Willow Springs Winery and Woodlot - Two Gems

We spent the weekend at the open house at Willow Springs Winery. I never knew we had such a beautiful spot just north of the city in Stoufville….easy to find and what a ‘find’ it is! Winemaker Mario Testa has agriculture in his veins, converting the family farm many years ago to a vineyard and now turning out an award winning VQA product. We used his 2007 barrel fermented Chardonnay and 2008 Meritage at our Lamb Class last week to great reviews. Mario has recently sold the winery to newcomer Sheriden Huang so he can focus all his time on growing, harvesting, fermenting and bottling their delicious bounty. Oh, did I mention their icewine?? All I can say is ‘wow’…both the bouquet and taste of their two ice wines were outstanding - 2007 Vidal Icewine and 2007 Cab Franc Icewine, the former being sweeter with strong fruity bouquet. We picked up a few bottles that will wind their way into one or two of our cooking classes. (I might hide one at home to pour over fresh Ontario strawberries and ice cream…but let’s keep that between us okay?.)
Ever since the Food Network, Chefs have been elevated from the ‘hired help’ to celebrity status and Chef was every bit the rockstar all weekend. It was amazing to watch people linger around, listening and laughing at his chef stories…or maybe it was because he was the guy with the food…. Either way, folks lined up to receive such delectable treats as Soy and Chardonnay Infused Shrimp with Tropical Fruit Salsa (I love the hint of cilantro in the salsa), and perfectly cooked medium rare Beef Tenderloin thinly sliced and served on a crostini with a dollop of garlic mashed potato and a splash of Meritage & Blue Cheese demi-glace. I am getting hungry just writing about this….
If you want to take a leisurely Sunday drive, we recommend a stop at Willow Springs. It’s well worth the trip. www.willowspringswinery.com

On Saturday night, after a long day at the winery, Chef was in the mood for a martini and something tasty that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. We stopped at Toronto Temperance Society so Chef could have a perfect martini and ponder our dining options. I sipped a St. Germain and watched his mind spin with possibilities. We settled on walking a couple of blocks to a spot we had seen but hadn’t tried yet. Woodlot Restaurant and Bakery is a converted auto garage on Palmerston, just a few metres south of College, that functions as a bakery during the day and fabulous restaurant in the evening. We were warmly greeted and offered a seat almost immediately at their communal dining table next to both the kitchen and the wood burning oven. The place was buzzing with happy, satisfied diners. The placement of the fridges and wood oven prep area outside of the tiny kitchen provided fantastic entertainment value. Chef and I watched these young chefs (I swear no one in the kitchen was over 25) in ball caps and aprons, put their heart and soul into the food and their passion was evident in the supreme quality of the offerings. We started with some seared scallops (came with lentils and vintage 1927 vinegar) and red fife papardalle with pulled lamb ragu, pecorino and fresh herbs. What a beautiful and rich delight. It was a tough choice for mains, but Chef settled on the snail and bacon ragu served over polenta, while I had the baked haddock over saffron fregola. Kevin in the kitchen sent us sides of perfectly smooth potatoes whipped with bone marrow and rapini sauted with anchovies and garlic. Both were amazing but the potatoes were like rich velvet over the tongue. I could have had just a bowl of those…until I tried the mains. My haddock was perfectly cooked, crispy outside and meaty and tender inside, pairing perfectly with the fregola pasta (kind of like Israeli couscous but bigger). And the snail ragu….I am not even sure how to adequately describe this dish. Rich and flavourful, the snails were tender (not rubbery at all) and the sauce was meaty and decadent tasting, no doubt as a result of the bacon. The polenta was perfect, and paired with the ragu, made for a taste experience like we haven’t had in a while (since our amazing dinner at LAB). How we made room for dessert I have no idea, but they sent us a lovely tarte tartin with honey gelato and a lemon custard tart with fresh blueberries and rich meringue. We washed all of this down with a lovely bottle of French Pinot Noir (Rene Bouvier). Our server Janelle was young, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and a delight…..in fact, all the staff was so impressive that we insisted on a round of shots for Janelle, Kevin and the other kitchen staff, and their dishwasher (everyone knows a good dishwasher can make or break the kitchen). Kindly, they obliged. We will be back to this place and it goes on our list of top 5 recommendations. Reservations recommended, but they take walk-ins for the communal table, which in my opinion, is the best seat in the house. www.woodlotrestaurant.com