416 516 8286  |   $10-14 Sharing Plates  |   5 Brock Ave

(special thanks to kiki’s BFF for the menu shot)

I don’t usually come this far west, but St. Patty’s day seemed like a suitable occasion to venture to Electric Mud. I would have been here sooner or later given my healthy appreciation for its sister restaurant Grand Electric, but some pretty unanimous early praise made this a must visit.

Food

Like Grand Electric, the menu here is pretty succint and split into two parts. The first is a small main board that boasts ribs, pork belly, hot links and duck ham along with some sides, while the second is a paper menu that includes roasted cauliflower, shrimp & grits, and a pork sandwich among other things.

Before diving into the various fatty and/or fried delights, I took a look through the cocktail menu and selected the ‘porch crawler’ (above) with thai basil gin and watermelon lemonade. Not too boozy, big glass, and more refreshing than sweet, which made it the perfect pairing for the onslaught/meal to follow.

Our first order was a side of hushpuppies, which we instinctively ordered after watching our friendly line cook prepare them in front of us. This proved to be a wise choice. Perfectly seasoned and crunchy on the outside, fluffy with whole kernels of corn and mashed potato (we think?) on the inside. The puppies sat on what I’d describe as a semi-tartar sauce with a hint of mustard, which added to the addictive quality of the dish.

Next up, a lightly-dressed creamy salad with soft-boiled egg halves topped with crispy pig ears. In a meal largely devoid of vegetables, it was either this, the coleslaw or the collards, and I think this worked for us. The portion was reasonably large, the pig ears had a just little bit of chew (a good thing), and the dish had good balance overall.

Do you like pig tails? I love pig tails, and these are the best I’ve had. Often treated like you might prepare a chicken wing, these were so tender, and had a great sharp buffalo sauce that made this my favourite plate of the night. Sure, you might creep some people out as you work your way through what are essentially vertebrae, but it’s so worth it.

We almost didn’t order the fried chicken, but our decision to say ‘what the hell’ was rewarded. These drumsticks had the perfect interplay of moist, juicy interior and crunchy, cripsy exterior that you look for with good fried chicken; however, I’ll say it was a little light on flavour for me. I think the crust could have used a generous sprinkle of spice or heat to play off the cup of honey on the side. 

Next up, the token fish dish not named shrimp ‘n grits.  This fish on a squishy bun came stacked with lettuce, a tart, creamy sauce and some kettle chips for crunch. Definitely a tasty combo, but again, felt it was one ingredient short of perfection. More acid? spice? Not sure.

Last, but certainly not least, the ribs. Tender? Check. Nice bark? Check. Peanuts on top? A smart addition. Clearly, I enjoyed these, but I think it needs to be said that they were a bit on the sweet side. I’d order them again, but I think these too could use some heat. 

We ended with soft serve, because you should pay every great meal the compliment of ordering dessert. The twist here, was the mysterious flavour of bay leaf. I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what bay leaf tastes like, but I’d call this a variation on green tea ice cream, but less tea and more depth (not a good description, but it’s my best).

Service and Ambience

We first strolled by around 4:30pm to see if we needed to join a line for the 5pm opening, but with no one around, decided it’d be safe to have a pint nearby. We returned about 10 minutes after 5, and luckily snared some of the few remaining bar stools. Moral of the story: get here early.

As is usually the case, sitting at the bar is better. A portion of the kitchen operates right behind the bar, and you get to chat up the cooks and watch service. We felt right at home, got every dish pretty quickly, and really enjoyed ourselves overall.

The inside of this place is pretty much wall-to-wall particle board with retro-butch items at every turn - the opposite of pretentious. What a great atmosphere to dine on some unique BBQ eats.

The Reco?

I quite like this spot and you should absolutely drop in and sin a little. A few of our dishes were one element short of the ideal bite, but I’ll admit to being very picky because I feel the need to provide some kind of constructive critique. In summary, it’s delicious. Go before everyone knows it exists.

Other Reviews? 
 kiki’s BFF     |      My Life is Food

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Mar 18, 2013

647 748 3287  |   $15-25 Mains  |   176 Dupont St.

So by now, I think it’s already pretty evident I had an amazing meal at Rose & Sons. This new comfort food restaurant from Anthony Rose, formerly of The Drake, is the first of three new openings he’s planning over the next little while, and if Rose & Sons is any indication of their eventual quality, this city’s in for a real treat. 

