Dining Out

Karl Wells

Get Stuffed

190 Duckworth St.

Ph. 757-2480

When I saw a server, wielding a baseball bat, approach a nearby table I was horrified. "Is this how they deal with unruly or complaining customers?" I wondered. Thankfully, it turned out to be an oversized pepper mill disguised as a Louisville slugger. Get Stuffed (the restaurant that is) does not need to resort to using such novelty items. It distracts from the excellent food.

Get Stuffed is the product of sisters Tara Moore and Dana Williams, and their spouses. Tara trained at George Brown in Toronto, known for graduating some pretty good cooks. All four seem able to turn their hand to anything in the restaurant. On the night I visited, the men were in the kitchen and the women were out front.

Despite high ceilings and good size, Get Stuffed is a cozy restaurant. They keep it fairly dark in the evening so the candles from each table create a warm glow. Hung throughout, on walls of grey and off-white, are credible paintings by Dianne Noseworthy. Some feature nature (flowers, seascapes) but one that got my attention was of an extraordinarily beautiful woman. Her deep, dark eyes seemed to cast a spell on me. Either that or it was the second glass of reasonably priced Wolf Blass.

In that period before the order arrives, while you’re sipping on a beer or glass of wine, I always like to nibble on something. An amuse bouche arrived from the kitchen that worked nicely. Ultra thin cheese cookies, flavoured with old cheddar and rosemary, made a great match with the W.B. Shiraz. They were made by combining cheese, rosemary and seasonings in a dough, rolling it out, cutting it into very thin slices and baking them off in the oven.

Just before we were about to ask for more of the cheesy delights, our appetizers arrived. Guest had grilled garlic-marinated shrimp. The presentation of the seafood was eye-catching, to say the least. About six pink and red tinged shrimp were carefully piled atop one another in a column. Underneath, coating a white plate, was a basket weave design of two reductions, one balsamic, one orange. Guest reckoned the shrimp, “nicely done.” I agreed, however, for garlic marinated shrimp there was little garlic flavour.

I opted for a warming fresh fish stew to start my meal. It was, according to the menu, “a broth based fish stew done a la minute with cod, salmon, shrimp, scallops, mussels, julienne carrot, leek and topped with homemade potato pasta.” It was delicious. The seafood was tender and moist, the broth was full of good flavour and the seasonings were correct. What I especially liked was the unusual addition of the gnocchi, or potato pasta.

The Get Stuffed menu has the line, “classic foods with a twist” under the restaurant’s name. Many times restaurants throw out lines like that for marketing purposes. Sometimes it’s difficult to know what they’re getting at. In this case, the addition of the gnocchi was a good example of the “twist.” You had a classic Mediterranean style fish stew being turned into an even more comforting dish for a cold winter’s night.

When ordering your main course at Get Stuffed you have the option of having a normal sized portion or a “Get Stuffed” portion. Obviously, the latter costs more. It’s also a huge amount of food, so, unless you’ve been living on nothing but bread and water for a week, I recommend the standard size portion.

I had the chicken entrée, thinking, “If they can turn a boring, skinless, boneless chicken breast into something great, they know what they’re doing.” And, they did. My chicken had a beautifully golden brown crumb coating. The meat was white, sweet and succulent. It was accompanied by a honeyed cream sauce that made the dish quite decadent. I enjoyed every single bite.

Guest’s pork loin was very good as well. The pork had been stuffed, rolled and cut thick. The ample stuffing contained mushrooms, nuts and dried fruit. Combined with a good wine sauce the dish was very flavourful and filling. I found the meat tender and the stuffing, moist and textured. The exterior of the pork was nicely browned too. Never underestimate the value of good “browning” where extra taste is concerned. Think of how good the burnt ends of a Sunday roast can be.

To finish I had an exquisitely prepared crème brulee tart. It was a single serving tart, round and filled with that classic custard of eggs and cream. Like a thin crust of ice, the tart’s sweet, bruleed top was easily broken to reveal its luxurious contents. Again, as with the addition of the gnocchi to the stew, the tart was a twist on a classic. While not an original idea, it’s a nice change for crème brulee fans looking for something different.

Get Stuffed is a fine addition to the city’s restaurant scene. They have an interesting lunch menu that’s worth a try as well. Just remember, at a restaurant called “Get Stuffed,” an empty belly is absolutely essential.

Our meal for two at Get Stuffed, including a bottle of Wolf Blass red and gratuity, cost $108.77.

The noise level at Get Stuffed was moderate and no wheelchair access was available.

Best Points:

Excellent food.

Areas for Improvement:

More garlic for your grilled shrimp.

Ratings Category:

Get Stuffed gets 9 out of 10 points.

7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 points = good, 8 points = very good, 9 points = excellent, 10 points = perfection