4 Course Feast

Hello,

Baldini Restaurant on Queen St East.

I got a coupon for a 4 course meal for 2 for $60 and so we decided to try it.

First the 2 starters;

Marinated calamari grilled Charred tomato salsa, capers, kalamata olives and balsamic reduction served on organic greens:  Not rubbery (a common mistake with calamari) and an amazing charred salsa.  Not sure how they did it but was a great start.

Herb encrusted baked goat cheese, grilled eggplant on baby mixed green & balsamic syrup:  served at the perfect temperature and what can I say but I just LOVE cheese.

Secondi;

Stuffed homemade agnolotti with butternut squash & ricotta cheese in a tomato cream:  If I was not in a nice restaurant I would have licked the plate.

Penne, leeks, Pancetta & vodka in a rose sauce: very pleasing with a good mop up capacity with the bread.

Entrees;

AAA Grilled fillet mignon in a Madagascar peppercorns Barolo wine with Yukon gold truffle oil mashed potato & market fresh vegetables:  Cooked perfectly but there was just a bit too much sauce.

Free range stuffed breast of chicken with prosciutto, provolone white wine mushroom Dijon cream sauce with Yukon gold truffle oil mashed potato & market fresh vegetables:  nice moist chicken with amazing sauce.  A bit too much cheese in there but a great addition.

Desserts;

Sicilian Lemonchello cherry tart:  I was almost too full to have any of this but I had to have some.  Not a huge desert fan but I would get this no question.

Chocolate Raspberry Tartuffo: one bite was all I could muster as I was too full.........

Dog Carts

Hot Dog carts.  They are everywhere in Toronto.  I think most of my street meat has been eaten in or around the Sky Dome (Yea I still call it the Dome) before or after sporting events.

On Friday I was attending my first CFL Argos game.  I needed some dinner and it was very fitting that I would get a dog or 2.  Now there are many choices around the stadium.  Most are about $3 for a dog with some vendors undercutting at the low low price of $2.50.  I happen to know one right near the Dome that has them at the cut rate price of $1.50!!  If you are looking for it you can find him on the north side of the Dome on Front street on the South side just West of the steps up.  Enough description for you?

These dogs are pretty much the same as all of the other ones just cheaper.  They have all the standard fixings and are exactly what you think except for the price of 1 I got 2.  This filled me and I enjoyed the game.

If you are in the market for some street meat and are in the area for an event, I suggest using this guy.

A Burger with a View

This Burger has the best view in Canada anyway.

Up the CN Tower you would assume that the food in the restaurants is expensive and poor quality.  You would be right on one of the 2 assumptions.  It is fairly expensive but the quality is great.

This was my first trip up the tower even though I have lived in Toronto my whole life.  It was a great experience and I would suggest that anyone who goes up get a virtual handheld guide.  It is well worth it.

What made it all the more worthwhile for me was the burger.  It was "towering" (forgive me) with all the fixings including mushrooms, fried onions and 2 kinds of bacon!!  Usually the bacon on the burger only comes in 1 variety so this was a pleasure.  Stacked on top was onion rings around a knife that went through the whole meal.  The rings were crisp with a soft onion centre that gave a crunch and mush feeling that's perfect.  The burger was as you imagine it.  It's huge mass worked well as you could not fit it all in your mouth.  The different flavors complimented each other and led to a texture mixer in my mouth.  Never thought I would eat up there let alone love it.

Despite the expense, if you are going up for free it is well worth it to eat in Horizons (The other fine dining one is a 360 degree spinning restaurant).  The view is worth it and surprisingly the food is almost worth it too.

The Beaver is a Magestic and Noble Creature

Quick dinner on Friday night was at a place called "The Beaver" on Queen St West out near Gladstone.  It doesn't really have a sign so you have to look out for it.

A quiet and unassuming place, it has some great beers on tap as well as reportedly one of the best pulled pork sandwiches in the city.  So I had it.

Very solid sandwich.  Lets start with the bun which was an egg bread but which they called "rustic".  moving on pulled pork with lettuce and tomato and onion is a new factor for me.  I have never had it with those and it adds an extra element of flavour to it.  There was a creamy hint of sauce on it as well that was hidden throughout which kind of tasted like coleslaw sauce.  Finally the actual pork was quite juicy and the sauce zingy.  All of the hall marks of a great sandwich.  I would maybe rank it 3rd in the city behind (in no particular order) Black Camel and the Stockyards.  Finally it had a nice greens salad that made me feel like I was eating something healthy.

