Category Archives: Tasting

Wanda’s Pie in the Sky… Again

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On Monday I met up with Al for pie at Wanda’s Pie in the Sky.

The first time I had a pie from Wanda’s I really didn’t like it. It was a Sour Cherry pie and it was bitter, wet and the crust was not good. I think I need to get over the pie crust thing – I don’t think I will find a pie crust that is light and flaky and perfect. If I want that, I need to make my own pie…

The second time, we had savoury pies and they used phyllo pastry rather than pie crust which I think made it enjoable. It was savoury, and full of cheese and spinach and mushrooms. Mega yums.

My third attempt at Wanda’s was a success.

Al ordered the Raspberry Rhubarb pie.

I ordered the Blueberry Pie.

My pie was amazing. I want another slice. The slightly weird thing was they asked me if I wanted it served warm – do you eat blueberry pie warm? And warm without ice cream? It just made me think of that scene from When Harry Met Sally…

This is a good pie if you can’t go to my mom’s house. Mega yums…

The Canadian Pie Company

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After our lunch at Prohibition Gastrohouse we strolled down to The Canadian Pie Company.

Pie is a severely under appreciated and under made dessert. I prefer pie to cake which people find shocking but it’s true. This summer I will conquer pie in two senses – make my own and find the best pie in Toronto. Sadly, this did not successfully complete the second task.

The inside of this restaurant looked like someone’s cottage kitchen – cute and cosy. Unfortunately, that’s about as cute and cosy as we get. I think the savoury pies looked unreal and better than the sweet pies but as we had just eaten lunch we didn’t get savoury pies. Instead we got slices of sweet pie.

GC ordered the Strawberry Rhubarb and I ordered the Peach.

My mom told me I was foolish to order the peach pie since it wasn’t August but I really wanted a slice of peach pie. This pie was not a favourite of mine – the peaches were raw and hard, the bottom crust was slick and wet and the lattice crust tasted more like phyllo pastry than pie crust.  I did not like my pie. GC didn’t like his pie either.

No great loss – it would have actually been worse if this pie had been amazing because it’s all the way out in the Beaches and I wouldn’t be able to easily get a slice.

Alas, the pie quest continues…

Prohibition Gastrohouse

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On Mother’s Day GC and I went for lunch at Prohibition Gastrohouse.

The reason we went out to the Beaches was to go to The Burger’s Priest and of course, it was closed because it was Sunday and there was church (that’s what the sign says but I think it is just being cute/clever rather than religious). I applaud anyone who uses the Queen streetcar to come all this way because it’s terrible. We were pretty disappointed to have come all the way and not be able to try some burgers. We are intending to go back at some point so they better be damn good burgers.

We wandered along Queen for awhile looking for a place to lunch and we came across Prohibition Gastrohouse.

Eat well. Speak easy. Clever and historical – I love it.

This reminded me of a British pub: Dark wooden bar and tables, deep booths in green leather and an impressive selection of whiskeys and scotches. The front of the restaurant had garage style doors which opened up to let in a cool breeze and there looked to be a patio in the back. GC and I sat at the bar because it was a bar that was actually spacious enough to enjoy your meal and not feel crammed and the chairs had reasonably high backs to avoid being hunched over like a gremlin. The whole place was slightly dark and cozy, reminiscent of its speakeasy predecessors of the 1920s but not as sketchy or susceptible to raids.

Everything on the menu looked amazing and despite having Mac & Cheese the day before I ordered it again for lunch… and I ordered the full portion.

Vesuvio pasta, black truffles, Canadian Gruyere, 5 year old Cheddar, Ermite PQ Bleu, Shallots, Parmesan-Truffle oil brioche crust and bacon. This is the most ridiculous Mac & Cheese I will ever eat. It was creamy, earthy and smoky and surprisingly not salty. I think the truffles were a bit much and added more aroma than anything else. This is the best Mac & Cheese I have ever had but if I am craving Mac & Cheese, this wouldn’t be my choice. It is too rich and indulgent to be comfort food and satisfy feelings of homesickness and nostalgia.

