Wine O'Clock

I spent another lovely evening at the Winebar at Ezra's on Friday. I was in need of good wine, the company of good friends and some good nosh, and Shantelle, Ezra and Josh always deliver. So, I made plans to meet up with Joel, Suresh and Nina. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Besides the promise of those three fine things, Joel was also bringing a batch of marshmallows he'd made that day, and Shantelle had posted about the crème brulée on offer that night. There was no resisting that. The bonus was, when we arrived, Shantelle announced that she would be popping a batch of her triple ginger cookies into the oven soon. Good god I love those cookies! And when they're still warm, it's hard to think of anything better.

First, there were the marshmallows, paired with Ravine's 2007 Gerwurtztraminer. Having only set for the minimum 4 hours, they were still very soft and sticky, but the flavour was spot on to what I expect from a marshmallow. I actually liked the softer texture, and they were very fluffy. There's talk of experimenting with different flavourings, so I look forward to those results.

The crème brulée was a lovely blend of sweet and tart, with the quince jelly at the bottom of the dish. The light crust served as a nice counterpoint to the custard and jelly. Along with the brulée, I had the aforementioned ginger cookie, and a trio of chocolates, ranging from 65 to 90% cocoa, accompanied by two salts for the lighter squares and a reduced berry sauce for the darkest.

The evening was just what I needed to decompress from the week. Ezra's is just such a cozy, friendly, chill place, it's the first place I think to go when a relaxed and tasty night is required. Now, if the weather would just hurry up and give us warm enough nights so I can check out their newly opened patio.