My wife had already tried Linny’s before and really liked it, so I finally got a chance to go with friends last month. Although there were many delicious dishes, I found it a very rich meal overall and was also disappointed by the much-talked-about pastrami.
We started with some cocktails:
- SxSE martini: tequila, vodka, vermouth, coconut, lime leaf, with tajin rim - a stiff and pleasing variation
- Flight of the Concord: pisco, blueberry amaro, concord grape, lemon - the Welch’s cocktail I didn’t know I needed.
For the rest of the meal, we had a bottle of 2022 Justin Girardin Bourgogne Rouge, Côte de Beaune. It had enough heft for the red meat, but still went nicely with the other dishes.
My wife really liked the challah service and I could see why. The bread was soft and moist, with light crust flecked with sesame seeds. It came with fresh cheese topped with apple and sliced pear jam, and a bowl of full sours, radishes, and stergio peppers.
The potato dumplings were essentially gnocchi in a cream sauce with shallots, dill, and Perigord black truffle. Very rich.
Kasha and Bows featured pasta, little bits of delicata squash, chicken butter, and nominal amounts of buckwheat. A bit slaying.
For a reprieve, we had the Linny’s House Salad: gem lettuce, cucumber, bulgur, champagne vinaigrette. Simple and refreshing.
One of the steaks we tried was the Romanian (hanger) steak with karnatzel (just a tiny bite as they aren’t making these anymore). The steak had been first prepared sous vide and came with roasted garlic. It was tender and particularly delicious.
We also tried the bone-in 20 oz ribeye. This was good, but not as exceptional as the hanger steak.
We ordered a plate of the Linny’s Cut Pastrami, which came with mustard. While the flavour was good, I found it undercooked. I like pastrami and related meats to be slow-cooked until the connective tissues really soften and break down and this version was still kinda chewy.
By contrast, the Roasted Lamb Neck from Beverly Creek Farms was tender and fall-apart. It was richly flavoured and came with a deep and dark brown sauce, hakurei turnip, and white and beet horseradish.
The fries were very good, crispy edges and not oily. They came with ketchup and mayo.
For another nod to vegetables, we had the caraflex cabbage with horseradish crema, basil, and savoury granola (including ground espresso and maple). Tasty and also pretty buttery.
For dessert, the Concord grape sorbet with grapes and gelee, vanilla creme, and meringue was relatively light and not too sweet.
Trifle with gingerbread sponge cake and pumpkin chantilly, salted caramel sauce, and spiced crumble was pleasant, but needed a bit more spice in the cake.
Chocolate babka with ice cream was solid.
I’d go again, skipping the overly-rich pastas perhaps. I should probably give the pastrami another chance, maybe at the Luncheonette in a sandwich.
