blend of its most popular items. On a cold winter day, soup seems like a no-brainier to kick-off a meal; Atlantic's Littleneck Clam and Lobster Chowder did the trick.
Following the fishy route, we also decided to try the Trout Gravlax & Wakame Salad.
To keep Wikipedia alive, for those of you that don't know, Wakame salad is simply a seaweed salad sprinkled with sesame seeds, japanese style.
I have only described the first two dishes, and it seems I still have a long way to go. So bear with me as our next item, Tartiflette, will have you calling for reservations in a heartbeat.
Tartiflette at Atlantic is a potatoes, leek and cave-aged Gruyere cheese potato gratin infused with Riesling. The way in which Isberg is able to elevate the quality and tastiness of the ingredients is what took us to heaven once we tasted this dish. Cave-aged Gruyere is a matured 1-year-old Swiss cheese, secluded in the caves of kaltbach in Switzerland. The tartiflette infused with the Riesling, a german aromatic grape, made all the falvours come to life.
Certainly, none of this indulgence would have been better paired than with traditional Portuguese Vinho Verde, otherwise known as green wine. Vinho Verde is a type of grape found only in the region of Minho in the Northern part of Portugal. The name "green" comes from its youthfulness more so than its colour. In whites, its borderline like a sparkling wine with a fruity and acidic taste; while in reds the grapes used are deep red and tannic. Being that most dishes at Atlantic skip on the meat and charcuterie, this wine seems like an obvious choice for your tapas-style meal and I would highly recommend pairing your meal with it.
Certainly, none of this indulgence would have been better paired than with traditional Portuguese Vinho Verde, otherwise known as green wine. Vinho Verde is a type of grape found only in the region of Minho in the Northern part of Portugal. The name "green" comes from its youthfulness more so than its colour. In whites, its borderline like a sparkling wine with a fruity and acidic taste; while in reds the grapes used are deep red and tannic. Being that most dishes at Atlantic skip on the meat and charcuterie, this wine seems like an obvious choice for your tapas-style meal and I would highly recommend pairing your meal with it.
Note to reader: Atlantic's risotto or orzotto style dishes tend to be extremely salty following the Chef's preference. Therefore I would not recommend these if its your first time visiting.
Until next time Foodies.
Buen Provecho,
Foodies Inc.
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