If you are in the 'hood check it out!!

Wedding Eats

Hello,

Sorry about the lower quality picture for this one but my does not have a great camera.
On the Weekend I attended a wedding event in the city of a couple of friends of mine.  Drew and Samira have great taste in food and like to cook.  This is why I chose to attend (not true but it an added benefit).

They made their own food so don't try to out there and find this food.

Quinoa Tacos:
With some veggies and salsa and sour cream.  I am usually not a quinoa fan because i find it dry but this was nice and moist. Adding it with corn tortillas it made a great gluten free meal. YUM

Skewers:
Meat Tortellini with cherry tomato and green bean.  With the honey mustard sauce this was an interesting mix.  I have never thought about mixing these together.  It was simple, it was tasty and it was varied in its texture.  You should try it out at home.

Skewers #2:
Sweet Potato and sausage.  Simple. a good mix.  You can use any type of sauce that you would like.

When going to a wedding you should consider the food and either starve yourself before it or stuff yourself.  Not really words to live but but thats OK.

Cheers,
Duncan

Back with: Tasting the Danforth

Ok so my month layoff was successful.  I was trying to save money and eat in but there is just too much good food out there.

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago because I knew I would want to post it at some point.

One of the greatest thing about living in Toronto is that I am close to and even within walking distance from so many great events.
The closest to my house is always Taste of the Danforth.

Many different flavours.  Many different people.  If you don't like crowds this is not the festival for you.  To start with I think the best parts of the "Taste" go from the stage at Broadview to the Licks Burger at Pape.  Everything beyond there out to Jones Ave is all carnival stuff and that you can get at the Ex.  The people watching is usually best on Sat night, however, we went down on Friday night to avoid the rain that was forecast.  Now to the Food;

Corn.  A staple of "Taste".  I find the best one is beside Marks Work Warehouse just West of Pape.  This one is cooked with the husk still on and peeled back so that you have something to hold on to.  After a slow dip in to some melted butter it's on the the seasoning station.  They have everything from plain salt to Taco seasoning.  I chose some lemon pepper and some salt.  The corn was juicy and, important in walking events, easy to eat.

Calamari.  You can get this almost anywhere along the road here.  It is a constant but the real different maker is what sauce is offered with it.  There is a Thai place around Chester that had a unique sauce that I had never tasted before.  It was a little bit of seafood sauce mixed with something else.  Not sure what it was but it smoothed out the zing of the seafood sauce.  Not the best I have ever had but something different.

Finally I went for some Quail.  Even though I have seen huge spits of it rotating, I have never actually gotten one.  The bird is fairly small and you don't get a ton of meat per fowl.  However, all of the meat is dark (which I love) and it is fairly simple to eat.  I would have quail again but probably if I made it on my own or specifically for me.  En mass it was a little dry.

The funniest thing was a dude who was chopping coconuts and sticking a straw in them.  I did not get a good picture but he was using a meat cleaver and flipping it and the nut up in the air with some tricks.  My hand would be gone if I tried this.

Walk the food talk the food taste the food.  Taste of the Danforth OUT.

Merry me Berry

Hello.

Brunch on Sunday is such a cliche but I still love the idea of waking up late and then eating a large meal in which I can combine many types of food.

Emily and I went to one called Merry Berry yesterday on Parliament just south of Wellesley.

This place is cute.  It has a homey feel inside with great wall paintings and bench seating all around the outside.  The Patio is like sitting in a small backyard in the city with some great wire tables.  All of the servers and people who work here are amazing and some of the most pleasant people I have ever met.

Now onto the food.

We shared a couple of things starting with the coleslaw.  This was probably the best slaw I have ever had.  It was a mix of red and green cabbage with nuts, green apple, shaved beets, and shavings of veggie chips with a honey mustard dressing.  It was unique and amazing.

MMMMMMMMM platter.  It started with a fruit cup which was pretty standard.  Then moving on to a grilled cheese with some sort of grain mustard sauce included as well as spring onion on multi-grain bread.  I am going to start doing this at home as it is very tasty.  A warm bran muffin with fruit in it is the next stop which brought some great density to the meal.  And to finish it off we had an egg bake with potatoes, chiriso, veggies, and other in it.  this was the perfect meal mix as it included everything you wanted in breakfast and lunch together.

Decent pricing as for 21 bucks we were both stuffed.

I will be going back here to try many many different things.