The restaurant has been running brunch and lunch service for a couple weeks, but only began serving dinner on Dec 6th. I dropped in with a few friends on Dec 7th, only the place’s second dinner service, for a meal I won’t soon forget.

Exterior Image Credit: blogTO

Food

The concept for the restaurant is “comfort food with lots of loving”, and that’s aptly conveyed in the menu. The best way to describe it is a chef thinking of all the food they love to eat and putting it on one concise menu. You’ll find pork fried rice, buckwheat pancakes with whitefish and gravlax, steak frites, chili, and duck confit all just lines apart. Usually, that kind of assortment’s gotta make you apprehensive, but there’s no reason for anxiety here.

We started with the pork fried rice with egg, ginger, peanuts, and broccoli. I’m not sure what the best part was, but I’ll highlight the great little chunks of belly and the crunch of peanuts and crispy rice as my favourites. The dish as whole is addictive, simple, and assuredly comfort food at its best. 

Next up: fries and gravy. If we’re eating comfort food, we might as well just go for it. The fries were fries, but the gravy was borderline creamy and had a really nice depth of flavour. The creaminess added thickness and textural contrast that made this a bit unique overall.

Next up, something I’m seeing a lot more: grilled romaine. The romaine had a good amount of char on it to impart bitterness, but the balance in the dish came from a good shaving of toscano cheese, and an assertive punch of garlic and anchovy. There’s nothing particularly complex here, but the trick is being bold without botching the balance. Well done.

Our means began with the pickerel, creamed squash and ‘green sauce’, that I’ll say is a riff on salsa verde. This was one of the more unique flavour combinations on the menu, but even reading it, you get the sense it’ll work. The verde was where it should be, the fish had a great sear and flaked as you’d hope, and the squash provided a good base of flavour and heft to the dish.

The patty melt (above) is one, among many reasons, you need to come here. Essentially it’s a burger and grilled cheese in one and is absolutely fantastic due to (1) the awesome rye dotted with caraway seed and (2) a juicy patty expertly cooked to medium-rare. This wasn’t my main, but I’ll remember my bite of it for a while.

The last main was the duck confit with brussel sprouts, beans, and poached pear - it didn’t disappoint. Tons of very tender duck, brussel sprouts that even the most vehemently non-vegetable eaters would love and some pear for mild sweetness that really compliments the protein. The only miss here I’d say were the beans that I’m quite certain were under-cooked and little chalky as a result.

Given the excellence that preceded it, dessert was a mandatory undertaking. We ordered a bread pudding with blueberries and split it between everyone to keep our hearts beating, even though it’s not actually that huge of a portion. A friend of mine described it as the perfect balance between custard and french toast, topped with some of the purest blueberry flavour I’ve had in some time. 

Service and Ambience

I’ll start off by saying you’ll have a tough time reserving a dinner seat here once people know it exists; there just aren’t very many seats in the little space. The diner charm is undeniable and I really like the two-man kitchen in plain sight, helping make the connection between you and the people preparing your food.

On the service side, Anthony himself greeted us when we walked in, was our server for most of the night and seemed to be doing the expediting with the kitchen. You gotta love the advantages a smaller space provides. He was a great host all night, the food came out of the kitchen quickly, and we really got the sense this was his baby. Very cool.

The Reco?

I’ve found that ‘comfort food’ is a delicate line to walk, and can mean anything from really poorly-executed classics to gloriously simple but addictive plates. Rose & Sons is surely the latter. This is only my second four-star rating in nearly 80 tries, so if that isn’t recommendation enough, I don’t know what is. Go now and enjoy!

Other Reviews? 
 blogTO   |     No Dinner Reviews Yet

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 7, 2012

416 532 7700   |   $24 Sample for One, $42 Sampler for Two

I’m admittedly a little late on the Roncy bandwagon. This was my first restaurant visit out on the west side and I’m happy I took the trip. There are a few supposedly good options including Hopgood’s Foodliner, The Ace, and The Westerly, but Barque felt most summery and frankly the dinner menu literally made my mouth water. That’s really all it takes, so out I went. 

