Hello all!!!
You may have noticed that I haven't been posting in a bit. If you wanted to know why, well, I got married yesterday on Ward's Island! And as many of you know, the few weeks before your wedding gets very very busy. We are leaving on our honeymoon tomorrow and will be back at the end of the month. So expect a tonne of postings throughout July (hopefully!). Also, if anyone needs a delicious event caterer, we can't say enough good things about Audrey Demers. Definitely the choice of the selective foodie!
In the meantime, let me leave you with a picture of my new wife Jessica and I as we were stroling along the beach this morning for the first time as husband and wife. See you all in a couple of weeks!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
CHICKEN PLUS CURRY ROTI: 216 Close Avenue - (416) 516-0747
Kevin outside Chicken Plus Curry Roti |
Dinner guest Kevin Barry |
The atmosphere at Chicken Plus Curry Roti |
Speaking of war, this is now the third candidate in the great Parkdale Roti war. So far Mother India is winning having beaten Bacchus Roti Shop. The question now is...will Curry Plus Chicken Roti beat Mother Indias amazingly tasty roti??? Kevin and I were excited to know (well mostly me, Kevin was just hungry, still weepy, and doing a shaky impersonation of Rachel singing Papa Can You Hear Me?…..yeeeeesh!).
Kevin's goat roti |
The atmosphere was just perfect. Well not perfect, per se, but its imperfections make it perfect! Its at this kind of restaurant that I love to eat. Small, cozy, clean, homemade signs, old pictures, and for some reason I LOVE the tiles on the walls. Can someone please explain that to me?
On side note, can someone please explain something else to me? Baby-boomers and restaurants. Why are they the worst combination ever?! Has anyone else ever noticed that going out to dinner with a baby-boomer is like driving with someone prone to road rage? The littlest thing will set them off and, instead of ignoring it or not considering it a particularly big deal, they will sacrifice the enjoyment of the entire evening by sulking, yelling, and being generally pissed off. It's like...suppose a waiter happens to walk past your table at a moment when you want their attention and the waiter, god forbid, doesn't see you. To a baby boomer that's the equivalent of the waiter having walked over to the table, thrown a cup of ice water in your face, and then moved on. And the principles!!! Oh god, don't get me started about baby-boomers who scream about the "principles". A word of advice. If you are out to dinner with a baby-boomer and they angrily demand to speak to the waiter/manager/owner and say something to the equivalent of "It's not the money, it's the principle!" just leave the table, wait outside 'til they're finished their chest thumping, and then sneak back inside and leave the server an extra tip. Lord knows they deserve it! Maybe I've just had some bad experiences but it seems like everyone I mention this to has very similar horror stories. Has anyone else had any similar experiences with this generation?
On side note, can someone please explain something else to me? Baby-boomers and restaurants. Why are they the worst combination ever?! Has anyone else ever noticed that going out to dinner with a baby-boomer is like driving with someone prone to road rage? The littlest thing will set them off and, instead of ignoring it or not considering it a particularly big deal, they will sacrifice the enjoyment of the entire evening by sulking, yelling, and being generally pissed off. It's like...suppose a waiter happens to walk past your table at a moment when you want their attention and the waiter, god forbid, doesn't see you. To a baby boomer that's the equivalent of the waiter having walked over to the table, thrown a cup of ice water in your face, and then moved on. And the principles!!! Oh god, don't get me started about baby-boomers who scream about the "principles". A word of advice. If you are out to dinner with a baby-boomer and they angrily demand to speak to the waiter/manager/owner and say something to the equivalent of "It's not the money, it's the principle!" just leave the table, wait outside 'til they're finished their chest thumping, and then sneak back inside and leave the server an extra tip. Lord knows they deserve it! Maybe I've just had some bad experiences but it seems like everyone I mention this to has very similar horror stories. Has anyone else had any similar experiences with this generation?
Best to skip the cole slaw |
The dinner ended and Kevin and I parted ways. I went home to my beautiful fiancĂ© (soon to be wife in like 4 weeks) and Kevin went home to cry over his Chris Colfer poster pasted above his hope chest in his bedroom. All in all, we both liked Chicken Plus Curry Roti and I’d go back. However, I’m sorry to say that Mother India is still in the lead! I actually went back to Mother India a while ago for lunch and updated its score to a 4. Its a really fucking good roti! Chicken Plus Curry Roti did make a very nice roti and I would recommend it but I wish it had been bigger and filled with more flavor and roti goodness! But a respectable roti it was indeed!
