Billy Jacks Po'Boys

We've eaten several times now at Billy Jacks Po'Boys and each meal has been excellent.  Located in the west end on Bloor St near Islington Avenue, this restaurant specializes in "Southern Comfort" food, including the Po'Boy sandwich which it is named for.

A Po'Boy is a submarine-styled sandwich that originated from Louisiana.  It usually consists of fresh crispy French bread wrapped around fried, breaded seafood such as oysters, shrimp, catfish or soft-shelled crab, or meats such as roast beef, chicken, pulled pork, and accompanied by lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo.

Billy Jacks offers delicious Po'Boy sandwiches that are generous with its fillings.  Our two favourites are the fried oyster and the blackened catfish.  The oysters are large, plump and juicy with a delicious light coating of what tastes like a cornmeal breading.  The blackened catfish is delightfully spiced and has a kick.  The sandwich comes with a large choice of sides including fries, hush puppies & gravy, gumbo soup, onion rings, coleslaw, rice and the Po' Boy salad.  This is a heaping salad of artisan greens, toasted pecans, raisins tossed with a seasonal vinaigrette.

Unable to decide which sandwich to order, I asked whether I could get the oysters as an appetizer rather than a sandwich, even though this was not on the menu.  Not only was the request accepted, but the oysters came with an amazing dipping sauce.  We have tried are the Acadian perogies–sauteed roasted garlic, mashed potato and cheddar cheese perogies with a Cajun dipping sauce, and the pulled pork mini sliders.  Everything has been delicious.

Another stellar main course option is the Chicken Fried Chicken. This is a breaded chicken schnitzel smothered with an amazing creamy mushroom sauce, served with mash potatoes and the best coleslaw we've ever had.  What put this slaw over the top for us was the light dressing, nuts and raisins which made for a perfect side.

The only course that we found to be just average was the dessert.  The Bananas Foster had a nice flavour, but the graham cracker crust and Chantilly Lace cream topping of the Lemon Icebox Pie was too thick and overwhelmed the lemon filling.

This is now my go-to place to get breaded oysters, which I will never tire of.

Billy Jacks Po' Boys
3369 Bloor St. West
647-352-3369

Hopgoods Foodliner Maritimes Dinng

While it would be difficult to pinpoint what exactly is Canada's national dish, it is much easier to talk about regional specialties.  Hopgoods Foodliner's menu focuses on ingredients and recipes from the east coast.  The restaurant is named after Chef Geoff Hopgood's family's chain of grocery stores (which are known as foodliners in the Maritimes)

We started off with the signature Halifax Donairs, which is an east coast spin on the Greek gyro, but the sauce is sweet instead of savory.  Thin slices of seasoned beef are covered with tomato, onion and this delicious, creamy sauce and served on a pita.  The not so secret ingredient for the sauce is proudly touted in the large display shelves full of cans of Carnation evaporated milk.  The donairs arrive on a paper bag, as a tribute to the traditional "take-out" nature of this snack.

Another retro appetizer was the hot crab dip topped with panko bread crumbs that were served with Triscuit crackers. In fact, the boxes of Triscuits were also prominently displayed on another shelf.  This was apparently based on a recipe that Hopgood's mother used to serve at cocktail parties in the 80s.  The waiter told us that they used to try to make their own crackers, but the result tasted exactly the same as the Triscuits.  Most of the appetizers were in the $14-16 range.

We've been to Hopgoods Foodliner twice in the past 8 months.  On each visit, one of us decided to order the Digby scallops with ham hock and pease pudding.  It was interesting that the same dish with the same ingredients arrived in a totally different cooking style and presentation.  Each time, the scallops were nicely seared but what they sat on varied.  On our first visit in the summer, they came on an oblong dish with slices of ham and a pool of summer peas covered in melted pork fat.  The second time in the winter, the meal was served on a round plate with fried ham croquettes and pea shoots with a balsamic drizzle. 

We've also tried the tender veal cheeks with turnip puree, shoots and slices, served with a beer stout and beet reduction, and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts for an added crunch.  The mains ranged from $22-27.