Food

It’s one thing for the allure of BBQ to tantalize you, but when you can add on great starters and compelling sides, it gets really difficult to pick. Thankfully, Barque understands and provides you with sampler options for 1 or 2 that give you the opportunity to taste a good chunk of the menu. We opted for the two-person configuration and grabbed some apps to start us off. 

We began with some pulled duck tacos (above) that really didn’t sound like they belonged on the menu. To my surprise, they challenged for the best bite of the night. The pickled carrots really sliced through the hoisin and duck, and the tortillas were undoubtedly fresh. A great surprise to begin.

Next up came the smoked shrimp and bay scallop cocktail. Portion’s a little small, but the subtly smokey fresh seafood was tasty. Found the shrimp in the habanero sauce and scallops in the salsa verde to be the best combos. I’d say the salsa verde was oily and bit flat though.

Next we went the ‘Barque Plate’ (above). My assumption is this changes on a rolling basis, but when we dined there, it included two chicken fingers and two zucchini blossoms stuffed with pureed onion and bacon, then deep fried. Accompanying this included some cashews, almonds, olives, smoked tomato aioli and an awesome smoked hummus. The standous on the plate included the blossoms, fingers, aioli and hummus. Really hit the spot before the sampler arrived.

In a two-person sampler, you select three meats and three sides. We went with beef brisket, competition chicken thighs, and a 1/2 rack of baby back ribs for the proteins, and were thoroughly satisfied. The brisket is outstanding (especially when painted with a little more of the house BBQ sauce), the smoke on the baby back ribs is delicious, and the chicken is juicy and tender.

The side of smoked asparagus wasn’t a unanimous favourite. I quite liked the addition of smoke to it for a change, but the rest of table preferred a good charred asparagus sans-smoke.

The ‘Cuban corn’ was sweet and juicy, but I found myself looking for more. Some spice on it would have been a welcome addition.

We also ordered the picked vegetables as a way to cut through all the fatty, smokey proteins. While they were tasty enough, the form didn’t lend itself very well to eating with the BBQ. A really unique slaw incorporating some of the beets and/or carrots would have been ideal.

As our stomachs filled up, we decided to swing for the fence and close on a potential high note. Suuuuch a good decision. This pecan tart with strawberries and cinnamon gelato (above) was dead-on. The pastry was light and crumbly (think shortbread-ish), the filling wasn’t too sweet, and the cinnamon gelato was expert. Everything you could want in a dessert on one spoon.

Service and Ambience

I’d heard the dining room was quaint, but I have to say the place is a fair size, especially with the covered patio out to the side. The room’s a little quirky with Teletoon Retro playing on a TV behind the bar, a wall full of nic nacs, and some great fixtures all over the place. When packed full of happy people, it really is an enjoyable atmosphere though. On the other hand, maybe it’s just the meat talking. I find protein highs generally improve everything that surrounds you.

Despite almost every table being jammed, our food flew out of the kitchen quickly and we never found ourselves waiting long between dishes. Servers were also helpful letting us know what certain things were on the plate and recommending a good portion size for the three of us.

The Reco?

I really enjoyed the meal here and would certainly recommend coming over to Roncy. While some sides could use improvement, I can’t help but gush about the brisket, zucchini blossoms, hummus, pecan pie and duck tacos.

You don’t usually get to say things like that about a BBQ restaurant, and that’s why I’ll definitely be coming back for more. Enjoy. 

Other reviews:
 The Globe & Mail   | blogTO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited July 14, 2012

647 352 7476   |   $10 - $22 Mains

Where in the city can you find a beer menu like this? I counted 99 on the menu online and found several of my favourites including Schneider Weisse. I’m truly a sucker for wheat beer and it looked like some effort was being put in to avoid settling at mediocre ‘pub food’. For those reasons and more, I dropped by this spot just before Spadina on King West.

Photo Credit: David Ort, Post City

Beer

Before we talk food, let’s talk beer. This place is all about it.

I’m not a connoisseur by any means, but I’m fairly confident there are at least a handful on this list that you can’t find in any other restaurant in the GTA. It’s comprehensive to the point of being obscure, which is kind of fun to be honest. You could keep coming back just to try bottles at random.

I ordered the Denison’s Weisse (never heard of it). More or less like a Weihenstephaner, but apparently made in Toronto. Learn something new every day.

