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.