Where the girls are
Slack's a friendly, casual Church Street spot
by Linda Barnard

Little did Tyler Beach know when he was a kid growing up in Ottawa that he'd end up working with his grade school pal Karen Halliday. As luck would have it, the long-time chef was cooking at a ByWard Market Italian kitchen when he and the aspiring restaurant owner found each other again.
Halliday and partner Michele Hammerton opened Slack’s last summer with Beach working the stoves.

In its previous incarnation, the place was Slack Alice, a stalwart in Toronto’s gay village and, as I recall, a pretty decent place for Sunday brunch. Long closed when Halliday and Hammerton decided to refurbish the room and re-open it as Slack’s, it took a considerable amount of work to turn it into the casual, quasi-loft space it is now. For the most part, it was a successful transformation, although the open ceiling takes the loft concept a bit too far. (I find looking up at wires disconcerting).

Slack’s was opened “for the girls,” Beach explains, a place to balance the primarily male clientele of Boystown. But, it’s also a welcoming, very friendly place for anybody looking for a well-priced meal served with warmth and care. A straight couple is made to feel just as special as the group of women at the bar enjoying the benefits of $5 martini night on a recent Wednesday.

Slack’s is instantly likeable. Our server is as friendly and capable as any in recent memory, advising us on the wine and the menu, helping with the table when it shifts, grinding fresh pepper on our food, then leaving the grinder in case we want more (why don’t more restaurants do that?). She even does DJ duty. And, because we like her so much, we want to like Slack’s too, but while the food succeeds in part, in some areas it doesn’t quite make the grade.

This is not fine dining -- it’s simple, casual food with a twist, Beach explains; a neighbourhood place where locals can have a decent meal without breaking the bank.

The menu is simple: a burger, pastas, salmon and chicken, but there’s a creative spirit behind much of it. Take the poutine ($9), a plate of excellent, crispy sweet potato fries topped with duck confit, rectangles of Brie, and poultry-based gravy dotted with tart cranberries. It’s a good idea, but doesn’t quite work. The gravy and fries aren’t hot enough, so the Brie isn’t melting and just sits in slabs on top and the confit -- which Beach makes in-house -- is too dry.

The same problem hits the DLT ($12). Again, a creative concept. Confit replaces the usual turkey. Double-smoked bacon makes the triple-decker a real treat, the apple and cranberry mayonnaise is delicious and the sandwich is tasty enough, but the shards of dry duck lets the team down. Ditto the pile of disappointingly cold, sweet potato fries.

We fare much better with the mussels ($9), which are “pan fired” (do they mean fried?) with strips of nicely fatty pancetta and served in a silken, luxurious smoked Gouda cream. The mussels are exquisite; plump, sweet and fresh and completely free of grit. We use the shells to scoop the addictive broth at the bottom. There’s also a Thai version on the menu ($9) with ginger, chillies, lemongrass and coconut milk.

Beach shows he knows his way around a soup pot with a superb asparagus potage. He lets the secondary tastes of vegetables used to make the stock creep in after the first strong jolt of the asparagus in this light soup, the top crowned with a simple swirl of good-quality olive oil. A splat of crème fraîche would have made it even better.

The 8-ounce strip loin disappoints. At $21, it’s the most expensive dish on the menu. It’s a strange-looking steak -- cut far too thin -- and as a result, it’s done more than the rare that was ordered. It’s closer to medium. While the menu describes it as being “wild mushroom dusted” there’s no mushroom flavour and the white truffle cream on the side looks unappetizing and lacks punch. But, the sides are very good, including a perfect rice pilaf.

Homemade maple pecan pie ($8) is enjoyable, not too sweet and with a nice, flaky crust.

Slack’s is an ideal neighbourhood resto.  A casual drop-in that combines relaxed, friendly service, good prices, a warm atmosphere and simple, tasty food. It’s the kind of place everybody should be lucky enough to have just down the street. A bit of tightening on the kitchen’s end will make it even better.

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