ACC has stellar lineup for food lovers

Norman Wolfson is not a household name, and it's highly unlikely he ever will be. But as a culinary team builder employing nine "secret agents," his firm Lecours, Wolfson, greases the wheels of the hospitality industry in Canada.

It was no coincidence that Chef Mark McEwen (North 44), in his capacity as consultant to the Air Canada Centre, "discovered" Chef Brad Long (360 Revolving Restaurant at the CN Tower) and engaged him to be executive chef at this definitive sports facility.

But before that happened, way before that, Steve Stavros and Larry Tanenbaum - the major owners of the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs, the Raptors and the food services - made an important decision. Their restaurants would serve the best food available, and the whole megillah would be co-ordinated by someone they knew and trusted implicitly. They tossed the ball to Mark McEwen; McEwen threw to Wolfson; Wolfson cornered Long; the rest is history.

There are several places to eat in the Air Canada Centre. I've had a great roast beef sandwich with whole grain Dijon on an onion bun while standing at a grazing table in the midst of the food concessions on the main floor.

And I've enjoyed a terrific salad nicoise at the Hot Stave Club.

But privilege costs. Basic membership in The Platinum Club is $350,000.

This gives you the right - along with a lot of other rights to spend about $200 for dinner before the game and return for your dessert and coffee afterwards if you wish. Or, when the home team is playing, as they say, "like girls," you can drown your sorrows at the bar until they pick up a few points.

The sous chef is showing off tonight, lucky for us. An hors d' oeuvre of seared fois gras is set on slices of caramelized pear and capped with crispy fried frizzles of green onion; noriwrapped, bright salmon sushi proudly wears a beret of dark sevruga caviar. Yummy breaded, deep-fried oysters sit discreetly on their shell here, with a slice of lemon and two salsas Corn, and black bean and tomato. A scallop is wrapped with smoked salmon and seared. Two fresh spring rolls are plump with shrimp and enoki mushrooms and come with a salad bouquet tied with a strip of rice paper.

I like the zippy tangle of mango-and-carrot coleslaw. We get choices galore. Crispy fried calamari comes with two warm and spicy sauces.

Salads are given dramatic treatment. Green salad is served piled high in a ruby raddichio cup; Caesar is made with crisp, whole inner leaves, generous shavings of Parmesan Reggiano, croutons and rivulets of creamy dressing. No chance for boredom to set in before the main course.

Rack of lamb has a nut-and-herb crust and having negotiated between rare and medium, it's nice that the kitchen has done them perfectly to our taste.

New York's trendy vegetable, "aspiration," a cross between asparagus and broccoli, is bright green and delectable, baby carrots come with their tops intact and there's garlicky mashed potatoes. Haven't we all eaten a few hundred bushels of mashed potatoes in the last few decades? Enough, already. Perhaps some culinary bright light will entertain us with a new "staple."

In an homage to the north, the kitchen sears Arctic char, a game fish that's often called white salmon, and compliments it with a tart red-currant sauce and a mix of white and wild rice. Beautiful food.

We did not expect the over-the-moon quality of Mark McEwen's North 44 and we didn't get it. But Platinum can rank as one of the city's better dining rooms.

It's minutes to game time, and service has been excellent. I prioritize.

Do I care more about the Rangers and the Leafs than I do about a lush lemon curd tart with blueberry sauce and a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream in a crisp lace cookie cup? They can start the game without me - I'll come out after dessert and coffee.

When Wolfson drives by the Air Canada Centre, he should have a bona fide sense of pride. Let's call him Matchmaker of the Year for staffing the finest restaurant in a theatre of sport and entertainment in the country.

Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St., 815-5500. Dinner for two with wine, tip and tax $200.

Sara Waxman's restaurant reviews can be found at www.canoe.ca/TorontoDiningOut