Rating: 3.25
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
BARQUE SMOKEHOUSE: 299 Roncesvalles Avenue - (416) 532-7700
Chris and Rob outside Barque Smokehouse |
So you can imagine my giddiness when Barque Smokehouse (pronounced Bar-Cue, I think) opened up on Roncesvalles - a new local smokehouse that seems to be riding the wave of “real bbq” restaurants throughout Toronto. Ever since I purchased my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, which I mark as the beginning of my love-affair with meat, smoked meat has become a sublime indulgence for me. I love sitting around the smoker smelling the sweet wafts of hickory, mesquite, alder, cherry, pecan, maple, cedar, or whatever is the smoke-de-jour. There’s a certain kind of basic and natural quality about cooking with smoke. It hits something deep within me.
Our dinner guest Chris Barry and Rob Norton |
Popcorn and dipping sauces for munching |
So we arrived and were seated with a bucket of plain popcorn and a couple of dipping sauces! Excellent!!! This was a really ingenious way for customers to snack without filling up. For starters, I ordered a coconut corn soup and Rob ordered some smoked bbq wings. And for our mains we each got a taster plate. Basically you can order a plate and pick 3 meats and a couple of sides. I ordered the brisket, the smoked chicken, and the ribs. The fourth meat option was a beef rib so Chris ordered that and promised me a bite. For my sides I ordered Cuban corn and some steamed vegetables. Chris and Rob ordered some fries and smoked asparagus if I remember correctly.
Coconut Corn Soup |
The meat arrived and the anticipation grew. My first bite was the ribs. It has a bit of a sweet rub and sauce to it which wasn’t tooooo sweet so you could still taste the smokey goodness of the ribs. The brisket however was the best part. Smokey and moist, I think everyone tried a bite and we all agreed it was the best meat of the bunch. The chicken had a nice flavour but it turned out a bit dry. For some reason I expected this. Chicken is already a hard meat to keep moist and its especially hard when slow cooking it over smoke. I’ve been to many smokehouses in the past and it seems like an ongoing battle to get the chicken right. Or perhaps I’m just being too demanding of my chicken. Regardless, I finished everything on my plate except the chicken. Next time I would order the beef rib as my third. I had a bite of Chris’ and it was just wonderful.
Mmmmmeat! And sides! |
A great addition to Roncy! |
It’s really wonderful to see Barque as busy as it was. We were lucky to have gotten the table we did and we spent our whole meal watching the lineup at the door get longer and longer. Many times I walked past the restaurant that had previously occupied the space and had rarely ever seen any customers, let alone a line up. And with the businesses on Roncesvalles having to suffer through yet another summer of hardcore construction, it’s nice to see a place that attracts a large crowd to a street that certainly needs the business.
Rating: 4
Monday, May 9, 2011
HAPPY TIME RESTAURANT: 1384 Queen Street West - (416) 532-9565
Tristen outside the Happy Time Restaurant |
There occurred a decisive moment around 15 minutes into the movie, right around the point where the novelty of the joke wore off and I realized that I had to sit through another hour and a half of this garbage. I didn't think it was funny anymore. I wanted to turn it off. So we did
Inside the Happy Time Restaurant |
The same feeling hit me as I began my stroll over to the Happy Time Restaurant for what was sure to be a memorable dinner with my best pal Tristen Brown. I had walked past it many time and that only thing I knew about Happy Time was that it seemed to be a place for people to get hammered, stand outside, smoke, and yell at each other. I suddenly thought back to the lesson I learned from Ishtar and realized that there is a very big difference between saying you're going to eat at this restaurant and actually putting the food into your mouth. The only difference was that I couldn't turn off my decision to eat there. Sure I could postpone it, but I had a responsibility to my readers to eat at EVERY restaurant in Parkdale, not just the reasonable ones.
