Charlie's Burger

I've arrived. I made it to the man on the wine barrel on Dundas Street West. Got my racing form envelope; I follow directions to the location for a secretly fabulous dinner date with Charlie's Burger, the 'anti restaurant'. I pass the envelope stuffed with cash to the guy at the door and he says, "giddyup," with a laugh.

The next thing you know, I have a cocktail in my hand. Since the theme of the Charlie's Burger dinner is horse, we're having bourbon sours. Very Kentucky Derby worthy indeed...

Our location for the event is lovely. OMG bakery has been transformed with long tables, champagne bottle candelabras, gleaming crystal and silverware. Guests are milling around and at 6:30 on the dot, we're sitting down and our welcome introduction with guest chef Matt Demile, aka Night Chef, begins.

Even if tonight's theme wasn't horse, the place would be packed because of the thrill factor. I'm betting across the board, trifecta style: is it a win, place or show with this chef and his menu tonight? We'll see...

We're out of the gate with Lardo di Cavallo, paired with, what else? Cheval Blanche Biere. Bonus marks for an entertaining opener, even if my little bite of cavallo is a tad tough. It has the sweetness I expect and the lemon zest and grated amaretti makes it shine, bringing out the spice elements of the wheat beer.

Ed's Green's are up next; the mix of 30 greens, chives, heirloom tomato confit with buttermilk ranch dressing is gently fluffed over a pressed rectangle of shredded flank, which falls apart when you bite into it. The pairing is Carneros Cuvaison Chardonnay. Mmmnnn...

Carpaccio di Cavallo is what I'm waiting for though. Melt-in-your mouth elegance, it's touched up with a little pecorino, pickled shallot, horseradish and a delicious coriander-maple pain gratte. With a fine Chianti Classico 2007 Carpinetto Fontalpino, life is definitely beautiful now...

Into the quarter stretch, we have Caballo Ahumado with achiote corn muffins. The achiote is a saffron-like spice from Latin America. The muffins are too dry, but what saves them altogether is the salsa verde, jalapeno-tequila sour cream and chicharron. This dish marries wonderfully with the Petit Syrah Charter Oak from Napa. Our horse is flagging just a little bit, though...or would that be the jockey?

We're into the backstretch of the race; course four is a densely flavourful horse sausage with tongue on the side, choucroute and Kozlik's triple crunch mustard. How saucy! The Tuscan Pinot Nero 2008 from La Pinetta makes this an OMG, as collective groans are heard through all the laughter and clinking of glasses. 'Nuff said.

Little Horse Hot Pot, is a vibrant wakeup to get us through the last stretch. A vivacious mix of bean sprout, mint, basil, chili and lime flavours the broth and the Prosecco Montello e Colli Asolani pairing makes my palate stand up a wave.

Now, for the Night Chef Special: A slab of horse tenderloin with apple-sage stuffing, a creative carrot spatzle saddled with a mushroom ragout AND brown butter spinach. (At this point, I'm wondering if anyone really remembers, there's so much talk and wine induced joi de vivre...) The Piedmont selection of Bricco Manzone is 80 percent Nebbiolo with 20 percent Barbera in the varietal blend. The flavours of mocha, plums and cherries make this another OMG pairing. Wow...Northern Dancer is re-invented on the plate. Did I just say that? Shoot me now...

The big question is can I handle dessert? I've gotten this far...and somehow Mom's Apple Tart doesn't really fit in with the other dishes. But wait, there are toasted oats and mint tips. The horse theme is saved and this is perfectly finished off with a Grappa Stravecchia, with those typical sweaty aromas and flavour notes...whew. We made it to the finish line. The trifecta sure paid out big tonight!

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