Thanks so much for the recs! Truffle mayo.. oh my, yes!

Thanks a million for the link and for your comments. Much appreciated!

New to the area and am desperate for a decent burger.

The kind with fresh, good quality beef preferably char grilled and with fresh toppings. A side a thick cut fries would be good too, but it's the burger that really matters.

thanks, this sounds lovely, but please tell me, what is q&b?

Looking for recommendations for a great place to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon hanging out with an old friend, ok not that old but we are in our late 40's.

We would love to find a place with a cozy booth, a good quality , well executed, casual menu and nice ambiance so that we can enjoy our conversation. Most importantly, we don't want to be rushed out, we'd like to linger, eat slowly, drink a little and then a little more and chat.

If possible, this lovely place would be located south of Bloor, east of Bay and west of Parliament or within a few minutes of those perimeters anyway.

It's been a while since either of us have been in Toronto so we're a little lost. Hope you can help us out. Thanks!

Onion skins and celery leaves - great for soups and stock, the onion skin makes your stock a lovely rich brown color and also adds another depth of flavor. The celery leaves add a depth of flavor too. I keep a Ziploc bag of onion skins and celery leaves in the freezer.
When I clean chicken i save the skin and fat in a ziploc and when i'm making chicken liver pate, i render the saved chicken bits, strain and use in my recipe, the crispy bits i think are called schmaltz, but i could be wrong. Also great to start a chicken soup.

Buying gifts for a group and need a bit of help with this since I can't taste 'em myself.

I can't do chocolate due to allergies so need opinions please - which do you prefer.

Belgian chocolate covered bing cherries or blueberries? Vote now!, please and thanks.

Thanks so much for your responses! very inspiring, keep 'em coming.

I've tried Papa's a few times over the years, against my will because of group decision, and always came away disappointed. The simplest dish is somehow just too much for their kitchen to pull off well.
Went to Omonia's this past weekend and had an ok meal - the dip platter is reliable, the greek salad just ok, the lamb chops tasted better than they looked, my friends roast lamb shank also tasted good, was tender but was very pale and quite unappealing to look at.
Astoria's is good for lunch but not for a nice dinner imho and I do like the food at The Palace, pretty reliable. Will have to try Zorba's and Messini's.

Putting together some gifts for hard to impress, well travelled vip's. Looking for recs for amazingly delicious gourmet goodies such as:

olives
tapenades
antipastos
dips
mustards
flavoured olive oil for dipping
vinegars
compotes
honey

Please let me know if you've had some really yummy memorable goodies of that type even if it's not on my list. My search on chowhound showed mixed reviews on the Wildly Delicious products with some good recs on Summer Kitchen - your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

I would pick up some Popeyes

i doubt that you will find tails that are fat enough. i think the sheep are bred differently now, or something,
I had a nanny who was of the South African Hottentot tribe - she used to render the tail fat and keep it in a tin. Then she would take fresh whole grain bread, spread the cold rendered fat on it, then top it with a smear of apricot jam. It's one of my favourite taste memories. yummy

I make a great salad - cube and roast with a little evoo, s&p. i also roast fresh beets, i rub them with evoo and wrap them individually with foil. cool, peel and cube beets the same size as your butternut. i make a balsamic dressing or a white wine vinegar vinaigrette and marinate sliced red onion in the dressing for an hour or so until onion is wilte. then i toss arugula and baby spinache with some of the dressing and place the roasted butternut and beets on top, drizzle with dressing, add marinated red onion rings, crumble goat cheese all over, and toasted pumpkin seeds and it is yum

Looking for an inexpensive take out sushi place for lunch - someplace like Sushi Delight on Danforth. I don't mind spending a more for a sit down sushi dinner but for lunch, we need to keep it under $10 per person.
Does such a sushi place exist in Cabbagetown?
thanks very much!

this takes some time and prep but great for special family big breakfast - boiled salted cod, boiled potatoes, sliced boiled eggs, sliced fresh avacado, tomato and banana.

you could still pan fry them, but cook just to brown both sides, remove then deglaze your pan with an interesting liquid ie, apple/orange/pear juice, beer, wine, vermouth, brandy, or chicken stock, and boil to reduce and thicken, drop heat to simmer gently, now you can add some dijon mustard, or fresh herbs, taste to adjust salt and pepper. add chops back to your sauce to heat through and finish cooking, serve.
i also brine my chops for about 1/2 to 1 hr.
pork shoulder chops are good seasoned with s&p, quickly browned in pan then placed onto shallow baking dish. deglaze pan with couple tbspns wine, beer or just add can of campbells cream of celery/mushroom undiluted to pan and just slightly heat through, not boil. cover chops with soup, bake in oven, you can also add breadcrumbs mixed with bit of grated parmesan, parsley and olive oil to the top.

i keep two or three kinds of nuts and seeds - walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds
also dried fruits especially figs, apricots, peaches, raisons, cranberries
cheeses, goat cheese,parmigiano, feta, buffalo mozzarella,
fresh fruit - berries, apples, oranges, mandarins, pears
beans- chick peas, white kidney beans.
pickled veg - artichokes, roasted red peppers, olives, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, beets.
crispy toppings ie. fried onions (little india grocery), spicy indian channa noodles,
add rice noodles, couscous, grains, bhulgur, barley as base with salads,
ie, fine rice noodles, baby spinach, basil, mint w shrimp, julien carrots, red pepper and peanuts w ginger soy dressing
i buy deli roast chicken at SLM, canned salmon, tuna (see spiced brands) and frozen shrimp, deli roast beef ( rare sliced beef, lots of baby spinache, bit of arugula, top with fried onions, blue cheese or parmegiano with garlic dressing, a fave!).
eggs, boiled, sliced or grated, poached ie. on baguette crouton on ceasar salad w bacon

