This year Summerlicious is taking place from July 4th to 20th. With major food events in Toronto like Summerlicious and Winterlicious, it's always hit-or-miss. Sometimes you'll find a fantastic restaurant with great food (and for a great price!) that you may not have thought of trying otherwise; other times, you'll walk into a place expecting something delicious, only to be disappointed by a sub-par meal. Luckily,
Midi Bistro (168 McCaul St.) definitely fell into the former category of being
fantastic for us this time around.
C and I decided to grab some lunch before heading to an Irish pub for the FIFA World Cup Final match between Germany and Argentina, and ended up at Midi. To start, she got the Tomato Salad (mixed greens, tomato, bocconcini, olive oil & balsamic reduction) and I got the Beef Carpaccio (with caspers, Asiago, lemon & olive oil).
We were both really impressed by how well-prepared both appetizers were. The beef carpaccio was especially great; it was just the right level of thin (pounded?), not drippy with rawness, and the flavours blended together wonderfully.
On the server's recommendation, we both ordered the Seafood Pasta as the main - fettuccine with bay scallops, black tiger shrimp, roasted red peppers, spinach and white wine rosé sauce. It was good, for sure, but the appetizer and desert were spectacular, so...
We decided to order different deserts so that we could share and each try both. I went for the vanilla & cardamom crème brûlée, while she decided to tackle the poached* pears (served with vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce).
Both were extremely worthy choices. The crème brûlée was perfectly crisped on top, and luxuriously smooth beneath. Probably one of
the best crème brûlées either of us have ever had - absolutely divine. The pears were pretty close to perfect too - just the right degree of substance, enough texture to be interesting, and not overly sweet. The ice cream and chocolate were the perfect complement.
In addition to the scrumptious food, our server was very nice, and the atmosphere was decidedly cute in a quaint way. All in all, an awesome meal. Would definitely recommend trying Midi.
*The menu actually lists this desert item as "parched pears" but presumably that's a typo...
