Fine Grub @ Frank's Kitchen

Little Italy (the one around college and not the one on St. Clair) has a multitude of different restaurants, which range from expensive to your typical sandwich shop. Don't let the name of the area fool you either because you can find just about anything on this stretch of Toronto, you can go out and eat mexican, middle eastern or even sushi. Today I will be spinning the tale about my experience at one of these eateries, Frank's Kitchen.

The space at Frank's Kitchen is not the largest but is definitely comforting and inviting. The space is not very wide but is definitely much longer then what you would expect. The walls are exposed brick, which give's the eatery a rustic feel. The rest of the restaurant is fairly simple and had nicely finished wooden tables and chairs scattered around the restaurant. The environment itself gave off the vibe of attending a nice dinner party at a good friends home.... a friend named Frank apparently.

Frank's Kitchen is a place that is suitable for almost everyone. You could head over after work and relax and have a few cocktails or you could even have a nice meal with your family. On my dining adventure I was wined and dined by my lady friend and I was quickly swept off my feet from the dinning experience and the ambiance.

The food itself definitely well thought out and carefully crafted for the dinners. I have yet to sample their entire menu but from the courses I did have, I was quite tempted to go back and order their entire menu.

The very first thing that was brought out for my dining companion and I was a basket of tasty tasty bread.

The bread is made in house and was accompanied by scratch made butter, hummus and pureed Olives. I cannot recall the the type of bread I had but I do remember that it was moist and full of flavour. The bread also serves as a great vehicle to help carry the delicious flavours of the hummus, pureed Olives and even the butter. I was even tempted to make a meal of just the bread because it was just that good.

Following the bread was a complimentary amuse bush, which was a small risotto and a cucumber soup.

The risotto balls were soft and were complimented well with vegetables that it was resting on. The cucumber soup I did not really enjoy because I personally don't like cucumber that much but it did help cleanse my mouth and prepare for the next courses.

Next came the appetizers. For our appetizers we ordered the oysters rockefeller and the seafood cocktail.

The seafood cocktail was presented beautiful on block of ice with embedded seaweed. A really nice touch was to wrap the lemon around with cheese cloth to stop the seeds from dropping onto the seafood when you squeezed the lemon. The sea food cocktail consisted of shrimp, crab and pieces of lobster and it tasted fresh and was light, it was definitely a great choice for an appetizer.

The oysters rockefeller was definitely a stark contrast to the seafood cocktail. This appetizer was loaded with cheese, bacon and butter.....mmmmm.... yes, all the good stuff in life that we are not suppose to eat in large quantities (oh yes, I forgot that there was also spinach). This was the first time I had oysters rockefeller and it was definitely a great first impression. The oysters were a great one bite appetizer that was smooth and exploded with flavour in your mouth. Just remembering the cheese, bacon and oyster combination in my mouth still makes my mouth water.......

Free cheers for another complimentary course (the palette cleanser).

Frank's Kitchen provided us with a small citrus sorbet to prepare us for our entrees. This was a nice addition to the meal, the citrus taste was pleasant and very settle. This was delicately done to ready our taste buds.

For my entree I decided to have what I thought be the richest tasting dish on the menu, venison wrapped in foie gras and if this dish wasn't rich enough, they shaved a black truffle on top it!

Nothing says tasty like wrapping a fine cut of meat with some buttery tasting foie gras. The meat was cooked very nicely and was very tender. Eating a piece of venison and foie gras together is a whole different taste experience that I've never had. I had the buttery and savoury taste from the foie gras and the the gamey tender taste of the meat all coming to together in my mouth, which put me into state of taste euphoria .........

My dining companion had one of her favourite foods, lobster, a butter poached lobster to be precise.

This was actually a whole lobster de-shelled, poached in butter and served with greens and peas. This dish was definitely all about the lobster, the elements on the plate didn't muddle the flavours of the lobster but only enhanced the taste. Again Frank's Kitchen expertly cooks the lobster to taste fresh and light. Oh, forgot to mention that the lobster is also swimming in a shallow pool of butter and I'm sure everyone knows that "butter makes things taste better" (a little Paula Deen wisdom)

After all that, Frank's Kitchen still provides a special service to their diners by giving them a chocolate truffle to finish up you meal.

This was a nice ending to our meal because it showed how much they cared and thought about their diners.

After eating all that great food I definitely had to take a nap.

This place has become one of my favourite places to dine and all because of one meal. The service was fantastic, the ambiance was nice, and the food was great. I think Frank's Kitchen Mastered the trifecta.