beanbiscuit's Profile
Blackstone meats on the Danforth
> What organic meat are you looking for that you can't get at the Big Carrot ?
Oh, it's mostly sheer laziness on my part really: the Carrot is great, but it means crossing the road, jostling for a bike spot in their usually-full rack, dealing with crowds in the store and lineups at the cash ... I'm just grumbling at the insult to my convenience!
There's a good little butcher at Queen and Jones - I've gotten good cuts from him and they make very nice sausage and do have free-range chickens. It's just not directly on my way home from work (or steps away from a liquor store, as Blackstone was - key point!).
Blackstone meats on the Danforth
Interesting. I had been in a couple of times because it's right on my bike ride home. Some of the staff were pretty inexperienced (and their turnover seemed really high) but I didn't usually have any trouble getting something basic.
And yeah, definitely style v substance. It was usually pretty busy with people buying stuff, so I was suprised to see it shuttered. Thanks for your replies.
Blackstone meats on the Danforth
Any idea when/why it closed? Stopped by this afternoon to pick up a chicken and the place is locked and dark, shelves empty.
Portuguese Fresh Cheese -- in the East End?
> shaped like footballs with a small round knob on one
> end (and taper to a slight point on the other end, I think).
> They are light and airy, not dense.
Are those "papo secos", or something like that? I used to live near a Poruguese bakery in Montreal and we would buy those every weekend.
Did you ask about the soft fresh cheese at Leslieville? They definitely had it for the tasting I was at, because I had never tried it before and thought it was just lovely. The woman who was hosting said it was made by a man on/around Ossington Street.
Portuguese Fresh Cheese -- in the East End?
Have you been to Leslieville Cheese (SE corner of Queen and Logan)? We went to a cheese-tasting there that featured Spanish and Portuguese cheeses and there were a couple of lovely soft fresh Portuguese ones (made in Toronto, but that style).
It's a great little shop.
Help! Good Food and Music Please
The food truly is dull and overpriced at Hugh's. I'll reserve for dinner when it's a show I really want to see, but otherwise I'd much rather eat elsewhere.
Does Mezzetta still have live jazz? I haven't been in five or six years but the food - Middle-Eastern/Greek, served tapas-style - was always very good and inexpensive, and there was usually either recorded jazz (hothouse, Miles etc) or decent live musicians.
ISO malted milk powder
(OT - that No Frills at Carlaw/Gerrard was a pleasant surprise for me when I went in for the first time a couple of months ago. Bright, clean, produce looked nice, and best of all a good selection of Herdez mexican foods - chiles in adobo, different styles of salsa, canned tomatillos etc. It's great to have a source of serviceable Mexican ingredients close to home when I can't get to Kensington. /OT)
Another new place at Queen / Leslie?
When the Salvage Shop (just a couple of doors West of Gio's) was closing down, the owner told me he thought their spot was going to be taken over by someone "who has a chain of English-style pubs". The place has been empty for a few months now, along with the convenience store next door to it, but in the last couple of weeks I've seen activity in both spots and paper/plywood up over the windows.
I'm not a huge fan of chain pubs (although the Neighbourhood Pub Group do a nice job with them) but it would be great to have a decent pub-style place in the neighbourhood. We're a bit spoiled for choice when it comes to trendy joints but there's not much there in terms of a-pint-and-a-packet-of-crisps places. Has anyone heard anything about who might be moving in?
House on Parliament
> "the chef had... been poached" - great pun.
Ha! Inadvertent, but clearly subconscious!
House on Parliament
Yes, several times. I keep coming back, though, so maybe they figure it can't be that bad.
House on Parliament
I definitely agree with you that the specials are always interesting and well-executed, and really reasonably-priced! Their wine selection is very good, too.
But I feel like the mainstay of the operation, their formerly-extraordinary pub fare, is going way downhill. I don't always want duck confit (although when I do, and it's on the menu there, I love it!): for comfort food I'm more likely to crave the aforementioned pie, or bangers-and-beans, which they used to offer but have now replaced with something like merguez-and-chutney. It's very disappointing!
When I started going there I heard that their chef had either been poached from Joso's or was working both places (I can't remember which), which is where their practice of offering really interesting and delicious specials started.
I'm still fond of the place, and I'll still go, but I really wish Beau and co. had held back on some of the changes. I still miss my beloved pie crust, and the wonderful fries-that-were.
Boston Hound coming to GTA
Seconding Dangerous Dan's. Really good burgers, and great milkshakes too.
House on Parliament
This Cabbagetown pub has been one of our favourites for a long time, but I feel like I need to vent about it a little.
The quality of many of their signature dishes has gone downhill. For example, the steak-and-mushroom pie has long been a favourite with many people I know, but in the last year or so something crucial has changed: the crust is no longer the sublime explosion of savoury pastry it was, and is now dull and chewy. They also seem to be drizzling truffle oil over it, for no reason I can see. The meat-and-mushroom filling of the pie is just as lovely, but the pedestrian crust doesn't show it to advantage at all.
The Wednesday night "Kobe" (can you really get a burger made from Kobe beef for $14.95?) burger special was another recent disappointment. The burger, a separate creature from the regular-menu version (also a good value) used to change up every Wednesday with topping variations like Brie/mushroom or pancetta/cambozola, but the last few times we've been in it's been the same - cheddar, bacon, chipotle aioli. Why chipotle?
We ordered our burgers medium rare: when they arrived eventually they were definitely medium, although to be fair they were still very juicy. No pinkness visible at all, though. The aioli that accompanied them had clearly been sitting around in the kitchen for a while and arrived in little paper cuplets, with the sauce slightly hardened and cracking around the edge. The buns were stale, too.
Most disappointing are the fries! In the past, the HoP's fries have been consistently excellent: thin, crisp but tender inside, perfectly-done. They've changed to a more standard size now, though, and are always overdone.
The outside patio has changed from a relaxing, laid-back space with picnic-bench seats to a cramped area with too many small tables, and tiny uncomfortable stools to sit on.
We've been going to the HoP for about six years now and have recommended it to countless people, so maybe we're a little bit to blame for its increased popularity and long wait times for tables. The place seems to want to change from a true pub-style joint with surprisingly good food to yet another bistro with adequate but uninspired fare. I wish they'd reconsider, and bring back the awesome quality and atmosphere that drew so many of us there in the first place.
Prime rib specials
I love it too but I have to say it's been very disappointing lately.
Thanks, I'll start a new thread!
Prime rib specials
The HoP's prime rib is a really good deal - the meat is great quality, always done perfectly, the gravy superb, and the vegetables fresh and varied (including squash blossoms some nights, or broccolini, or beets - and you can often ask for extra). I'll keep going there occasionally for that alone.
Is there a better thread for me to post my overall impressions of the HoP outside the prime-rib discussion?