To review how much Mac & Cheese I ate in a 4 day period here it is: Saturday dinner, Sunday lunch, Sunday dinner (I got my Mom’s recipe on Mother’s Day – how great is that!?), Monday breakfast, Monday lunch, and Tuesday lunch. In the course of the 8 meals I ate in the 4days, I had Mac & Cheese 6 times. How I did not have a massive heart attack I don’t know…

GC ordered the Pulled Pork Grilled Fromage with Duck Fat fries.

Duck fat confit pork butt, Black River maple Cheddar, 5 year-old Cheddar, on sourdough. Creamy, salty and stringy. I loved the presentation of the sandwich, on the almost palette-esque board. And it came with two sandwiches, how ridiculous is that? Ridiculous being used here to mean something positive. The duck fat fries were of course, amazing.

Althought this wasn’t where we were intending to end up, it was a happy surprise. This is a must check-out location in the Beaches. I only wish it was slightly closer to my house but I think that would be a dangerous thing…

Happy munching!

 

Hey Lucy Cafe

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On Saturday night we went for a date night to Hey Lucy Cafe on Bloor St.

Remember when Hey Lucy used to be Mel’s Diner? The first summer GC and I were dating, we had breakfast at Mel’s at least once a week and we loved it.. Unfortunately, in my third year of university Mel’s closed permanently and was replaced by Hey Lucy. I think maybe we avoided Hey Lucy for sentimental reason but also because we were slightly poor as university students. Last Thursday I went for drinks with my friend Caitlin to celebrate her departure to Africa. I enjoyed it so much that I took GC on the weekend.

I was really surprised by the menu at Hey Lucy because it is very Italian which is not what I was expecting. I think I was expecting typical North American food with some Asian-fusion thrown in. What the menu turned out to be was much better. They have a wood burning oven that fills the whole restaurant with the smell of fresh, homemade pizza. The restaurant is very funky and hip, but grown up which is sometimes rare for the Annex as it is constantly infiltrated by university students. The tables are an assortment of high bar tables and stools, long bench seating and club chairs. There is also an amazing patio looking onto Brunswick with ample space and umbrellas.

**All my pictures were poorly lit as we were sitting on the ambianced patio. I really need to get a better camera.

We started off with some cocktails – I had a classic gin martini and GC had a Caramilk martini.

The sign that I am not yet an adult is that I can not handle a classic martini. I think maybe it would be better with vodka… regardless my favourite part was the olives. GC’s cocktail was good, it tasted just like the chocolate bar but the only problem was the amount of ice and chocolate chips in the glass. On Wednesday nights they have cheap cocktail nightand we are planning on spending many a Wednesday night on that patio this summer.

Then we had the Fried Calamari.

Calamari with dried chili, sea salt, lemon and a side of tzatziki. This is the best fried calamari I have ever had. It was perfectly crispy, not chewy and it tasted like an afternoon in Greece/Italy. The tzatziki was smooth and cool with a slight hint of citrus.

I had Lucy’s Mac and Cheese.

Double smoked bacon, cherry tomatoes and a four cheese Alfredo. This is the first Mac & Cheese I have had that reminds me of my mom’s. It was creamy but with a little bite. The tomatoes were soft and well cooked (not that my mom uses tomatoes). There were crunchy bread crumbs on top which is how I like my mom to make Mac & Cheese for me. Although I would have a better Mac & Cheese the next day (you don’t even know how much Mac & Cheese I ate in a four day period), I think if I am craving Mac & Cheese and don’t feel like making it, I will go for this one.

GC had the Seafood Fettuccine.

Tiger shrimp, scallops and calamari tossed in their house tomato sauce. Seafood and pasta, does it get much better than that? The seafood was cooked well but the scallops were a bit on the small side in my opinion. The tomato sauce was thick and fruity, the perfect compliment the the citrus notes in the seafood.

