633748 Fri Jul 03 12:11:20 -0700 2009 7 23 Ontario (including Toronto) 0 4827631 Usually I avoid Summerlicious but decided to try it since I live not too far. This was the first day for it, and I had a really nice lunch for $20. The starter was a cold beet soup with balsamic gelatin cubes which was sweet and refreshing. For the main, I decided on the skirt steak, twice-cooked. It came with a small salad and potato sticks (haystacks). The meat was really tender -- the server explained that they cook it sous-vide for for hours then pan sear. The dessert was the highlight. I had the Eton Mess, which is a black pepper raspberry soup with sweet cream and meringue. The sweetness of the topping really complemented the tanginess of the soup. It's the same menu with a few additions for dinner. I've heard so many horror stories about Summerlicious, I was hesitant about going, but I had a nice experience. The staff were very accomodating, even if it was obvious people were dining there just because of Summerlicious. Fri Jul 03 12:11:20 -0700 2009 54667 merlot143 1 4827918 Thanks for posting. I'm going on July 18th and looking forward. I too have never done the Summerlicious thing...but the Globe menu looked good and I've never been. Curious - were you with a companion and if so, what did they have? I don't eat dairy or meat, so would be interested in some of the other options. Fri Jul 03 14:54:47 -0700 2009 4827631 167313 jrabbit2727 2 4828394 Unfortunately it looked like a lot of the dishes, from appetizer to dessert, had dairy ex. cream or cheese. I had lunch alone, so I can't tell you about the other dishes. Even the beet soup had a taste-worthy cream dollop on top. If I didn't have my steak, I would have had the lobster salad, which is a la carte, not Summerlicious. It was a nicoise salad with lobster and bit of other seafood and looked very tasty from where I sat. Fri Jul 03 19:58:53 -0700 2009 4827918 54667 merlot143 2 4828437 specialty menus for vegans or vegetarians or allergies are hard for chefs to create for these mega-food festivals Fri Jul 03 20:27:25 -0700 2009 4827918 111770 robgm 3 4829206 Not really looking for a speciality menu - I know how hard it is to request this during a promotion. All I hope is that they can leave out any dairy - eg - the beet soup without the dollop of cream would work just fine for me. When I called to reserve I specifically asked if they were open to this kind of thing and the person on the phone said yes.....I guess we will see in 2 weeks! Sat Jul 04 09:08:25 -0700 2009 4828437 167313 jrabbit2727 4 4830758 Have you looked Globe's Summerlicious menu? I think you will be able to find something you can eat on that menu. Summerlicious Menu $20 Lunch plus taxes and gratuity New Farms Beet Gazpacho (vegetarian) Kozlik’s triple crunch chantilly, compressed cucumber, white balsamic jelly or Organic Baby Carrot Salad (vegetarian) Parsley leaves, chili cashews, ginger raisin coulis or Dry Aged Ontario Beef Carpaccio Smoked cocoa rub, herb salad, Fifth Town Fellowship goat’s cheese Cumbrae’s Twice Cooked Skirt Steak Smoked haystack potatoes, pickled shallot, grape tomato, organic spinach, Geai Bleu butter or Seared Arctic Char Double smoked bacon, haricots verts, tomato concassé, aged sherry vinaigrette, lemon long pepper dust or Northern Woods Mushroom Tart (vegetarian) Eggplant caviar, Quebec chèvre, filberts, scallion baby arugula salad, orange essence “Eton Mess” (vegetarian) Ontario strawberries, baked meringue, Grand Marnier cream, black pepper soup or Dark Chocolate Torte (vegetarian) Meadowview honey, smoked chili mousse or Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta (vegetarian) Niagara apricot compote, pistachio dust -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $35 Dinner plus taxes and gratuity New Farms Beet Gazpacho (vegetarian) Kozlik’s triple crunch chantilly, compressed cucumber, white balsamic jelly or Organic Baby Carrot Salad (vegetarian) Parsley leaves, chili cashews, ginger raisin coulis or Dry Aged Ontario Beef Carpaccio Smoked cocoa rub, herb salad, Fifth Town Fellowship goat’s cheese or Maple Smoked Lake Erie Whitefish Fresh pea dandelion slaw, Niagara Ice Wine vinaigrette Cumbrae’s Twice Cooked Skirt Steak Smoked haystack potatoes, pickled shallot, grape tomato, organic spinach, Geai Bleu butter or Seared Arctic Char Double smoked bacon, haricots verts, tomato concassé, aged sherry vinaigrette, lemon long pepper dust or Northern Woods Mushroom Tart (vegetarian) Eggplant caviar, Quebec chèvre, filberts, scallion baby arugula salad, orange essence or Crusted Ontario Duck Breast Thunder Oak celery root gratin, zucchini, purple basil shoots, Cherry Avenue Farms cinnamon cherry relish “Eton Mess” (vegetarian) Ontario strawberries, baked meringue, Grand Marnier cream, black pepper soup or Dark Chocolate Torte (vegetarian) Meadowview honey, smoked chili mousse or Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta (vegetarian) Niagara apricot compote, pistachio dust Sun Jul 05 08:32:34 -0700 2009 4829206 41175 foodyDudey 5 4831811 Appreciate your help - but I don't eat dairy and most if not all of the things you indicated as vegetarian have butter, cream or cheese in them. That said - I don't expect it to be a problem - most restos are good about leaving out the cream etc when asked unless its pre prepared. Sun Jul 05 18:23:22 -0700 2009 4830758 167313 jrabbit2727 1 4830723 I had nearly the same meal, but with the panna cotta for dessert. I really enjoyed it, and also found the staff to be really great. Sun Jul 05 08:07:37 -0700 2009 4827631 286442 eatravel