The new kid in town?

Last weekend I finally had plans with a girlfriend of mine whom I haven't seen since my birthday - which was in September. We were going to an event on Queen Street and since we both met up right after work, we were looking for a place to grab a bite to eat, and more importantly, a bottle of wine. After walking along for a few minutes, enjoying the fresh air and a few cigarettes, we stumbled upon a dark, sexy looking place with dim lights and what looked to be a stocked bar. Why not?

After we walk in, a very nice gentleman takes our coats and shows us to our seats. The place is very well decorated, they're playing a fantastic playlist. The menu is projected on the back wall a la slideshow and the dishes sound superb. I'm fairly new to this 'fine dining' thing, I'm more than content with some honey garlic chicken wings and a pint of Steamwhistle. But this place was something else.

It was called BarChef. This new kid in town apparently joined the Queen Street neighbourhood in December. Right between Spadina and Bathurst.

We were greeted with some sort of a concoction that consisted of what resembled three tapioca pearls and a lot of foam. The foam was said to be lime flavoured and we 'had to take it all in one gulp, hold it in our mouth for a few seconds, then swallow.' I'm sorry? With the waiter watching? These little spoonies were quite large and if I'm going to be gulping unknown substances, I'd rather not have some stranger's eyes on me the whole time, thank you very much.

One one, two, three - we both down the mixture, hold it in for three seconds and swallow. WOW! The lemon/lime foam mixed with the pearls to create the most amazing taste and miraculously shrunk in my mouth and ended up being a small teaspoon of heaven.

That's one of the things BarChef is said to be know for, as explained to us by our server Gordon. BarChef focuses on 'molecular mixology' - they're not just bartenders over there. According to Martiniboys.com, BarChef mixologists are "working with a product called Textura, produced by a Spanish restaurant called Elbouli, Solarik [one of the owners and mixologists at BarChef] creates bubbles, kind of like an egg yolk, that explode in your mouth."

Three phenomenal dishes (and two bottles of wine) later, we can't stop talking about this place! Amazing service, mouthwatering food and a beverage list that will make anyone choose to cab it home - you'll definitely see me at BarChef again.

**photos courtesy of barcheftoronto.com