Ham and Leek tart anyone?

My boyfriend's friend and girlfriend flew in from Kelowna for a wedding in the city. We had been asked to go out that night for bowling with them but the attendance stats looked pretty low. I had gone over to my boyfriend's place later that night and were very indecisive of where we wanted to eat (we weren't gonna cook or do any dishes). My boyfriend then called his friend and asked if he had eaten. Apparently, they have not eaten and were highly interested in grabbing a bite to eat. I suggested to meet downtown since it's the midpoint for all of us. And then I suggested Moriarty's Bistro and Wine bar.

This place is relatively new, opening earlier this year. It used to be called Ching's Dim Sum Bar, an upscale Asian dining experience that turned into a club at night. It's located on Rice Howard Way, right beside Sherlock Holmes Pub (Moriarty was the archenemy of Sherlocke in the fictional novel of Sherlocke Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). Moriarty's is also owned by the same owners as Sherlocke Holmes and the Rose and Crown Pub. Glass windows and large glass door encase this small bistro. Inside is quite contemporary. Dim lighting with black decor: black chairs and tables, black rabbit table lamps and black cushioning on the wall. Perhaps it's a little too dark? But that's not the point...I'm only here to try the food!

I decided to order a mimosa, which is essentially orange juice and champagne mixed together. Eick. It wasn't good. The orange juice wasn't sweet and the champagne was strong; perhaps I was too hungry so I felt like I got drunk rather too quickly.  I scan through the menu deciding what to order. I remember reading in another blog about the ham and leek tart.  Ham and leek tart? Mmmm. That actually sounds yummy. I like ham and I just LOVE leeks. And a tart? That could be interesting. I ask the waitress when she comes to take our orders how the tarts are. She points out the "M" indicates their signature dishes. The "M" was beside the dish I wanted to order: the ham and leek tart. Tada! Exactly what I wanted. The waitress also describes the tart pastry as being very light, not heavy like pastry usually is.

My dish comes. Piled high with layers of leeks, I can see the house-smoked ham underneath. I cannot wait and dive into my first bite of the tart. Mmmmmmmmmm.

This is good stuff! I mean, really good stuff! I can taste the base of the tart, shaped like a large rectangular pizza, is spread with seedy dijon mustard. Then there's the ham, the leeks and the parmesan cheese. There's quite a bit of pepper for seasoning on the leeks which makes it, I think, even tastier. Gosh, this is really good I thought to be myself. I would come back only for this (I apologize for the dark photos as I only had my phone camera with me).

Surprisingly my boyfriend and I had room for dessert. The other party bailed on dessert as they were too full. Without thinking, my boyfriend and I chose the Root Beer Creme Brulee as this was one of their signature dishes. Whoa! Interesting flavours in my mouth. I could taste the subtle flavour of the root beer come through in my mouth in the brulee. It was accompanied by vanilla ice cream. This is a nice top off for dinner.

Root Beer Creme Brulee

So...in response to my post title: me please!