Wynona [Toronto], a lovely neighbourhood restaurant.

[DrJohn]

Although I’ve posted about meals at Wynona before, I thought it would be nice for it to have its own thread. We’ve loved this place since it opened on Gerrard. It got recognized with a Michelin Bib Gourmand last fall and has been busier as a result. The food, particularly the pastas, remains great and they have a great selection of interesting and less common wines. The patio is now also open, which is where we settled in with friends recently.

We ordered a bottle of Poanta Reia, a Slovenian orange wine (macerated unfiltered), 2017, Brda, Suho Kakovostino Vino ZGP - apricoty at first, with some earthy tones coming out over time.

We started with the grilled focaccia, smoky as always, as a prelude to:

Ontario veal tartare, capers, green asparagus, smoked egg yolk - fresh, with a nice kick from some horseradish.

Kohlrabi (in a cake like a tartare, with pickled thin slices over top), coconut green curry all around, grilled lardo, crisp wakame on top - really interesting combo of flavours.

Ontario pea agnolotti, Amalfi lemon, smoked butter, mint and pistachio pesto, ricotta salata - fresh sweetness from the peas, herbal and nutty from the pesto, a bit of acid from the lemon to cut through the richness of the smoked butter.

Ramp mafaldine, leek sofrito, side stripe shrimp, sorrel butter, (crunchy) breadcrumb - almost a perfect combination, with perhaps a touch too much salt.

Malted chocolate mousse, salted caramel ganache, crème fraiche, chocolate truffles (three, embedded in the mousse/ganache) - rich chocolate and not too sweet.

Rhubarb and pistachio frangipane tart, macerated strawberries, crème fraiche - also very good.

We had enough room for some digestifs:

• Marolo Milla Liqueur - redolent of camomile.
• Erbaluna Barolo Chinato - herbal, a bit like Campari and wine together

[Estufarian (Alan)]

Their food is beautiful.
Sadly, I experienced a ‘dramatic’ MSG allergy response after eating there.

If you don’t react to MSG (I’m guessing added rather than glutamates occurring naturally in the food - e.g. mushrooms are one of my favourite food categories) then I was impressed with their food. But if you’re “sensitive” then be aware.

Or perhaps ask for ‘no added MSG’.

[DrJohn]

Sorry to hear that. I am aware that adding MSG (and various MSG-laden products) is no longer as taboo to add as it once was and I am pretty MSG-insensitive, so may not have noticed.

[DrJohn]

Hadn’t been back for a bit. Food and wine selection remain great.

We were recommended and very much enjoyed a bottle of Furmint Lenkey Bomboly Tokay 2015 - bruised apple, gentle lemon, subtle nuttiness, mineral, beeswax and an edge of butterscotch .

Of the many great-sounding small plates, we sampled two:
Steelhead trout tartare, cucumber (pickle), pumpernickel crouton (very crisp and not soggy), horseradish crème fraîche, red watercress on top, and some tarragon - bright fresh flavours.

Squash croquette, massaman curry, frisée, pickled grapes - coconut-rich sauce underpinning the sweet and crispy croquette, accented by the pickled grapes.

The pastas here have always been a strength, and the two we picked were no exception.
Saffron tonnarelli (perfectly al dente) came with tender Humboldt squid, aji amarillo (yellow Peruvian pepper), leek sofrito, squid ink breadcrumb - buttery, crunchy, and garlicky, with a mild kick.

Campanelle with tender braised rabbit, crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, Swiss chard (fresh and pickled) - the acid from the pickled chard helped balance another buttery dish.

Ambitiously and perhaps unwisely, we decided to forgo dessert and ordered the delicious and very rich pastrami beef tongue with honey mustard, collard greens, dill pickle, on top of their great foccacia - a decadent riff on a reuben (just needed some cheese).

[DrJohn]

After a friend suggested we go to Wynona together and then changed plans, we decided to go explore the current menu. Alas there were too many things we wanted to try, so we ended up going twice in quick succession. So the following report is on 2 meals-worth.

