401392 Mon May 14 10:12:48 -0700 2007 11 23 Ontario (including Toronto) 0 2568111 This is my first time posting so sorry if this topic has been covered. I was in Salzburg and Vienna a year ago during spargel season and couldn't get enough. Now I'm craving. The only place I've ever had them in Toronto is the dearly departed Cafe Brussel. Does anyone know of any decent reasonably priced restaurants in TO serving white asparagus? Mon May 14 10:12:49 -0700 2007 98493 JamieK 1 2568141 I don't necessarily recommend the place but... Bier Markt has a white asparagus festival. I can see it on the right side bar although the website is not really working for me to check out the details http://www.thebiermarkt.com Mon May 14 10:20:55 -0700 2007 2568111 12120 julesrules 1 2597457 I feel your craving, JamieK! :-) I lived in Spain for a while and cannot tell you how much I sometimes crave their soft white asparagus on my "ensalada mixta" (mixed green salad topped with white asparagus, onions, juicy tomatoes, chunks of tender tuna and sliced up boiled eggs). Deeeee-lish! Thanx to julesrules for the scoop on that asparagus festival. I had no idea and will check out that site... Wed May 23 22:37:12 -0700 2007 2568111 100044 cava_girl 2 2599536 I went with a friend to the Bier Markt and had some white asparagus and it was good but only because my craving was making me desperate. The dish we had didn't really measure up to the spargel we had in Europe. And pricey. I had the steamed white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, I think there was about a dozen spears for $16, some of them were kinda of tough and stringy and the sauce was really thick. It wouldn't just pour out of the little jug, you had to scoop it out. Is hollandaise supposed to be that thick? We didn't want to sit on the patio because of the cig smoke, and we didn't want the dining room because we just wanted to snack, so we sat at a table in the back in the bar area and that wasn't a great atmosphere either, with these direct spotlights shining down into our eyes. Also had the frites and weren't impressed with them either. The beer was good though. That ensalada mixta sounds delicious! My mouth watered when I read your description! Thu May 24 14:40:19 -0700 2007 2597457 98493 JamieK 3 2600139 Oh, that's too bad, JamieK. Sorry that it was disappointing.. Thanx for posting this and saving me the time and money. Yes, the ensalada mixta is simple but soooo good when using really fresh ingredients -- definitely worth making one yourself [once you've found some worthy white asparagus, of course!]. :-) Thu May 24 17:56:20 -0700 2007 2599536 100044 cava_girl 1 2606717 Just an update here: I found white asparagus on the amazing menu at Cava. I shouldn't have been surprised, since they're all about authentic Spanish tapas with a modern twist [and the Spaniards are big on white asparagus]. The dish is "Veal sweetbreads with white asparagus and caper sauce". Unfortunately, no one at our table was into sharing sweetbreads, so I didn't have a chance to order it -- but maybe next time. This is now one of my new favourite restaurants. The food was incredible. I'll write up a review soon.... Here's the menu: http://www.cavarestaurant.ca/DinnerMenu.pdf We did order the "Asparagus a la plancha with lemon-pepper aioli". They were green asparagus, in this case, but they were mouth watering. Sun May 27 17:58:47 -0700 2007 2568111 100044 cava_girl 2 2606787 Thanks so much for this, I actually work near Yonge & St. Clair and didn't realize this place existed. Cava must be in the space that the old Delisle Court Wine Bar and Restaurant (or something like that) used to ben in? Sun May 27 18:34:00 -0700 2007 2606717 98493 JamieK 3 2606831 My pleasure! It's definitely in Delisle Court, but I'm not sure which venue it replaced. Yonge & St. Clair is not an area that I frequent on the weekends [I live downtown], but I like the area and it's definitely worth venturing over there for Cava. Just beware that the white asparagus doesn't seem to be on their lunch menu [in case you were thinking of a weekday work lunch, which would have been a great option]. Sun May 27 18:59:22 -0700 2007 2606787 100044 cava_girl 1 2606920 I just had dinner at Splendido tonight and ordered a generous portion of white asparagus in Hollandaise sauce for appertizer from their Table D'Hote menu. You should give it a try! Sun May 27 19:57:30 -0700 2007 2568111 58068 yellowjello 1 2609106 Thuet is offering a special white asparagus menu. Mon May 28 20:36:07 -0700 2007 2568111 48505 deelicious 1 2609568 Thuet has an 'Asparagus theme' menu currently which includes using the white ones. However, whether one regard Thuet as a reasonably priced restaurant is up for debate Tue May 29 05:50:46 -0700 2007 2568111 10810 Charles Yu 2 2609653 Sorry. I missed the "reasonably priced part". Some items are better priced than others at thuet so I would still recommend checking their online menu. Tue May 29 06:53:08 -0700 2007 2609568 48505 deelicious