Susur Nov. 1, 2003

Culinary adventures at Susur

Jennifer and I were talked into a culinary adventure at Susur restaurant, which is owned and run by Chef Susur Lee, who is supposed to be one of the top chefs in the world. Here's what the restaurant's website has to say about itself:

Tasting menus are served backwards. The meal diminishes in both size and weight from the first and principal course. The menu changes daily based on Susur Lee's acquisitions at local markets. For this reason the tasting menu is not known or disclosed until approximately 5:30pm on the day it is served. A wine list of approximately 300 eclectically sourced wines provides the versatility needed compliment the complexity and diversity of Susur's palate. Well versed servers will gladly recommend or match wines to the evening's fare.

Architect Greg Colucci of A.J. Diamond Donald Schmitt & Co. closely collaborated with chef Lee and his wife Brenda Bent to create a truly unique interior where a wall of recessed neon changes colour throughout the evening. A wall of illuminated goat skin vellum screens separates the dining room from the bar while at the other end a shelf illuminated by a glowing blue edge extends the length of the wall, subtly illuminating the objects it displays.

The venison and angus beef we had were fabulous, as were the desserts. I'll admit the foie gras course (!) did not appeal to me much. But the dinner had a lot of new and different tastes and was well worth the visit.
Here are some photos from our adventure.

Each of us had a different dessert. I particularly enjoyed my Vietnamese lime, chile, and coconut sorbet (below).

The food all came looking very decorative on pristine white plates. This is the sablefish (black cod) served with black and green olive oil and a roe and crab sauce on the top. >

The night gave us all a chance to dress up, which is always fun (once it's done and everyone has stopped stressing out about what they are going to wear).

The bathroom was very interesting. Above is the sign from the women's bathroom. Apparently the one in the men's reads "We hope you come again." The sinks were made of thick glass which had a very shallow sink built in to it. Girls - pink, boys - blue!

As you can see from the first picture above, the one wall is decorated with all these old plastic and rubber toys in glass boxes. Personally, I found it all kind of creepy, especially this clown.