Tasty food, great drinks, funky ambiance and in one of my favourite Toronto neighbourhoods – clearly this means I am going back. Next time I will be trying some wood-oven pizza and hopefully I will be on the patio during the day so I can take some appetizing looking photos.

Happy munching!

 

Chicago Style Dawg

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Last Thursday at lunch I headed down to Queen and Dalhousie to hit up some food truck action. The trucks that are parked daily at this intersection are Caplansky’s Thundering Thelma and Food Cabbie. Since I can eat Caplansky’s at the restaurant on College and they weren’t serving any of their drilled, chipotle filled, deep-fried pickles, I opted to try Food Cabbie.

Food Cabbie serves up traditional, American-style foods – burgers, hot dogs, fries – as well as daily specials. Last Thursday the special (posted every day on Facebook and Twitter) was a Tuna Salad Sandwich and I was incredibly tempted but I also had a huge hot dog craving so I opted for the Chicago Style Dawg (their spelling, not mine). The next day the special was Fish Tacos and I contemplated going two days in a row but I decided to be responsible.

This is a Chicago Style Hot Dog. And according to Wikipedia, they got the hot dog down. I know whenever I eventually get to Chicago, an authentic Chicago-style hot dog is on the list of foods to try and then I can give a fair critique. Having never had an authentic Chicago-style hot dog though, here is what my first impressions are:

1. A boiled hot dog? Really? Why? At the time I didn’t know it was boiled and I only realized that about five minutes ago while reading Wikipedia. When I was eating the hot dog I just thought they barely barbecued it which would have been an issue on its own. BUT, because it is supposed to be boiled, it was boiled perfectly (That feels weird to write, since I feel like hot dogs should always be barbecued…)

2. The hot dog is topped with mustard, white onions, sweet relish, dill pickles, tomato wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt – all the fixings of a traditional Chicago-style hot dog. That is a lot of toppings. My standard hot dog is ketchup, mustard, relish and onion and I feel like that’s pushing it on same days. There was a great amount of heat from the sport peppers and the celery salt added a nice kick but there was just a lot going on. I don’t know how people in Chicago do it…

This was a tasty hot dog but I think in the future I will stick with my standard toppings instead. But, Food Cabbie is definitely worth checking out and tasting.

Guest Post – Cafe Polonez

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Guest post by my sister Amelia, who last week when she was in Toronto was on the hunt for some good Polish food!

195 Roncesvalles Ave., Toronto ON; 416-532-8432; open daily 11 am to 10 pm, take-out available; seating capacity: 80+; http://www.cafepolonez.ca/About_Us.html

Searching for authentic Polish pierogi, I made a mid-week trip to Roncesvalles for lunch. While the area has diversified over the years, there are still several distinctly Polish/Eastern European establishments on the avenue. Café Polonez is one such restaurant and has received several positive reviews on blogto.com for their pierogi.

The exterior does not distinguish it from other storefronts on the strip but it’s recently renovated interior was a pleasant surprise and features comfortable seating. A family run restaurant, Café Polonez’s popularity was apparent as the restaurant had more than a dozen customers shortly after opening at 11 am.

I ordered the 6 piece pierogi (homemade boiled dumplings). Café Polonez will pan-fry your pierogi if you ask, but this is unnecessary, as these are delicious boiled. Served with sour cream and fried onions and minced pork, they offer four types of filling: Ser cheddar (cheddar and potato), Ruskie (cottage cheese and potato), Mieso (Minced pork), and Kapusta i grzyby (sauerkraut and mushroom). I ordered the cheddar and potato. They were great! They were large (about double the size of standard frozen pierogi), and the filling was creamy and rich. While sour cream is frequently paired with pierogi, I had never had the minced pork and onion topping. It complemented both the cheddar and potato filling and sour cream.