Food

The food menu itself is a little all over the place to be honest: Italian, Mexican, an entire mussels menu, oysters, schnitzel, and chili among other things. You can either look at it as (1) all your favourites or (2) what on earth is this place doing?

I decided to reserve judgement and jump right in.

We jumped right in with some bar hop pops (above), essentially tempura-crusted meatballs on a stick with a parmesan marinara sauce. The batter was pretty thin and lacked crunch, but I found the meatballs quite flavourful. That said, $9 for four the size of Ikea meatballs isn’t what I call good value.

Next up were two orders of mussels, one of the lager & jerk persuasion, the other a green curry and lemongrass version. Both had bold and aggressive flavours that partially overwhelmed the mussels, but were particularly awesome for dunking the limitless supply of bread. 

For my main, I went with the pork schnitzel with mac & cheese and greens (above). I was hoping for a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it fell short in a lot of areas. Mac and cheese was overdone and mild in actual flavour, greens were overdressed, and the schnitzel was a bit too thin so it dried out. A bite of all together was a bit better actually, but every element could have used improvement.

Even though I was full, I acted against my better judgement and ordered the beeramisu (above) because it sounded fun. My biggest complaint about tiramisu is usually that it’s not light enough, so one made with a porter wasn’t likely to impress. It was definitely heavy, but you could pick out the beer which is a positive.

Service and Ambience

One thing I really like is the location of this place: situated on King West just outside the entertainment district, but you don’t have to walk all the way to Portland to find something worth walking into. It’s also got a little patio that makes for great people watching.

I really liked our server. He was friendly, easy-going, and checked back on us frequently to ensure we had everything we needed (bread refills especially). I think part of the charm of this place is that it’s not ‘trendy’. If that’s something you don’t like about Bier Markt, I think you’ll like it here.

The Reco?

If this place didn’t have a killer beer menu, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it very much. The food was decent, but disappointing on more than one occasion. Even though that usually prevents me from recommending somewhere, I’d probably go back and try out more beer and give another dish a shot. Worst case, at least I get a great brew. I’m fine with that. Cheers.

Other reviews:
 Caroline’s Culinary Delights

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited July 12, 2012

647 343 4698   |   $6-$9 Snacks, $9-$12 Plates

Fun new concept: Someone tells you there’s a new spot opening up serving Singaporean street food! Sounds really interesting right? We thought so. For a little Dish Duel reunion, Stella, Amy, Jess and I met up at Hawker Bar in hopes of getting through the vast majority of the menu. We succeeded…in record time too. Read on…

Photo Credit: Karolyne Ellacott, Toronto Life

Food

So let’s put it this way, we figured we could take down most of the menu here between the four of us. That ended up not being too tough, but at the lightning pace the dishes were flying out of the kitchen, the whole thing’s a bit of a blur. We were constantly trying to get plates off the table to make room for new ones, so let’s just say this won’t be the most detailed review ever.

We started with the Son in Law Eggs (above), basically soft boiled eggs that are deep fried and glued to a leaf with chili jam. The yolks explode in your mouth - WARNING: if you don’t eat this in one bite it’s going to get all over you - the texture-mix is cool, and the chili jam is yummy.

Next up were pork skewers with peanut sauce. The pork was moist, the peanut sauce was a bit mild in flavour, but I like the larger nut pieces for texture.

These chicken wings were also pretty good, but I wanted them to be punchier. The chicken was moist, but I kept wanting them to be the wings from Foxley. If not saucy, be crispy or spicy. I didn’t find they were either.

I was disappointed by the chicken laksa (above). I’ve never been to Singapore, but I thought it was supposed to be spicy or pack a really nice flavour punch. To me, it was a bit muted and reminiscent of a lot of OK curries I’ve had before.

The chili crab had more of the chili flavour from the son in law eggs and the chicken wings. Even though it was a familiar taste, it was more intense and I’m a sucker for crab so I liked it.

The whole sea bream with lime, ginger and soy was OK. I liked the crispy outside, but I thought the fish might have been a bit over for my taste. The sauce on the plate was pretty tasty though.

This was probably my second favourite. The rendang curry was nice, but the ultra tender oxtail stole the dish. It literally melted. You could complain that it all sort of became mush, but that would be over-analyzing the whole thing.

