Coquine

http://www.coquinerestaurant.com/

Thinking about where to eat on a Sunday evening, it hit me I read about Coquine's live jazz Sundays. On top of that this place has been on my list for too long.

APPEARANCE

dark ruby, aged
A charming corner entrance with long black (rubber) curtains and a sign which reminds me of the Victorian ornaments on the Eiffel tower. You can feel a sense of prominence and finesse. The sign is shorter and more spaced out than the actual Coquine logo type. Overall, the wordmark has it's own style going on - tall, elegant with a high x-height, noticeable contrast between the strokes' thick and thins as well as a chic emphasis on the red Q.

NOSE

blackberry and cherry aroma, with a strange twist of citrus
We walked in, a jazz band was playing. We were taken care of a sat down in their dining area. It was not too busy. The music was a bit loud if we were to sit at the bar though.
I can't help but say that the entrance, the windows, the menus.. overall the place feels art noveau style (like privat-livemont posters) The highchairs at the front with the long shared tables are great, but then the dining section turns into - clean, simple, shiny tables and chairs with white walls, framed mirrors and odd Christmas lights.. a bit of a mismatch.

SWIRL

light plum taste, a bit earthy and tart

We sat at a small table by the window. The menus came, well organized but lacking white space - making them a bit of an overload to read. At the same time, style is kept consistent with black and red scheme, long typeface, art noveau frames, etc. As for the format, it was just a hard page menu front and back.
Throughout, we realized the jazz band was doing covers - one was a Bob Marley song. I kind of wish they just jammed their own thing or even just do some more lounge-jazz experimental stuff. And the way the stage was set up, there was a sense of distance from the band. Anyways, it was still pretty sweet to have live music.

PALATE

well-rounded, complex, slightly spicy
Before ordering, I did ask about their cheese plate. The waiter was not too enthusiastic  explaining it is three cheeses ( I swear he wanted to say: nothing too special). And so as we read on, cheri decided to go with the Grilled Sausage with Dijon Mustard and a Caesar Salad with his glass of Ripasso, while I took the very recommended Beet Gnocci with a glass of White Pinot Noir. Through his intonation and small words, really, the waiter managed to make us feel that our choices are great.
The gnocchi were cooked to perfection with a light gorgonzola cream sauce, wall nuts and beet pastry shells. I really should experiment with the right wine for this dish. As for the Ceasar Salad, it was topped with thin sliced Parmesan which made it so much better. The Sausage appetizers were also worth it, with a hot dijon dip. 

FINISH

medium-long, does offer potential to develop further
Everything felt better with time, we ate relatively slow and lingered on our wines. I need to work on expanding my tummy space to fit a three course meal.. I need to go back and try that french onion soup people talk about and perhaps their desserts.

overall.. an impressive, aged Pinot Noir with some space for improvement
 

Atomic

http://www.atomica.ca/

It's been too recommended, for me to miss this place out. Plus it sounded perfect for mon cheri's birthday, knowing his interest in Italian wines.

APPEARANCE
 clean, widespread
And so I made a reso days ahead. Tried changing the time, the same day but it was impossible, they are ridiculously busy. I just dropped off the cake earlier, and hoped for the best.
From the outside the place seems clean, geometric and organized. The word mark is horizontal and simple. There is a few places with a logo of an atom, believe the old one, thankfully it's not prominent.

NOSE
mishmash - many weak hints at ones
We came a tad earlier than our reservation. It was busy, we waited for 5min standing, the host offered us to sit next to some couple, while we waited.

It is a small, and cozy place. However we couldn't stop noticing the fluorescent wall behind the bar, which kept on changing colours. I felt like I am in a club and too many of the colours were clashing with the rest of the room..  it wasn't hard not to notice that the red-orange seconds of the light were the only appropriate ones. Even if one was to turn away from the bright wall, there is a lovely mirror on the wall across, reinforcing it.

SWIRL
unresolved, simple
They sat us at a booth, the place felt a bit rushed. We ordered two glasses of Primitivo-ca'del doge. Followed by a pizza we put together - salmon, sundered tomato, basil pesto cream, fior di latte, artichoke and onions. The waitress seemed stressed and distracted. They serves us some bread as we waited. We continued our discussion on what possible major our waitress is doing.


PALATE

easy to like, light, pleasing
Our pizza came quickly - small, thin-crusted but delicious.
I went to the washroom, checked on the waitress who was fully on board with bringing out the cake. Cheri didn't know what was coming, so I asked for the wine list again while he asked for the dessert menu.. the waitress looked at me and was confused. Made him feel inadequate, as he didn't understand why its so hard bring out a dessert menu.. I smiled and said yes, can you bring it out. We ordered two glasses of Prosecco. The waitress brought out a bottle, started opening it and its a good thing mon cheri spoke up and told her we only wanted two glasses. He entertained himself with the dessert menu while the waitress brought out the cake with two candles. I brought 24 more and the poor cake was fully lit by the time we finished putting them all on. He blew the candles, our waitress took the cake back and then cut two pieces for us.