The only thing I would change on my next visit would be to get the 12 piece dish instead! I’ll be returning to Café Polonez next time I’m in Toronto for pierogi and to try other menu staples such as beet root soup with dumplings, crepes, and potato pancakes.

Thanks, Amelia! This is definitely a restaurant GC and I will be checking out!

 

 

 

 

Toronto Underground Market

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On May 5th I was lucky enough to go to Toronto Underground Market‘s Street Food Block Party – Cinco de Mayo edition at the Evergreen Brickworks with my friend Lesley.

I had heard about the Toronto Underground Market and their food events but I hadn’t been able to get my hands on any tickets. Tickets to these events are highly coveted and people will spend a fortune on them – they sell for $10 but on the day of the event people were posting comments on Facebook asking for $100 per ticket and people were willing to pay! This is a good sign for the Toronto foodie scene.

I was messaged by Yvonne from Bonfire Catering who offered to hook me up with two tickets as a special thanks for my review and contribution of photos to their soon-to-be redesigned website. So a special shout out and thanks goes out to everyone at Bonfire Catering who hooked me up with the tickets and amazing pizza once I got to the event! I appreciate anyone who encourages and inspires my love of food.

This event is very well organized – on the website it has directions of how to get to the Brickworks by TTC or car and they had free shuttle buses running from Broadview station every half hour. I would suggest this option. We were lucky enough that as soon as we got off the subway there was a bus waiting for us – my only comment on this was the bus should have been bettered marked (on the way home the bus we took had a sign in the window) and there should have been signs in the subway station itself on where to find the buses. A short 5 minute bus ride and you are let off on the grounds of the Evergreen Brick works.

The doors/gates were supposed to open at 5:00 and we were in line by 5:10. The line was insanely long but we did get there about 100 people into the line which isn’t bad. I would suggest coming early, aiming for about 4:45. Security is “tight” – I’m using quotes because I will illustrate a point about this later. They scan your ticket, stamp your hand and you’re in for a night of food, drinks, music and fun. Each vendor had two menus: one early and one late – the late menu started at 9. I wish we had the staying power to last until 9 to taste some of the later offerings but we crashed. Next time!

Because the May edition of the Toronto Underground Market was on Cinco de Mayo most of the vendors served Mexican/Latin inspired menus in addition to/or instead of their standard offerings. I think this was an interesting premise but some vendors were more successful than other. It also wasn’t a true representation of what each vendor/truck truly can do. This just means I will have to go to the June edition to see what they are all about!

We did a few laps just to see which vendors were there and what we felt like tasting first. We were provided with a map at the gate and they did post this map prior to the event so this step was not necessary but I think it is good to situate yourself especially when it comes to epic amounts of food. Next time, I will look at the map beforehand, come up with a list of vendors/trucks I want to try and create a plan of attack. I will be more German efficient next time.

Our first stop was Sullivan & Bleeker Toronto Baking Company.

I was drawn to this vendor because THEY HAD CUPCAKES IN JARS. How often do I say, “I wish this dessert came in a jar with a lid so I could carry it in my purse” ?!

I think this is one of the more brilliant and unique ideas I’ve seen in baking lately and I hope this trend takes hold. These would make great gifts or snacks or just because desserts. I bought two types: S’mores and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and GC and I shared them for breakfast the next day.

The cake was moist and fluffy, the icing was smooth, creamy and sweet. The cupcakes also travelled extremely well. There was no shifting of the icing/decoration, everything stayed perfectly in place. I am in love. And now I have two small Mason jars and hopefully I can try and make these myself! Lesley got two cupcakes: S’mores and Cookie Dough.

Our next stop was ESE.

ESE is serving up LA style Mexican food and it is delicious. I don’t really know which one of the I had but from process of eliminate and Google searches I think I had the Torta Ahogada.

