The Auld Spot

When you want brunch on a week day it is sometimes hard to find a place witha good menu. Most places don't open till about 11:30 or so and then take lunch stuff. So on Wednesday we had to settle for lunch fair. I didn't mind and it turned out well.

I seem to keep giving places good reviews. It might just be that I like most kinds of food but I do enjoy almost all of it.

My lunch included a pulled pork sandwich as well as some cajun fries.

I will have to say. If you have the option to get cajun fries anywhere you should GET THEM!!

Very solid sandwich but I will have to say the fries took the cake. they had just the right amount so spice on them without changing the consistancy. I would also suggest if you like poutine see if you can get cajun fries poutine.

Sarah also had a butternut squash and goat cheese bake which was awesome. Cool little pub and I will return!!

Having Some Sea Food With the Captain!

This one goes a bit outside of town but if you are on the road and looking for some great cheap seafood in an old school place I have a spot for you.

Brighton is a bustling town of just over 10,000 people in the township and was the dinner stop for myself on driving to Ottawa on Friday. Don't let the larger centres such as Belleville and even Trenton lure you in with their "fast foods" and their "bring lights" because obviously the brightest lights is BRIGHTON.

When you get off on exit 509 from the 401 go south for about 5 KM and you come to the town. Turn left at the Ultramar gas station and Elizabeth St. and yo come to Captain George's Fish and Chips. This place is a local favourite take out and eat in and you know it is good when they deep fry stuff like crazy. I ended up meeting 2 friends who were traveling the opposite way from me and we ate a romantic meal together.

I had the Seafood platter which was HUGE. It consisted of fish, chips, onion rings, scallops, and shrimp. at $11 it was one of the largest portion of food I have received for that amount and melted in my mouth. Juicy shrimp with seafood sauce and scallops with tartar could not stay on my plate. Side note; I also loved the waitresses calling me dear and honey all night. 60 year olds make my day :).

Filled with food and joy I got back on the road and continued my trip. If you are making this drive you should forget the chain places and head here instead. You will not be disappointed.

Fox and the Fiddle

Hey all. Last week I got some drinks for a friends birthday and went local one more time before I moved. Fox and the Fiddle at Yonge and Eglinton was the location. A $200 bar tab later with the 3 of us it was an interesting night. Anyways there was some food in there too because I hadn't had any dinner. Here we go................

Beer was good and shots were good. That is all there is to say about that portion.

I needed some dinner. I decided to get the Turkey melt. It was very interesting and basically for one reason. It was fairly standard with large mounds of turkey and melted Swiss cheese on top. However, there was an interesting twist to it. GUAC!!

Spread on the bread there was some amazing guacamole that added a really cool twist to the meal. The twang in the taste created a nice contrast to a fairly home style meal.

Cesar salad was good as well.

I would get food here again if I was there but would not go out of my way to eat here.

Maybe even try this twist out at home.

Can't Remember the Name

Quick hit here.

I am moving into a new place at Broadview and Danforth and this gave me a chance to check out some local fare. There is a new small Shwarma and other food like that place on Broadview just north of the Danforth. I can;t remember the name but I think it is OAU Restaurant.

This place has awesome deals for each day. It is cheap (under $5 for a shwarma) and quick.

The food is decent. Not huge sizes but good enough and decent ingredients. I have for sure had better but the price is right and it is a good light meal. I am for sure going to grab one again.

Pigging out at Hoof Cafe

OINK!!

It has been a bit since my last post but never fear I will always be eating. This time I went opposite of the vegetarian meal and went down to a place just West of Bathurst on Dundas called Hoof Cafe. Basically it has a bunch of pork on the menu with unique items.

But first I would like to talk a little about that decor. Awesome hanging lights in jars created a little light but not much was needed as the place was really small and intimate with large plate glass windows stretching from one end to that other. The menu was on a chalk board (presumably because it changes depending on the ingredients they have on hand) and it is all interesting items including pigs tails and grits and bone marrow donuts (served only on weekend and in limited orders).