There are surprisingly only two dessert choices on the menu, but anyone who loves chocolate would only need one–the Crispy Toffee, which misleadingly does not even have chocolate in its name.  This home-made chocolate bar ($8) contains a mixture of Rice Krispies, cereal and melted white chocolate, topped with a soft toffee.  This combination is formed into a bar and frozen for several hours.  It is then covered with a layer of melted dark chocolate and cocoa butter and what seems like a dusting of cocoa powder.  The final touch is a sprinkling of sea salt.

The result is an explosion of flavours and textures that have to be experienced to be believed.  This bar is so good that I'm tempted to order it for appetizer and main course as well as dessert.  It comes conveniently wrapped up in paper and a string, which makes it perfect for taking home a few extra bars.  Perhaps I need to bring along a cooler next time.


Hopgoods Foodliner
325 Roncesvalles Ave
416-533-2723

Izakaya Dining at Guu Sakabar

Wanting something different from the standard Japanese sushi restaurants, we went to an Izakaya, an alternative Japanese dining adventure both in terms of atmosphere and menu. Dining at Guu Sakabar turned out to be not only a culinary experience but a cultural one as well.

As each new patron enters the restaurant, he is greeted by a loud chorus of hellos in boisterous Japanese by the wait staff.  There are three choices of seating.  You can sit on high stools at the bar, where you are further greeted with deep two-hands-raised-in-the-air bows of respect and welcome from the bartenders.  There are standard wood tables with backless stools that seat two or four people.  And finally there is a separate area that requires you to remove your shoes and sit on a mat at a large communal table.  Whenever an order is taken, the menu choices are shouted out loudly across the room and acknowledged by the chef.

Izakaya fare is offered in a similar fashion to tapas or dim sum, with small plates meant for sharing. The menu sections include starters, salads, cold, grilled/baked or deep fried dishes, rice hotpot and noodles with prices ranging from around $3.5 for the smaller dishes to $12 for the more substantial ones.  We started with the blanched spinach in a sesame paste, seared B.C.tuna sashimi in a ponzu sauce with fried garlic slices, baked oysters with mushroom and cheese, and green bean tempura served with a matcha (green tea flavoured) salt.  While we've had variations of the other dishes before, the spinach dish was unique and delicious.

As a second round, we ordered a few more dishes, including the intriguingly presented Kabocha Korokke which looked like a candied apple on a stick covered with pink sauce.  It was actually a hard boiled egg covered with a puree Japanese kabocha pumpkin, then breaded and deep fried like a scotch egg and covered with a sauce that might have been a mayo and ketchup mixture.  It was average in taste but awesome in appearance.  We also tried the tender and aromatic grilled pork cheeks with salt and yuzu pepper topped with white cabbage, and the grilled saba mackerel with herbs, lemon, onion and garlic on a sizzling hot plate.  This last dish had a fishy taste and little bones in it.  This is not one we would order again.

We had the only non-Asian waitress taking care of our table.  It was amusing to hear our blond server calling out our order in a stream of Japanese. We found out that she started out in an Izakaya in Vancouver and while she was not fluent, she knew enough Japanese to be able to eat well in Japan.

As we left, there was a loud chorus of "Arigato" as we were thanked for coming.  This was a really fun dining experience and the food was tasty. We would definitely return to try some of the other choices and re-order some of our favourites. 


Guu Sakabar
559 Bloor Street W
647-343-1101

Chicken Sandwich at Sanagan Meat Locker

The recently opened Sanagan Meat Locker in Kensington Market is sleeker, cleaner and more modern than its predecessor, European Quality Meat.  It offers a wide selection of high quality meats, including great looking steaks and unique sausages such as wild boar with pistachio and red wine sauce.  It is obviously a big hit with its customers, since the store is always packed and you have to take a number and wait for your turn.

There is also an excellent hot food counter that sells sandwiches, salads and fries.  The consensus seems to be that the roast chicken sandwich is the favourite.  Moist pieces of chicken covered in a mayo-based remoulade sauce, a piece of salty, crispy chicken skin, lettuce and tomato are served on a fresh bun.  It is reminiscent of a sandwich from Porcetta with its crackling, but made with chicken–maybe it should be called a "Chicketta" sandwich.  The fries are also excellent–thin, crispy and seasoned with salt and chives.