IMHO, except for the fruit of course, i can keep a lot of this on hand and am ready to toss a big salad any time

came here looking for a recipe myself, so here you go. this first link is to what looks like the supplier to those gas stions. those pies are truly amazing. the second link is to the site with the recipe. it's the best I could find and IMHO as an expat, I think the secret is the sago.

http://www.stpie.co.za/contents/products.html

http://www.sanha.org.za/ebull.php?ebu...

Ideal for the lunch box, picnic, or alfresco meals, this delicious pepper steak pie recipe is from the author and food enthusiast, Mariam Jadwa-Omar's book, "Creative cooking-the easy way". Available in most community book stores.

PEPPER STEAK PIES

Ingredients
2 large sheets pre-rolled puff pastry
500g rump steak, cut into 1cm cubes
1 Tblsp butter
1 green Chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp garlic pasta
1 tsp crushed black pepper
Salt to taste
2 cups water
½ cup sago
Egg, lightly beaten, to glaze
Poppy seeds, to sprinkle
18 mini foil packs
Method
Braise green Chilli and garlic in butter
Add meat, pepper and salt, and cook until meat is tender.
Boil sago in water until clear and glossy and add to cooked meat.
Using a round cutter, the same diameter as mini foil pack, cut 18 rounds from each pastry sheet.
Line each foil pack with one pastry round.
Spoon filling over base and cover with another pastry round. Press edges to seal.
Brush with egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Bake at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 18

Last year, I needed that to make a trifle but couldn't find it on the shelf so I spoke to
the store bakery and they got it in for me within the week which was perfect.
Perhaps you could try calling your local grocery store bakery and hopefully they could the same for you.
I would love a piece now with a cup of tea! grrrr!! :-)

Was pleasantly surprised with a perfect plate of eggs benny at The Peartree on Parliament a couple of weeks ago. Perfect! Egg yolk just runny enough, white tender and cooked; english muffin toasted, sauce yummy and not that awful fake bright yellow stuff so often served.
For good, big, consistent and fast - The Terminal on Danforth, the homefries rock!

Mercury Coffee on Queen at Carlaw and also the location at Main south of Gerrard - the best espresso in town

I went to Waterfalls Restaurant for dinner a few nights ago and I can't stop thinking about how good the food was. It's simple, casual, well priced and the service was great. Their menu is large, especially since they present themselves as a tapas restaurant.

We started with the apps platter with samosas: light pastry and tasty veg filling, onion bajias, pakoras and it was all fresh, nicely presented, not oily at all which is hard to find, and the sauces were tasty and well balanced. I then had the two curry plate with lamb kurma and fish kerala.

The lamb was tender and so flavourful, the coconut curry sauce thick, rich but not too heavy, and again, not oily. The fish curry had a lovely tamarind flavoured sauce. Served with perfectly cooked basmatic rice, a little pot of mango pickle and another pot of raita, with papadums. I tasted my friends shrimp curry and i'll be going back for that soon. We shared an order of saag paneer, and although I found it a bit too creamy, the cheese was top quality and a lovely texture. The naan was some of the best naan I've had in the city, light, tender and delish.

I love the way they presented the food, all on one big plate but the curries were each in a little bowl, filled to the top. Portion sizes were generous and I had a second meal from my leftovers. We sat on the little patio, enjoyed watching the people go by while we ate our yummy curry, and drank a Mills St pint each and the bill came to around $85.00 incl tax and tip.

My friend has been there 4 times now and each time she raves so I'll be joining her again soon for more well made, great quality food. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a meal as much in Little India and while Lahore is around the corner, I'll be heading to Kensington instead.

check out the menu, lots to choose from www.waterfallsrestaurant.ca

Why would you choose one over the other? Please share your thoughts on the difference in flavour and quality.

I'm about to indulge in my annual fish and chips feast and want to make the best of it. My favourite fish and chips is in Cape Town, South Africa, where they use a fish called snoek, a bit like barracuda, yummm.

chicken cordon bleu casserole! not stuffed but layered, chicken breasts browned in a pan, then into a casserole dish, topped with slices of black forest ham, cheese and sliced oranges, covered with white sauce, topped with bread crumbs and baked. i thought it was fancy but i was in my early twenties, oh my, lol!

Thanks for your post HG, I'll be checking it out and soon!!!

Thanks very much! that's great info!

I like to use a very fine grater and with short strokes I grate a hard cheese ie parmasan over the popcorn while warm, yum.

BH I think you're right. I remember watching her make the hummus and she added greek yogurt to lighten up the texture. She did not add it to the blender, just folded it in. Also, sometimes I add a few pinches of cumin and a squeeze or more to taste of lemon or lime juice.

KevinB would you mind sharing the name of your local sushi spot, that sounds like a great lunch! Thanks

Two thumbs up for Tony's at the Oban. Great menu!