On to the food. The 3 of us stared with the bone marrow donuts which I was sceptical about but after I tasted one I was convinced. Sugar coated outside and with a strawberry jam on the inside, the marrow gave the dough a denser and juicer texture and taste. my meal was the ploughman and that included 4 or 5 different kings of pork as well as tongue and a soft cheese with bread and a pickle. Each of the different types of meat had its own distinct flavour while all bringing it back to the pork family. Not a huge fan of the tongue but still good to try it. mixed with the cheese and bread it worked out well. Oh and there was a block of fresh pate on my plate that was 8 times better than the package kinds (for the record I still like the package types).

This place was awesome and it really expanded my thinking of what can be done with pork for lunch. so many different things I wanted to try and wondered what they could come up with next as the changing menu is diverse.

Check this place out for a good brunch!!

Whistlers

Hey all.

I JUST SIGNED A LEASE!!

I will be moving to Broadview and Danforth. So I thought for our celebration we would hit a place close to the new spot. We hit up Whistlers just north of the Danforth on Broadview across from the Dairy Queen.

This will be a quick one. Had some beer and it was a bit expensive. The burger however was amazing. I have a banquet burger and it was great. Coupled with a Caesar salad it was very tasty. I wish there were some more TVs in the place but they do have that personal touch of changing it to anything you want to watch. Fries were good too being fresh cut.

Too bad the Leafs can't even win a game when they are winning with 4 seconds left.

More to come soon.

Duncan Goes High Class at Boehmer

Thought I would treat everyone to a review of a high end restaurant.

Em and I ended up heading to an amazing place on Ossington just North of Queen called Boehmer. Just walking in they took our coats and led us past some incredible looking tables and chairs made out of reclaimed wood. It had a very cool vibe with a huge open kitchen.
The waitress was amazing and came back to us in perfect timing.

All types of Creemore on tap with a bunch of different beers in bottles which we sampled.

For an appetizer we had Pan seared Scallops with sauteed spinach and a lobster bisque sauce. The scallops melted in your mouth and the sauce worked really well with everything.

My main course was rack of lamb with lentil du puy, lamb jus a and root vegetables. the lamb was perfectly cooked with minimal spice on it so the meat tasted ever so tender. The extras worked really well with the meat and was an amazing compliment.

Em had Arctic Char with potato rosi, sauteed leeks and parsnips with a caramelized shallot Hollandaise sauce. I had a couple bits and if you put everything on the fork it was like a party in my mouth. The Char had the right amount of crunch to it and it was almost in a stack form that blended amazingly.

The only hang up for anyone going here would be the price. It works out to be about $50 per person which is what you would expect for a nice meal in the city. Our bill was about $130 with drinks.

I would suggest this for a nice dinner spot with a lady (or a guy) of your choice.

A Hilarious Meal

Hey All.

Just getting caught up on some of my posts that I was not able to get posted up last week.

Tuesday was a very rainy night and drove us to the Danforth. We decided to hit up a place called the Court Jester just around Pape. On this rainy night I thought wings would be in order.

Decided to get 2 pounds of wings and test some of their dry rub variety out. They were good.

I have acquired the taste for good dry rub wings and these did not disappoint. I had both the dry Cajun and the dry mesquite. While both were good, the mesquite was amazing. I would get 2 pounds of this next time. There was a great flavour with some kick to it. They also had Shoestring fries to go along and they worked well.

We also had some nachos. Tons of cheese and sour cream on the side was good. However, the reason they were not the best was that all the food was brought at once instead of the nachos 1st and they ended up being a little cold when we got to them.

Decent beers at decent prices and a really relaxed atmosphere made it a great place to chill out. I would like a few more tvs but you can really request what you want on any of them because of the size of the place. Definitely a local haunt and favourite.

I would hit this place up again and maybe try some new food.

Odd Fellows

Well hello there. I have not talked with you in a while. I do have a couple of them to put up but I will start with a brunch that I had last week.

I would like to start off saying that next time I attend this institution I will be going on a Sunday night for some all you can eat tacos made by their Mexican chef with all the fixings in a buffet style for $12.

Odd Fellows is on the corner of Queen West and Shaw st. just West of Trinity Bellwoods Park. This place is small and awesome. Everyone sits at one long table. It can fit maybe 20-30 people but all at one table. Lots of Veggie meals for the veggies out there and prices are a little high but pretty standard for most brunches in the city.