Unfortunately there is no seating in this meat shop, so you are left to eat it while standing in a stall with a small ledge for a table.  Good thing the sandwich tastes so good that you would probably have gobbled it up quickly anyways.  Other sandwiches offered include a Korean pulled pork, grilled steak chimchurri, roast beef with cheddar and mushroom gravy, sausage with tomato jam & peppers, and a ham, salami, turkey with dijonaisse.  While you can pay by credit card for buying meats, the deli counter is cash only.  The sandwiches are $7 or $9.50 with fries.

Sanagan Meat Locker
Kensington Market
176 Baldwin St.
416-593-9747

British Dining - Queen & Beaver / Oxley House / The Grove

The Queen and Beaver on Elm Street is a cut above the usual English pub chains found in Toronto, in terms of its authentically British menu, decor, and even the china on which the meal is served.  It is a perfect fit for the recently coined concept of the British gastropub - a pub that serves higher end restaurant food.

Unique starters on its pub menu include pressed quail and goose liver with spiced prune jam, grilled ox tongue and mushrooms, potted duck and pontack-sage chutney.  Pheasant, Venison and Welsh lamb are examples of main courses, which range from $23-31. Sides include fondant roots, neeps and tatties and dripping chips.  This is not the typical Fox and Fiddle fare. 

You can also order from the less expensive but still quite expansive bar menu.  Here you find the standards more traditionally found in North American pubs, such as fish and chips served with homemade ketchup and shepherd's pie with peas.  But you could get more adventurous and order rabbit and potato pie, lamb curry with chutney, or braised steak with prunes, to name a few. 

I went for an amazing dish called the Wild Mushroom Pithivier, which was like a flaky slice of pie that contained layers of scalloped potato and savoury mushrooms.  This came with a side salad and was both unique and delicious.  For appetizers, we shared crispy rabbit from the bites section for $9, and a scotch egg from the snacks section for a mere $6.  The rabbit came in large battered chunks of moist, tender meat covered in a sweet, fruity oxford sauce and accompanied by a side dipping sauce.  The scotch egg had a nicely gooey centre, with flavourful pork filling.

The dessert menu is titled "Puddings", even though tarts and ice cream were also on this list. We had the daily special pudding, called "The Wild Blueberry Queen of Puddings", as well as the Elderberry and Plum Tart with Buttermilk Ice Cream.  All the appetizers, desserts and coffees were served in mismatched, patterned plates, saucers and mugs that had quite the British feel.

British monarchs were highlighted in the decor, with an entire wall dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II at various ages and Charles and Diana commemorative plates in the china cabinet.  We sat under a huge portrait of Queen Elizabeth I holding a beaver in her lap.  The most outrageous feature was found in the men's washroom (which my male friend sneaked me into so I could see).  The urinal stalls came with a miniature soccer field, complete with net and soccer ball.  I think the point is to practise your aim while you pee?  Men have all the fun!

Shortly afterwards, we visited the Queen and Beaver's sister restaurant in Yorkville, called Oxley House.  The menu was similar in theme although not all the same choices were available.  We were impressed by the interior decor, which made you feel like you were visiting a stately manor and the beautiful garden patio. Alas, there was no fun bathroom fixture this time (I made Rich go and check!)

In terms of the meal, we had roasted chicken breast with heirloom tomatoes, mussels in a wine, fennel and onion broth with fries, and a sautéed vegetable medley.  We finished off by sharing a scoop of wild cherry and stilton cheese ice cream, which was a strange combination of tart, sweet and salty.  We liked the meal that we ate at The Queen and Beaver better since we chose more interesting options.  But the ambiance of sitting outside in the garden patio of The Oxley on a warm sunny afternoon could not be beat.

Upscale British dining seems to be a new trend in Toronto these days, as The Grove also also focuses on English cuisine.  It is a restaurant, not a gastropub, and has a small menu that offers a choice of 4 mains which change regularly.  When we went, fish served with fresh green vegetables and no starch was heavily featured.  This made for a nice healthy main course that was good, but nothing special.  What did stand out was the soup made of parsnip, bacon, snails and fried bread. I could have eaten several bowls of this and called it a meal.  Also unique was the presentation of the dessert, which was like a deconstructed lemon meringue pudding, served in a mismatched teacup and saucer.