This was essentially a pulled pork slider but to simplify it in that way obviously does not do it justice. The pork had a nice amount of heat, that played with the fatty, juiciness that pork naturally has. The pickled cabbage was sweet and salty and the perfect contrast to the richness of the pork. I could have eaten about 1,000 of these. This was a great bite of Cinco de Mayo.

Our next stop was Bonfire Catering to say thanks to everyone and have some tasty pizza.

The team at Bonfire was friendly and pumped about the food they were serving. I’ll have to admit that when we approached the truck I was apprehensive to own up to being behind Tastebuddies – I’m shy and awkward. But I’m glad I got over myself and asked to say hi to Yvonne. I got to meet a great team behind some great food. To kick off their take on Cinco de Mayo we started off with jalapenos stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon as we waited for our pizza to cook.

There was the perfect charbroil on this little popper. The cheese was so creamy and stringy and the bacon was perfectly crisp. All of this with a subtle undertone of heat from the jalapeno. This is what all jalapeno poppers should strive to be.

I ordered the meat pizza and Lesley ordered the vegetarian.

The meat pizza had spicy chorizo sausage which had a great spice and was salty and so tasty. The wood oven added a great smoky and earthy taste to the crust which is the perfect base for the rich toppings.

Lesley doesn’t usually like olives but she said that the olives worked perfectly with the cheese and it was creamy, salty goodness.

Another hit by Bonfire Catering – Mexican style.

Our next stop was to taste a little Greek cuisine from Kalofagas Greek Food.

I am not a huge fan of Greek food – I love Greek salad and tzatziki and that’s about it. I don’t know what it is. I find it salty and bland. That being said I still went to a vendor that served Greek food.

They were serving up four types of souvlaki and they had display versions of each one which I thought was a neat idea – show people what they can eat which will entice more people to your booth and get people through the line up faster as they can see what they will be getting, which in theory should make the decision easier.

I ordered the Pork Souvlaki.

The tzatziki was creamy and cool and the hot sauce added a little bit of kick. Lesley tried to order the Veggie Burger but it took over 10 minutes so Lesley asked for her money back. It is unfortunate that they couldn’t keep up with the demand of the event. And apparently there are tons of vegetarians who didn’t get to be satisfied by Greek food. No big loss there in my opinion…

While we were waiting for our souvlaki, we noticed this guy:

Right away we thought he was sketchy. He appeared out of nowhere, he didn’t have any signage and he had the world’s smallest deep fryer, but I bet he had a ticket and a stamp on his hand. A woman came over with a very stern look and started talking to the guy and from what we could gather he thought he could just walk in and start frying french fries. Later we overheard him saying he had heard about the event and just decided to come and serve up fries. We started to wonder if he had brought his mini deep fryer on the subway.

And of course, Lesley just had to sample some of his chips.

He had an assortment of toppings – sea salt, rosemary and other herbs, and difference sauces – Lesley loved these chips. Salty, sweet, citrus. Surprisingly good chips from a random, dirty chippy.

After having so much spice we needed something to wash down the heat – and of course, on Cinco de Mayo the only choice is tequila. Tromba was there serving tequila and I have to say, Patron move over, because I have a new favourite tequila. Tromba’s mission is to dispel traditional conceptions of tequila. Their website is witty and sarcastic and edgy – everything tequila is and makes you when you drink it. They made us a drink that was a shot of tequila and a shot of equal parts agave nectar and lime juice served on the rocks. This is one of the tastiest cocktails I have ever had. It was sweet, earthy, crisp, with a hint of citrus and of course, that brilliant tequila kick. This cocktail was the perfect palette cleanser to allow us to enjoy more food.

Next stop - the Cupcake Diner. I had vowed to GC that I wouldn’t buy any cupcakes – that morning I had made 5 dozen cupcakes and I have issues with cupcakes made by other people. But of course, the truck and her are both so adorable that I can’t help it

I ordered the Cinnamon Churros and Lesley ordered the Chilli Chocolate and Strawberry Margarita.

