Celebrated my 53rd birthday last night at Globe on Danforth:It was wonderful,special.

[marc Bernstein]

My sister,niece and nephew took me out to dinner last night at Globe on Danforth to celebrate my 53rd birthday. Everything about the Globe truly was a very special wonderful night. The food,service,atmosphere was extraordinary. I am astonished that this gem is not more known. I ordered their steak: medium rare,as asked,fries (golden) were so good. The steak, from Cumbrae Farms,aged and cooked with fine herbs,clarified butter,horseradish, which melted into the steak,giving it a mellow,very special flavor. we all shared, my sister ordered a whitefish dinner,with spinach,morel mushrooms,she said she can't recall having such extraordinary food ever. My niece had a risotto with mushrooms,a wonderful goat cheese sauce,though rich,we all agreed that too was beautifully prepared. My nephew ordered duck: haven't had duck this good in years. (I love duck,last time I had it,at Ler Select (before they moved,it was ok,nothing special,rather tough. We all shared desserts: though I'm a diabetic,it was a special night+a celebration. Their ice creams,made on the spot,mixed savory and sweet-unforgettable-flavors like Stawberry and Pepper,or Vanilla and Sage. I had a Tartufo: I have no words to describe it-except wow! A white chocolate shell,fresh ontario peaches,peach ice cream,caramel popcorn brittle. Had to be careful when I ate the caramel popcorn brittle-they're very hard-can break one's teeth. Coffee: I had decalf: better than most coffees. Local farming. Waiters,the staff,owner all looked after us,made us feel at home. My sister is a film executive in Toronto with Paramount: in her view,film stars would love the place. Quiet,sustainable farming,intelligent,non-fawning staff,in an old building (used to be a theatre) a bit out of the way. A separate,private upstairs dining room. I hope this place will receive more publicity. It deserves to be better known. I previously worked as chierf screening room projectionist for Famous Players for 28 years,so I did many screenings (private ones) for film stars. Marc Bernstein

[TorontoJo]

Nice review -- glad you enjoyed your dinner! Globe actually gets a lot of love on this board, so here at least, it gets plenty of publicity. It also has one of the best rooftop patios in the city -- great cocktails, too.

[JamieK]

Glad to hear you had such a great birthday dinner. Globe has never let me down. I think I have to try that whitefish dish.

[jrabbit2727]

I went to Globe for the first time during Summerlicious. Wasn't expecting much due to the mass prep and rushed seating that this event usually results in. But when it turned out that I needed to change a couple menu items due to food allergies, they did so with ease and didn't give me a lesser dish as a result. In one case, with a lobster salad, they actually made up something new for me on the spot that was lovely. That's good service in my books.

[atomeyes]

here's my "issue" with Globe:
the other night, me and the lady talked about going there for dinner.
after we read over their online menu and looked at the prices, it didn't excite us.
yes, i know a menu is a collection of nouns, adjectives and verbs all spliced together to paint a mental portrait of what the food is like...but Globe's menu doesn't seem to wow us.

someone please convince me I'm wrong so we end up eating there (if it indeed is worth it)

[foodyDudey]

Well if the original poster and all the other good reviews on this board haven't convinced you, I don't know if anything will. It's one of my favourite destinations in this part of town. What type of food do you like? There must be something on the menu that sounds interesting, no? This month, the "Canada's finest" main course is $20. Maybe you should call and see what's available as it changes every day.

[jayt90]

Reading the reviews here, and several from contributors I admire, I had to check out the Globe site
http://www.globebistro.com/hi/tabid/4...
No menu or prices. PIx show contrived elevated dishes, with a total of five splashes of sauce.
The food and service had better be good, or I too will only talk about going there.

[foodyDudey]

Hi Jayt90,

check the tab "eat" to see menu and prices. Here they are, but it's also available as a pdf on the site. (looks like only the LEFT side of the menu was able to be posted here, there's actually more on the menu)

FIRST

Canadian Oysters 3
“Wild & Mild”, Saskatoonberry mignonette, traditional garnish
Globe’s Featured Soup 9
Composed with the bounty of Ontario


Cumbrae’s Pork Belly 13
Red Fife crust, Ontario field rhubarb, Rosewood mead, smoked yellow pepper mustard, mustard greens
Ontario Asparagus Salad 12
Wild candied morels, fennel, hempseed oil emulsion, crispy hazelnut hen’s egg, Ewenity crème fraiche


Meat & Pickles 14
Juniper cured Ontario duck, smoked Haldimaid County Lamb, Second Wind Farms elk ham, wild leek & fiddlehead pickles, Malivoire grainy mustard
Yarmouth Lobster Tasting 15
Yuzu & orange lobster ceviche, lobster & pea salad, crispy vanilla lobster lollipop, Meyer lemon oil, vanilla, pink peppercorn


Tottenham Arctic Char “Candy” 12
Birch syrup cured smoked char, elk Saskatoonberry sausage, Cookstown black radish, mâche lettuce

SECOND

Canada’s Finest Plate
Showcasing the best that Canada has to offer
Georgian Bay Whitefish 25
Pea ginger purée, Nova Scotia seaweed soya bean salad, black mustard lemon essence


Yarmouth Sea Scallops 32
Fennel pollen sweetbreads, sugar snap peas, orange fennel soubise, rainbow Swiss chard, bacon whisky sabayon
Québec Magret Duck Breast 29
Confit cherry ravioli, organic baby carrots, black cardamom butter, espresso gastrique, lamb’s lettuce


Norfolk County Bone-In Pork Chop 27
Blue potato summer salad, zucchini, cipollini onions, double smoked bacon tomato relish
Slow Roasted Haldimaid County Lamb 32
Roast loin, cuit sous vide shoulder, apricot mint couscous, local New Zealand spinach, pine nuts


50 day Dry-Aged Cumbrae Farms Ribeye 35
Yukon gold frites, alderwood smoked salt, Northern Woods oyster mushrooms, golden beets, horseradish
Smoked Ricotta Gnocchi 19
Ratatouille, garlic confit, cherry tomato, watercress, Best Baa yogurt, rosemary salt

[jayt90]

Thanks for this. Eat comes up blank on my computer.

[bytepusher]

I really quite dislike the way Kevin the current chef writes his menu, every ingredient is listed even if it only winds up being 5 drops on the side of the plate. I much preferred the previous guy's approach to writing the menu which was a more simple focus on the main components of the dishes.

But here's the thing, the food is the real deal, yes the plating and garnishes can get a little silly sometimes but the core dishes are fantastic, for example I think the twice cooked (24 hours sous vide follow by a quick grill char) skirt steak paired with blue cheese foam is probably the best single dish I've had in a restaurant in Toronto in a year or so (unfortunately this exact combination isn't currently on the menu, but the steak is often the core of the "Canada's Finest" special) and the service is excellent. The menu changes constantly (as it should in a place that claims to focus on fresh and local, a claim that they delivery pretty well on)

[phoenikia]

atomeyes, I actually like that the descriptions don't paint too much of a "mental portrait".

In my experience, most food in TO doesn't live up to the descriptions listed on menus.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed dishes at Globe, and I like their straightforward approach in their descriptions on the menu. Even if the ingredient is a minor element in the dish- whether the ingredient be caraway, grapefruit, schmaltz or anything else, I want to know about it.

That being said, I've liked my dinners better than my Sunday brunches at the Globe.