Queen & Beaver
35 Elm St.
647-347-2712

Oxley
121 Yorkville Ave.
 647-348-1300

Feasting Room Featuring Goose

Pop-up restaurants seem to be the newest rage these days.  They are short term restaurants set up in temporary locations in order to try out new menus, concepts or themes before making the risky investment of a permanent establishment.   New restaurant The Feasting Room is renting space from the bar/nightclub The Orbit Room, located at College St and Clinton St, from 6-10pm Thursdays through Monday until mid November. 

The Feasting Room is using the pop-up strategy to experiment with a fascinating concept that may or may not become a hit with the general public, but will seem innovative and exciting to adventurous diners.  Each week, a $65 6 course blind tasting menu is offered, with every single course from appetizers to mains to dessert featuring (to varying degrees) the "animal of the week".   As part of the "menu", you are presented with a drawing of the selected beast, with numbers indicating which part will be included in each of the 6 courses.  We decided to try out goose week.

 Two complimentary amuse bouches were offered to whet our appetites.  Breaded goose gizzards with aioli sauce and sweet corn veloute with chunks of meat from the goose wing were harbingers of good things to come.  From the cocktail menu, Rich ordered his recently favoured drink - the Pimms Cup, infused with cucumber, mint and sliced peaches.

The appetizers came next.  First was goose liver pate mixed with Medeira port, garlic and thyme served with blueberry compote and sea salt on freshly toasted crostinis.  Next was a salad of goose hearts on watercress with green and yellow beans, capers and a mustard vinaigrette. Then came Rich's favourite dish - Pomme Dauphine (potato puffs) with braised goose neck, pea shoots and sheep's curd - the Feasting Room's version of poutine.

The first main was sausage-like, made by stuffing skin from the goose neck with confit of goose leg, served with roasted corn and a shallot puree.  The final main consisted of medallions of seared rare goose breast on a pistachio-yellow beet puree, accompanied with red and pink beets.

Finally the dessert arrived to satisfy our mildly trepidacious curiosity of how goose would be incorporated.  Thankfully it was merely a homage to the goose - rice pudding with concord grape jelly coulis, served with a "goose"berry and a madeline that was made with goose fat instead of butter.  I really wasn't up for goose liver ice cream!

We were there on a slow night so the wait-staff was made up of the owner/bartender/sommelier (who was very knowledgeable in his wines and cocktails) and the chef.  The availability of the next course was announced from the kitchen by what sounded like the banging of a metal spoon on a pot.

Coming soon on the menu will be game such as venison and boar.  When we asked whether the meat was hunted from the wild, we were told that food regulations prevented this but they would love to do it if it was allowed since they had a shotgun behind the bar.  We thought this was a joke until our bill came rolled up in a spent shotgun shell!

All in all, the food was great other than the goose breast course being a tad on the bland side.  The novelty of the experience was so much fun that we are ready to try this again in a few weeks when the featured animal will be rabbit.  We look forward to this restaurant finding its permanent location as it is a great addition to the Toronto dining scene.

Feasting Room - @ The Orbit Room
580A College St. 

Tonari Sushi - OUT OF BUSINESS

Unfortunately this restaurant did not survive and has gone out of business as of February 2013.

My new favourite Japanese restaurant in the Yonge and St Clair area is the recently opened Tonari Sushi at 1404 Yonge St.  Their sashimi lunch bento box is one of the best I've ever had.  For $12.95, you get 9 pieces of delicious fish that consisted of sushi-grade salmon, red tuna, white tuna and hamachi (butter fish).  Happily missing was red clam which is often included in sashimi samplers, but which I find tough and chewy.

Every compartment of the bento box contained a welcome treat and not a heaping of rice, often used as filler in other restaurants.  The other components consisted of lightly breaded tempura shrimp and vegetables (zucchini, squash, sweet potato), a spring roll, salad with miso dressing and three pieces of nigiri (salmon, red tuna, hamachi). Cucumbers were sliced and arranged in the forms of flowers and even the wasabi was shaped artistically.  The lunch special included a miso soup that has plenty of tofu and seaweed.   The glasses of water came ice cold with a slice of lemon, a nice touch.

All the lunch menu options are bento boxes with other choices including teriyaki (chicken, shrimp, salmon, beef or tofu with vegetables), lemon chicken, spicy chicken, marinated short ribs or sushi combos. We're looking forward to going back to try their dinner menu which includes non-standard items like lobster roll and chicken teriyaki roll.

Tonari Sushi
1404 Yonge St.