I ate my cupcake later that night for “dinner.”

What is with the side of this cupcake? I don’t even know how this would happen – I assume two cupcakes ballooned together in the oven and then were ripped apart but it was not very nice looking and I would probably not sell/give away for free a cupcake that looked like this. The cake was a delicate cinnamon base and that was about it. The caramel sauce was sweet and not as silky as the caramel that accompanies churros. The churro topper was flaky and sugar coated but not an authentic churro. This cupcake was a cute attempt to capture a classic Spanish dessert but have a churro instead. The cupcake was good in it’s own right but did not capture it’s namesake very well.

But we all know the next time I see this adorable truck I wil order more cupcakes….

We then headed over to Paese.

Lesley ordered the Italian and Mexican Chopped Salad. She was disappointed – it seemed as if they went for colour and texture rather than taste. I order the Pepperoni and Smoke Mozzarella Arancini with Mexican Salsa Verdi. Arancini are rice balls coated in breadcrumbs and obviously this is an amazing combination. I tried these for the first time at GC’s cousin’s son’s 2nd birthday and they were made by GC’s cousin’s friend’s nonna and that woman has skills. These were comparable but I didn’t like the chunks of pepperoni in the arancini. Arancini should be smooth, with hints of cheese and tomato. Besides having crispy chunk of pepperoni they were creamy and cheesy which made my tummy smile. The salsa verdi was a nice nod to Cinco de Mayo but didn’t add anything to the dish.

And I am now searching for recipes for Arancini…

All fooded out and about ready to leave we stopped for one last drink at Spearhead Brewing Company.

This beer is a lighter beer which they likened more to wine than beer. It is also made with pineapple juice. There is definitely a summer trend to create lighter beers with fruity notes (Mill St. iced tea-esque beer). I think if it had been hotter and the beer had been colder I would have liked it more. It is like my dad says about beer, “if your hot and it’s cold then it’s good.” I think I will pick up some of this beer in the future though because sometimes you don’t want something heavy, just a light, smooth beer.

Full and sleepy we left around 7:30 – I think we did pretty good. I learned some things for next time:

1. Bring water

2. Bring containers to bring goodies home

3. Vendors/trucks with take-home items should be visited last

4. High demand items (i.e. lobster rolls) should be visited early

5. Stay, enjoy some music and dancing and drinks and maybe you’ll be up for Round II

This is an amazing event and I can’t wait to go back. Tickets for the June event go on sale on May 18th and I am definitely getting tickets – if you want to come let me know! I love when I can enjoy food with as many people as possible. There is no reason not to attend this event: transportation is taken car of, it is inexpensive and you have tons of notice.

I look forward to future yums by TUM.

Terroni

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On Friday I went for dinner with Liz, Amelia and GC to Terroni at Yonge and Rosedale.

There are three locations in Toronto and I chose this location because I could make a reservation online. Yes, I try to avoid as much human interaction as humanly possible. The entrance of this restaurant is confusing: it looks like it should be off of Yonge but it is actually on the side street. The exterior combines sleek and modern architecture with traditional and vintage textures and facades. This juxtaposition continues inside the restaurant.

This restaurant has a very 1960s Italy vibe which is retro, mod and fabulous. I wish I was cool enough to pull this look off in my own house. There are vibrant colours on all the walls, exposed brick, the stairs leading up to the second floor resemble piano keys and the tables had Italian words on all them (our token Italian couldn’t tell us what the significance behind all the words were). My favourite feature in the whole restaurant was the bookshelf on the second floor – it was jammed with books with hilarious and random titles that were arranged on the shelves by colour. It was so fantastic and I want to do this in my own house but that would require buying books for the sake of their spines…

We started off with cocktails – I had a bellini, GC had a Pompelmi , and Liz and Amelia had San Pellegrino’s limonata (they do not serve American sodas with the exception of Coca Cola, obviously). I think I prefer mimosas to bellinis – is this a fair comparison? GC’s cocktail reminded me of the Thyme Collins I had at Yours Truly except it had rosemary instead of thyme. I love the idea of putting fresh herbs in cocktails. It gives them a fresh and bright taste that compliments the sharp bite of alcohol.

