Now THAT'S a piece of meat.

A couple of days ago, Captain Awesome surprised me by taking me for an lovely, impromptu dinner at Kiwe Kitchen.

The restaurant is situated on the corner of King & Portland, about one block from my office. I pass it every day, and have often made a mental note that I need to check it out for the after-work, cocktail scene sometime.

I had been enjoying drinks with Alli & Nadine, doing our usual gossip-catch-up-fest at The Bier Market up the street, when unexpectedly the Captain came swooping in to join us. Very pleasant surprise, indeed.

After the ladies left, we decided to grab a bite. Not wanting to eat the pub-fare on offer at TBM (which is a change for us, since we always eat pub-fare if it's offered), we headed across the street to Kiwe.

It's lovely inside, dimly-lit with low ceilings. There's a very intimate feel, accentuated by the deep, double-booths tucked to the side as you walk to the back of the restaurant, where you find a slightly more open-spaced seating area. The only issue I had was the length of the table in the booth - if you're there with your own Captain Awesome, it's far too much space to enjoy an evening together. So we sat right next to each other, which proved to be just perfect.

As it turns out, I know the Executive Chef - Derek - from my University days. Thanks to him, we were lucky enough to be spoiled with some incredibly fresh, west-coast oysters as a starter.

Then came the entrées. Oh, man.

I had a perfectly cooked cut of beef tenderloin, and The Captain had a lovely veal loin. Both were stupendous, but the tenderloin was quite possibly the best piece of meat I have ever had. Hands-down. I can't even begin to describe it, other than to say that it was melt-in-my-mouth, deliciousness. Perfect temperature, perfect colour. Perfect sauce, served with perfect greens. Just. Perfection.

We had a few glasses of wine along with the meal, followed by dessert in the form of apple-cinnamon shots. Yum!

For a mid-week dinner, it was one of the best ever. And if you're ever in Toronto, I highly recommend going there and seeing for yourself.