The sweetest boy you ever did knew! |
On to our Happy Time experience. It didn't start well. On the way there I received a phone call from Tristen asking where I was and how much longer I'd be? He seemed nervous. When I arrived he had already started drinking and had a story to tell. Apparently one of the owners of the place came by his table to take his order. Normally this wouldn't be out of the ordinary except for the owner was pushing her daughter in a stroller along with her. Tristen had been momentarily confused since this was the first time someone ever took his order in a restaurant while pushing a stroller. I thought it was hilarious.
The menu |
The atmosphere of Happy Time is about what you would expect. A bar at the far end of the restaurant with bar stools in front, a pool table and a connected line of tables in the center of the room, and scattered seating around the perimeter. The patrons were also what you might expect. Loud, uninhibited, and wonderfully friendly!
The beer arrived and it tasted cold, clean, and great. So far so good. Right around that time two police officers came strolling in and went to talk with the bartender. I tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but all I heard was the bartender saying repeatedly "No I haven't seen him around here in a while." Cops left shortly after that.
Tristen's sauceless chicken wings |
Ok here's where I think we should recall a little conversation we had in the last post about expectations. For those of you who might not have read it, in the last post I spoke about how its impossible to separate your expectations and pretensions from your food experience. One day if we did nothing but blind tastings it might be possible, but in the meantime I think its best to not even try. We obviously had very very low expectations for the Happy Time Restaurant. To be honest I was expecting to be eating 2 week old roadkill fish with McCain frozen fries, regurgitated bile-scented ketchup, and tartar sauce that...well, you get the idea. I should also mention that right before our food arrived a couple of patrons were refused service at the bar and then started yelling at the top of his lungs at the whole restaurant. Then they threatened to come back and beat the shit out of the bartender. Like I said, expectations weren't too high but man were we having fun!
Daniel's fish and chips |
We walked away surprised. The beer was cold and clean, the food was tasty, owners were really sweet, and we had a really fun time chatting with some of the patrons. And best of all, my meal (2 beers + fish and chips) came to 11 bucks! Tristen's meal priced around the same! We walked away from the place and feeling great and really happy, just like the name of the place promised we would.
The true test of the Happy Time Restaurant came later on when I was waiting for the food poisoning to set in. So I went to finish up my night. Went to a gallery show, came home, watched some TV, threw some old batteries at the passing neighbourhood kids, huffed some permanent markers, took a Benadryl, went to sleep, woke up the next morning....
Nothing!
Tristen and I agreed that even though we would not bring our family to the Happy Time Restaurant, we would happily go there with good friends for some late night beers and some tasty deep fried snacks. We also both agreed it scored a solid 3.
Rating: 3
Friday, April 29, 2011
INTERSTEER RESTAURANT: 361 Roncesvalles Avenue - (416) 588-8054
The menu at the Intersteer |
The chef at the Intersteer was Bart Murawieki, a Susur Lee trained chef. He has apparently moved on and been replaced by Mike Cross, an old sous chef from Rain. To me this was the most intriguing part of the Intersteer. It appeared to be a kind of seedy old Polish bar but, if you braved its harsh veneer, it would reward you with some truly amazing food.
So with this in mind I invited a couple of friends out for a bite at the Intersteer. Everyone, meet Daniel Neuhaus and Vanessa Heins. You'll really like em both!
Daniel Neuhaus and Vanessa Heins |
Photographer Vanessa Heins is a Ryerson alumni who's name seems to appear all over the place. A favourite photographer amongst musicians and photo editors alike, she is an incredible talent who also seems to be completely devoid of any ego whatsoever. She makes the most wonderful and subtle photographs that have an airy and effortless quality to them. She's a doll!
Nacho pierogi |
We started off with the most intriguing sounding dish on the menu, the "nacho pierogi" which are pierogi with "the works". Both Daniel and Vanessa ordered the crispy chicken sandwich with avocado and Thai bail, Daniel got his with fries and Vanessa got hers with salad, and I ordered the pan-fried fish and chips. The pierogi arrived first and they were great. They were topped with cheddar cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, peppers, sour cream, and guacamole. Never did I ever think you could properly fuse together Polish and Mexican foods but the Intersteer has found a way. They tasted pretty good. I mean its the kind of a novelty dish that I enjoyed but probably wouldn't order again. Kind of like every single dish at a "Poutinery". Nevertheless we gobbled them up real quick. Even Vanessa had a bite and she's lactose intolerant! So speaks the power of the pierogi nachos.
