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Belfountain Inn
- Price Range:
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$$$
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
One review for Belfountain Inn
1 review in English
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Review from Christine C.
Etobicoke, ON
7/21/2010 7 photos
I ain't been around Yelp much of late. I've been busy spending my days meandering from Farmer's market to farmer's market. It's an interesting way of eating and shopping. It's taken me off the beaten path and a few weeks ago it landed me in the beautiful Forks of the Credit hood where I discovered the pastoral Belfountain Inn.
The Chef at the Inn is a food goddess by the name of Rossy (pronounce that Rooooseeeee) Earle who's roots are well embedded in the Caledon Culinary scene. Chef Earle was a long time staple at Daniel's of Nobleton but this past year has found her strutting her culinary chops over on the western side of Caledon's escarpment. Chef Earle is Panamanian by birth so her first love for food starts with a South American flavour. I was fortunate to sit in on one of her special tasting evenings which was themed by Chilean & Argentinian foods. Let me tell you peeps, this tasting menu that was six courses was 35 buckeroos per person and absolutely put the Summerlicious menus and price points in to the Hall of Shame. This was absolutely, by far and away, the best menu for this price point that I've ever gobbled up.
So here goes; For starters it was a mini Empanada. This amuse bouche was a pastry crescent of golden goodness filled with a spice ground meat that had a hint of attitude. By the way, Chef Earle makes her own hot sauce and it is a staple on this dining table. From there we moved to a soup called Chupe de Chorizo, in other words Chorizo soup, which really looked more like Chorizo stew. Actually this was really akin to being a sausage, potato & vegetable chowder. Either way it was pure love in a bowl. When we asked where she got the chorizo from Chef Earle smiled and said "I make my own of course!". Of course. Oh silly me. I should have known better. Smoked paprika gives this soup a real kick of flavour.
Moving along we then chowed down on Steak & Palmita salad. Sliced steak, chimichurri style (here's the tribute to the Argentinian way of cooking cow) sat atop a bed of hearts of palm salad. On the very top was a dollop of Avocado mayonnaise. I'm not calling this Avocado Aioli...I'm so sick to death of the use of the word aioli, it's just a snotty way of calling mayonnaise something else. The gagging sound you hear is my aorta crying out for help. Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team and this was one of those moments.
Ceviche. When it's good it's amazing. When it's not good it's like chewing rubber bands. This ceviche was delicious. Fresh and lemony but not acidic. It was a tiny portion atop some pretty little greens and beautifully presented in a martini glass. I actually found it to be a palate cleanser.
Then came the main course. It was what is basically known to be one of the traditional national dishes in Chile, Pastel de Choclo. This is kind of like Chilean Shepherd's Pie except that it is pork and chicken and its top hat is a cornmeal crusted roof that is almost sweet because of the corn.
As if there was room for anything else in our bellies. Oh wait, dessert. This just can't be complete without dessert. The final bow of this food extravaganza was a Passion Fruit Creme Caramel. The zinger for this dish was the Orange glaze on the plate. The Chef intentionally burns the glaze to put an edge to the taste of the orange. All together this was one big fat food porn evening.
If I had to say there was a weak side to this meal it would be the wine flights that were offered. They just missed the mark and didn't do justice to the food.
What was really lovely though was as each course came out Chef Earle followed along, explaining what each course was and how it came to fruition. She spoke briefly about how she was inspired by each dish, its origin and some of the ingredients she used in the foods.
If you decide you'd like to take a drive or bicycle ride along the gorgeous Forks of the Credit then I would highly recommend the Belfountain Inn as your destination spot for some really good eating. Currently Chef Earle is participating in the Caledon Culinary 50 km Challenge so the menu is a reflection of the seasonal foods available in Caledon. God bless garlic scapes. :) As per usual, pics are posted.Listed in: La Vida Es Buena!