This was another dish that I just didn’t get. By this point in the meal, there had been a lot of chili, ginger, and soy. This dish is essentially plain rice and plain (albeit juicy) chicken with three sauces: chili, ginger, and soy. It tasted like everything else we’d eaten so far. The puree of ginger needed a different delivery device too: the squeeze bottle doesn’t really work.

Then we moved onto dessert. This one was a shaved ice kacang (above) that had some sort of red bean paste on the top that was pretty much all you could taste. I had no idea what it should have been, but looking at the Wikipedia picture left me wanting more.

The meal did end on a good note though. These banana fritters had great, hot crispy shells, with ooey-gooey banana stuffed inside. Couldn’t place the ice cream flavour (red bean again?), but the cold-to-hot contrast did the job.

Service and Ambience

This place is little. I think I counted roughly 23 seats including those at the bar, so you’ll likely be waiting if you don’t go early. That said, it’s cozy and the big windows typical of these new Ossington spots are always welcome on sunny days. 

Photo Credit: Karolyne Ellacott, Toronto Life

On the service, I’ll say two things: (1) our server was friendly, hospitable, and attentive, and (2) the speed at which the food came out was ridiculous. When a group of four orders ten dishes, there’s no way it’s all going on the table with tea cups, water glasses, and side plates. Add that to the fact that we’re all blatantly taking pictures of the food, and there’s just no way all ten of those dishes should come out that quickly.

I think we all enjoyed the food significantly less because we were very rushed, to the point of it being uncomfortable. We wanted to taste the food at its best, but it’s hard when dishes are sitting out in a culinary traffic jam.

The Reco?

The food’s not bad here at all. And some dishes (crab, eggs, rendang, fritters) were actually quite good. I’d have liked a little more variety in the flavours, since a group of four can eat most of the dishes in one sitting. All said, the dining experience just didn’t work for us and the enjoyment of it all suffered as a result. I can’t recommend it based on that.

Other reviews:
 National Post  |    blogTO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited May 11, 2012

416 588 2299   |   $20-$26 Entrees 

It’s been a few weeks now since The Grove opened up in the increasingly competitive Dundas West strip, and I decided it was about time I dropped in for what appeared to be some delicious British delights. The buzz from chefs in the area and some folks who beat me to the punch had been exceedingly positive, so my expectations were high. With a Dark & Stormy in-hand (below), we ordered everything that sounded inviting.

Food

You’ll notice immediately that the menu is quite succint, which is usually a good sign. If it’s there, there’s a reason. There are five items I’d call starters with options centered around root veggies and seafood, and five meat-centric mains. 

Our server indicated we’d be missing out if we didn’t order the parsley root soup (above), so that’s where we began. She was bang on: this provided one of the best bites of the night. The parsley root has a rutabaga-parsnip vibe to it, and when combined with fried bread and bacon, you understand why this is a can’t miss. Add some snails for texture and you’ll be re-ordering it.

Next up was a new dish on the menu (above): dungeness crab pieces, with lots of dill and purees/sauces that tasted like dill with radishes. Presentation wise it’s beautiful and fresh on arrival (apologies for the shadows, it’s dimly lit so needed some light from a phone). I thought this tasted very clean, well-seasoned and straightforward. Appreciated the simplicity of the flavours.

We also had to order ‘chips’. I find between these guys and Queen & Beaver, fries are just generally out of this world with homemade smokey ketchups and crispy-on-the-outside, soft-inside wedges. If this place were open for lunch, I’d get the parsley root soup with some chips in a heartbeat.

The last appetizer/starter was the scallop with picked walnuts, stinging nettle sauce, and some beech mushrooms. Stunning presentation here, but I felt like this dish was missing flavour. Stinging nettle evokes an expectation of bold flavour (even though factually it shouldn’t when it’s cooked down), the beech mushrooms were relatively mild, and there weren’t many walnuts. Scallops were cooked perfectly, but had lost their heat as well. I wanted more boldness, for an admittedly non-sense reason.

On to the mains.

The first was beef two ways (skirt steak and short rib) along with an oyster emulsion and deep-fried oyster. The deep-fried oyster was tasty and the skirt steak had good flavour from whatever the marinade was. Thought the short rib didn’t have much to it in the way of taste and again the proteins were on the lukewarm to cold side.