Vanessa looking cute with her chicken sandwich |
My fish tasted good but I could see what Dan and Vanessa were saying. The accompanying homemade tartar sauce was great but the fish itself wasn't particularly special. Perhaps I was being unfairly influenced by Intersteer's reputation, or perhaps I was expecting too much, but really the fish was entirely average pub fare.
My pan-fried fish and chips |
In the meantime, Intersteer you disappointed us. I think I would go back but only for the drinks, the patrons, the jukebox, and the waitresses who say I smell really good, not for the food.
Rating: 2.5
Friday, April 22, 2011
STAMPEDE BISON GRILL: 5 Brock Avenue - (416) 534-4999
Aristea and Reena outside Stampede Bison Grill |
I still to this day remember the moment when I was at the hooker Harveys by Ryerson University and, responding to the woman behind the sneeze glass, saying a phrase that, to me, always represented the ultimate form of adulthood.
"I'll have everything on it. Well except hot peppers. Oh fuck it, just a few hot peppers."
My bar mitzvah did nothing for me. Losing my virginity was just downright awkward. Earning my first pay cheque from Loeb grocery stores when I was fourteen was entirely anticlimactic. That moment in the hooker Harvey's was the day I became a man. Lucky for me it didn't also involve a hooker.
Fast forward many years and I find myself approaching Stampede Bison Grill with my good friends Aristea Rizakos and Reena Newman with the giddy exuberance of twelve year old girl at a shopping mall autograph signing. I had heard mixed reviews about Stampede from various sources. Elizabeth Brandt from Underline Studio once told me it was her neighbourhood weakness. Like after a shitty day, Stampede Bison Grill makes it all better. However my local hamburger expert Justin Broadbent, also one of the best designers in Canada, told me that it was very overrated and he wouldn't go back. Finally I would know the truth for myself. Hallelujah!
Our dinner guests Reena Newman and Aristea Rizakos |
Food photographer Reena Newman and I also met on that shoot. Aristea hired her as an assistant that day and we've been friends and colleagues ever since. She has just finished putting together a ridiculously nice portfolio of food photography which is already attracting much attention. She also might not notice but boys fall in love with her constantly. She is addictively cute! (Fyi, she is also married)
This is what we ordered... and what we could have ordered. |
The food arrives promptly and its already looking promising. The burgers are a good size and smothered nicely with fresh-looking toppings and condiments. The poutine is topped with cheese curds the size of eyeballs and the onion rings and sweet potato fries look damn yummy too. We each take a bite of our burgers at around the same time. A hush comes over the room. It takes a few seconds for our palates to negotiate the flavours and come to any decisions. But when they do, its unanimous.
The Veggie Burger |
These were very very very yummy burgers. Lets start with mine. Often bison burgers can come out dry because they aren't nearly as fatty as beef but this burger was moist and plump, it held together nicely, and was chock full of delicious gamy flavour. Sure the condiments were dominating my palate, as is the case with any burger, but you could still taste a gaminess to the bison that just made me weak at the knees!
Reenas burger was just as delicious but she did say it was a little overcooked. However she also said that she likes her beef as rare as possible and, since they probably aren't grinding up the beef right before it hits the grill, a rare burger might be ill-advised. She later admitted that she likes eating things that are as close to being "still alive" as possible. God love her!
Poutine, onion rings, and sweet potato fries |
And now, to the sides. The onion rings were perfect! Seriously. These were exactly as onion rings should be. Anyone who regularly eats onion rings knows that a low-quality onion ring will crawl out of its deep-fried bready shell like a scalding hot earthworm if it isn't bitten down upon with the force of a guillotine. These ones seemed to have partially melted into the breading and separated without any real force or conviction. And they tasted delicious to boot.
Our dark-rum chocolate milkshake (and proof to our spouses that we used two straws) |
However the two big highlights of the night were the poutine and the dark-rum chocolate milkshake. Sorry to dwell but the cheese curds in the poutine were just fucking huge. And yes a lot of factors go into making a good poutine (the flavour of the gravy, the quality of the french fry, etc.), but if you start out with huge cheese curds, you're already like 60% there! Lucky for us the fries were great and the gravy was pretty good. It wasn't the most flavourful gravy but still pretty good. Perhaps we were just so focused on those cheese curds that it overshadowed the gravy. Regardless, the poutine was fantastic.