I ended up getting an omelet with cheese and Asparagus in it and it was amazing. It also comes with your choice of home fries or salad of which I got both. Portions are large. The home fries were pretty standard and nothing special but the omelet was great. Fresh veggies and loaded with cheese. Cool light above you and above the table using old florescent light tubes.

If you are in the area check them out but I will be going back for TACOS!!

I Have Now WInged It

Let's Wing It. This new place has a name really close to my old wing blog called "WingIt TO". I'm not saying anything but I'm just saying..............

Anyways, Let's Wing It is in the same spot as a Wild Wing (chain of wing places) used to be just south of the corner of Yonge and College. For the record the Wild Wing moved locations up to right near my house at Bayview just north of Davisville. I had been in there when it was the last place and it was decent but not great. This was my chance to try a new place in the exact same location as an old spot and see if anything had changed. So here we go.

The decor had not changed really at all. Just some new paint up where the old picture on the wall had been. Even the tables were the same and I knew this because there were still a horse shoe branded into each table corner. A couple of new TVs had been nicely placed so pretty much any seat in the house you could see a couple of them. Waitress was good. Not overly attentive but she came around when needed.

They have a bunch of decent specials daily but I actually had a coupon for 50% off our entire bill so I made sure to get the most out of it.

The Wings.

They were really solid. A good size and with very tasty types. I had 2 flavours in Baja Cajun, and Medium Lemon Pepper. The other guys had sampler platters with 4 types of each and were impressed with all of them. 69 flavours and so far we have not come across one that tastes the same as another one (but there is bound to be one or 2). Comes with a dressing and a little carrots and celery. I would go back here for sure.

Check this place out.

Eat and be Merry!!

Just Beet It!!!!!!

The Beet. In the heart of the old Junction. Keele and Dundas. More sentences with periods.

I had brunch with all of my old Halifax roommates all at once in the same place on Sat. We do not get this much and with Rose picking the place I knew it would work out food wise.

The Beet is a small place that is very vegetarian and vegan friendly. They also do wheat free items as well. If you have very specific dietary requirements or enjoy these things this is an amazing place for you.

We had a feast and had most of the things on the menu.

I started with a butternut squash soup with apple and ginger in it and was very good. It felt like home cooking with a twist. Then came the main. Lamb burger with potato wedges and a salad.

The wedges were great alternating between sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. The salad had a bunch of nuts and was lightly dressed and had signature shredded beets on it. Delicious.

The burger was good but not amazing. Maybe I was expecting something else from a lamb burger but if I went again I would get the bison burger instead.

I also had a Macedonian sausage on the side. This was amazing and I wish I had a bunch more.

All in all you should check this place out. There is something for everyone including tons of smoothies and teas. Get out to the west end and check it out.

Get Duncan to the Greek!!

Mmmmmmmmmmm.............. Greek Food!!

This is what I was thinking last night after a good night watching some comedy. I was driving my buddy home from the show and I thought to myself, "I am on the Danforth. I am hungry. 1+1=2. I'm getting Greek food." A natural progression in my mind and it should be in every one's as well. I proceeded to head to my regular and favourite spot for take out. Messini Authentic Gyros.

This place is just east of Chester station on the Danforth.

A sign that you know the place is good is that cops eat there. I have no idea why, maybe it is the fact that they eat a lot of takeout and are always driving around but it just seems that they know the best places to eat. I have only been in there once ever that a cop is not getting something to go.

This is the place for Gyros.

The combination of spiced chicken, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, and french fries (THAT'S RIGHT I SAID FRIES!!) all wrapped up in a nice warm pita is just amazing. This is the perfect thing if you are looking for a quick snack/meal at like 9:30 or 10ish. Eat it warm as when it cools it is not quite as good. The cops agree.

If you want there is also a sit down area which has a larger menu and I would highly suggest the Greek salad which is a no brianer. FYI the Gyros plate comes with 2 Gyros and can be used for 2 people. Tricked me the first time.

Do it and Enjoy!!