B&B Fish and Chips

 Wandering down the streets of Leslieville (the area around Queen St east of Broadview), we passed by a fish and chips shop with a Toronto Star article pasted on its front window.  The article rated B&B as the best fish and chips establishment in Toronto, beating out many excellent competitors including Penrose and McKnees.  Given that this article was decades old and yet the place was obviously still thriving, we had to give it a try.

 Inside, a little old Chinese couple was frying up french fries along with battered halibut, scallops, onion rings, fish cakes and mushrooms.  The decor was a blast from the past with the tiled walls, retro signs with slogans like "We don't know where mom is but we have pop on ice" and an old fashioned ice box where the fish fillets were kept.  It was also a cultural meld of East meets West. The fish and chips were dispensed British style, wrapped in newspaper, but it was a Sing Tao Chinese newspaper while the traditional malt vinegar was dispensed from what looked like a Chinese oyster sauce bottle.  A gold and red Chinese lucky cat sat prominently on top of the icebox while on the walls were photos of a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visiting the Great Wall of China.

The fish was fried in beef lard which added to the flavour and came out piping hot with light crispy batter and a sweetness and flakiness in the filet that just melted in your mouth.  I usually like tartar sauce on my halibut, but they didn't offer it and this fish did not need it. We opted for the onion rings which were dipped in batter right in front of us, rather than pre-frozen and were also delicious.  There were no tables inside and it was too stuffy to sit on the plastic chairs that were made more for waiting than for dining on.  But outside was a delightful bench which we were lucky enough to find it unoccupied.  Down the block away was a park with benches but we would probably have devoured our treasures before we made it that far.

Grand Electric

Grand Electric is a trendy new Mexican restaurant in the recently gentrifying Parkdale area that has been receiving rave reviews, under the helm of ex-Black Hoof chef Colin Tooke. Those writeups forewarned of long lineups that start before the restaurant even opens and average wait times of over an hour.  Armed with this information, we showed up at 5:15pm to prepare for the 6pm opening on a Friday evening and found not a soul in sight.  Lulled into a false sense of security and believing that we were duped by "hype", we decided to wait in a coffee shop across the street (an extremely cool arts cafe called The Mascot which may require its own blog entry).   No sooner had we sat down to our lattes when the first person showed up in front of Grand Electric.  Within minutes, the lineup was 5 couples deep and we started to panic.  Rich was sent as the advanced scout to hold our spot while the rest of us gulped down our coffee.  By the time the restaurant opened, the lineup was down the block and not all of those people made it into the first sitting.  So take heed - the hype is true!

 One of the main features of this restaurant is their tacos.  Priced at $3.50 each, you get a soft freshly baked taco shell with a selection of toppings such as crispy baja fish with coleslaw,  tasty morsels of beef cheeks with avocado, pulled pork belly and pineapple, or my personal favourite, the unbelievably tender, delectably juicy pigs tail with red onion.  Sprinklings of cilantro and accompaniments of lime wedges and hot sauces complete the experience.

The guacamole and chips were excellent and rivaled my previous go to place, Frida in terms of the light crispy chips and the smooth flavourful guacamole.  It also came with a large piece of pork rind that was a great surprise.  My only complaint is that I would have preferred more guacamole instead of the container of salsa that came as an alternate dipping choice.

The tuna ceviche was amazing, with sizable chunks of fish soaked in lemon and lime juices and topped with red onion, cilantro and a bit of salad.  The squid rings were only OK compared with the rest, as the batter was nothing special and the various toppings hid the taste of the squid rather than complimented it.

Finally the desserts were to die for and although we were really full from our eating frenzy, we had to make room.  There are usually two dessert offerings per evening and our choices were a key lime pie or chocolate pecan bourbon mousse each served in a jar.  All the men went for the key lime pie which was just the right combination of tart and sweet (of course I had to taste!), while the women flocked towards the chocolate option.   It has been said that chocolate has a special effect on women and this was definitely proven true on this occasion.  The reaction we all had when we dug into the intensive rich dark chocolate mousse which was perfectly laced with a trace of bourbon was profound and unanimous.  The crunchy pecan and graham cracker crumble topping just added to the whole experience.  All original deals of sharing our desserts 50/50 with the men went out the window with that first taste.