The bison burger with cheese! |
Ok, at this point I feel like I'm gushing! Needless to say we were all relatively smitten with Stampede Bison Grill. Go check it out friends! And be sure to order the dark-rum milkshake. Sure its an indulgence but c'mon, we only live once, right?
Rating: 4.25
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
PHOENIX RESTAURANT: 1345 Queen St West - (416) 532-2971
Outside the Phoenix Restaurant |
The dinner guest theme of the evening is "the best people I met in 2010!" Everyone! Please meet Shelbie Vermette, Matthew Tammaro, and Andrew B. Myers. A word about all three in a moment, but first if you've ever wondered what goes on during our Parkdale dinners, here's a bit of a taste...
I actually met Shelbie Vermette in 2009 when she was working as an interim photo editor at Report on Business Magazine and she assigned me the harrowing task of photographing Ron Joyce, the co-founder of Tim Hortons. However then we only knew each others voice. We finally met in person at an event I held at my studio in 2010 (I won't mention the event, I'd rather forget about it entirely). She then did a brief stint as a photographers rep at Westside Studio and is now the photo editor at Eye Magazine. She is the walking definition of wonderful.
Shelbie, Andrew, and Matt |
Speaking of some of the best work I've seen in years, meet Andrew B. Myers. I was first introduced to his work through Heather Morton's much missed blog about a year ago. His work made me want to kill myself. Or at least abandon photography altogether and become a farmer. It was unlike any work I had ever seen. His work is amazingly mature, hilarious, and features the most beautiful colour palate of any Canadian photographer I've seen in a long time. Before I met him I was convinced he was some kind of wizard or some horrible turtle-neck and blazer wearing asshole who used to be into The Tallest Man on Earth but now they're just too commercial. Nothing could be further from the truth. Much like Matt and Shelbie he's an uber-talented humble sweetheart! The best qualities to have in a friends and colleagues.
Our Won-Ton Soup |
Yeah, not so much.
We arrived to a restaurant that was filled with what looked like reject tables from Spadina Avenue restaurants, a loud TV, and buzzing fluorescent light. Matt arrived first and Shelbie and Andrew shortly after. The menu was a bit confusing as it featured Chinese, South American, and Canadian food. So we asked our waiter to recommend a few things. By the way, our waiter was a 15 year old kid who turned out to be awesome but not particularly helpful. He said that everything on the menu was good and if we came back on Monday we should try out their famous Oxtail Soup. Apparently it takes 3 days to make and is only available on Monday and sometimes on Tuesdays. I plan to return for a follow up lunch review.
Matt trying to eat his soup in the sexiest way possible. |
For our mains we ordered a plate of sweet and sour chicken balls, some pork spareribs in a garlic sauce, an arroz co pollo which is a chicken fried rice latin style, and a chalet de cerdo which is a breaded beef steak.
The soups were great! Hands down the best part of our meal. Shelbie and I both appreciate a good won-ton soup and its exactly what we got. Pipping hot and not too salty. Matt also seemed to really enjoy his hot and sour soup. So far so good.
sweet and sour chicken balls |
I thought the pork spareribs in a garlic sauce was the worst dish of the meal although Andrew seemed to like it. Maybe he was just hungry or we were tasting different things. There was barely any meat on the ribs and the sauce just tasted like brown flavoured water, and the flavouring wasn't particularly good.
Chalet de cerdo (breaded steak) |
The surprise of the night was the chalet de cerdo (the breaded steak dish). When it arrived it looked kinda like a baseball glove sitting on bed of rice and not particularly appetizing. Matt sprinkled some lemon juice on it and, surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. Not great, but not bad at all. It tasted a little bit like schnitzel and the lemon flavour really went well with the, well, meat and breading. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I would order this again. In fact I don't think I would go back to the Phoenix altogether (except to try the Oxtail Soup). But this dish was probably the winner of the night. However that's not saying much.
Andrew trying to eat a chicken ball in the sexiest possible way. |
Rating: 2
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