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The last time the Free Press ran an honest-to-goodness restaurant review, stars and all, was on March 12, 2020. We all know what happened next.
The pandemic changed everything about the way restaurants operate which, in turn, changed everything about how we cover restaurants. A decision was made early on to do away with star ratings while the industry was in survival mode and our longtime restaurant critic, Alison Gillmor, adapted with roundups of favourite spots across the city and occasional takeout reviews.
Indoor dining has returned to some semblance of normal and new restaurants are popping up all over. How entrepreneurs remain undeterred after the hardships of the last three years is a mystery to me.
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Internally, we’ve been discussing how we want to cover restaurants right now. The consensus: a return to full-scale reviews isn’t realistic at the moment (resources, man) and star ratings remain off the table (pun intended). Yet, we still want to give readers a sense of the food being made in local restaurants.
Enter Tasting Notes (kudos to my colleague, Jen Zoratti, for the name), a new series that combines reported stories with a glimpse of what’s on the menu. These aren’t wholesale reviews, just a taste of a signature dish or a popular menu item.
The sourdough at Petit Socco is served with most dishes, including the Iberico chorizo, guindillas and nicoise olives. (Mikaela MacKenzie / WInnipeg Free Press)
You can check out my first foray into this format here, featuring an interview with chef Adam Donnelly (formerly of Segovia) and Courtney Molaro, the couple behind Petit Socco on Stafford. The story includes a taste of Donnelly’s sourdough bread, which undergoes a 48-hour ferment and is served with most courses on the small menu.
I’m excited to embark on this new series and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Any additional info you’d like to see in future installments? Ideas for restaurants to cover? Drop me a line.
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