This past weekend I visited The Carbon Bar located on 99 Queen Street East in Toronto. I found this restaurant online on Instagram in a post feature and as soon as I laid my eyes on their food I had to go! This is the first time I’ve visited a restaurant off an Instagram feature and I don’t regret it!
The Carbon Bar is described as a BBQ, Southern inspired restaurant that offers unique cocktails, appetizers, entrees and desserts.
To start off our night, my friend and I decided to order cocktails. I ordered the Louisville to Lisbon (the drink on the bottom right); made with Woodford Reserve, late vintage port, hibiscus cane syrup, lime, chili. This is by far the absolute BEST mixed drink I’ve had this year. It was made with the right amount of liquor, sweetness, and a pinch of heat. As the flavours combine, you also experience a smokey flavour – yes I know it sounds weird but I promise you it works! The Woodford Reserve rounds out the sweet notes to make this a full bodied enjoyable cocktail.
Four our entree, we ordered the Pit Master Platter (suitable for at least 2 people). On this platter you’ll find pork ribs, beef brisket, buttermilk fried chicken, coleslaw, pickles, fries, chipotle mayo and 2 variations of what I believed were BBQ sauces.
Let me start by saying that the flavour profile for each or the meats were outstanding. Starting with the beef brisket; sliced brisket that was tender, seasoned, and juicy with Southern flavours that were complimented by the BBQ sauces. Honestly, you don’t need to eat it with any sauce! Each brisket melted in your mouth, a BBQ smoky flavour seemingly being infused in each bite.
Ribs are one of my favourite summer time eats. I was surprised that the ribs served were delicious. At first glance I thought to myself that there wasn’t enough sauce on them and they looked bland. Boy was I wrong! These fall of the bone delicious pieces of meat made me literally eat my words. The meat was tender, seasoned and also had BBQ smoky flavour profile with each bite. Similar to the brisket, they tasted wonderful without the sauce and were perfect with.
I’ve had my fair share of fried chicken and this was added to the top of my list. Crunchy on the outside; a crisp outer shell that was seasoned to perfection and once you bit into it the chicken was juicy and tender – perfectly complimenting the crispy shell.
My friend and I couldn’t end our meal without dessert. We choose the Dulce de Leche Ice Cream topped with caramel corn; a rich burnt caramel butter flavoured ice cream topped with a crunchy popcorn that was covered in caramel. And, the Rhubarb Sorbet (rhubarb compote, compressed strawberry, almond cake, pink peppercorn merengue), a fresh, sweet, tart, juicy dessert complemented by the almond cake. Yes they were delicious as they looked.
xo,
Eseeri