FINISH
light and short
At the end, she brought back the cake fully packed. All the warnings I got that there was a fee on the service of serving the cake, was definitely worth it. We paid and left.
Honestly, perhaps I was too distracted by the event to really take a good look at the menu or even order anything apart from what cheri wanted. This place is worth visiting again in a few months, but not at a busy night with that hideous lit up wall.

overall..  a young Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc blend

Le Chien Noir

http://www.lechiennoir.com/

As much as my evening was all figured out for d'anniversaire de mon cheri I decided to try this place - rated as one of the best in Kingston - by myself for a late lunch. I figured I can't possibly pass by a french restaurant without checking its possibly of being decent..

APPEARANCE
dark, undecided
From the street, the light-brown wordmark, with shaking white outline seems dull, clumsy and careless - in contrast with the interior behind.

NOSE
strong and unwelcoming; hint of tobacco
Upon entering, the owner/manager (I believe) gave a look of what are you doing here. I felt out of place. He was sitting at the bar writing or calculating something and then decided to get a bit friendlier and asked if I wanted to be sat down. I said yes, and realized rather than sitting at a table by myself, I would much rather sit at the bar, if I can eat there. And so he gestured that I sit myself down.

SWIRL
heady, a bit spicy
Inside, the place seemed warm and a bit luxurious. As I sat down, I realized that feeling of warmth was not only due to the change of temperature next to the -15 outside but also because to the windows, incandescent lights, brick walls, a few plants and the smiling bartender. The luxurious part was from the few glass chandelier, the metal trendy bar area with high chairs and glasses with roses in them.

PALATE
high in tannin, nutty, complex
I looked through the menu. I ordered a glass of Paul Zinck pinot blanc. Quite a few interesting dishes to try. I asked about today's specials. They were on a chalkboard, and then that same manager decided to help me out, giving me the specials to look at on a page. And so I took an aperitif that sounded great - organic salmon, handcut duckfat fried chips, bacon, caramelized brussels sprouts with maple balsamic glaze. Before my glass of wine arrived, the bartender lay down a white cloth in a diamond shape with the cutlery on the side and a glass of water. Then asked if I would mind some bread. As I waited, it hit me that I didn't make the best meal-wine combo, but it was too late. My aperitif arrived and it tasted as good at it sounded. The salmon was coked with its skin, which actually was nice not to remove. The bartender checked on me a few times. We talked about the food. I realized my wine choice wasn't as bad as I thought, as the salmon was fresh and light.

FINISH
slightly sweet
Near the end I was curious to check if, like any decent French place, they have cheeses for dessert. And the answer was yes, the only problem was that I was running out of time and the combinations went from 3 to 7. They had a Tomme, which I was assured is actually from Alsace. The other 5 cheese were all from Quebec. They also had a few charcuterie choices. I figured I can perhaps come in and try them later on that evening. I was wished to have a good day a few times. My first impression of this place was
slowly fixed.

overall..  an an interesting Malbec

Pan Chanco

http://www.panchancho.com/

Randomly read about this place, as I planned a day in Kingston so I figured good pastries are always welcome in my stomach.

APPEARANCE
cold, off-white, clean
A big, a bit isolated building. Yellow and green paint (and many other coloured details); big windows; two lonely benches on the side; clean, sans-serif, uber-legible type.. to be honest I was expecting a cuter bakery, but this felt rather corporate, trying to be homey.



NOSE
crisp, mainstream
Baskets of breads, buns muffins, scones on the sides, by the windows, direct light (harsh shadows), white walls. No bread smell. A bit of a dark back bakery room seen, then a bar area, cash registers across. A fridge with cakes, pastries followed by a separation of a cheese fridge just before the back, sit down cafe.

SWIRL
citric, pungent
The back cafe felt cosier compared to the chaotic front. Small, warm lighting, back alley-view. I was sat down with me, myself and I at a cute corner table. Cutlery wrapped in colourful towels, all were different. A trendy, clean feel at the bar.

PALATE
yeasty, dry, herbaceous
Waiter instantly came to check on me. I asked for the herbal teas, picked a lime one. Once it came I realized it is a black tea and the waiter instantly saw my look and ran for a chamomile one. Asked for honey on the side, it was yummy.
I probably should've tried their yam fries, which a lady next to me had.. looked great and quite a few people had soups. But I really felt like breakfast so I went with their Weekender (eggs, bacon in a croissant, with cheddar or chives).. as it came, with a side of salsa-like sauce, I though I had confused the meal as it had no cheese, but looking back at the menu the cheddar and chives should've been on there. I honestly was a bit dissapointed, the croissant was nothing special and overall the meal was rather plain.
I blame my high expectations on croissants from the ones I had in France.. nothing seems to be able to live up to those - flaky, crispy, yet soft inside where you can almost peel every layer..
I did have their chocolate-almond croissant on my way out, which was not bad in terms of taste, but the texture and warmth was missing. Overall, fresh pastries should not be placed by the cold windows and near the exit.

FINISH
involved, short, simple
This place seems undecided.. not only feel-wise: homy-corporate, selling pastries as well as dairy and cheeses.. (trying to be a superstore) but also due to the fact that the cafe of this bakery probably has better lunch (non-bread) meals than breakfast ones. .. I would just like to go back, knowing its just an independent small restaurant not related to the bakery. They had a wine list to try out too.

overall..  an unresolved sauvignon blanc
(from a growing winery)