Eatdrink #42 July/August 2013

№ 42 | July/August 2013
and seasonal house-made specialties, and
sometimes but not always, meals served at
communal tables.
Designed by Aziza Chaouni and crafted
by architectural students from the University
of Toronto, the furniture at Monforte on
Wellington is made from reclaimed wood
and donated pallets, contributing to a
hand-crafted décor of mostly recycled and
repurposed materials. The brightly coloured
upholstered benches add a touch of pizazz
and accentuate the whitewashed walls. The
ceilings are high with interesting spiderlike
fixtures with bare bulbs and a large
picture window faces the street. The kitchen
is open to the dining room and there is a
passageway beside the kitchen leading to a
35-seat courtyard with umbrellaed tables for
al fresco dining.
The 35-seat main dining room has a
sophisticated straightforward charm with
a “We’ve got to get ourselves back to the
garden” vibe. There are two or three main
chalkboard features each day, prepared
from what is seasonal, local, foraged and
fermented. Many of the products are made
in-house or sourced from community
farms and artisans. On one visit we sat on
the terrace and the kitchen staff delivered a
pair of cheese and charcuterie boards. They
provided us with a friendly in-depth tutorial
about the provenance of each ingredient.
The rich and flavourful charcuterie
included a mound of perfect fatty cubed
pancetta, a succulent slab of savoury
headcheese (which brought back memories
of my grandmother’s kitchen), and farmer
David E. M. Martin’s pancetta served
with house-made crackers and tiny
pots of honey, mustard and red pepper
jelly. A selection of luscious, earthy and
creamy cheese on offer included Piacere
— Monforte’s own take on the classic
French cheese Fleur du Maquis and a
creamy Black Sheep rolled in vegetable
ash. True Blue, made with Sunnivue Farm’s
water buffalo milk, was firm, salty and
herbaceous. Klahsen’s philosophy is to
“use only seasonal milk from humanely
treated animals” for her cheese. The cheese
selection varies depending on availability.
I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with
both fresh cheese curd and Paridiso. A
variation on the classic Italian Taleggio, this
semi-soft, washed rind cheese has a piquant
bite. Wild leeks, sometimes called ramps,
The seasonal menu always includes two or three
chalkboard features, such as a seared trout with beluga
lentils, wild leek scapes, and radish pods (third photo
from the top). The cheese and charcuterie boards are
popular choices, augmented with hand-crafted crackers
and tiny pots of honey, mustards and jellies.
made a delicious and pungent pesto that was
the perfect accompaniment to the sandwich.
Dandelion greens with rhubarb vinaigrette,
Soiled Reputation organic greens with wild
leek vinaigrette and a silky asparagus soup
have also vied for my attention.
We loved the rich, buttery water buffalo
ice cream that can be ordered with either a