I Win the Triple Crown

So the Leafs were playing. I had to go watch some hockey. I was hungry. This is how a lot of nights start for me. We were going to try a new place called "Let's Wing It" on Yonge at College but it was just me and my buddy Chris so we decided to try this other place we had heard good things about.

We hit this place called the Triple Crown Pub just West of Vic Park on Lawrence. At first look when i was walking in I thought it was a banquet hall. It had a weird entrance and then a weird look as I came in with a dining portion and a bar portion separated by a glass wall. However, I did notice that there were peanuts on the ground so I guess that this was my type of place!

Lots of TVs and newly renovated, this place had a great atmosphere. Apparently there was a fire there recently and it was closed for a bit and reopened. I even saw one of my buddies from baseball there who happens to live around the corner and this is his regular place. There is a lot of intense pool that goes on here with a bunch of leagues. Very pro Leaf bar.

On to the important part..... WINGS!!

They were tasty. not dry they were saucy and if you like spice go a little higher than you usually go. I went medium but felt after eating I could have gone hot. They were large wings though and plenty of them. No deals that day but you get wings fries and veggies on a huge platter so it is for sure a good deal.

NOTE: I heard after I ordered from an inside source that the best flavour isn't even on the menu and it is CAJUN.

The Leafs won and I was stuffed from my food. Beer was relatively cheap and I would for sure go back to this place. Just would eat less peanuts before my meal came.

More Thai Food for Me

Asian food twice in one week does not come along all that often but when it does it is magical. Coming back from Ottawa on Sunday I was driving back with my friend Cass and we had some time to kill before her train took off. It was dinner time so we thought some fine (read: casual) dining (read: food) might be in order. On Bayview there is small place called Asian Bowl. I was not disappointed.

Lets put this out there right off the bat. I really like Pad Thai. I can eat it many times in a month or even a week and not get sick of it. I find that there are many different versions that different places end up making. The variation on the dish is mind boggling and I bet I could write a whole blog on just Pad Thai. However, I digress.............

To my surprise I ordered the Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai. It hit the spot. The key to this was that it had a bit of a kick to it that I had not experienced much of before. There was minimal cilantro (the perfect amount) and the sauce was not thick and overbearing as it sometimes tends to be. The peanuts were evenly distributed and had just the right amount of crunch. The portion was large (enough for lunch on Monday). The only thing that I would improve on is to serve it on a plate rather than a bowl. This allows for better movement and working with the meal.

For a starter we had the Shrimp Krystal rolls in rice paper. they were tasty but what really brought the flavour was the dip that came with it. It had kick with a bunch of different flavours.

The music was a casual jazz which had an interesting juxtaposition in this atmosphere. I quite liked it. It was a very fun "date" with Cass (She is engaged btw. CONGRATS!!) and I was able to get her in and out in an hour and get to the train.

I rate this place GOOD EATS!!

Cheers.

Cafe 668 - Duncan Goes Veggie

I know I know. This is highly irregular. I have a bunch of veggie friends and I have to let them pick sometimes. This was a product of their picking and it took me to Dundas just west of Bathurst.

I am always interested to see what all veggie restaurants have to offer someone who eats a lot and enjoys meat.

This place hit the spot.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of Mushroom offers that i could choose from (I love mushrooms). We started with the dumplings that were pan fried and they were really good. use the sauce they give you as it has a really nice tang to it.

I then moved onto the fried mushrooms that came with a little bit of a spicy sauce. They were able to keep the juiciness of the mushrooms while frying them up.

Moving on I had the King Mushroom special. The only issue I had with it was the sauce was a little much. Not as in taste wise but there was a little too much of the sauce. It had some zip to it and the veggies were plentiful. The noodles looked homemade and were amazing. If you want something that has the crispy noodles I would switch to the egg noodles. Fantastic. All in all it was too much food for me to eat. Had to take almost a full meal home.

The price it a little bit more than I usually go for but I had a ton of food for $30 no drink all in.

Suggestion........... go here. You should enjoy even for the biggest meat eater.

Rosie's Kitchen

Brunch has got to be one of my favourite meals. There are few local gems in the Leaside area for a good brunch time meal.