Our entrees.

I had the Spaghetti in Canne a Mare.

“Fresh clams and mussels, calamari, scallops and tiger shrimp, light tomato sauce (this pasta is not served with parmigiano to highlight the delicate flavours of the shellfish; following ancient Italian tradition …enjoy).”

This was amazing. The pasta was so fresh and light. All the seafood was cooked perfectly. The calamari was not chewy at all and I love that there was baby calamari and you could see the legs. It just shows you how fresh and real everything is. And the shrimp that topped my perfect little nest of pasta was huge and perfectly cooked. The tomato sauce was fresh and bright but slightly oily but from my knowledge of Southern Italian cuisine (which I am basing on this meal and my current reading of The Godfather) this is common. I would like to eat this again. And again. And tell other people about it and have them eat it repeatedly.

GC had the Puzza Pizza.

White pizza with mozzarella, Italian mascarpone, gorgonzola, mushrooms, and Italian ham.

Liz had the Rigatoni Arcobaleno.

Mozzarella di bufala, zucchini, light cherry tomato sauce,and basil.

Amelia had the Affitisciuta Pizza.

Tomato, mozzarella, smoked scamorza, and homemade spicy Italian sausage.

We all loved our entrees. It was so good in fact that Liz, who frequently says she wishes she could take all meals in pill form, uttered, “I like food,” while polishing off her plate. Shocking! Hearty, fresh, Italian goodness. I am definitely going back for seconds.

And of course we had dessert.

I had the Tiramisu and a Latte.

Tiramisu is tiramisu. It is always delicious and creamy it just depends on how much espresso flavour you want. I would have like a tiny bit more to give it the punch I like.

GC had the Bomba Calda and an espresso

Ordering this was quiet the feat. On the menu it said it was only offered on weekends but we assumed, as it was Friday, we should be able to order this. We asked the server and she said no, the weekend is only considered to be Saturday and Sunday. Fair enough. GC switched his order to something else. The server came back about a minute later and she had double checked with the kitchen and they were able to make this dessert for him, even though it is sacrilegious to make it on a Friday. The bite I had didn’t make me think it was anything special that should be reserved for the weekend – it was an Italian donut with custard in the middle. I did not like the jam that came with it but then again I hate apricots/marmalade so that was to be expected. GC liked it though which is good because it was his dessert.

Liz had the Creme Caramel.

Liz did not like her cookie garnishes. I think sometimes with desserts they add all this fluff to make it seem impressive forgetting that simple works for desserts too. She did like, however, how they cut her blueberries in half.

And Amelia had two scoops of hazelnut gelato.

Overall, we had a great time. This restaurant had a funky vibe that was mod and retro but still comfortable. The food was amazing and could satisfy any appetite and any craving. The quality and freshness of the ingredients could be tasted with every bite. This is my new favourite Italian restaurant in Toronto. It is the kind of Italy I like to imagine – retro, 1960s, with all the glitz and glam of Fellini but still the quality and delicious ingredients that Nonna would use.

Mega yums. When can we go back?

Chippy’s Fish & Chips

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Last night GC was craving sushi but since we were on Bloor at 7 o’clock at night, all the sushi restaurants had incredibly long lines.To satisfy the fish craving we decided to go to Chippy’s Fish & Chips.

The restaurant is small and is one room containing the kitchen area, the cash and two bars with stools for people to sit. The kitchen is open to the sitting area so you can see how fresh everything is.