We also ordered the lamb (above), that comes in both a filet and sausage form, charred red onion and bread sauce. Again, the food was lukewarm and the plates were cold. Apparently there’s some heating for the hotplate in the kitchen that has yet to arrive, so I’m sure this will be remedied. Here, the sausage was pretty good and the lamb cooked perfectly, but I didn’t find there to be much else on the plate outside of red onion, crisps, and a gravy-like sauce. The actual star was the bread sauce, but there was so little on the plate. I’d be much more liberal with it.

The last main was the cornish hen (above), accompanied by barley and a swede puree (another root veg). This must have been the last main plated because everything was hot and delicious. The loose hen sausage wrapped in pastry was excellent and moist with a nice punch of grainy mustard. The other meat (think it was breast) was mouth-watering and had some great salty, crispy skin on the outside. Best main by far.

We also ordered some yorkshire puddings (above) to go along with the mains, again on the recommendation of our server. They were topped with a bit of oxtail and some sauce at the bottom, but were also kind of cold. I didn’t find there to be much to them taste-wise either. I’ll say texturally that I enjoyed how light and fluffy they were though.

To end the meal, we also took three forks into the gingerbread with marmalade, custard and creme fraiche. The ginger was very forward (excellent) and the rest of the components married quite well. This was a satisfying couple of bites.

Service and Ambience

Inside, the look is exactly what you’d expect from the area. Big windows out front for light, dimly lit otherwise, lots of exposed brick and wood, and a bar up front. The most charming features are the mismatched wooden chairs throughout. Kind of feels like my dining room as a kid.

Photo credit: Toronto Life

Our server was great throughout the night, offering recommendations (I’d say she went 1 for 2), checking up on the food, explaining elements of our plates clearly, and responding to our questions about the temperature of some of the dishes. 

The Reco?

This is another hit for Dundas West with some really memorable dishes, specifically the soup, chips, and hen. I think having a drafty hotplate for the meticulous plating process is a must-fix-now kind of issue, but outside of that, I really did enjoy both the concept and product. All in all, you should probably add this place to your list of new restos to visit in the area, just give it a couple weeks.

Other posts (no actual reviews to date):
 Foodie Images   |    Toronto Life

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Apr 21, 2012

info@banhmiboys.com   |    $5 - $8 sandwiches

I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard someone mention Banh Mi Boys over the last month or so. It opened in December 2011, but has been closed for the past couple months for renovations. Post-reopening, lines have characterized the lunch hour here at Spadina and Queen West as people hustle to get their hands on some long-awaited banh mi. 

Food

The menu is composed of ten banh mi (BM) sandwiches, five tacos and five steamed baos (SB). Popular fillings include pork belly (BM/SB), squid (BM/taco), beef cheek(BM/SB) and duck confit (BM only). There’s also kimchi covered fries and and a yummy jicama papaya slaw offered as sides.

As a big fan of baos and banh mi, I decided I’d have one of each. I started with the five spice pork belly bao (above for $3.49). The belly was tender, maybe not quite as fatty as you might expect and the spice didn’t really stand out; nice pickled veggies and a room-temp steamed bun completed the snack. I wouldn’t rave, but I just love open-face baos so much that I’d easily eat this again.

Next I ordered the kalbi beef banh mi ($5.99, zoomed in above). The beef and accompanying sweet sauce had some decent flavour and a bit of a tang. The baguette wasn’t too thick, fluffy soft, and crusty on the outside - all good things. It’s also a nice size overall and would satisfy many people for lunch. 

I’d heard great things about the duck confit ($7.49, picture above), so I recommended it to my vietnamese friend who came along. She claimed it was banh mi ‘done right’. I had a bite too. Sometimes duck confit doesn’t really taste like duck and is kind of dry, but this was both moist and supremely duck-y. The onion chutney added some sweetness to contrast the pickled veggies and bunches of cilantro (in all BMs offered on the menu). 

I didn’t have the kimchi fries, but I’ve heard rave reviews from people I trust so I’d recommend it for sure.

Another side note: apparently banh mi often has pâté in it. I didn’t know this before my friend told me, but I hope that shows up on the menu at some point as an add-on. I’d take them up on it in a second.

Service and Ambience

The redesign has made the restaurant ‘nicer’, but with limited seating and lots of take out orders, it’s not a highlight. I think the real reason this place is popular is the unique concept, good execution and value. The prices are very competitive with a lot of take out options in the area and the food is clearly better quality.