Rosie's Kitchen on Bayview just South of Eglinton is one of those gems. This place is very small and family run. Basically home cooking with simple stuff. I had a great Butternut squash soup with a club sandwich. Very Tasty.

If you are looking for a quick bit and a homey atmosphere go here and get some soup and sandwiches. You will not be disappointed by the food or the price.

Wings in a Barn

I didn't actually eat wings in a barn but I did eat them in Art Thompson Arena which is pretty much the same thing.

They actually were not that bad. I expected them to not be good at all but the price was good and the wings were large. at $10 for a pound and a pint or $24 for 2 pounds and a pitcher they were not bad prices. They are not that hot so I would suggest if you like Medium to get the Hot.

If you are at Art Thompson Arena in Pickering you should pop upstairs for some.

The icing on the cake was the old guy who runs the bar. I have never seen anyone other than him cooking or serving or bar tending. He does it all with a nice big.... mustache on his face.

Story of the day: So I walk in after playing and he asks if I played with the "Doyle crew" which is who rents the ice for us and I said yes. He then proceeds to explain for about 15 minutes about 2 guys who I play with but he doesn't remember what they look like at all and all he can tell me about is what type of beer they order. He tells me this......... FOR 15 MINS. Priceless.

A Slight Tasting of the Beer

Hello,

Time for me to write about some beers.

Last week I had the pleasure to attend a beer tasting for Toronto Beer Week at the Beer Bistro on Kings st. just East of Yonge st. This tasting was put on by the good people at The Lost Abby and Port Brewing and was held in a private back room that ended up being packed with fellow brewers and critics alike. Me being a well knows blogger I of course was the talk of the town.

6 beers were sampled with each being given a little introduction and background. Here is what I thought of them all:

The Lost Abby - Avant Garde Ale 6.8%: Fairly crisp, little bit of a warm bread factor at the end. Nice drinking beer that could be used for many occasions.

The Lost Abby - Lost and Found Ale 8.0%: Warm. Brown sugary with the taste getting up your nose a bit. taste in and of itself and maybe wouldn't have it with strong other tastes. Made running over blow torched raisins.

The Lost Abby - Red Barn Ale 6.8%: This one is spiced up. Ginger and pepper are prominent. Apparently however long it sits different flavours start to come out. Almost an apple juice front then roll into the spices.

The Lost Abby - Carnevale Ale 6.5%: Had a tart sort of start with a warm Cinnamon back. This is a meal drinker I would have with meals.

Port Brewing - Old Viscosity Ale 10.5%: 20% of this beer sits in a Bourbon barrel for a while then gets reintroduced to the rest of the batch. It is a sipping beer with Vanilla and woody flavours.

Port Brewing - Older Viscosity Ale 12.5%: This is where the whole batch sits in the Bourbon Barrels. There is no carbonation in this with it looking a bit like Yager. Not my favourite but loved to try it.

Both of these breweries are in California and you can get select choices of them at the Beer Bistro and I have no idea where else. All websites are below for you to check out.

http://www.portbrewing.com/

http://www.lostabbey.com/

http://www.beerbistro.com/

Philty McNastys Oakville Style

I will depart a little away from my normal area and travel to the outreaches of Oakville.

This is an interesting place to write about because all of the little things that made this night intreaguing.

I would like to go on record to say that I do not usually like suburban bars/restaurant because they all have to be driven to and I do not think that goes well with the whole drinking thing at all. Sure you can have a DD but who wants to be that?

The layout of this place was the coolest thing. There were normal restaurant parts to it but also a fairly large semi private room to the side as well as a bar area. There was a little bit for everyone. The bar is centre located (which I like) but the far side of the bar has about 3 steps up to it so that the people sitting at the bar are on regular chairs not bar stools. I really like this as it adds comfort to the awesojmeness of sitting at a bar. However, I think we were seated in the coolest place of all. We were seated in a mock kitchen equipped with a 70s fridge, stove, china on the walls, and a sink as well as a big TV on the wall. It gave the impression that you were just sitting at home and someone was serving you there.................. in the 70s.