We both ordered the Halibut with chips. It is slightly pricey – typically when you order fish and chips at a restaurant they ask if you want a single or a double order but here you only get one piece of fish and it’s $13.99 plus the price of chips on the side. In my opinion that is pretty expensive. And maybe if it was the best fish and chips I had ever had I might be willing to spend that but unfortunately, not so much.

It would seem that I don’t have much luck with fish and chips. When I went to England last year I only ate fish and chips once and the fish was clearly from breaded and frozen and was terrible. It was at some pub in Liverpool where The Beatles did something – this is where I am relying on Liz to chime and say the significance of that pub. It was literally the worst fish and chips I had ever had. If I can’t get good fish and chips in England, where am I going to get it? Am I doomed to have sub par fish and chips forever?

The batter was crunchy and salt but it was thin, and so was the fish. Also, plastic forks and knives cannot hold up to deep fried things. It is a decent piece of fish but because of it’s price I don’t think it is worth it. The fries were not good. Obviously, I am biased because I am not a french fry fan but for a place that focuses on quality ingredients, these are not so great. You could tell they are fresh cut fries but meh, I’m not a fan. Neither was GC.

According to blogTO this is the second best fish and chips in the city. Well if that’s the case, this city is in severe need of better fish and chips. I think the fish and chips from Scallywags are infinitely better. That all being said, I am not going back. Sorry…

Rebel House

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Today was not one of my better days – the weather was dreary, I heard a man bastardize “Hey Jude” on the bagpipes, I got yelled at on the phone by more than one person and I was going home to an empty house. Because of all this I thought to myself, “Why go home, open an empty fridge and face more defeat?” Instead, I went to The Rebel House for their Ole Mackie’s Back – or their take on Macaroni and Cheese.

This is a great pub. It has three levels but is tight and cozy like a British pub. There is a patio in the back which resembles someone’s deck – homey and comfy. They are all about the micro-brews here – they have about 20 different beers on tap and they are all from microbreweries except one – Guinness. My server suggested the perfect beer for me – Black Oak Pale Ale. He started by asking if I wanted an ale or a lager, heavy or light, light or dark. It was a great beer and he knew his beer. Trust beer suggestions from guys who are in their 30s, with tattoos rather than girls who look 16. Just from my beer experience I know I want to come here again and the best part about it – it is about a 15 minute walk north of my work along Yonge Street.

Ole Mackie’s Back – Macaroni and cheese casserole with plum tomatoes, green onion and Cheddar cream sauce, served with home baked cornbread and house salad and/or kettle fries. I love that this is what this Macaroni and Cheese is called. Anything that conjures up ideas of Frank Sinatra is a great way to start off a dish. This did not use elbow pasta but tubes more similar to, but not actually, penne. Some of the pasta was oven baked crunchy which made me think this serving comes from a larger casserole that is baked earlier in the day and then reheated when ordered. This tomatoes were fresh and sweet and retained their crunch. This had a cheddar cream sauce which makes me liken this more to a casserole rather than a true Mac and Cheese – which is ok but be aware of what you are getting into. I did like this but since I am looking for an equivalent of my mother’s Mac and Cheese, I am not yet satisfied.

Corn bread is not my thing and I had established this when we went for Dishcrawl and we had the cornmeal empanada. I thought, “Hey this is actual corn bread and it has green onion in it and has been toasted on the grill.” Nope – this did not help. Corn bread is not me. Thank God I wasn’t a pioneer…

The kettle chips however, were great. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and the perfect amount of friedness that doesn’t make you forget that you are eating real potatoes.

This place is low key, homey, serves great food and lots of beer. Doesn’t get much better than that. I think next time I go I want to try the baked beans (Slow-cooked the traditional way with molasses, maple syrup, apples and beer) or the pickled beets. I am really looking forward to discovering the Rosedale/Summerhill area since it’s about halfway between home and work (ok, a little closer to work) and has a huge array of restaurants, cafes, bars and bakeries. And this was a great first introduction to the neighbourhood that will definitely bring me back.