The set up of the restaurant was nice.  It was simple, clean lines, not squeezed together.  When we first arrived, as has been our experience in the past, the restaurant only had maybe 4 patrons.  But before the end of the night – which lasts about 4 hours when we have our supper club, they had turned over every table at least twice.  We were very impressed.  And everyone appeared to get the same attentive care that we got.  Now we did have more attention from the staff in general, but they felt compelled by our sincere love of the food.

We actually had 2 waiters that night.  We started off with one waiter, and at some point another waiter took over.  It was almost seamless except that the personalities of the two waiters were so different.  The second waiter was definitely more suited to our own personalities.  Everyone was very hospitable.  We met the owners, and the chef – who seemed quite young but VERY skilled!  The food here was second to none.  Absolutely incredible.  I will definitely be going back another time to sample what dishes I didn’t have room for.  Everything here is made in house – even the bread.  Now that’s my kind of restaurant.

Our order consisted of seared fois gras on a brioche with a blueberry balsamic vinaigrette, bison short rib braised with mustard and molasses, pumpkin ravioli, and mushroom risotto.  The risotto was so creamy, flavourful, hearty and just the best risotto I’ve ever had.  For dessert we had a delectable carrot cake with white chocolate cheesecake layered in between.  It was so original, delicious and made in house!  Everything we ate gave us the “party in our mouths” feeling.  I didn’t want to stop eating but I had no where else to put any more!

Everything about this place made it the new standard by which we would judge future establishments.  The ambiance was perfect – clean, well lit, cozy yet spacious.  The staff and service was incredible.  They were knowledgeable and very pleasant.  My final words on the food are simply outstanding.  The portions were very large, the flavours were unique and pleasing, and the presentation was very appealing and well thought out.  If you ever get the chance, you must eat at Bloom!

Usually our supper club is on a Wednesday night, although sometimes we have to reschedule – it happens.  We went to Madeline’s on a Wednesday night, around 6pm – and it was pretty dead inside.  There was maybe one other table that was seated.  Naturally we were a bit hesitant – but it was 6pm in the middle of the week.  Well, before long the entire restaurant was packed.  That’s always a good sign. 

We were so excited about this place since it’s a restaurant that’s part of the famous chef Susur Lee’s collection.  I remembered seeing a bio of him on the Food Network and was so impressed by his concepts about food (fusion of Asian and European cuisines), as well as his ability to survive some of the hardships that occurred in his life.  So we get to the restaurant, and it’s pretty dark and cozy – bright coloured velour fabrics, but in a dimly lit environment – softened it nicely.  The staff was phenomenal.  They were very attentive, and well trained.  Every dish that was brought to our table was well presented and explained by the staff…and it wasn’t always our waiter delivering the dishes, but they all knew what they were supposed to say.  Very well done.

With every dish that arrived, we took our time before digging in.  We assessed the presentation in the plate, devoured it with our eyes, and then took a very concentrated bite.  That first bite is so important – it really establishes whether or not you’re going to enjoy the rest of the dish.   This restaurant did not disappoint.  The food was incredible, and so was the wine!  So what did we have??

Homemade garlic potato chips, fois gras and chicken liver pate, Crispy garlic Cornish hen with  gorgonzola cheese sauce and sautéed apple, Slow cooked pork bellywith celery root, potato, cilantro seedling and currant jam.  For dessert. vanilla custard fried in a coconut crusted phyllo pastry.  The appetizers were all divine.  The description for the cornish hen was misleading since we believed it would be the entire bird – but it was only a few drumsticks.  The pork belly was over cooked and a bit dry which was so sad since I was really looking forward to that dish.  The dessert was just heavenly.  A unique combination with great results.  While the portions were a bit smaller scale, they got full marks for presentation and flavour.

At the end of the night, we were thoroughly impressed.  We felt for the first restaurant, we made a choice worthy of our special club.  We would probably go back there one day – but there’s so many more places to explore…