Cheap Eat of the Week: the golden brown beer cheese croquettes at The Gabardine
By Gizelle Lau
Beyond cheese sticks (Image: Gizelle Lau)
It was just a year ago that The Gabardine opened in the financial district, helmed by Katherine Rodrigues and Alison Mackenna, with chef Graham Pratt in the kitchen and Rodney Bowers consulting. Back then, the menu at The Gabardine was concentrated on sandwiches and comfort foods like macaroni and cheese. More recently, the menu has grown and it’s more exciting than ever.
Here, you’ll find a number of cheap eats: a daily terrine, like the venison, bison and apricot ($9), or a chicken liver pâté with house pickles and toast ($7). My favourite by far, however, are the deep-fried beer cheese croquettes ($9) – really just a fancy way of saying “cheese sticks.”
Cheese sticks, you ask? Yes, cheese sticks. But don’t let the crude nature of the “cheese stick” fool you. These are not the hard, chewy mozzarella sticks of chain restaurant appetizer platters. As far as simple food goes, these croquettes are a game changer — a complete paradigm shift from all that you’ve ever thought about cheese sticks. Bite into one of these golden brown croquettes at The Gabardine and you’ll find that metaphysical space where crispy batter and fluffy, pillowy melted cheese meet. There is such a place and it’s delicious.
Here’s how it’s done. The base is a béchamel sauce to which provolone cheese and Okanagan Pale Ale are added. The cheesy mixture is then frozen and then cut up into stick size. It’s then breaded, deep-fried and served on a bed of greens with a Dijon mustard maple chutney.
Stay for dessert: the hot apple cake with sesame sponge toffee ($8) and lemon cardamom-sugared donuts with stout caramel ($8) are worth the calorie guilt.
The Gabardine, 372 Bay St., 647-352-3211
Gizelle Lau is a food and travel writer and photographer in Toronto who lives from one meal to the next. Her column, Cheap Eat of the Week, highlights dishes that costs $10 or less. Follow her on Twitter for your daily dose of food from in/around the city.
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