We started each night with a glass of something that interested us, followed by a bottle of something that interested us (we didn’t finish either bottle and took the rest home).

• Glass of Mezes Feher Oszkar Maurer, Subotica, Serbia 2021 - tart apricot, honey flavours with a little bitterness, pineapple over time.
• Glass of Lambrusco, Denny Blini, Willa, Emilia-Romagna, NV - ripe strawberries.
• Dead Flowers, The Hermit Ram, New Zealand, 2022, pinot noir and gewürztraminer blend(!) - dried roses, Concord grapes, cranberry, strawberry, hint of iron, lots of wet earth/forest floor, and lychee.
• Aci Urbajs, Organic Anarchy, chardonnay/riesling/kerner, Styria. Slovenia 2020 - initially pine, some grapefruit, then mushroom and stonefruit.

We almost never try their housemade charcuterie, so we went with their Linton Pasture pork fennel salami - very fennel-y and big chunks of creamy fat; on the salty side.

Their crudos are usually great and the Kanpachi was no exception: kanpachi with aji verde, dandelion salsa verde, pickled chilies, cilantro - complex herbal notes with a little bitterness and some sour tang.

A few years ago they served veal carpaccio with a tonnato sauce. This time the vitello tonnato featured thin slices of delicately cooked veal with caper berries, cornichon, bone marrow crouton, and a lovely tuna cream sauce with some tarragon explosions.

Although they still had a great squash croquette with Massaman curry, we instead tried the new Boston squid stuffed with soppressata, in acqua pazza and lemon - the soppressata made it a bit salty, but it was otherwise lovely.

We managed to try all three regular menu pastas plus the special one:

• Spaghettini, bottarga, lemon, parsley, butter - delicious fermented ocean flavour, although a touch less al dente than usual.
  

  

• Lasagne, milk-braised pork shoulder, potato, rabbit & veal ragu, scamorza, bechamel - rich, smokey, and tender meat.
  

  

• Jerusalem artichoke cappellacci, sunflower seed praline, taleggio fonduta, black truffle, and burnt apple purée, with chips on top - a special pasta, with sweet notes.
  

  

• Gemelli alla Carbonara - meaty chunks of guanciale, tons of black pepper and cheese; not quite a classic carbonara and more like a fun collision between carbonara and cacio e pepe.
  

  

• Tonnarelli special with sous vide octopus, harissa, and lots of lemon - perhaps the best of the bunch, with plenty of citrus tang, hefty kick, perfectly done noodles, and tender octopus.
  

  

Skipping the ever-present (and excellent) sea bass, we tried the pheasant (breast in truggle butter, thigh KFC style) with truffle butter, quince mostarda, and red endive - breast skin was lovely and crisped but a touch too salty, everything else very fun and delicious.

We also had the duck cotechino (rich and hefty slices) with creamed cabbage (with sliced cornichons), bitter mustard greens, and lemony kale salad. Tasty and almost too filling.

We only had room for dessert on one night and went with the passionfruit and coconut tart, with lime meringue and toasted coconut - kind of a riff on lemon meringue with a thin meringue layer and a coconut base - although not overly sweet, it would have been nice to have even more zing from the passionfruit.

[DrJohn]

Returned to have some of the new items on the menu:

Ontario burrata, forced rhubarb, wild fennel, brown butter & pistachio vinaigrette - the tang of the rhubarb was a great contrast to the creamy cheese. We had this with the smoky grilled foccacia.

Ramp tonnarelli, Manila clams, Calabrian chili - perfectly chewy noodles with generous and garlicky clams.

Pork collar (juicy and just done) on a parsnip puree, covered with fresh baby kale, turnips, and bacon.

Blood orange posset (no photo), white chocolate & thyme ganache, salted honey crumb, meringue - very nice, although the meringue was a bit too sweet.

To drink we had a bottle of Trebbiano/Malvasia/Verdicchio | Monastero Suore Cistercensi, Coenobium, Lazio, Italy | 2021 - aged in amphora, oxidative, bright, mineral, fresh and lots of aromatics.