As you know, or will come to know, I like deals on food and drink. This place had one for each day so whatever your fancy you could find a day you like whether it be chili Fridays or all you can eat fish and chips Thursdays. I had the fish and it was great. This also wasn;t one of those "You have to eat everything on your plate before we bring you more"places either. I finished my fish and not yet my chips and the guy brought me more just fish. 2 thumbs up for me.

Standard beers were on tap and the service was good so all in all a good night. If you are in Oakville you should hit it up.

New Wild Wing

Now I know what you will be saying. "But Duncan you already reviewed a Wild Wing on your Wing Blog" (wingitTO.blogspot.com). This is a truth but there is a new one that opened up about 3 blocks from my house at Bayview and Millwood that I want to write about. So if you don't like it stop reading now...............

OK now that they have all gone we can get on with it.

Solid outing. Just with the guys this time. Tuesday and Thursdays it is 1.5lbs of wings for the price of 1.

This place is a really funny setup because it started off as a Country Style Donut shop. If you still look hard enough you can figure out where the counter was and how it was set up. This place is small but a really good alternative for Duffs if the line is insane. Standard Wild Wing Menu with lots of choice. The wings are saucy and I had the Spaghetti Western (Med with Parm and Italian) and the Mustang Ranch (Spicy Mustard and Ranch) which were good. There was a really good TV situation going on with tons around and while they did not have all of the sports channels right now they are on order and will be there soon seeing as they only opened this week.

The real surprise and the best thing of the night was the onion rings. They in themselves were good but if you add an order of the Gar Par sauce (Garlic sauce with real Parmesan cheese on top) they are fantastic. I suggest you try this at most restaurants you go to especially Wild Wing.

Solid experience and I will be going back.

PS: There is a Baskin Robbins next door so there is built in desert.

Cheers,

Duncan

O.Noir

I thought I would start off with one of the most interesting places that I have ever had the pleasure to eat at. A restaurant that has no lights at all.

I know I know. I was sceptical at first too but that was before the whole experience started.

It was set up pretty well. Out party was five people and when you enter you sit in a lit area with a bar and wait for your party to arrive. This is actually the place that you order as you have to see the menu to do it. It is a standard 3 course meal and is not that expensive at $39 per person. The Menu has some nice choices on it but I was most intrigued by the surprise options. This is where for any of the courses or all of them if you so choose they will bring you out a surprise dish and you will not know what it will be and it isn't even on the menu. Of course I choose to have all of my food a surprise and even my cocktail a surprise. Others with me not so adventurous.

You are then led into the dining room following the person in front of you led by your blind waiter. Oh yes I didn't even mention this that all the wait staff are legally BLIND!! The dining room is quite loud as you lose one of your senses you tend to speak louder.

I had no idea what to expect because how do you eat without seeing the food? After about 5 mins you become oriented and start to get a hang of remembering where you put your drink and how much food you might still have. You end up eating really close to the plate as you cant see the fork and by the end of each course you have to feel around to see what is left on your plate. The courses are given to you by the wait staff by placing it touching your shoulder and then you taking the plate from them.

I loved it. Decent food (salad with goats cheese and fresh fruit and almonds to start, Chicken veggies and potatoes for main and passion fruit sorbet with fruit for desert were the surprises) and a really different atmosphere were just what we needed for this birthday dinner. You will never run out of things to say as you end up talking about the meal the whole time and people tend to cut loose a bit more if others can't see them.

http://www.onoir.com/TO/frames.htm

Go to this place,
Duncan

Welcome!!!!

Welcome to the TO Chow Down!!

While discussing with my friends one day I thought it would be interesting to lay out all of the places that we go to eat in this city whether they be a regular place that we visit often or a place that we have gone for the 1st time. It might be interesting to get all of the thoughts on the place.


Suggestions are always welcome as we are looking for all types of food places all over the city. Be it take-out, or pizza or fine dining or even Veggie i welcome it all and will never turn down a good meal. People will have their own criteria and their own tastes. Follow who you like and feel free to add your own comments.

The regular contributors will be Lindsay Hunter, Kristin Rodgerson and myself Duncan MacLellan. Feel free to e-mail me any suggestions and write ups of your own and I will post them.

Cheers and Good Eats to all,
Duncan