Cubed Celebs

I <3 Cava

As per usual, it’s been a rough few weeks, so Denise and I decided that we’d treat ourselves to a nice meal at Cava this past Wednesday. For the food nerds out there, Cava is the newest venture from former Avalon chef, Chris McDonald.

To set the scene a bit, Cava is billed as a “casual tapas place.” Nevertheless when I made the reservation on OpenTable.com, the dress code said “business casual.” I suppose tapas tastes better when one is adorned in sensible separates from Banana Republic.

Denise and I haul our assess to Yonge and St. Clair (a hop, skip and an annoying bus ride through the never-ending St. Clair streetcar lane debacle, away from chez moi.) The dining room was not big and the lighting was only okay. However our waiter was a cutie and he had a sexy Spanish accent.

Denise started off with a nice Cava Cocktail (the girl can’t stay away from bitters) and I had a nice Cava Daiquiri. My drink came with the mix on the side. There was a piece of pineapple in the glass with the booze. Those of you who know me well, know that I like a stiffer drink that most. However this piece of pineapple was so boozy, that I could not finish chewing it. I actually had to spit it out, it was that boozy.

Here is what we had:

PINCHOS OF RAPINI, WHITE BEAN & MANCHEGO
This was essentially good bread, topped with a white bean purée, a piece of rapini and shavings of Manchego (last year’s hip cheese.) This is one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. I am soooo making this at home.

CHARCUTERIA
A meat platter composed of pâté, salami, chrizo and buffalo bresaola. The pâté and salami melted in your mouth, while the chorizo and the bresaola was a nice shock to the taste buds.

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH GREEN ONIONS, FINGERLING POTATOES & HAZELNUT ROMESCO
I am normally pretty nervous to order octopus as it is almost always rubbery. Nevertheless, we took the risk. I am so glad we did because it was fanfuckingtastic. You will not taste octopus that is this tender.

WILD MUSHROOM & FRESH CORN TAMAL WITH AN ANCHO CHILE SAUCE
Don’t order this. It was only so-so. The tamale was a bit stiff and the flavours not as bold. Had the other dishes not been so outstanding, this wouldn’t have seemed so mediocre.

FORTY-EIGHT HOUR BEEF CHEEKS
This was the star of the show. I have never had beef cheeks in a non-French restaurant. These were outstanding. Soft, moist and full of good flavour. More beef cheeks!

Accompanying our meal was a nice half litre of sangria. There was so much on the menu that we didn’t order, that practically guaranteed a return visit. Next time I’m going whole hog and ordering the PORKY BEANS WITH CRISPY BRAISED PORK BELLY.

Read a proper review of Cava over here.