That's The Bomba!

Edulis is a new Spanish-inspired restaurant taking over from Niagara Street Cafe at Niagara and Wellington. Run by local husband-and-wife chefs Michael Caballo (Niagara Street Cafe) and Tobey Nemeth (J.K. Wine Bar) after their return from travelling overseas for the last couple of years. I ordered the 5-course $50 Carte Blanche menu on Thursday night.

Olive amuse

Red Fife bread

First up was some complementary Red Fife bread, baked in house, and some plumb olives. The bread was full and soft with a nice crust, doing a wonderful job soaking up the lightly flavoured butter. The olive added a touch of tart bitterness. The first course was warm Big Eye tuna with grape tomatoes, shiso, and snow peas. The tuna was tender, mild, and tasted more like good steak than fish. The shiso and veggies contributed a refreshing mintiness. A great start to the meal.

Big Eye tuna

Mussels and Berkshire pork

The second course was mussels, parsley, smoked Berkshire pork and romesco. This was another excellent dish with the mussels having a slightly firm chewiness. The romesco paste was nutty and buttery and the pork gave a smoky salt flavour to the whole dish. Some people may balk over the parsley stems but I wasn't bothered by them.

The third course comprised of glazed veal sweetbread, baby leek, crushed potatoes, and pumkin seeds. I liked the non-meat components but thought the organ meat was a mis-step. It alternated between pieces that were too strongly earthy and others that were blandly chewy. The sweetbread did not match up to the flavour profile of the previous dishes on the one hand, and was too heavy leading in to the main dish on the other hand.

Glazed sweetbread

Rabbit and chorizo paella

For the main dish, I had pre-order a paella plate. Unlike typical paella which usually includes the typical shrimp, mussels, and so on, Edulis uses seasonal ingredients. So for this evening, I was presented with a rabbit and chorizo paella. The bomba rice was juicy and soaked in oil, slightly crusty from the pan heat. The rabbit was tender and the sausage was excellent. A great dish, but perhaps too indulgently rich for regular consumption.

Golden plum ice cream

Baba au rhum

Desserts came in two forms. One, a baba au rhum and two, a golden plum ice cream with sugar cookie. I didn't take to the cake at first glance, as it looked like soggy Sara Lee pound cake with a side of Miracle Whip. The reality was better: Appleton rum, sugar, salt, and tiny orange peel made the cake moist and delicious. But I still preferred the ice cream. I liked that the the sweetness lay with the cookie, while the ice cream claimed a rich tartness.