One thing I’ll comment on service-wise is the speed. We showed up 11:45am on a Wednesday and ended up waiting about 20 minutes from lining up through to receiving food. Around 12:15pm, people just saw the line and left because they knew they’d be there forever. It’s worth the wait if you beat most people to the line, but I’m not so sure it’s worth 30+ mins unless you’re REALLY craving it.

The Reco?

As I said, the unique concept and value make this place a success. It’s niche food done pretty well, and there are enough options to keep you coming back without getting bored. It’s like if your favourite shawarma place had 20 legitimately interesting options. You’d go back too. 

Other reviews:
  NOW Toronto    |      blogTO 

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Apr 4, 2012

416-971 4000    |    $4.75 - $12.75 full sandwich square

When I first heard there’d be a new gourmet sandwich shop opening up close to work that served Ravi Soups, I had to walk over that very same day. I love Ravi Soups and wanted a second location as close to me as possible, this was the next best thing. Check out my thoughts below.

Food

So the shop concept is that nearly everything is pre-made and pre-packaged, but super fresh and with gourmet ingredients. This includes sandwiches, salad, soups and sweets. The sandwich menu online is extensive, but not all are available every day so you roll the dice a bit if there’s something specific you want.

First off, two Ravi Soups are available daily in this middle serve-yourself island area (above). Variety-wise, it’s probably close to what your work cafeteria offers, but the difference is they’re damn good. You’ll also pay for it though, a medium isn’t that big, and at $6.95 it’s not particular great value.

The same can be said for the sandwiches unfortunately in my opinion. The cheapest full sandwich is $4.75 (a nutella and hazelnut sandwich), but all are made on square whole wheat pieces of bread and most are served cold in the fridge section. Most of the options with a protein start in the $8-$9 each range.

One friend sampled the lemony tuna above with tuna, lemon mayo, cucumber, watercress and pea sprouts and enjoyed it. She found it particularly lemony, so kudos on the naming convention.

Another friend had the best-selling Brick Lane Chicken (curry chicken, raisins, cashews, mango, spinach). She really enjoyed it and it smelled delicious to the rest of us.

I ordered The Roast, one of the two warm sandwich features of the day that had roast beef, horseradish and grain mustard aioli, onion confit, portobellos, brussel sprouts and gruyere. It was definitely tasty, but I was looking for more sharpness from the horseradish and mustard. Also, at $11.75 for just the sandwich, I was still hungry afterwards. I would highly recommend introducing some heftier bread options to make the sandwiches more substantial given the price range.

HOWEVER, because I mentioned how hungry I still was the co-owner Jordana brought over some chocolate and peanut butter sweets, which was much appreciated. Love it when people go that extra little bit out of the way!

Service and Ambience

Because of the DIY nature of the place, it runs on two folks in the front of house so on a busy lunch day I can see it getting pretty hectic if folks have questions or there’s a build up at the register. Fortunately, when we were there it was a bit after the rush so all ran smoothly.

My only feedback would be that the warm sandwich took something like 10 minutes to assemble and was the only order at the time. Again, during a busy lunch hour, that kind of turnaround time could cause some frustration for customers.

The Reco?

The most important part is that the food tastes good. The sandwiches are tasty, the options are unique in the area, and the staff are really friendly. These things alone make it worth a try.

What makes me hesitant to come back is the concept. To me, if I’m grabbing a quick soup and sandwich, value definitely comes into play. If you don’t have a big appetite but want something more interesting this is your spot. If you’re pretty hungry come lunch hour, maybe not.

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Mar 8, 2012

416-368-1920   |   $16-23 mains

I’d heard some good things about Harlem, and hadn’t really had any riffs on ‘soul food’ before. Figured this would be a good spot.

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

Food

The CD shaped menu lists a variety of starters and mains, many of which actually sound tasty. Most items have a southern/cajun spin on them. Was especially tempted by jambalaya, braised beef short ribs, and jerk beef meatloaf.

In the end, we decided to start with some ‘harlem crisps’ I would liken to a cross between pita chips and bubbly samosa batter. The two dips were avocado ginger hummus and spiced walnut pate. I thought both could have used some salt as the flavours fell a little flat and the flavour of the crisp muted the dips. For me, the dips didn’t pass the ‘I would buy that again at Loblaws’ test.

