I have 73 friends on Facebook. I’m not bragging, I’m telling you because I find it weird. I really don’t have 73 friends; they are acquaintances that for some bizarre reason I share parts of my life with every day. Of course, some of these friends are people I really hang out with, so the sharing is done face to face on the most part. But then there are the friends on FB with whom I never get together, don’t live in the same hood, don’t talk to on the phone, don’t run into at the gym, grocery store or even the library.
One of these friends is a food photographer about whom I’ve shared information with you before, Jim Norton. I met Jim through work, our studio used to shoot with him regularly; our clients have changed and we just don’t shoot at his studio that often anymore. Jim and his wife Tonya live close to our hood and both are regularly active on FB, posting updates every now and then. Jim has posted updates a couple of times on FB about The Westerly, a relatively new restaurant in our hood. As you know, JT and I like trying out new places so we made a reservation for Friday night. During cocktails on Thursday, I had an epiphany so messaged Jim and Tonya on FB if they wanted to join us, after all, we’ve been sharing about our lives, we might as well get to know one another ;-). They said yes and we updated our reservation to four!
The Westerly is a restaurant with a relaxing West Coast vibe and refined comfort food (described by Amy Pataki from the Toronto Star). For me, it’s more Paris Bistro meets LES NYC (Lower East Side, New York City). It’s not a huge restaurant, but large enough that the vibe was great and the noise level moderate. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with our reservation change and we forgot to take a name, but the staff (and owner) were quick to accommodate, even though they were packed! They sat us at a cozy table near the back which was great because we needed to get acquainted with our FBFs!
We were immediately served Arancini Bolognese (Arborio rice, Woolwich Dairy Goats Cheese, Bolognese and fresh arugula) as a gift for the mix-up. Arancini are deep fried rice balls. Now most of you know that I am not a huge deep fried eater, never have been, but I must say they were DELICIOUS! Crispy on the outside, creamy and smooth on the inside. Very tasty indeed. Our drink orders were taken and we were left to ponder the menu (which is not huge, but it has a nice variety). Three of us at the table shared a bottle wine, which they brought and poured immediately. The cocktail (some kind of whiskey mix) took quite a bit longer to arrive; other than that, the service was great, and our dishes were nicely spaced giving us time to chat and enjoy the company.
JT and I shared the Butter Lettuce & Gorgonzola which had toasted Walnuts, sherry marinated Red onions and julienne dates (I didn’t get any of the dates, hmmmm?). JT and Jim both ordered Braised Short Ribs, red wine braised, roasted cippolini onions, horseradish mashed potato, marinated golden beets, roasted brussels sprouts — they said it was delicious; Tonya and I had the Steak frites, which was grilled strip loin with bearnaise butter & jus served on house-cut frites (I asked my fries be replaced with a salad, which they quite happily did!). The steak was nicely done (I prefer mine rare) and the butter was a very tasty addition (I just let it melt into the steak for a bit and then set it off to the side). The fries were substituted with fresh crisp greens, shaved fennel, radish, toasted pumpkin seeds, red wine vinaigrette, very yummy.
The dinner lasted just about 2.5 hours! The restaurant was as busy at 10:00 as it was at 7:30 when we arrived! We invited Jim and Tonya back to our place for dessert and coffee and more wine. It really was a lovely evening and now I can truly say I have two more friends!
Overall rating of The Westerly (in my opinion): Decor 4/5, service 4/5, food 4/5, Value 4/5, Noise: 2.5/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet).
Disclaimer: We purchased our meal for full price and my opinions just that, my opinions.
I love those long drawn out dinners. Sounds really fun.
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This sounds like such a fun place! And I just love that you invited a friend from Facebook. What a great idea! 🙂
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I love when a place knows how to make you special, even when a mix up occurred. This place just sounds wonderful. And I totally knew what you meant when you said : LES NYC”
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Thanks Kay, we’ll be heading to LES in May, can hardly wait.
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It all sounds delicious. I haven’t tried Arancini but I am so curious now, after your description of it, will try it out soon. Will I get it at an Italian restaurant?
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Hi Asmita, yes it is an Italian specialty, you could find a version on Manu’s Menu blog http://www.manusmenu.com/arancine.
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Those arancini sound like they were perfectly made. I”m not at all impressed by restaurants with huge menus. I prefer a much more restrained menu and believe those few dishes presented will more likely be expertly prepared. The Westerly sounds like a place I would enjoy. Best of all, beyond the seating, the arancini, the food and drinks, you departed company as friends. How cool is that?
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Really cool, John! And not just new friends but another good place to eat in the hood!
You are absolutely right about a small, concise menu; much better to cook 20 things really well.
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Reading about steak frites always makes me want to eat steak frites…
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So true, Sharyn.
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Wow – that sounds delicious! I remember living in Sicily – Arancini was one of the first things I had and they are amazing!
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So cool Ann! I’m going to make sure I have it in Italy this fall.
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Aaaaaaaaah, steak frites 😀 Sounds lovely.
I periodically have a “cull” of my FB contacts, scrolling through thinking “wow, I barely even know you – I haven’t said a word to you online or offline in 3 years”.
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It’s a very strange place, FB is! Not sure what to make of it, Charles. It will be interesting to see what happens to it in 20 years.
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I would have gladly paid to have taken anyone’s place at that dinner table. Sounds like it was a wonderful outing. 🙂
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Thanks Jed, it was very nice indeed.
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