A night out with Mark McEwan

I’d like to say that spending an evening at North 44 in the company of Mark McEwan is just a standard Tuesday for me but that would be a bit of a stretch.

Thanks to the magic of Twitter I scooped up one of 30 invitations to the chef’s first tweetup, McEwan All Access.

 As any budding foodie would do, I reread the menu a dozen times, tried on eight different dresses and watched all the most recent episodes of Top Chef Canada to prepare for the night.

As excited as I was, I ended up being about 10 minutes late (not really a surprise) and ended up running down Yonge Street in flats, heels stuffed in my purse to throw on when I was a block away, hoping that my broken umbrella was keeping my hair from getting frizzy. I bet not many diners make their way to North 44 in such a classy way.

The tweetup was upstairs in a dimly-lit private dining area. Glasses of red and white were offered and all the foodies were following the waiter with their favourite bite around. After scanning the room, my first thought before seeing Mark McEwan was “Oh darn, I think I missed the Waygu dumplings.” *The only dish I missed was the Ahi Tuna which I was a bit disappointed about.

The Chef said a few words to officially start the night and then I was able to start eating.

Oven-roasted foie gras on brioche with spiced blackberry.

Vegetarian cold rolls drizzled with spice sauce.

Braised beef short ribs with mascarpone polenta, pepper caponata and natural jus.

My favourite bite of the night - the polenta was heaven!

Foodies and their phones.

Pan seared miso glazed cod with water chestnut pot sticker, baby bok choy and citrus butter.

Second favourite dish. The fish was cooked to perfection and the pot sticker was something unexpected.

Sauteed garlic prawns with beurre blanc.

A big bite of a little burger!

Jonathan Goodyear (Top Chef Canada), myself and Mark McEwan.

Slider's fancier cousin: Spanish pressed burgers with Manchego, Serrano ham and tempura onion rings.

Hand rolled gnocchi with white reggiano cream sauce and saute of honey mushrooms.

Excited for my first bite - I had been chasing the waiter with the gnocchi around all night.

Pure bliss in a bite.

Pan seared Waygu dumplings with crispy ginger crisp and chimi churri.

An added bonus
 - a chocolate torte with caramelized bananas and creme fraiche. I would never have guessed it was flour-less!

Chef Mark McEwan and I.

Overall the night was great. The food was incredible and Chef McEwan made time for everyone. A few things I noticed - the ambiance could have used a little boost with some background music, and some high, cocktail tables would have made it easier to mingle and eat simultaneously.

The highlight of the night for me was the braised short rib with mascarpone polenta. New goal in life: find and/or make a polenta that good.

Second highlight was my chat with Chef McEwan during the last few minutes of the night. While he was signing my new cookbook Great Food at Home, he shared how he made head cheese for his friends at their cottage. I've never had head cheese but listening to the chef talk about it really made me want to try it.

After watching him on the Food Network and Top Chef Canada I had thought him a little scary - a Gordon Ramsay-type character. After chatting with him my opinion has done a 360. He is totally approachable and down-to-earth which is always a win when you remember the man has an food empire.

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