Surprisingly, while it does have a vast variety of beers, bourbons, liquours and even sugar cane Mexican Coke as beverages, Grand Electric does not serve coffee.  Given the crowds and demand for tables, I guess they don't really want you to linger after the meal.  So instead they direct you to the cool coffee house across the street.  By the way, if you don't make it into the first sitting, you are not expected to stand in line for hours.  They take your cellphone number and call you when your table is ready.   We'll have to go back sometime to try the things we missed on the menu.

Zazzu Hot Cones at Mad Italian

 Ever wonder what a gelato place does to make money through the winter?  The Mad Italian Gelato Bar has come up with a great concept - the Zazzu Hot Cone.  This is a cross between a pizza slice and a panzerotto that is rolled up to look like an ice cream cone.  The cone is topped with crunchy, nicely charred cheese while the contents are smothered with a tasty tomato sauce.

Different options include classic pizza combinations such as Margarita, Pepperoni & cheese, Hawaiian or Prosciutto & mushroom.  There are also more elaborate combinations including BTO (bacon, tomato, caramelized onion), turkey & pesto, eggplant parmigano, Mediterreanea (grilled veggies with goat cheese and olives).  Most of the cones cost $5.49. For $8.99 you can get a combo with a hearty serving of arugula & paramesan salad or minestrone soup.  Or even better, we found a groupon giving us 2 zazzu cones and salad for $8.

We took advantage of the unusually gorgeous sunny 20 degree March weather to dine on the outdoor patio and then finished the meal by sharing a small gelato mixing two flavours - coffee and ferrare roche.  It was perfect! 


Mad Italian
1581 Bayview Ave.
589 College St.

Caledonian Scottish Pub

We missed that major Scottish celebration Robbie Burns Day by a couple of weeks, but we finally made it out to the "The Caledonian" on College St West at Ossington Ave.  Its website claims that it is the only authentic Scottish pub in Toronto, specializing in traditional cuisine and offering over 100 varieties of malts and blends.

Rich went for the Caledonian 80 Shilling which seems to be one of the more popular ones since there is a sign advertising it in the front window.  It was a traditional Scottish ale which Rich found to be smooth and creamy.   It even has its own website (www.caledonian80.com).

We started off with a classic starter, the "Scotch Egg", which is a hard boiled egg that is surrounded by a layer of ground pork, and then covered with breading and deep fried.  The yolk in Caledonian's version was slightly under cooked which made it moister, and came with a delicious mustard-mayo aioli .  It recently was voted best new pub snack by Eye Magazine.

We also wanted to try the Scottish national dish of haggis, which many people shy away from without ever trying because of its description.  By definition, haggis is a savoury pudding containing  a combination of ground lamb (including the heart, liver, lungs), oats,  spices, onion and stock, which is encased in stomach lining.  Haggis should take marketing lessons from the sausage or hotdog, which ultimately is not that different.   We tried a variation which consisted of battered haggis fritter balls accompanied by thin crispy parsnip chips and a light gravy.  This is a good novice introduction to haggis since deep fried batter makes anything seem more innocuous.

After two heavy fried appetizers, the Caley Salad was a nice reprieve for both the stomach and the conscience. The salad was chock-ful of flavours, combining mixed greens, roasted pear and cranberries to add a sweet taste, fresh green apple slices to give a bit of tartness, toasted almonds and goat cheese for saltiness and a tangy apple cider vinaigrette to top it all off.

Then it was back to the fried food with the haddock fish and chips.  The fish was lightly battered and not greasy, while the fries where thin, crispy and served with malt vinegar.  All in all, this was a very satisfying meal although to exactly diet food.  We felt far too guilty at this point to even consider the deep-fried Mars bar on the dessert menu.

Urban Eatery in Eaton Centre

Lately I've been hearing so much about the "fancy" Urban Eatery food court in the lower level on the Dundas St side of the Eaton Centre.  Over the holidays, we finally had a chance to check it out for ourselves. 

 Our first impression was how big this food court was, covering what felt like the span of a long city block.  We went at lunch time on a Wednesday between Christmas and New Years, when presumably many of the office workers would be on vacation.  But the place was packed despite its size, brimming with Boxing Day bargain hunters.  The decor was more modern and upscale than the usual food court with a bright fire engine red theme. There were a variety of seating choices ranging from traditional cafeteria styled chairs, to funky "S Chairs" to tall bar stools.

