Amy guest writes about a night at the 1010 Bistro

Last Saturday evening, Kath and I were on our own for dinner as Mick and Mark were attending a bowling banquet. We got all dressed up, hopped in a cab, and went to pay a visit to our favourite restaurant, the 1010 Bistro.

The food and wine are amazing, the ambience and décor are warm and sophisticated, but what keeps us coming back is the amazing hospitality shown by Lee, Daniela and the rest of the staff. We always have a wonderful time and they bring the whole experience to life.

"Festive!"

For starters, Kath and I both ordered the soup. Lee described it as “two soups in one”: one half was split pea and the other half was a zippy red pepper soup. This was probably the most unusual soup I’ve ever eaten, but it was delicious.

Following the soup, Kath had grilled calamari and I had crab cakes. As usual, both were top-notch. The 1010 has the best crab cakes anywhere – you must try them!

"An amazing seafood wine!"

With our appetizers, we ordered a bottle of 2006 Bouchard Pere & Fils Petit Chablis. This is a wine we’ve had before and Mark has written a lot about it (http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/02/saturday-night-happy-40th-buddy.html), so I won’t spend much time here. It was excellent with the calamari and crab cakes, and went surprisingly well with the soup.

"The ladies both raved about this wine..."

For our main course, we both ordered one of the special offerings for the evening, which was a tenderloin with a blue cheese crust and tomato pesto sauce served with potatoes and asparagus. It was fantastic. The blue cheese melted over the top, taking away some of the sharpness of the cheese. Absolutely heavenly.

With the tenderloin, Kath ordered a bordeaux-style red called Cain Five. It was a great match with the food – very smooth, yet complex. I’ll admit that this part of the evening started to get a little imprecise in my memory so I can’t give you a very accurate description of the wine, except I remember it was very good. (Helpful, I know!)

The Wine Spectator had this to say about it -

Cain Five Napa Valley 2003, Rating - 84, Release price - $110

Creamy oak, dried currant and loamy earth flavors are intense, concentrated and, given the narrow flavor profile, well-proportioned. Ends with dry, herbal tannins. Decant. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Drink now through 2012. 5,917 cases made. –JL

For dessert, I played it safe and ordered the flourless chocolate cake, while Kath ordered a new menu item – raspberry demme freddo in a dark chocolate cup. I apologize if I butchered the spelling of this dessert, however it was definitely the winner of the evening. It was a semi-frozen raspberry mousse and it was creamy and delicious. I was jealous!

Kath finished off the evening with a glass of 20-year old Taylor Fladgate port, while I tried to sort out how to call 525-BLUE on my new Blackberry which doesn’t have the letters above the numbers! (Note to self: program Blueline’s phone number into address book on phone.)

The boys told us that we didn’t miss much at the bowling banquet where the food was being served out of tin foil trays. Their night wrapped up just after 7pm, while we stumbled home sometime shortly before midnight. Who had the better time? You be the judge.

All in all it was a great evening with a great friend.

- Amy