[DrJohn]

I took a bunch of work colleagues for dinner here recently. For groups, they have a $90 set menu that includes, foccacia, olives, a crudo, two other small plates, two pastas, two large plates, and two. desserts, all serves family-style. Drinks and tax, plus a 20% gratuity are on top of the per person rate. Everyone though it was excellent. I will highlight just the dishes I haven’t shown before.

Unfortunately I was a little too distracted hosting to write down the details of the wines. We had a great albarino from Rias Baixas and then a floral chenin blanc from somewhere.

Hamachi crudo, buttermilk, nduja, pickled fennel, herb oil - supple and slightly rich, with enough acid and herbs to balance it.

Ontario burrata, forced rhubarb, wild fennel, brown butter & pistachio vinaigrette - a fresh spring dish, with the fennel mixing nicely with the rhubarb.

Sweet baby radishes came with white anchovies, fresh basil, a light vinaigrette, and toasted breadcrumbs.

One of the new pastas was a ricotta-and-nettle-stuffed agnolotti with roasted pine nuts, mustard greens, and Pecorino Romano - beautiful.

The other new pasta was lumache with lamb merguez, spring onion, manchego, and red peppers - maybe a tad salty, but otherwise an enjoyable hearty pasta.

The branzino with brown butter, cerignola olives, capers, and oregano has been on the menu since the beginning. It is simple and always well-executed with charred crispy skin and delicate flesh.

We have never tried whatever version of steak they had going, mainly thinking it was something for the more staid diner. This was perhaps a mistake as the current Ontario striploin with spring onion chimichurri, soubise, and pickled honey mushrooms was excellent. The servings were also huge, necessitating a large portion to be packed up for leftovers.

These mains were accompanied by honey-roasted carrots, chermoula, tahini, pumpkin seed dukkah - one of the small plates that works really well on its own.

Both desserts remain very enjoyable:

• blood orange posset, white chocolate & thyme ganache, salted honey crumb, meringue.
• carrot cake, salted toffee, walnut crumb, whipped cream cheese.

[DrJohn]

We returned recently to the patio at Wynona with a couple of friends. Most of the menu had changed and the new dishes (a couple returned from last year) were all great.

We had the pinot noir/gewurztraminer The Hermit Ram, “Dead Flowers”, North Canterbury, NZ 2022 again because we loved the weird floral and yet iron-y light red mix.

Hokkaido scallop crudo, leche de tigre, poached rhubarb, serrano chili - fresh, light, with a nice tartness from the rhubarb.

Ontario heirloom tomatoes, vadouvan, mignonette, whipped feta, oregano - fresh tomatoes in a light creamy curry sauce is a great idea.

Caraflex cabbage (this seems to be the cabbage of the year), nutritional yeast, salt and vinegar shallots - simple and delicious.

Torched Boston mackerel, Ontario cherries, Marcona almond, lardo - beautifully fresh fish, rich and meaty, with lovely sweet cherries.

Mezzalune stuffed with taleggio, with Ontario zucchini, Swiss chard, pickled garlic scape, and flower petals - lots of veggies to balance the richness of the cheese.

Mafaldine verde, basil pesto, confit cherry tomato, stracciatella - nicely herbal.

Tonnarelli, Humboldt squid, aji amarillo, squid ink breadcrumb - still a great dish, so much so that we ordered a second helping.

Creste di gallo, lamb ragù, peas, mint salsa verde, Pecorino Romano - rich meat sauce and fresh sweet peas.

Chocolate cake with Bailey’s caramel, mascarpone, white chocolate crumb, and pieces of chocolate - a bit sweet for our tastes, but our friends liked this.

Tonka bean cheesecake with mascarpone cream, meringue, strawberry ‘shrub’ with olive oil, pickled Ontario berries (blackcurrants and raspberries), and salt - nice light cheesecake and the pickled berries were interesting, but the salt was unnecessary.