 On our first quick pass, we felt a bit disappointed as we saw all the standard fast food joints that can be found in any food court such as McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Manchu Wok, A&W, Subway Sandwiches.  Yet even these low-end stalls sported a classier look and feel with their more subdued shiny chrome decor.  However the phrase "You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear" comes to mind.

On closer inspection we realized that these were interspersed with higher-end eateries such as Amaya Express Gourmet Indian food (which seems to be popping up everywhere), Big Smoke gourmet burgers, Urban Herbivore for vegetarians, Crepe de Licious and Froshberg Gelato, to name a few. 

 With so many options to choose from, it was hard to decide what to eat.  It was a cold day but we didn't want a huge heavy meal after all that Christmas eating.  We picked a place called "Rare" mostly because the big plastic soup tub hanging from the ceiling caught my eye.  I went for a wild mushroom soup and a nicoise salad (my favourite salad with tuna, beans, olives, hard boiled egg & tomato).  The soup was hearty and delicious but the salad was a huge disappointment since the lettuce was limp and wilted.  In retrospect, we should have gone for their specialty which was rare roast beef sandwiches.. lesson learned.

One point of note is the Urban Eatery's stance on environment preservation with the use of non-disposable cutlery and serving containers.  My soup and salad were served in reusable plastic bowls and came with stainless steel cutlery.  After eating your meal, you are to bring your dishes to a deposit area where cafeteria staff await to empty out your food remnants and send the bowls, dishes, knives, forks and spoons off for cleaning.  We didn't order a drink so I'm not sure if your water or pop or coffee would come in reusable cups as well.  While this seems like a noble endeavour, it's hard to imagine this being cost effective.  So let's see if it lasts or if will just be a fleeting gimmick for this "upscale food court".

Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws & College/Yonge Bulk Barn

 Even putting aside the historic significance of the magnificent building in which it is housed, the new Loblaws in Maple Leaf Gardens is an impressive store in its own right.  In addition to all the usual suspects of Presidents Choice products, there is a "Wall of Cheese" that is literally floor to ceiling in size.  Even more thrilling for me was when I discovered what I will call the "Wall of Mushrooms" - a healthy selection of assorted organic mushrooms.  The Patisserie section is filled with rows of cupcakes as far as the eye can see, as well as other pastries, cakes, candied applies similar to those from Rocky Mountain High, and chocolate truffles.

Chocolate is chipped off from a huge block and sold by weight.  The deli counter displays an array of cold cuts including Italian (Serrano) hams and salamis while the fish counter offers everything from pickerel, cod, tuna, to all sorts of shellfish and squid.  Fresh Ace Bakery artisan breads are created right on the premises and you can smell the aromas as you wander by.   There is seating for fast food dining with options including a Sushi bar, tea emporium, cold salads and a prepared food counter creating pizzas, paninis, and other hot meals that seem a bit higher end than the typical Loblaws offering.

The store honours the memory of its previous occupants in many ways.  A beautiful mural regales past Maple Leaf highlights (aka those mythical Stanley Cup victories we've heard about all our lives), a clever sculpture forming the blue Maple Leaf is created from old stadium chairs, and on grocery aisle 25, a round red dot marks centre ice.  You can almost visualize the ghosts of former players jockeying for position on a faceoff.

Just a block away from Maple Leaf Gardens is another surprise that is possibly even more exciting and useful for downtown Toronto than another super-sized Loblaws.   There are only two things that I miss since moving away from suburbia .. one is the private tennis courts in our old condo and the second is the Bulk Barn.  But now a giant Bulk Barn has opened right on the subway line at the NE corner of Carlton & Yonge!  For someone like me who likes to sample a little bit of alot of things, this is like my own personal Disneyland.  While it seems contrary to the name and concept of the chain, I look forward to being able to buy the small required quantity of something for a recipe rather than the huge prepackaged container that it would otherwise come in.

Imagine what seems like an infinite variety of flour ranging from traditional all purpose to ones I'd never knew existed (buckwheat, quinoa, tapioca, coconut) or even know what is in them (red fife??).  There was also a wide selection of spices, coffee beans, tea leaves, rice, bread spreads (cashew butter, almond butter, chocolate hazelnut), nuts (raw or roasted, salted or unsalted, mixed in cereal and granolas) and of course, enough chips, chocolate and candy to break any New Years Resolution.

