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…

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…

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!

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!

1. Cortland apples
2. Rusk crackers
3. Goat cheese rolled in herbs
4.Baguette
5. Genoa Salami
6. Ivanhoe Cheddar
7. Brie

Simple and delicious. All washed down with Innis & Gunn beer.

I first caught this show after my mom had bought me my Kitchen Aid Mixer but it was not yet in my possession and I was trying to determine what to make using it for the first time. I wanted to make something that couldn’t be made by hand or using a hand mixer and would require the power and force of the mixer. After I saw the cheesecake episode of this show, I was sold.

I made Anna Olson’s New York Style Cheesecake.

1. As a rule of thumb, my mom doesn’t make cheesecake using more than 3 packages of cheesecake. This is probably a good rule of thumb but this cheesecake looked so sinfully delicious and creamy that I had to go for it. It used 4 packages of cream cheese.

2. The Kitchen Aid Mixer is literally the best thing in the world. I love it. It is whisper quiet and so powerful and just whipped the cream cheese into submission.

3. The sour cream adds a nice creaminess and rounds out the flavour of the rich cream cheese. The addition of lemon zest to the cake also does this.

4. This is only the second cheesecake I’ve ever made (I made a pumpkin cheesecake a few years ago for Thanksgiving) and it successfully did not crack AND I did so without using a bathwater. Anna’s baking instructions are: bake at a higher temperature for 10 minutes, lower it for 25 minutes, turn off for 30 minutes but leave the cheesecake in the oven, crack the door for 30 minutes (I am simplifying it obviously, but follow the directions). The total baking time is 1 hour and 35 minutes. This seems excessive but I think it might need another five minutes at some point because the middle could have been a little more solid.

5. The cake is topped with a mixture of sour cream, lemon juice and sugar. Light but with a little bit of a bite, this is the perfect way to top this cheesecake. Also, it will hide any unsightly cracks that may have formed.

This is going to be my go to cheesecake recipe so be warned if you have a slice because it is rich, fattening and oh so delicious.

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.

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!

1. I omitted the mushrooms because my had rotted in my fridge – I need to come up with a better way to buy my vegetables because they tend to rot.

2. I added the green pepper because they had stayed fresh in my fridge but I think next time I wouldn’t use them. I don’t like vegetables in my lasagna, whatever form it takes.

3. I accidentally used regular lasagna sheets rather than oven ready lasagna but it worked out fine. The noddles are completely submerged under cheese and pasta sauce so they will get nice and soft.

4. Lasagna photographs terribly.

5. This is a nice alternative to making a huge lasagna that could feed 400 people and requires you to turn on your oven. A good, summer lasagna alternative for a few people. I will definitely be making this again.

I made two types of cupcakes: Devil’s Food Cupcakes and Butterscotch Cupcakes with Salty Caramel Frosting.

1. The Devil’s Food Cupcake was the recipe from Martha Stewart I have used several times. The cake base is delicious and moist but I need to find a new icing. I used to whip the chocolate ganache but for some reason it did not set this time. I think next time I make these cupcakes I will just use a simple chocolate icing.

2. The Butterscotch Cupcakes are a recipe from Betty Crocker. They were incredibly sweet and next time I should probably follow the recipe and use 3/4 butterscotch chips rather than an entire bag. I think it would also help to melt the chips and then fold them into the batter to give the batter a smooth, rounded out butterscotch flavour.

The icing was delicious but incredibly thick and hard to work with. I had to thin out the icing twice with milk in order to make it a pipe-able consistency. I wish the icing had incorporated salt into it to give it slightly more depth rather than just sprinkling salt on top.

3. I had a major baking fiasco while making these cupcakes and I will actually own up to it. I had to melt some butter on the stove while baking the Butterscotch Cupcakes, so I had turned  on the stove, melted my butter and had continued baking. I pulled the cupcakes from the oven and put them on top of the stove. After about 5 minutes I noticed a burning smell but I thought, “Hey, there is probably some stuff on the oven element, no big deal.” Another 5 minutes passes and I notice smoke out of the corner of my eye, the cupcakes on the stove were smoking. I thought the venting from the oven had burned the cupcakes but I had left the stove on, which I didn’t realize until I was completely finished baking. I only lost 3 cupcakes to severe burns which wasn’t too bad.

See – even people who are passionate about baking and do it all the time have major fiascoes.

Overall, these cupcakes were a success, a little on the sweet side but you are eating a cupcake – what can you expect? Happy munching!

Recipe for Devil’s Food Cupcakes here. Recipe for Butterscotch Cupcakes below.

24 Cupcakes Prep time: 50 minutes Start to Finish: 2 hours 2 minutes

Cupcakes
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup milk
3/4 cup butterscotch chips, coarsely chopped

Caramel Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 milk
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Garnish
1/2 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-sized muffin cups. Grease and flour muffin cups or spray with baking spray with flour.

2. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl occasionally. Beat 2 minutes longer. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture, about 1/3 of mixture at a time, and milk about 1/2 at a time, beating just until blended. Stir butterscotch chips into batter.

4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans; place on cooling racks to cool.

6. In 2-quart saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar with whisk. Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Stir in 1/4 cup milk. Return to boiling. Remove from heat; cool until lukewarm, about 30 minutes. Gradually stir in powdered sugar. Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle each with kosher salt.