Photo Credit: Christina Truong

After much flip-flopping I ended up selecting fried chicken and waffles with collard greens. The pic above is a variation that has a salad and gravy. The fried chicken was crispy, not overly greasy, and the chicken was moist - mostly dark meat. Also had a scotch-bonet-corriander-lime syrup drizzled over top that I thought could have used more heat (writing scotch-bonet is a promise of ensuing heat). I think I got citrus, sweet, and a pinch of spice though. As for the waffles, lukewarm and soft, and the collard greens side was under-seasoned and felt mailed in.

My friend ordered the blackened catfish served under a shrimp and crab etoufee sauce with collard greens and basmati. The fish was flaky, but ‘blackened’ implied a crispy quality that was lost under all the sauce. That said, sauce was good. Again, the sides were an after-thought.

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

We finished the meal with candied plantain (above) and mango cheesecake. The plantains felt like part of a dish. We actually thought it would work well in a bread pudding or breakfast muffin. Sauce was quite sweet, but that wasn’t a huge problem. 

Cheesecake was OK, somewhat heavy, and tasted like a cremesicle. 

Service and Ambience

We went early on a Thursday for dinner so we were the first in the restaurant, and not too many people joined in. Service was attentive and polite throughout, food came as ordered and in good time. 

Photo Credit: Harlem Website

The vibe there is very ‘small jazz club’, especially at night with the lights down. I expect it would have felt more authentic with one of their live music acts and a packed house, so I can’t really comment.

The Reco?

As much as the menu intrigued me and the fried chicken satisfied, there were too many things that just weren’t executed well. I probably wouldn’t return to Harlem.

Other reviews:
Toronto Star   |     Food Junkie Chronicles

Posted by: Jacob, Visited Jan 12, 2012

647-435-8365    |    $7.99 -$10.99 Soups and Wraps

Been giving a lot of three-star ratings recently, which is a credit to a lot of the food in this city. Who knew an awesome soup and wrap place was literally beside Khao San Road? It doesn’t have a ton of curb appeal as you’re walking by, but you’re missing out if you’ve never walked in. Wasn’t going to review it at first, but then realized it was necessary.

Photo credit: MellyMadeIt.com

Food

The menu has essentially 10 things on it, which is all you’re going to want when deciding. They all sound quite good at first glance, and since you’ve got to order at the door, it’s a good size. The menu has two sections, six soups, four wraps and some specials too. 

After scanning the soup list and wrap list, it was clear I was getting a combo for $10.99 - such a deal. I went for the corn chowder with blue crab and basil coupled with the roasted pork shoulder wrap packed with baby spinach, slaw, edamame, and a nice tamarind ketchup (below).

Photo credit: Casey Cunningham, blogTO

The soup was very balanced, which is what I always look for in soup. Basil flavour compliments the starchy corn and the blue crab adds texture + a nice seafood flavour to the bowl. The grilled wrap was a surprise with flavourful pieces of spiced pork (not ultra-tender, but good) and a lot of vegetable content. This place is more than soups for sure.

Everyone else around the table also enjoyed their pairings. We sampled the porcini wild rice bisque and both the oven-roasted chicken and curried beef wraps. Those are also great choices if they tickle your fancy.

Service and Ambience

The whole process is in a fast-food style, and there isn’t a big space for ordering at the start, so at lunch it gets packed with folks trying to get their order to one person at the cash. That said, it goes pretty quickly and they’ll bring your order to you in the seating area, which is helpful to clear out traffic from the front.

Photo credit: Casey Cunningham, blogTO

In the winter - when soup is king - the patio is closed, but it looks great in pictures so I’m definitely coming back in the summer (and a few times more before in anticipation). On a completely unrelated note, everything that comes out of the kitchen sits on lazy susans, which is just plain cool. All weren’t exactly balanced so your food may move on it’s own. 

The Reco?

I usually don’t love ‘soup places’ but this one works. I’d eat everything on the menu, it’s elevated comfort food, and it’s really good value. I’ll be coming back frequently for lunch and would recommend you do the same. Enjoy.

Other reviews:
 blogTO |     Foodhogger   |  NOW Magazine

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 2, 2011