The Bulk Barn is also a baker's dream in terms of baking decorations (sprinkles, food colourings, icing, candied roses), cake pans and molds, cookie cutters and wedding cake paraphernalia including the columns to separate the tiers of cake and mini brides and grooms.

I ended up with many little bags of nuts, aborio rice for Christmas dinner risotto, and multiple types of candy, perfect for the Gingerbread House party that I'm attending.  My favourite were the green Army men gummy bears and the candy coated chocolates that look like beautiful pebbles.  I also got some pomegranate flavoured cranberries and dried cherry raisins that I look forward to putting in my cereal.  It was so much fun wandering the aisles looking at all my choices.  I can't wait to go back and use 25% off coupons that they were giving away for use over the next few weeks.

Wrvst vs Fusia Dog

Gourmet hamburger joints have been around for a while and lately new ones seem to be popping up everywhere.  But the latest culinary trend of eateries that specialize in one main staple is expanding to include a variety of foods including grilled cheese sandwiches, porchetta sandwiches, meat balls, and sausages.  We recently had the opportunity to compare and contrast two recently opened sausage restaurants.

Wrvst (think bratwurst) features sausages made from a wide variety of meats ranging from the traditional (pork, beef, lamb) for $6, to poultry or non meats (a.k.a tofu) for $7, to exotic (boar, bison, elk, kangaroo, rabbit, etc.) for $9.

The grilled sausages are served on a fresh chewy bun, topped with 2 choices from either grilled onions, sweet red peppers or sauerkraut.  Three types of mustard and a home made ketchup are available as condiments.  Alternately you can have the sausage sliced up, topped with a tomato curry sauce and a slice of bread.  Fries can be fried in duck fat or topped with peppers, jalapeno and sauteed onions.  They come with a choice of mayo, tomato or yogurt based dipping sauces of various flavours such as curry, chive&garlic or chipotle.

We tried the wild boar with mushrooms and tea(??) and duck with maple and fois gras sausages.  They were both nicely grilled, flavourfully spiced and tasty.  Of course we could not resist the idea of duck fat fries but we didn't really taste any difference, especially after dipping them in curry and wrvst (spicy) sauces.  The fries were also thicker than we like them since we prefer thin crispy fries.

Wvrst is in the huge space that used to be the old Thuet location but is now a casual fast food restaurant where the sausages are ordered at the counter and seating is at long communal tables with bench seating.  On a Saturday afternoon with just a few diners, the place seemed cavernous, but I guess it fills up at lunchtime on weekdays, or maybe at night during hockey games projected on a 10 ft screen.

By contrast, Fusia Dog by Dinah Koo (formerly of Wanda's In the Kitchen with Dinah) is a very small venue on a side street a few blocks from the Entertainment district.  It has just a few seats and seems more of a takeout joint.

Also selling gourmet priced hotdogs and sausages, the spin here is that these are "multicultural dogs".  The meats are mostly beef or chicken with some vegetarian options and one exotic meat which is duck.  So for $7-9, what you are paying premium for is a bunch of toppings and the concept of eating a "Chop suey" dog (with stir fried veggies, ketchup, hickory stick potato chips), Mediterranean dog (grilled veggies, feta cheese, olives), Peking duck quesadilla  (duck skin with carrots, scallions, bean sprouts, hoisin sauce).

We tried the Fusia dog (beef dog with kimchee, carrot salad, wasabi mayo and coriander in a wrap) and the Crispy Cream dog (beef dog with pork belly, scallions, cream cheese and mustard).  As they had just opened, they gave us some free sample salads so we had a cold broccoli salad and a luke warm potato salad.  I thought the experience was more gimmick than superb dining experience.  For me the best part of the meal were the home made potato chips, and the icy cold Boylan black cherry cola on the very hot day.

In my opinion, Wrvst was best (pun intended) in this sausage war.  Although I'm not sure that either option is worth twice the price of the good old fashioned street sausage, especially from those vendors that provide a slew of toppings including sweet corn, tomato, bacon bits, or if you go to the truck on Queen St in front of City Hall, you can even get grilled onions and mushrooms!

Wrvst - 609 King St West
Fusia Dog - 65 Duncan St.